Tag: talk

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 The textbooks try to be stimulating, but usually the content is out of date or is of little interest to students.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

  • This Sunday – September 28 – Martin E. Pauly – Being Hired at National University Corporations

    Location: AIINA, ROOM 602
    Date September 28, 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

    Hi everyone. I hope you all had a great summer. I can feel the fall winds starting to make their approach and that means I should update you on Iwate JALT’s fall and winter schedule. Please stay tuned to our site for updates in the next few days. I will get things going with our meeting on September 28. We will be visited by Martin E. Pauly from the University of Tsukuba and he will be talking about getting hired at National University corporations.

    Abstract: Hiring of faculty is carried out in different ways throughout Japan at national university corporations (formerly national universities).  And this varies even within individual institutions.  The presenter will focus on 2 such institutions, relating his experience as a part timer at one and a Gaikokujin Kyouin at another.  As his field of view is quite narrow (i.e., until 2 years ago, zero experience in private institutions) the presenter will offer the workshop section as a time for participants to compare and contrast points of the talk with their own experience.

    国立大学法人の就職の実情

    教員の雇用は日本中の国立大学法人（以前の国立大学）において異なる方法で行われている。個々の大学内においてさえも異なる。発表者は、非常勤講師、外国人教員としての自信の経験に関連させて、２つの大学に焦点を合わせるつもりである。市立大学での勤務経験がないため、彼の視野は非常に限られているので、参加者の話の内容を自分自身の経験と比較する時間としてワークショップセケションを設けるつもりである。

    Bio: Martin E. Pauly was a professor (now Professor Emeritus) in the Research and Support Center on Higher Education for the Hearing and Visually Impaired, Tsukuba University of Technology.  He was a guide runner for blind athletes and faculty adviser of the Taichi Circle. He retired on March 31st, 2014.   He is presently teaching part time at the University of Tsukuba.

    In this next few days, I will preview our October, December, January and February meetings as well. Also, don’t forget about the Nation JALT meeting Tsuka this year. Click on the logo on the right for more info.

    I hope to see you all in September.