Tag: JALT

  • 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 The textbooks try to be stimulating, but usually the content is out of date or is of little interest to students.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.

  • Upcoming – December 14 – Bryan Hahn – Developing Automaticity in Reading: A Study of University Students in Japan

    Location: AIINA, ROOM 817
    Date December 14, 2014
    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 phone/fax: 019-663-3132

    Abstract

    Many Japanese students learning English do not develop language skills naturally. This includes reading. Students often focus on too many reading tasks at the same time so they do not comprehend what they read. As a result, it’s important they reach automaticity in order to read at full comprehension. Dubin and Bycina (1991) state that reading at a rate of 200 words per minute is necessary for full comprehension. Not only will students begin to understand what they read, it makes the task of reading much more enjoyable.

    This might explain why the vast majority of my students self admit to never having read a book written in English from cover to cover. The act of reading becomes too laborious making them want to give up. Students can be taught to read faster by reading in “chunks”, or having the ability to see multiple words at the same time. This quantitative study will examine if teaching students to read in “chunks” will significantly improve their reading rate over the course of one semester. Participants are students at Akita International University enrolled in advanced level Reading. Students will be given a pre-test, followed by weekly practice of reading in chunks and timing their reading rate to determine progression, and conclude with a post-test at the end of the term. It is hypothesized students’ reading rates will be significantly higher during post-test results compared to pre-test results. Understanding the concept of automaticity will assist teachers in orchestrating a successful reading class.

    Brief Bio:

    Bryan Hahn

    Lecturer, AIU (Two years), EAP Dept.

    Also taught at unis in Korea and in the public and private sector in Los Angeles.

    B.A. Journalism

    12 years as a Reporter for various news networks

    M.A. TESL

    10 years teaching experience

  • Upcoming – October 26 – Brent Jones – Content-Based Instruction Workshop

    Here is the listing for our October event. It’s a bit early to be posting here, but I’m hoping it will give you time to make arrangements to attend the talk.

    Location: AIINA, ROOM 602
    Date October 26, 2014
    Time: From 1:30pm – 4:30pm(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

    Content-focused language teaching approaches such as Content-Based Instruction (CBI) and Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) continue to gain both recognition and credibility. In this workshop, participants will be introduced to both the theory and practice of such approaches, with special emphasis on the affective learning domain. After looking at the various benefits and challenges of a content-focuses approach, the presenter will introduce an example of a theme-based CBI program that is currently being used in a tertiary-level English program for management course students in Japan. The aim here is to highlight for participants each step in the instructional design process as well as some of the various considerations at both the macro (curriculum) and micro (task) levels. Participants will then be challenged to consider the motivational merits of implementing a content-focused approach in their own teaching contexts, and be presented with a list of suggested readings for further exploration.

    Bio: Brent A. Jones has taught ESL/EFL in Hawaii and Japan since 1987, and has been involved in teacher training since 2002. He has worked in corporate training programs at Sony, Mitsui Trading, Hitachi Shipbuilding, Nestle, and Sumitomo Chemicals. He was formerly the coordinator of the Business English Program at Kobe Gakuin University, and is currently the Director of Language Programs for both the Management Course and Study Abroad Course at Konan University, Hirao School of Management. His major research interests are L2 learning motivation, extensive reading, curriculum development, instructional design, content-focused approaches to language instruction and creativity.