Dear Iwate-Aomori JALT members and other subscribers,
A message from our new president.
Jim Smiley, your new chapter president here. I’d like to introduce myself a bit in this first newsletter since taking on the role.
Firstly, I’d like to thank Mary Burkitt. She has been a powerhouse for the chapter, dedicating twenty-two years of service as Chapter President. She has guided us through thick and thin and helped us establish as a vibrant, energetic and forward-looking organisation. Thank you, Mary! Although Mary is stepping down as President, she is not stepping out. Rather, she will remain on our executive board in the role of Membership Chair. Her knowledge and extensive experience will continue to be a real asset to us as we go forward.
I’d also like to thank you, dear member, for the confidence that you have shown in me. I truly appreciate your support. My aim is to serve the chapter well as we maintain and build our chapter over the year. We organise chapter meetings (at least three per year, often held at AIINA) and the two wonderful full-day conferences: the Michinoku English Education Summit (MEES) in Hachinohe in June and the Tsugaru Ideas for Language Education Seminar (TILES) in Hirosaki in September. More details about these events will be sent to you in due course. One addition for this year is a social gathering, probably in Morioka, where we can meet and greet in a relaxed and welcoming atmosphere.
Announcements this month:
- Sunday, February 15, A Growth Mindset for Language Education – Adrian Leis
- A preview of our upcoming year – MEES Call For Presenters
- JALT2026 Call for Presentation Abstracts – Deadline, March 1
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- Sunday, February 15, A Growth Mindset for Language Education – Adrian Leis
A Growth Mindset for Language Education – Adrian Leis
February 15 @ 1:30 PM – 4:00 PM
KIOXIA AIINA 1:30pm to 4pm. Room 602.
Abstract: This presentation explores how growth mindset theory can empower learners to see ability as something that can be developed rather than fixed. Drawing on research in educational psychology and classroom-based practice, the presentation examines how beliefs about intelligence influence motivation, risk-taking, and resilience. Through interactive examples and practical activities, participants will experience how small changes in feedback, task design, and classroom culture can strengthen students’ willingness to challenge themselves. The session also invites participants to reflect on their own mindsets, both as language teachers and as language learners, highlighting the role of scaffolding, praise, and productive failure in building confidence, creativity, and long-term engagement with learning.
Bio: Adrian Leis is a professor at Tohoku Gakuin University and founder of SielpA Books. His work focuses on language-learning motivation, self-worth theory, and task-based pedagogy. He is widely published and actively involved in teacher education, textbook development, and research that bridges theory with classroom practice.
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- A preview of our upcoming year – MEES Call For Presenters
Conference Date: Saturday, June 27, 2026
Venue: Hachinohe Gakuin University – Hachinohe Art Museum Satellite Space, Hachinohe, Aomori
MEES is a friendly and supportive professional development environment that welcomes participants from all regions and language teaching practices. We encourage novice presenters and those from non-academic backgrounds.
Conference Theme:
“Practical EFL Tips, Tools, and Techniques”
We welcome any proposals with relevance to language teaching and learning for any age group within the English as a Foreign Language context. Submissions may include action research conducted inside or outside the classroom, works in progress, teaching strategies and pedagogy, pilot studies, as well as proposals for discussion sessions and workshops.
Sessions are set at 30 minutes (including questions). Please advise us on your session format: formal presentation, workshop, discussion, or demonstration. Also, if you would like more than 30 minutes, or have any other questions regarding presenting, let us know.
Abstract Submissions: Abstract must be no longer than 300 words in English, in either MS Word, Mac Pages, or PDF file.
Send all abstract submissions to: MEESjapan@gmail.com
Proposal Abstract Deadline: Monday, March 30th, 2026.
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In addition to MEES, our website has a brief outline of upcoming meetings and conferences throughout 2026. Please note that not all future events have dates or times decided upon yet. The calendar can be found here: https://iwate-aomori.jalt.org/upcoming-events/
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- JALT2026 Call for Presentation Abstracts – Deadline, March 1
Message from JALT
Abstract submissions for the JALT2026 International Conference are due on March 1st. To help you through the submission process, we’re releasing a video from our recent Abstract Writing Workshop. Increase your chances for success by watching this half-hour video. https://youtu.be/HAPxW3bXKic JALT2026 will be held in Nagoya City from Friday, November 20 to Sunday, November 22, 2026. Go here to submit.
Message from our Chapter
Our chapter has the opportunity to submit an unvetted presentation recommendation for JALT2026. This is an especially good opportunity for first-time presenters but not only for them. Anyone who is interested in taking advantage of this opportunity should contact our new Program Chair, Kathryn Akasaka via the Contact form on our Chapter website (https://iwate-aomori.jalt.org/contact/).
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Newsletter by Jason Hill Iwate-Aomori JALT Publicity Chair
Thank you for being a part of our community.
