State of the Chapter

Date: July 17th, 2020

Time: 6:45-8 pm

Location: Zoom (link will be provided to all who RSVP)

Fee: Free for all attendees

RSVP: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_0zMyAsQ7SaStTLrY1_i0AA 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/288456382589473/ 

As part of the Japan Association for Language Teaching (JALT), we are required to host an Annual General Meeting (AGM) at which we announce the election results and report on our progress. We take this event one step further by including a featured presentation, and this year we are happy to have Dr. Fiona Mauchline, a freelance teacher trainer, ELT author and short story writer based in Oxford, England. 

Screenplays for ELT: A Language Bootcamp Episode 1: From prompts to pen & paper

This workshop looks at the parts of the film-making process related to ‘finding’ ideas, planning the plot and writing the script. Screenwriting techniques provide excellent opportunities to learn and review vocab, practise scripting dialogues, focus on function, appropriacy and informal language (eg phrasal verbs), work on present tenses and description, and generally increase motivation and speaking in the classroom. It is like a language bootcamp that engages, can be part of a PBL approach, and has a tangible, ‘I’m proud of this’ product. Come along and start writing!

Speaker Bio: 

Fiona Mauchline is a freelance teacher trainer, ELT author and short story writer based in Oxford. She has particular interests in neuroscience and language-learning, cognitive development in adolescents, and story and screenplay writing, and her publications include Tales for Adventurous Girls (Penguin Readers), Dive in! (summer course, Delta Publishing) and ETpedia Vocabulary (Pavilion ELT), all published in 2019. She is also the co-founder of EVE: Equal Voices in ELT.

Date: July 5th, 2019

Time: 6pm to 9pm

Location: Rikkyo University, Ikebukuro Campus

Fee: Free for members, 1000 yen for nonmembers

At this year's State of the Chapter we are looking at labor and jobs and bringing you experts on both protecting yourself and getting jobs, so come out for that and to enjoy the free refreshments provided by our sponsor (TBA).

This event will feature announcements from the Tokyo Chapter, two short introductory presentations from the jobs and labor experts, time to mingle and enjoy the food, and two thirty-minute Q&A sessions with the experts. We believe this will be useful and enlightening. Finally, the Tokyo Chapter Chairs will be available for any questions or concerns you may have about us, so come talk to us.

Speaker Bios

Yumiko Nakajima (Executive President of National Union of General Workers, Tokyo Nambu)

Nakajima has been organizing workers, varying from full-timers to casual contracts in all sectors, since 1993 in demands for “safe workplaces free of discrimination where anyone can maintain their health and fair wage,” which is a fundamental workers’ right. 

中島由美子 (全国一般労働組合東京南部執行委員長)

労働者の権利である「安全で差別のない職場で健康に働ける仕事と適正な賃金の保障」を求めて、1993年から誰でも一人でも加入できる全国一般労働組合東京南部で働いている。

Chie Matsumoto (Journalist /activist; president of Newspaper and wire service workers’ union)

Matsumoto reports on various rights issues both in Japanese and English, while she teaches media and social issues at Hosei and Sophia universities as well as acting as a research assistant at Tokyo University. 

松元千枝 (ジャーナリスト／アクティビスト、新聞通信合同ユニオン執行委員長)

日英で社会・人権問題について報道するかたわら、法政大学と上智大学ではメディアと社会問題について講義し、東京大学では学術研究支援をつとめている。

Speakers on Jobs' details forthcoming

Date: June 29th, 2018  

Location: NYU SPS Tokyo

Fee: Free for members, 1000 yen for nonmembers

Tokyo JALT warmly invites you to our 2018 State of the Chapter. This year has been full of great successes and we are looking forward to an even bigger 2019. At our State of the Chapter events we discuss the past year's achievements and the coming year's goals. We will make some big announcements. 

This State of the Chapter will feature a presentation by the esteemed Paul Nation! Refreshments will be served. 

What are the most effective changes a teacher could make to a language course?

Abstract: This workshop describes the four most important ways of improving an English as a foreign language program. These four changes in order of importance are (1) set up a substantial extensive reading program, (2) set up a fluency development program across the four skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing, (3) organize genuine spoken communication activities, and (4) train and encourage learners to do deliberate systematic vocabulary learning using flash cards.

Each change is described and justified, showing how it helps learning, what research evidence there is for it, the strength of the effect of this change, and how to implement the change.

These changes are easy enough to make and their positive effects on language learning have been proven to be very large.

Bio: Paul Nation is Emeritus Professor of Applied Linguistics in the School of Linguistics and Applied Language Studies at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. His books on vocabulary include Teaching and Learning Vocabulary (1990) and Researching and Analysing Vocabulary (2011) (with Stuart Webb) both from Heinle Cengage Learning., His latest books on vocabulary are Learning Vocabulary in Another Language (second edition 2013) published by Cambridge University Press, Making and Using Word Lists (2016) from John Benjamins, and How Vocabulary is Learned (2017) (with Stuart Webb). Two books strongly directed towards teachers appeared in 2013 from Compass Media in Seoul –What should every ESL Teacher Know? (available free from www.compasspub.com/ESLTK) and What should every EFL Teacher Know? He is also co-author of Nation, P. and Malarcher, C. (2017) Timed Reading for Fluency. Books 1-4. Seoul: Seed Publishing. 

Tokyo JALT warmly invites you to our 2017 State of the Chapter. This year has been full of great successes and we are looking forward to an even bigger 2018. At our State of the Chapter events we discuss the past year's achievements and the coming year's goals. We will make some big announcements. The State of the Chapter will also feature two exciting guest speakers, Caroline Handley and Michael Ellis!

Designing Project-Based Learning (PBL): International Exchange Through Google Sites

Michael Ellis

Abstract: This presentation will introduce an exchange project in which Japanese and American high school students collaboratively constructed a website. Students from both schools worked in small groups to design and publish posts introducing one feature of life in their country. Each step of the project will be explained with descriptions of the students’ learning outcomes. Based on student feedback, practical advice will be offered for teachers interested in setting up similar exchange projects.

Bio: Michael Ellis is the EFL program coordinator at International Christian University High School. He is interested in teachers’ reflective practice (among many other topics), and is currently program chair of the JALT Teacher Development SIG. <maikeru.desu@gmail.com>

Getting published in JALT Publications

Caroline Handley

Abstract: This workshop will provide guidance on submitting a paper to any of the JALT Publications: The Language Teacher, JALT Journal, or the Postconference Publication. Submission guidelines will be covered. Various tips and advice for improving your chances of acceptance will also be mentioned. There will be a short question and answer session to end the workshop.

Bio: Caroline Handley is a visiting faculty member at Asia University and the Assistant Editor of The Language Teacher. She is also a content editor for the Post-conference Publication.

Meet the nominees for the 2016 Tokyo JALT board and cast your vote. Following the vote, refreshments will be served while announcements will be made regarding upcoming events, submitting applications to present at Tokyo JALT, how to publish in Tokyo JALT Journal (TJJ), how to apply for grants available exclusively to Tokyo JALT members, and general chapter news.

Following this, we will hold an hour-long introduction to professional presentations by our resident expert, Rab Paterson titled "Present like a Pro." Join us to get a taste of the upcoming events. If you are thinking of submitting an application to present at Tokyo JALT, attendance is recommended.