Category: Talk

  • Embodied Learning: How Movement Improves Memory and Creativity – Brian J. Birdsell

    April 26 @ 1:30 PM – 4:30 PM

    KIOXIA AIINA – Rm 602 (Google Maps)

    Embodied Learning: How Movement Improves Memory and Creativity

    I always think of him as one of the first to employ his legs as an instrument of philosophy.

    — Rebecca Solnit (referring to William Wordsworth)

    This presentation discusses topics from a recently published book by the presenter entitled Moving Bodies, Wandering Minds: How Movement Enhances Creativity and Language Learning. 

    Excessive sedentary behavior has become a widespread problem across all age groups, driven by modern lifestyles and reinforced in schools where students spend much of the class day sitting. This persists despite wide-established evidence that physical activity (PA) improves cardiovascular health, lowers cancer risk, and supports mental health. More recently, research has highlighted cognitive benefits of PA, such as improvements in working memory, cognitive flexibility, creativity, and attention. In the first part of this presentation, I review this research alongside my own work examining how PA and physical enactment enhance foreign language vocabulary retention. This approach is part of “embodied learning,” an education framework based on the idea that cognition is grounded in bodily experiences and that movement can actively support learning at any age. Additionally, drawing on creativity research and my own current research project, I present how movement may enhance creative thinking. 

    In the second part, I share practical activities I have used to increase student movement both in and outside the classroom, including walking for creative writing, teaching abstract concepts through movement, and speed presenting. We’ll close with discussion and idea-sharing, inviting participants to ask questions, reflect on their own classrooms, and share any movement-based activities they might employ for language learning. 

    Brian J. Birdsell received a PhD in Applied Linguistics from the University of Birmingham, UK and currently is an Associate Professor in the Institute for the Promotion of Higher Education and Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences at Hirosaki University. His research interests include metaphor, embodied cognition, creativity, and CLIL. 

    ¥1000 Free for JALT members.

  • Event – Emily MacFarlane: Proven Techniques for Building EFL Speaking Fluency

    Date and Time: December 14 @ 1:30 PM – 4:00 PM

    Place: AIINA 1:30pm to 4pm.  Room 817.

    Abstract: This workshop equips EFL teachers with five research-backed techniques to dramatically improve students’ speaking fluency through structured practice and strategic communication training. The session will also introduce recent fluency research findings from Tohoku University examining an online fluency tool for first-year university EFL students. This research explores the impact of filler words on speech rate, the effect of repeated tool usage on fluency improvement, and student perceptions of both the online tool and their own fluency development. Designed for Japanese EFL contexts, the workshop addresses common challenges including students’ silent pauses, accuracy obsession, and unnatural rhythm patterns. Teachers experience each technique firsthand before learning practical implementation strategies, classroom troubleshooting, and fluency-focused assessment methods. Participants will leave with concrete tools to transform hesitant speakers into confident communicators.

    Teaser: Transform your students from hesitant speakers into confident communicators! Learn five research-backed techniques including 1-minute speeches, 4-3-2 activities, and shadowing practice. Experience each method yourself for immediate classroom implementation. Perfect for all EFL levels.

    Bio: Emily MacFarlane is an experienced English language educator who teaches at various universities in Sendai.  Her most recent research is on improving speaking fluency in Japanese university students.

  • Double Presentation – Adam Murray – March 3, 2024

    A double feature presentation with Adam Murray at Iwate University.

    Sunday, March 3, 2024

    The Faculty of Education, Building 1 (教育学部一号館)
    Room E22.

    Free Admission.

    Listening: The Essential Language Skill In the first part of my talk, I will talk about the impact of anxiety on foreign language learning. I personally became interested in this area of research from my experiences learning and using Japanese. I conducted a medium-sized study with 176 undergraduate students who were enrolled in compulsory EFL classes for non-English majors at four universities. I will talk about the design of the study in both practical and theoretical terms. I will also describe the relationship between listening anxiety and performance on the one-way listening tasks based on the listening section of the TOEIC test. In the second part, I will talk about listening instruction in the classroom. I will talk about some of the issues that need to be considered when selecting listening materials (authentic vs. textbook). Also, I will talk about students’ perceptions of listening materials in terms of perceived difficulty. Finally, I will demonstrate some supplementary listening activities that can be easily adapted for your classes.

    Formative Assessment for the Language Classroom: Do’s and Don’ts Effective classroom-based assessment is essential for all language classrooms. At the end of today’s hands-on workshop, the participants will be able to: 1. Understand basic concepts about testing and assessment 2. Know the purposes of summative and formative assessment 3. Be able use some assessment tools in their courses

    About Adam Murray: 

    Adam Murray is a professor at the University of the Ryukyus. His research interests are listening instruction, materials development, and classroom-based assessment. He is currently the President of the JALT Okinawa Chapter.