Date and time: 14:30～, January 20th, 2024

Location: Nara University of Education and Online (Hybrid style)

Program:

14:30 Opening

14:35～15:25 Presentation 1

Enhancing Learners' Engagement through a Cross-Curricular Project

Naoki TACHIBANA (Tennoji Senior High School Attached to Osaka Kyoiku University)

Cross-curricular learning has been drawing attention recently and MEXT encourages high schools all over Japan to implement it. Research has revealed a positive relation between project-based learning and learners’ motivation and found out factors that enhance learners’ engagement. When it comes to putting all of these into practice, however, teachers may face various challenges, such as a lack of time and curriculum management. The question is how teachers can enhance learners’ engagement without a heavy burden on them. To answer this question, this presentation will outline a cross-curricular learning in an ordinary school setting. In this learning, called “Enjoy Sports Project,” the big question learners tackled was “How can everyone enjoy sports?” They arranged rules of a sport that they were doing in PE class so that no one would be left behind, and made a presentation about it in English class. The features of this cross-curricular learning can be summarized as matters related to learners, learning by experience, communication among teachers, and performance assessment. This presentation will also discuss benefits and limitations of the above practice.

15:30〜16:30 Presentation 2

Revisiting learner motivation in EFL classrooms

Katsuyuki KONNO (Ryukoku University)

Most educators and researchers widely acknowledge that motivation is a vital role in determining successful language learning. However, while various motivational models have been introduced to the field, they have posed certain challenges. One challenge is the abundance of motivational variables, despite subtle differences among them. This complexity makes it challenging for practitioners to determine which aspects to prioritize in motivating their students. Another issue is that there has been a scarce number of research on how to motivate English learners. This problem stems from different interests of researchers and practitioners in learner motivation. As a first step in addressing these challenges, this presentation explores two pivotal motivational theories, intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, and willingness to communicate (WTC), since these are highly relevant to classroom practice. Understanding the concept of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation becomes advantageous when we recognize our learners’ motivational profiles. At the same time, fostering English learners’ WTC, or their psychological readiness to initiate communication in English, is the ultimate goal of English learning and teaching because they must talk to learn (Khajavy et al., 2018). Both motivational concepts play indispensable roles in successful language learning. The purpose of this presentation is to provide an overview of these theories, highlight the previous findings, and facilitate a discussion on practical strategies for motivating learners based on these insights.

16:30 Closing

日時：2024年１月20日（土） 14時30分～

場所：奈良教育大学・オンライン（ハイブリッド開催）

内容：

14:30 開式

14:35～15:25 発表１

Enhancing Learners' Engagement through a Cross-Curricular Project

立花直樹（大阪教育大学附属高等学校天王寺校舎）

15:45～16:30 発表２

Revisiting learner motivation in EFL classrooms

今野勝幸（龍谷大学）

16:30 閉式