Events - Hamamatsu JALT

Saturday, July 21st, 2012 - 6:30 pm - 9:30 pm

posted Feb 20, 2012, 9:20 PM by Hamamatsu JALT

Standardized Language testing in Japan
Saturday, July 21st, 2012 - 6:30 pm - 9:30 pm

Edward Sarich

Standardized language testing is ubiquitous in Japan. Inexpensive and easily mass distributed, their use has been encouraged at every level of the education system. Over the past thirty years, external testing agencies have been increasingly relied upon to make standardized tests for use as benchmarks in the education system and in the private sector. However, while great trust has been placed in these agencies that create these tests, many of them operate with very little supervision. The presentation will review the practices of some of the commonly used external testing agencies in Japan and discuss how greater accountability from these agencies might not only improve test validity, but make them more useful for score users and test takers.

Edward Sarich has been working in the field of language education for more than 15 years. He taught junior and senior high school for 7 years in Hamamatsu Japan. While completing an MA in Applied Linguistics from the University of Birmingham, in 2010, Edward began working as a language instructor at Shizuoka University. He is interested in all issues concerning language pedagogy in Japan, particularly regarding language planning policy, standardized testing, evaluation, and communicative language teaching.

| Attachments: July2012 JALT.pdf

Sunday, June 10th 1:30 pm - 4:30 pm

posted Feb 20, 2012, 9:19 PM by Hamamatsu JALT

Encouraging learner autonomy through peer feedback in the writing classroom
Sunday, June 10th 1:30 pm - 4:30 pm

Jennie Roloff Rothman - Sponsored by Yokohama Chapter

Peer feedback is crucial for managing group dynamics, empowering effective writing and developing learner autonomy. By reflecting on the writing process and peer work, learners can improve their own writing skills while supporting that same development in their classmates. This support helps create a safe, mutually beneficial environment-a community of writers-where learning can flourish. This workshop introduces tools for fostering autonomy in writing and participants will have the opportunity to evaluate them in discussions. The workshop will conclude with participants reflecting on the applicability of the materials to their own contexts and sharing their own ideas for promoting peer feedback in the writing classroom.

Jennie Roloff Rothman received her MA in TESOL at Teachers College Columbia University, Japan campus. There she co-founded and still currently manages the TC Japan Writing Center. She is currently a senior lecturer in the English Language Institute at Kanda University of International Studies in Chiba, Japan. Her current teaching and research interests include writing, writing centers, use of peer feedback, learner autonomy and materials development.

| Attachments: June2012 JALT.pdf

Sunday April 15th, 1:30 pm - 4:30 pm

posted Feb 18, 2012, 12:22 AM by Hamamatsu JALT

The Dejima-zation of English
Sunday April 15th, 1:30 pm - 4:30 pm - PDF Available here!

Albert McCann

This presentation will be an interactive examination of the obstacles to learn to speak English in Japan. The presenter will go over some historical and philosophical reasons for this. The intention of this session is for all of us to share our stories and to realize what we work against. That is, a slowly changing education system and a deap seated resistance to foreign culture and influence. We will work together to find some solutions to the reality we all face as teachers.

Albert McCann has been an English teacher in Japan for the past seven years. He has worked in both junior and senior high schools, public and private. Currently, he teaches solo in the Inuyama NET Program and has the daily challenge to motivate young students to communicate in English.

| Attachments: April2012 JALT.pdf

Sunday, March 11th, 2012 - 1:30 pm - 4:30 pm

posted Feb 18, 2012, 12:12 AM by Hamamatsu JALT

A Look at English language learning throughout the Japanese school system”: Open forum discussion.
Sunday, March 11th, 2012 - 1:30 pm - 4:30 pm PDF Available here!

Darryl Mellows, Dan Frost, Eri Genma, Gregg McNabb - Moderated by Adam Jenkins

Four speakers will introduce their perspectives on EFL issues in the Japanese school system followed immediately by open, moderated discussion. Audience participation is most definitely encouraged. Topics will progress according to school-age group (i.e. children, Jr. high school, high school, university). Each topic will be allotted 30-40 minutes for presentation and discusssion.

Darryl Mellows - "Realistic goals for teaching children" Students at the elementary age are largely being failed by the low expectations being placed on them compounded by the poor curriculum provided by MEXT. Obscene amounts of time and resources have been allocated to “expose”, almost exclusively, grade 5 and 6 students to the English language. I believe a new and much more challenging mindset must be adopted in the approach to teaching young learners in order to effectively utilize the technology and resources being provided. QUESTIONS TO BE DISCUSSED - What should we expect for children's English abilities? Have the new policies for English at Elementary schools effective? What realistic goals should we set for our students?

Dan Frost – “In Japanese junior high schools, how important is grammar for learning English?” The traditional roles are for the Japanese teacher (JT) to teach grammar, and the native-English speaking teacher (NT) to focus on oral communication. However, in recent years JTs in junior high school are trying to use the communicative method of teaching with less explicit emphasis on grammar. This discussion will look at how JTs and NTs might work together in teaching both communication and grammar. QUESTIONS TO BE DISCUSSED – To what extent should grammar be taught implicitly or explicitly? Should there be a division of roles for NTs and JTs?

Eri Genma - "What's Yakudoku and why is it so popular for Japanese teachers?" Yakudoku is a translation method that focuses heavily on the specific rules of English grammar, directly translating words and phrases from English into the student's native language using vocabulary lists and rote memorization. In this method, the written literary English is more important than spoken English, with reading and writing taking top priority, and with accuracy in grammar taking precedent over fluency. QUESTIONS TO BE DISCUSSED - What are the strengths vs. weaknesses of this method? Does "yakudoku" need to be revisited?

Gregg McNabb - "English for University - The divide between students' needs, instructors' beliefs and students' expectations.” This topic will be a brief examination of the current status and outlook for Japanese universities. QUESTIONS TO BE DISCUSSED - Is the central entrance examination system really so awful? Concerning changes in the schedule, good for some, unnecessary for most?

Saturday, July 21st, 2012 - 6:30 pm - 9:30 pm

posted Feb 6, 2012, 12:36 AM by Hamamatsu JALT

Standardized Language testing in Japan

Edward Sarich

Standardized language testing is ubiquitous in Japan. Inexpensive and easily mass distributed, their use has been encouraged at every level of the education system. Over the past thirty years, external testing agencies have been increasingly relied upon to make standardized tests for use as benchmarks in the education system and in the private sector. However, while great trust has been placed in these agencies that create these tests, many of them operate with very little supervision. The presentation will review the practices of some of the commonly used external testing agencies in Japan and discuss how greater accountability from these agencies might not only improve test validity, but make them more useful for score users and test takers.

Edward Sarich has been working in the field of language education for more than 15 years. He taught junior and senior high school for 7 years in Hamamatsu Japan. While completing an MA in Applied Linguistics from the University of Birmingham, in 2010, Edward began working as a language instructor at Shizuoka University. He is interested in all issues concerning language pedagogy in Japan, particularly regarding language planning policy, standardized testing, evaluation, and communicative language teaching.

Sunday, June 10th 1:30 pm - 4:30 pm

posted Feb 6, 2012, 12:30 AM by Hamamatsu JALT [ updated Feb 6, 2012, 12:40 AM ]

Encouraging learner autonomy through peer feedback in the writing classroom

Jennie Roloff Rothman - Sponsored by: JALT Yokohama Chapter

Peer feedback is crucial for managing group dynamics, empowering effective writing and developing learner autonomy. By reflecting on the writing process and peer work, learners can improve their own writing skills while supporting that same development in their classmates. This support helps create a safe, mutually beneficial environment-a community of writers-where learning can flourish. This workshop introduces tools for fostering autonomy in writing and participants will have the opportunity to evaluate them in discussions. The workshop will conclude with participants reflecting on the applicability of the materials to their own contexts and sharing their own ideas for promoting peer feedback in the writing classroom.

Jennie Roloff Rothman received her MA in TESOL at Teachers College Columbia University, Japan campus. There she co-founded and still currently manages the TC Japan Writing Center. She is currently a senior lecturer in the English Language Institute at Kanda University of International Studies in Chiba, Japan. Her current teaching and research interests include writing, writing centers, use of peer feedback, learner autonomy and materials development.

Saturday, February 18th, 2012 - 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm

posted Jan 10, 2012, 11:33 PM by Hamamatsu JALT [ updated Jan 11, 2012, 12:29 AM ]

Improvisational Psychodrama (即興心理劇)

Peter Ross

Psychodrama is a therapeutic technique conceived and developed by Jacob L. Moreno, MD. Using experiential guided drama techniques, psychodrama provides a safe, supportive environment in which participants can practice new roles, language and behaviors, thus facilitating insight, personal growth, and integration.

There is no single, rigid pattern to the psychodrama process. However, the cycle can be divided roughly into three phases. The first involves warming up, selecting protagonists and antagonists and setting the scene. The second phase consists of an inprovisational roleplay. In the third phase, the participants reflect on their work, and relate it to their own, everyday lives.

This workshop will demonstrate applications of the psychodrama cycle to the language classroom, incorporating the Japanese concepts of 'tatemae' and 'honne'.

Peter Ross is an associate professor at Tokyo Keizai University. His interests include feedback in the classroom, the Silent Way, NLP, Ericksonian Hypnosis and teaching grammar through images.

Presentation sponsored by West-Tokyo Chapter

| Attachments: feb2012.pdf

January 21st, 2012 - Using Video Materials to Facilitate Students’ Creative Thinking and Improve Their English Skills.

posted Jan 10, 2012, 11:23 PM by Hamamatsu JALT [ updated Feb 6, 2012, 5:45 PM ]

Using Video Materials to Facilitate Students’ Creative Thinking and Improve Their English Skills.

Bogdan Pavliy

During this presentation I will discuss the ways to facilitate students’ creative thinking and improve their English skills with the help of some video material (short clips from the Internet). It is always difficult to engage students in any language leaning activities if they consider them too difficult, dull or unrealistic. I will present some practical ideas on how to make our lessons more interesting to the learners with poor command of English. One of the methods to motivate such students is to give them reasonable tasks that finally have to be fulfilled in English, while allowing them to communicate using their native language during the activity. The primary goal of each activity is to help students feel relaxed and enjoy their English lessons. There should be also said that if we want our students to enjoy their activities, we have to enjoy them ourselves.

Biography

Born in Kiev, Ukraine. Native languages: Ukrainian and Russian. Started to study English in elementary school. In 1993 temporarily studied in Webutuck High School, Amenia, New York. In 1995 entered Kiev National Linguistic University, Ukraine (majors: Japanese/English linguistics, translating/interpreting). In 1999-2000 studied in Nagoya University as a Monbusho Scholarship student. Graduated from Kiev National Linguistic University in 2002. Working in Japan since 2003. 2003-2006 Taught English at Meisei Academy (juku), English Center Hamamatsu and some other language schools

2006-2011. Full-time English lecturer at Shizuoka Institute of Science and Technology. April 2011-present. Full-time English lecturer and academic adviser at Toyama University of International Studies.

| Attachments: jan2012.pdf