• Upcoming – July 27 – Emiko Kaneko – Revisiting Mechanical Speaking Practices

    Iwate JALT is happy to announce the speaker for our upcoming talk in July. We will be hosting Emiko Kaneko.

    Location: AIINA, ROOM 602
    Date July 27, 2014
    Time: From 1:30pm – 4:00pm(13:30-16:00)
    Cost: Free for JALT members. ¥1000 for non-members. ¥500
    for full-time students.
    Contact: iwatejalt@hotmail.com phone/fax: 019-663-3132

    Abstract

    In the English as a foreign language (EFL) context, learners only have limited exposure to naturally spoken English. They also have very few opportunities in which they use English naturalistically for oral communication. Considering the limited exposure to the target language and a large classroom size, speech repetition may be a useful practice for oral fluency development. Though traditionally “repeating” and “drilling” have negative connotations, more recent studies show that they have positive influence on learner oral proficiency. In this presentation, I will familiarize the audience with a series of oral dictation practice conducted in the University of Aizu and report how students’ spontaneous speech (speaking without prior preparation) changes.

     

    外国語として英語を学ぶ場合、自然な英語に学習者が触れることは少ない。また、口頭コミュニケーションのために英語を自然に使う機会も限られている。目標言語に触れることがあまりないこと、そしてクラスが大きいことを考えると、「繰り返し」練習が口頭運用能力向上のために効果的な練習法となる可能性がある。今まで、「繰り返し」や「ドリル」と言った練習は否定的に扱われてきたが、最近の研究では学習者のスピーキングに好ましい影響を与えることが分かってきた。本発表では、会津大学で行われた、オーラルディクテーション練習を説明し、それにより学習者の自発発話（事前準備をしない発話）がどのように変化したかを報告する。

     

    Bio:

    Emiko Kaneko is a senior associate professor in the Center for Language Research at the University of Aizu, specializing in English language acquisition and instruction for EFL learners, with special interest in teaching/assessment of L2 speaking and phonology. Her Ph.D. in English comes from the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee.

  • The First Annual Michinoku English Education Summit

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    I have just gotten back from Hachinohe,  where The University of Hachinohe, together with Iwate JALT hosted the first Michinoku English Education Summit, or M.E.E.S. for short. This was a one day event packed with dynamic speakers.  The theme of the summit was ‘Collaboration’, and it was the first summit of its kind in Aomori. Putting a conference of this size in Hachinohe let people come together and discuss collaboration and other topics without having to travel across the country to do so.

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    The plenary speaker for the summit was Mark
    De Boer, an academic research at Iwate University in Morioka.  He had a spirited opening talk about the death of the native speaker. He spoke about planning out classes in a way that places students in collaborative groups that mimic real-life jobs situations, thus having them use English for problem solving and presenting rather than  simply as traditional classroom environment with grammar lessons and readings.

    Following Mark was Mike Smith, a teacher at the Hachinohe Institute of Technology,  who talked about globalism in Japanese school and the role of ALTs. He spoke about the motivations for English as a foreign language and looked at ways that ALTs an Japanese teachers could create more effective classroom environments. He also brought up the topic of costs of EFL in Japan.

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    After Mike, Ben Shearon gave a lecture about getting your ideas off the ground in schools and how to sell them effectively. Ben is a lecturer at Tohoku University. He believes that recruiting and collaborating with others helps get ideas off the ground. He suggested growing new projects slowly and carefully, and getting proper the proper funding to make them work.

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    James Hobbs from Iwate Medical University told us about running a medical lab class that taught practical English by getting the students to learn and collaborate with each other, much in the same way Mark spoke of in his opening talk.  What started out as idea pitched in a report, ended up begin a successful class that has enhanced the English abilities of the university’s students.

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    To wrap up the morning session, Sean Anderson gave an intro to his popular English Learning Card game Question Quest. He gave an overview of his motivations for creating the game and have a quick tutorial on how to play it.

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    After a ninety minute lunch break, the afternoon sessions opened up with a workshop that let all participants collaborate themselves and discuss how the morning talks might be applied in their own realms of English Education. The workshop was divided into two one-hour segments, with participants switching groups between sessions.

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    Conferences of this size can often be a logistical nightmare, however the First Annual Michinoku English Education Summit was more than up to the challenge. Not only was it the first conference of its kind in Aomori, but it drew a  sizable number of attendees and speakers. This can only help it further reach English education professionals in the future.  I look forward to the next one.

    A big thanks to Greg Anthony and Barry Grossman at The Universtiy of Hachinohe for putting this amazing conference together. I’ve placed a few more event photos at the bottom of the article.

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    Reported by Jason Hill

    All photography ©2014 Jason Hill

     

  • April 20 meeting with Peter J.Collins from the Foreign Language Center at Tokai University.

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    Iwate JALT met on April 20 to discuss “Supplemental Reading Material for Secondary Textbook Lessons.” Our guest speaker was Peter J. Collins, and he had plenty to say about using and making supplemental reading material to complement high school and junior high school textbooks.  He has an extensive background in developing readings for high school students as well as working with textbook makers.

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    His talk focused on ways English teachers in Japan can move away from the traditional ‘translate and memorize’ method  of doing reading assignments, and introduced a new process for which students get a richer background on optional reading assignments through additional readings that are created by JTEs and give more meaning and context to the material the students are trying to learn. Instead of simple grammar and pattern practice, this method challenges the students to comprehend the passages without the weight of previous ‘yakudoku’ learning to hold them back. Additional supplemental readings can be adjusted for the skill level of each classroom.

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    While the talk was designed for teachers and ALTs who work with high school and junior high school students, the information could also be useful for those who teach college and private lessons as well. The meeting had participants from all walks of English education, from private teachers to university lecturers.

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    We want to thank Peter for taking the time out of his busy schedule and sharing his research with us.

     

    Reported by Jason Hill

    All photography ©2014 Jason Hill