Category: preview

  • 2015 MEES Conference – 2015みちのく英語応用サミット @八戸学院大学

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    全国語学教育学会岩手県地方支部＆八戸学院大学主催
    第２回目みちのく英語応用サミット

    2015 Michinoku English Education Summit

    Co-sponsored by the Iwate Chapter of JALT and Hachinohe Gakuin University

    Sunday, May 31, 2015

    Conference theme:

    “Why can’t we be friends?”
    Reuniting Linguistics and Language Education

    Despite the merits that it can offer language teachers, linguistics often seems divorced from EFL education. The 2015 Michinoku English Education Summit (MEES) aims to provide opportunities for English educators to explore the dynamics between linguistics and EFL education. In doing so, teachers will gain a wealth of new language insights as well as practical teaching ideas. This MEES conference will appeal to any English language educator interested in the relationship between language and language teaching, regardless of their teaching context.

    10903931_1518861335046555_6675990747229926559_ohttps://www.facebook.com/MichinokuEES

  • Upcoming – January 25, 2015 – Margarita Foster – Motivation: The Importance of Social Influences

    Location: AIINA, ROOM 602
    Date January, 25 2015
    Time: From 1:30pm – 3:30pm(13:30-16:30)
    Cost: Free for JALT members. ¥1000 for non-members. ¥500 for full-time students.
    Contact: iwatejalt@hotmail.com or jasohill@gmail.com phone/fax: 019-663-3132

    1. Title:  Motivation: The Importance of Social Influences

    In social psychology there are several studies which analyze the importance of human interaction in the process of teaching and learning. This presentation will review some of these findings and their influence on sustain motivation.

    2. Title:  A Motivated Teacher Can Motivate Students, but What Motivates the Teacher?

    Stress is a common experience for teachers struggling to manage learning activities and employ various strategies in their teaching. Teacher motivation is a key factor in functioning despite this stress and fulfilling the role of teacher as facilitator of learning. This presentation will review some findings of a study on teacher motivation, the strategies teachers use to maintain motivation, and how they cope with stressful situations.

    A short group-workshop will follow, where everybody can participate and share ideas. Then, we could draw together some conclusions.

    Short bio: Margarita Foster works at Hachinohe Gakuin University. Her studies include psychology and criminology at universities en Bolivia, Japan and Spain. Currently her research interests are juvenile delinquency and resilience.

  • Upcoming – February 22, 2015 – Jason Hill – Using Popular Culture to Create Interesting English Classes

    Location: AIINA, ROOM 602
    Date February, 22 2015
    Time: From 1:30pm – 4:30pm(13:30-16:30)
    Cost: Free for JALT members. ¥1000 for non-members. ¥500 for full-time students.
    Contact: iwatejalt@hotmail.com or jasohill@gmail.com phone/fax: 019-663-3132

    Creating motivation in the English classroom is a challenging proposition in Japanese schools. This is especially true with junior high and high school English curricula. The textbooks try to be stimulating, but usually the content is out of date or is of little interest to students. To get enthusiasm for English back in my classrooms, I have been injecting more popular culture(TV, film, music, sports etc.) into my classes and finding success. I find there is a fine balance in what you can talk about, and this depends on the students’ interests and the amount of time the schedule allows. I would like to talk about my conclusions and then have a small workshop to discuss how we can spice up our English classrooms and make learning more enjoyable and productive.

    Bio

    Jason Hill is Instructor of English at elementary and junior high schools, and currently works for the board of education in Hachimantai City, Iwate. Over the past eleven years, he has taught at every level of primary and secondary education as well as teaching classes for hospitality workers in the tourism industry. He was a participant the JET programme from 2003-2006 and continues to strive to make learning English an enjoyable and worthwhile endeavour.