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From the ELT Calendar

Upcoming ELT Events in Osaka

TBD; the conference call for presentation proposals closes March 15, 2025
Sun. April 27, 9:30-18:00
(Osaka Chapter of the Japan Association for Language Teaching)

Events from ELT Calendar

Upcoming ELT Events in Kyoto

There are no events in the immediate future. Click here to find the next events.

Events from ELT Calendar

Upcoming ELT Events in Hyogo

Miso Kim (Osaka University)
Sat. April 19, 14:00-17:00 in Kobe city
(Kobe Chapter of the Japan Association for Language Teaching)

Events from ELT Calendar

Upcoming ELT Events in Nara

There are no events in the immediate future. Click here to find the next events.

 

Osaka JALT Journal Vol. 11 is out!
If you are looking for a job or an employer, please visit the JALT Jobs Forum.

Entries in Events (20)

Friday
Feb232024

March 30 - SIETAR Kansai presents: Women's Mini Film Festival, co-sponsored with Osaka & Nara JALT

March is Women’s History Month, so in celebration:

Women Filmmakers: Past, Present, and Future
Sat, March 30, 2:00 - 5:00 pm

Language: English
Venue: Nishinomiya Daigaku Koryu Center (ACTA East Tower 6F Room 1)
2 minutes from Hankyu Nishinomiya Kitaguchi station
Social event (optional): Dinner after the session at a nearby restaurant
Reservations are required by March 27 (Wed).
Contact: fujimotodonna@gmail.com

The Film Festival presenters:

PAST: Tamarah Cohen taught English at the university level and made several thought-provoking films as well as transforming hundreds of student presentations into interactional video-based teaching material. She retired early to devote herself 100% to her cat sanctuary in Kyoto. (Tamarah won't be present for the event, but Donna Fujimoto will show some of Tamarah's former students' videos.)

PRESENT: Felicity Tillack is an Australian writer and filmmaker who has made several feature and short films based in Japan. She has an active YouTube channel, Instagram, and TikTok series–all of which explore Japan and its culture. Her debut 2019 film “Impossible to Imagine,” a romantic film dealing with identity and bicultural issues, is streaming on Amazon Prime. Those without Prime can watch the film on Vimeo (rent or buy). Please watch this before the event due to time constraints. 

FUTURE: Seunghyun Lee, is a designer and videographer from Seoul who has recently made a short feminist-leaning video based on a Korean legend. She is currently working on using video to bring to life the oil painting and personal records of Jang-Mi, an up-and-coming artist, who is painfully aware of Korean society’s anti-women currents. This collaboration is new and innovative, and it promises to open interesting perspectives in the world of art and film.

Tuesday
Sep262023

Promoting Critical Multiculturalism in the Japanese EFL Classroom: Conceptualization, Design, and Delivery

Sunday, October 8, 2023 - 2:00pm to 5:00pm

In an era of social justice and racial reckoning, teachers have been increasingly addressing topics related to race/racism, ethnicity, and identity. However, some may consider tackling such issues as daunting, complex, and too controversial to broach in Japanese EFL settings. This may be due to not only vague student background knowledge but also teacher uncertainty with respect to course design and implementation. This workshop will demonstrate how Kubota's (2012) basic concepts of critical multiculturalism can be applied to design a university CLIL course. Activities from the course will be simulated, and discussions that reflect on those activities will be facilitated. Any questions or concerns about best practices when it comes to the promotion of diversity, intercultural awareness, and inclusion in ELT course creation will be addressed.

Gregory Paul Glasgow is an Associate Professor in the Department of English at Kanda University of International Studies. He is a critical applied linguist who draws on social theory to examine the politics of Global English(es) in language teaching in contemporary society. Most specifically, he is interested in issues of language, race, and identity as they relate to the implementation of English language education policy and pedagogical practice. Glasgow holds a Ph.D. in Applied Linguistics from the University of Queensland in Australia and previously served as an English Language Specialist for the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo.

ZOOM Online presentation *registration required*
Contact: fujimotodonna@gmail.com to get the Zoom link; and with any questions.
This event is co-sponsored with SIETAR-Kansai.

Tuesday
Jul042023

Summer social by the river, in Minoh park

Come join us in Minoh Park by (and in) the river to cool down, connect with old and new friends, and help wind down the semester while helping raise awareness of and some funds for a good cause. We'll have some refreshments to share, but please bring a bento if you like, snacks, beverages, and a rubber duck if you have one and would like to participate in the rubber duck race! (Rubber ducks can be found at Daiso and other stores.) It's 100 yen to sponsor a duck, or pitch in whatever you like, with all proceeds going to support Kodomo Shokudo, a volunteer group that provides free or reduced-priced meals for underprivileged children in Minoh and throughout Japan.

Meet at Minoh station at 2:00, or join us on the east bank of the river about halfway to the falls whenever you can, for as long or as short a time as you like as you enjoy all that the park has to offer. All are welcome, and the more the merrier!

If you miss the group get-together at 2pm, simply come up the walkway towards the waterfall. Walk past the Insect Museum and after walking under the red bridge at Ryoanji Temple you will see Yamamoto Coffee shop on your right. Go down the slope towards it, cross the rustic bridge looking at the "Monsoon Cafe" blue tarp, take a left, and keep walking along the river until you find us near the next bridge and public bathroom.

RSVP here to give us an idea of how many to expect, and to get emails of updated and more detailed information.

Sunday
May082022

Osaka JALT Back to School 2022

Sunday, May 15, 2022 - 9:30am to 9:30pm

Back to School 2022 is Osaka JALT’s 12th annual spring conference aiming to share ideas on a wide range of topics related to language teaching and learning to help everyone in the new academic year. This year's conference will again be online, which, as in the past two years, has the benefit of allowing us to welcome presenters and participants from all around the world. To get a sense of what to expect, and to see some of what you might have missed last year, please see the schedule and some of the recorded sessions from last year's conference and the presenters' bios and abstracts.

 

Please click here to view the abstracts for the conference presentations.


Here is the schedule for the Back to School Conference, please click on the presentation names to watch the videos.

 

9:30

Coffee Time & Welcome


30min

10:00


10:00

Bob Sanderson

Welcome and Steve Cornwell tribute

15 min

10:15


10:15

Jennifer Yphantides

A grassroots effort to help Ukrainian refugees learn English

15 min

10:30


10:30

Lori Zenuk-Nishide

Model United Nations: Building English as a lingua franca and 21st century learning skills

25min

11:00


11:00

Paschal Orjika

Self-directed learning in the university classroom

25min

11:30


11:30

John Carle

How to create a digital workbook

25min

12:00


12:00


Breakout Rooms

30min

12:30


12:30

Lunch


30min

13:00


13:00

Wade Muncil

Starting a startup from the start

25min

13:30


13:30

Eucharia Donnery

The International Virtual Exchange (IVE) Project: Meeting low-level EFL learner needs

25min

14:00


14:00

Terry Tuttle

A how-to video activity sequence for Japanese high school EFL students

25min

14:30


14:30


Breakout rooms

30min

15:00


15:00

Paul Goldberg

Xreading: What’s new and what’s next

25min

15:30


15:30

Paul Mathieson & Claire Murray

The AWL Readers: An Academic Vocabulary Story

25min

16:00


16:00

Thomas Boutorwick

ESL Speed Readings, the free mobile app

25min

16:30


16:30


Breakout rooms

30min

17:00


17:00

Zoe Barber

(Un)willing to communicate?: Incorporating different modes of participation in the classroom

25min

17:30

PPT

17:30

Anthony Walsh

A step-by-step guide for speech contests

15min

17:45


17:45

Elizabeth Leigh

A tour of the “Zero-waste” town of Kamikatsu, Tokushima prefecture

15min

18:00


18:00


Breakout Rooms

30min

18:30


18:30


Dinner Break / Social


19:00


19:00

Eric Martin & Robert Kerrigan

Presentation and evaluation of an Extensive Listening program using Xreading

25min

19:30


19:30

Michael Herke

From the known to the new: Everyday creative arguments for language learning

25min

20:00


20:00

Matthew Wiegand

Re-evaluating expectations of camera use in online language classes

15min

20:15


20:15

Mehrasa Alizadeh

Professional development and distance learning with Gather.Town: A preliminary report

15min

20:30


20:30

Catriona Takeuchi

& Bob Sanderson

Reflections on the day, more Steve Cornwell stories, & cocktail social

60min

21:30


Jennifer Yphantides – A grassroots effort to help Ukrainian refugees learn English

Jennifer Yphantides is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Liberal Arts at Soka University in Tokyo.


Lori Zenuk-Nishide – Model United Nations: Building English as a lingua franca and 21st century learning skills

Lori Zenuk-Nishide is the Director of Model United Nations Programs at Kobe City University of Foreign Studies. She has taken delegations to over 60 conferences, and co-founded a high school and university conference since 1990.


Paschal Orjika – Self-directed learning in the university classroom

Paschal Orjika, is a graduate of Nanzan University, and currently teaches at Maple English School. He holds both a Bachelor's and a Master's degree. His area of specialization is self-directed learning, human resource development and adult education.


John Carle – How to create a digital workbook

John Carle is the author of The English Gym series, written under the pen name, Jon Charles. His books have been used at over twenty universities and language schools in Japan.


Wade Muncil – Starting a startup from the start

Wade Muncil holds a Master of Arts in Teaching from the School for International Training and is presently teaching at Osaka Jogakuin University/College after spending nine years teaching in the Western Region of The United Arab Emirates. His interests are hiking, documenting and preserving the great cultures of our planet, and promoting service learning.


Eucharia Donnery – The International Virtual Exchange (IVE) Project: Meeting low-level EFL learner needs

Eucharia Donnery works as a coordinator of communicative English at the World Language Center, Soka University, Tokyo.


Terry Tuttle – A how-to video activity sequence for Japanese high school EFL students

Terry R. Tuttle is an ALT for Higashiosaka City, an Osaka JALT Member-at-Large, and a GALE SIG Co-Coordinator. He is pursuing a M.S.Ed degree with a concentration in TESOL at Temple University, Japan Campus.


Paul Goldberg – Xreading: What’s new and what’s next

Paul Goldberg has taught English for over 20 years, and is the founder of the online system, Xreading, which he developed to make extensive reading more accessible for students and easier for teachers to manage.


Paul Mathieson & Claire Murray – The AWL Readers: An Academic Vocabulary Story

Paul Mathieson is an associate professor at Nara Medical University, where he teaches medical students and nursing students. He is also a PhD candidate at Kyoto University.

Claire Murray has an MA in Applied Linguistics from the University of Birmingham, UK. She is currently an ESP lecturer at Nara Medical University.    


Thomas Boutorwick – ESL Speed Readings, the free mobile app

Thomas (TJ) Boutorwick received his PhD in Applied Linguistics from Victoria University of Wellington in 2017. His research focuses on vocabulary development through reading. He also develops educational software and currently resides in Hiroshima.


Zoe Barber – (Un)willing to communicate?: Incorporating different modes of participation in the classroom

Zoe Barber is from Australia and has taught English at various educational levels in Japan for 10 years. She is a graduate of the Queensland University of Technology and currently teaches at Konan University. 


Anthony Walsh – A step-by-step guide for speech contests

Anthony Walsh is from Melbourne, is a graduate of University of Southern Queensland and currently teaches at the University of Fukuchiyama. He is trying to stay healthy by learning to cook various dishes.


Elizabeth Leigh – A tour of the “Zero-waste” town of Kamikatsu, Tokushima prefecture

Elizabeth Leigh is from the UK, is a graduate of Manchester University, and is currently a Tokunin teacher at Osaka Metropolitan University. Her interests include hiking, swimming and scuba diving, as well as environmental issues.


Eric Martin & Robert Kerrigan – Presentation and evaluation of an Extensive Listening program using Xreading

Eric Shepherd Martin teaches at Momoyama Gakuin University and is a candidate for a Ph.D. in applied linguistics from Temple University. He can be reached at ericshepherdmartin@gmail.com.

Robert Kerrigan teaches at Shitennoji University and is pursuing a Ph.D. in applied linguistics from Temple University. He can be reached at kerrigan@shitennoji.ac.jp.

 

Michael Herke – From the known to the new: Everyday creative arguments for language learning

Michael Herke has been living in Kansai for over 20 years. He has taught in public and private institutions in Canada and Japan. He works in the Faculty of International Studies at Setsunan University in Osaka.


Matthew Wiegand – Re-evaluating expectations of camera use in online language classes

Matthew Wiegand: BA Cultural Anthropology, UC Santa Cruz, Global Japanese Studies, Meiji University. MA candidate at Waseda GSICCS. Teacher at University of Tsukuba Attached High School at Komaba, Sundai College of Business and Foreign Languages


Mehrasa Alizadeh – Professional development and distance learning with Gather.Town: A preliminary report

Mehrasa Alizadeh is an assistant professor at the International Professional University of Technology in Osaka, where she teaches EFL courses. Mehrasa's research interests include blended, mobile and immersive learning in second language education.

Sunday
Apr242022

April 2022 SIETAR Kansai 

Osaka JALT is proud to co-sponser, along with JALT Osaka, Kyoto, Nara, Kobe:

April 2022 SIETAR Kansai: 

Biased Teaching, Biased Language, Marginalized Students

Speaker: Masaki C. Matsumoto (writer, speaker, YouTuber)

Date:   April 24, 2022 (Sunday)

Time:   14:00-17:00

Fee:     Free for all

Language: English (Q & A in English and Japanese)

ZOOM Online presentation *registration required*

Contact: fujimotodonna@gmail.com to get the Zoom link; for any questions.

Description: Students who come from minority backgrounds face obstacles that teachers, classmates and administrators may not be aware of. Subtle and not-so-subtle biases exist, and it is important to not only raise our awareness, but to also actively work on ways to combat any resulting negative effects. Biases exist not only in the ways that educators teach, but also in how language itself operates within the confines of social and cultural landscapes. The speaker will share examples of biased teaching and of biased language where students may feel ignored, left out, or forced to silence themselves in the classroom—and in some cases, they may even feel compelled to quit learning altogether. Be prepared to have your eyes opened!

Presenter:

Masaki C. Matsumoto is originally from Tochigi prefecture and currently lives in Gunma prefecture, where he blogs, produces YouTubes and podcasts, while lecturing on topics that draw attention to issues that dispute heteropatriarchy—in particular, these include the LGBT movement, the history of social discourse on sexual desires, and the rights and dignity of sex workers.

For details, see https://medium.com/@MasakiCM 

ja.gimmeaqueereye.org