The 2024 Awards are for presentations given in 2024. The presenters receive their certificate (for the Michele Steele Best of JALT Award) or give their presentation (for the First Time Presenter award) at the 2025 Annual International JALT Conference. Details below.

Sachi Oshima (Chuo Gakuin University, Chiba) was awarded a Best of JALT certificate at the JALT2025 International Conference for her presentation to Fukuoka JALT on March 9 2024, titled "Peer assessment: Two Practical Examples of Students Learning by Assessing." (Left to right: Bill Pellowe, Fukuoka Publicity; Sachi Oshima; Darcy De Lint, Fukuoka President; Trevor Holster, Fukuoka Programs.)

Fess Higgins was chosen as Fukuoka Chapter's speaker under the First Time International Conference Presenters Program for his presentation on April 20, 2024, titled "Semi-Automated Multimodal Flashcard Generation."

JALT Chapters have two annual awards that are connected to the annual conference in November.

1. The Michele Steele Best of JALT Award is a program that was started to honor the speakers who make JALT events such valuable experiences. Since 2010, we have held a special reception at the JALT International Conference to celebrate the winners of this award. Each chapter and SIG can choose the way it selects a winner. In Fukuoka JALT, the officers select a winner from among the presenters the previous calendar year. We don't just choose the best from that year. If we think that the best just isn't up to the standards of Best of JALT, we will forego the award for that year. This doesn't mean that the presentations were not good. It just means they weren't spectacular enough to merit a MS BOJ award, which in JALT is like a blanket endorsement for any other chapter or SIG to book those speakers. 

2. The First Time International Conference Presenters Program (link to a PDF document)
   The purpose of this program is to encourage first time national presenters. It allows first time presenters to skip the normal vetting process. All chapters in good standing are free to participate. Furthermore, they are free to decide on their own how they will select their first time presenter. 

   • This is a program for first time presenters who have never presented at the national conference before.

   • Chapters can submit one first time presenter.

   • Chapters can choose to provide financial support to their speaker. However, if the person is a chapter core officer, the support cannot be used to pay conference fees which is prohibited by JALT Standing Rule 1.7.