Reclaiming the Title of “CALL Expert”

Reclaiming the Title of “CALL Expert”

Elizabeth Lavolette

Kyoto Sangyo University

When I moved from the US to Kyoto in 2018 to become an English professor at Kyoto Sangyo University, I gained job stability and a new home that I quickly grew to love. I did not immediately realize that I had also lost something of my identity as a CALL expert and professional development specialist. It took a global pandemic for me to reclaim this title and expertise for my own.

In this video of slides with a talking-head voiceover, I tell the story of my development as a professional, with a focus on how I have changed in the 3+ years since coming to Japan, and especially since the beginning of the pandemic. I hope that teachers will take away the following, based on my narrative: (1) When our own understandings of our identities are in flux, other people may retain understandings that do not correspond to our internal views. While this can cause misunderstandings, it can also be an opportunity to reclaim or reevaluate former understandings of ourselves. (2) Supporting others can be a means to gain belonging and connectedness.