Osaka JALT Journal Vol. 10 is out!
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We are pleased to welcome you to Osaka Jogakuin University for the 2024 Back to School Conference.
Registration will begin at 9:30 on the second floor.
Please refer to the schedule below for the room numbers and presentation contents:
Presentation Abstracts and Presenter Bios can be found here.
2024, Back to school, Conference, OJU, Osaka 
Back to School 2024 is Osaka JALT’s 14th 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 in person at Osaka Jogakuin University, near Tamatsukuri station on the JR Loop Line and Nagahori Tsurumi-Ryokuchi Metro line. It will also again be an Open Campus day at OJU, so there will be additional presentations on Phonetics and Korean that participants in the conference can attend as well.
Click here to PRE-REGISTER. It's not required, but it will help us have a better idea of how many to expect and will help expedite things at the conference registration desk.
Everyone who attends the conference is required to agree to JALT's Code of Conduct.
Registration opens at 9:30am, and the first presentations begin at 10am.
We will conclude at around 5:30pm.
Click here to see the tentative SCHEDULE for the day. To make the most of our limited time together, we strongly encourage everyone to bring a bento lunch that can be eaten at the outdoor picnic tables, weather permitting, or in the cafeteria, or in any classroom other than Room 209 (the amphitheater).
Click here to read more about the PRESENTERS and their PRESENTATIONS. There will also be displays by Pearson, the General Union, and JALT's Materials Writers SIG.
We look forward to seeing you at OJU on Sunday, April 28th for what is sure to be another great day of learning and networking!
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Sunday, April 14, 2024 - 12:30pm to 4:30pm
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Come join us for some friendly peer-, near-peer-, and community mentoring and networking at our annual hanami social in Osakajokoen (Osaka Castle Park)! It's FREE and open to everyone, so please bring family, friends, colleagues, students, pets, and acquaintances, or come alone if you prefer. All are welcome! Look for our blue JALT banner on the south side of the park, due south of the castle (and south of the south moat), and directly north of the NTT Building and to the west of the bus parking area. It's a short easy walk from Morinomiya or Tanimachiyonchome metro stations or JR Loop Line. We'll have plastic sheets to sit on and a few snacks to share, so stop by with a beverage and possibly more food to share, and maybe an additional sheet to sit on to be sure we have plenty of room to stretch out. Most importantly, be sure to bring a happy vibe to celebrate the cherry blossoms, the coming of spring, and the start of the new academic year!
Please stop by whenever you can for as long or as short as you like. We look forward to seeing you!
In case of rain, this event may be canceled, so please check back closer to the date to be sure it's on. Fingers crossed for good weather!!
Back to School 2024 is Osaka JALT’s 14th 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 in person at Osaka Jogakuin University, near Tamatsukuri station on the JR Loop Line and Nagahori Tsurumi-Ryokuchi Metro line. It will also again be an Open Campus day at OJU, so there will be additional presentations, more students, parents, and high school teachers on campus than otherwise.
The Call for Presentations is now closed. There will be about 50 presentations, and all details including the schedule will be published soon.
Please mark your calendar and plan to join us at OJU on Sunday, April 28th for what is sure to be another great day of learning and networking! To get a better sense of what to expect, please have a look at last year's conference details, here. and the block schedule here.
Back to School 2024 Abstracts & Presenter Biographies
Zoe Barber - Navigating Face-Threatening Acts: Implications for Pedagogy in EFL Education
It is important that learners don’t speak to the same people on every occasion and that they understand ways in which to look for new partners, initiate interaction, enter an ongoing group and so on. I will describe ways in which learners can avoid ‘talk to your partner’ and ‘find someone who’ being the default participation frameworks for every speaking activity.
Zoe Barber is from Australia. She graduated from Queensland University of Technology and specializes in special and additional educational needs and diversity in education. She currently teaches at several universities in the Kansai area.
Jason Beaton - Using the lyricstraining mobile application to foster motivation and build communicative activities in the classroom.
Practitioners can attest, smartphones have become ubiquitous in the classroom. The purpose of this presentation is to evaluate some pedagogical applications of the lyricstraining app for use with students on their smartphones and to see how they fit with theories of teaching, learning and language acquisition. By allowing learners choice in songs and activities, as well as the chance to use their phones, it is possible to foster motivation and engagement in the learning process.
Jason Beaton is a Canadian graduate of the University of Portsmouth in England, and currently teaches at Kansai University of International Studies.
Victoria-H. Bergstrom - News Flash: Actively Engaging English Language Media in the Classroom
Media literacy has become an indispensable component of 21st-century skills for English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners. Developing and integrating a curriculum for Senior High School students enhances students' language proficiency and enables them to analyze media independently. Participants will learn how to reassert English as an international language for instructive purposes while working on student success in both academic and professional abilities. All levels of students and proficiencies will be addressed.
Victoria-H. Bergstrom is a graduate student in Providence College's MA Global Education & TESOL program. She is from the U.S. and currently teaches at a senior high school in Kyoto Prefecture.
Paula Key Bobadilla - The Role of Learner-to-Learner Interaction in Japanese High School Students’ Intercultural Understanding
In the teaching of second language learners in Japan, promoting learner-to-learner interaction is important to facilitate self-expression and generate diverse perspectives in a cross-cultural context. This can help students who struggle to come up with original ideas and overcome the challenge of conforming to the group's perspective during discussions.
Paula Key Bobadilla is an MA TESOL candidate at Nagoya University of Foreign Studies. She is currently teaching English at Doho High School in Aichi Prefecture. Her research interests are communicative competence and intercultural communication.
Oliver Cakebread-Andrews - Developing students' digital and internet literacy skills
This poster presentation will demonstrate how digital literacy can be effectively taught to students in semester-long course. The course particularly focuses on navigating social media in English, how to spot fake and misleading news, and a small-scale corpus study.
Oliver Cakebread-Andrews is currently a doctoral student at the University of Wolverhampton studying Computational Linguistics. He is also an Associate Lecturer of English at Kwansei Gakuin University.
John Campbell-Larsen - Pairwork, group work, mixers: Organizing participation frameworks in classroom activities
It is important that learners don’t speak to the same people on every occasion and that they understand ways in which to look for new partners, initiate interaction, enter an ongoing group and so on. I will describe ways in which learners can avoid ‘talk to your partner’ and ‘find someone who’ being the default participation frameworks for every speaking activity.
John Campbell-Larsen is from the UK and is professor in the department of English Studies at Kyoto Women’s University. He is interested in pragmatics, conversation analysis and cognitive linguistics.
John Carle - Creating a positive classroom community through materials
This presentation will offer practical advice for educators who aim to create a more positive classroom culture by creating and adapting educational materials to suit the needs of their students. When students engage in collaborative tasks, it promotes a team-oriented environment. This approach boosts motivation, interest, confidence, responsibility, and social skills. The presenter will provide specific examples of pair-work and group activities tailored for university students in Japan.
John Carle - A visual guide to creating a positive classroom community through materials
This poster will offer practical advice for educators who aim to create a more positive classroom culture by creating and adapting educational materials to suit the needs of their students. When students engage in collaborative tasks, it promotes a team-oriented environment. This approach boosts motivation, interest, confidence, responsibility, and social skills. The presenter will provide specific examples of pair-work and group activities tailored for university students in Japan.
John Carle is the author of The English Gym series, written under the name Jon Charles. He owns Oak Hills Press, which helps independent writers publish. He’s the current president of JALT’s Materials Writers SIG.
Gordon Carlson - Leveraging Student Perceptions: A Self-Capability Analysis in English Language Education
This presentation explores the transformative potential of pre- and end-of-unit mini-surveys for assessing language learners' perceptions of progress. Unlike traditional metrics, these surveys yield quantitative insights, exposing strengths and weaknesses to inform more focused teaching methods. They ensure alignment with pedagogical goals for each unit, preventing oversight influenced by teachers' preferences or time constraints. The findings underscore the importance of understanding students' perceptions, inspiring the development of refined, learner-centered approaches in teaching and evaluation.
Gordon Carlson, based in Hyogo, is a Nova Southeastern University graduate and affiliated with Otemae University. His research spans language acquisition, service learning, teacher development, CLIL, COIL, ethics in human subjects research, and language retention through interactive activities.
David Chen - Motivating students through task and material choices
In this presentation, the influence of task and material characteristics will be discussed, each which enables a teacher to develop learner motivation. Particular tasks and materials will be shown within the context of a university class.
David Chen is from Vancouver, BC, is a graduate of the Temple TEFL Master's program in Osaka, and currently teaches at Osaka Metropolitan University.
Daniel Chesmore - Using Narrative Learning and Ludic Pedagogy in the classroom
This presentation will look at how we are can apply Narrative Learning and Ludic Language Pedagogy to lessons primarily at the Elementary and Junior High school level. I will define the terms we shall use and the place that each of these practices have within the classroom. Following this I will show three examples of how these theories can be applied in the classroom.
Daniel Chesmore is from the UK, is a graduate of Gloucester University, and currently teaches at a public junior high and elementary school in Yao. He is interested in using storytelling games in language learning.
Conan Chi - Some issues in denying adjunct instructors employee status: from a tort perspective
In a chain of recent decisions, Japanese courts have established that how a business functions is not of prime concern when deciding whether an individual qualifies as a legal employee under the Labor Standards Act. This presentation will examine the impacts from a tort perspective. Specifically, I will outline how the courts distinguished adjunct university instructors from language school and cram school instructors, and analyze some liabilities that a university may face as an employer.
Conan Chi teaches part-time at several universities. He is enthusiastic about language and rhetoric, and focuses on critical thinking in his discussion classes. Recently, he has been trying to implement TBLT in his classes.
Peter Chu - Teachers vs students: Who does presentation feedback better (according to students)?
The time and energy teachers spend preparing students for presentations and giving feedback can at times seem like a fruitless endeavor, but teachers need not toil alone. Given encouragement and guidance, the students themselves can be rallied or employed to aid in the process of giving feedback. In a study involving instruction, practice, and peer feedback of presentations over two years, it was found that students find peer and teacher feedback to be equally beneficial.
Peter Chu is a Canadian currently teaching at Kansai University. He has been investigating how presentations, and especially presentation feedback, can be handled to better serve all involved.
Carl Eldridge - Grammar without rules. Teaching grammar in context through images
A big part of language teaching is helping students understand and form sentences. Grammar. But grammar doesn’t have to be about rules. As children, we learned to make sentences long before we’d heard of “the rules”. This presentation introduces a visual language of core meanings that are relatable, easy to understand, and apply to any context the grammar is used. Students gain confidence because there are no exceptions, and images make it easy.
Carl Eldridge is the author of Real Grammar: Understand English. Clear and simple. and Vision Quest Real-Life English Grammar. He currently teaches at Osaka Sangyo University and Hagoromo University of International Studies.
Paul Goldberg - COIL + ER: A combination for success
Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL), which allows students to communicate with peers around the world, can be highly motivating. However, programs often suffer from a lack of content to foster engaging discussions. Extensive Reading (ER) provides students with input, but many students lack motivation to read. Combining the two, a COIL program in which each week students read about a different aspect of their partner’s country and prepare questions can result in more engaging interaction.
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.
Philip Head and Noriko Yamane - Comparing listener perceptions of male and female speech comprehensibility: A qualitative analysis
Fairness in speech evaluation is important, but all humans have biases. In this mixed-methods study, 200 raters (70 male, 130 female) responded to the statement “Men and women are equally easy to understand when speaking a second language”. While 67% reported no difference, 28% responded women were easier to understand, compared to 5% for men. Written reasons given for percieved gender differences in comprehensibility were coded and their implications for speech assessment will be discussed.
Philip Heads is a lecturer at Osaka Jogakuin University and a doctoral student at Hiroshima University. His current research focuses on the effect of listener background on English L2 speech ratings.
Noriko Yamane is an associate professor at the Hiroshima University Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences. Her research interests include phonetics and the effects of ultrasound visual feedback on phonology learning.
Chris Howe - Fun with flash cards that keeps focus on the target language.
Problem: Too often children’s English lessons are book centered traditional didactic teaching. Games are added to have fun but often don’t relate to the language being taught. Solution: Simple FC games and activities that are fun while simultaneously being your presentation and practice. There is no need for unrelated games when your presentation and practice are fun from the start.
Chris Howe has taught a variety of children’s programs at ECC and private kindergartens. Over years of finding ways to compensate for problems and deficiencies, he developed his own kindergarten/early elementary program.
Miyuki Izuo - The Impact of Collaborative Online International Learning on the Beginner-Level Learners
The presentation illustrates the learning outcomes of Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) on Japanese high school students at the beginner level of English. Two groups of students participated in COIL classes with Taiwanese and American students, respectively. They were actively engaged in conversations and asked questions about each other’s culture. The comparison of pre- and post-session questionnaires reveals that COIL has significantly positive effects on learners’ motivation and confidence in language use.
Miyuki Izuo currently teaches at Osaka Prefectural Konan High School of Design and Fine Arts and has been conducting COIL classes with various foreign schools. She will begin pursuing a master's degree in the UK.
Russell Kabir and Aaron Sponseller - Theory-driven Analysis Situating the Multidimensional Motivations to Study Abroad Scale for Japan
Comprehensively accounting for multiple domains of study abroad intentions, an instrument known as the Multidimensional Motivations to Study Abroad Scale (MMSAS) was developed for the European context but both theory-driven external validity and transferability to Japan is unknown. In this talk, we will present (1) a series of secondary analyses of the original European MMSAS data, (2) the preliminary findings of a new primary dataset from Japan, and (3) a plan for performing quasi-experimental comparisons.
Russell S. Kabir is Assistant Professor, School of Education, Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences, at Hiroshima University. He holds a Ph.D. (Psychology) from Hiroshima University and trained at the OECD in Boulogne-Billancourt, France.
Aaron Sponseller is Associate Professor, Department of English and International Studies, at Osaka Jogakuin College. He holds an MA TESOL from San Francisco State University and PhD in Education (Applied Linguistics) from Temple University.
Samia Khan - Active learning methods to make teaching more meaningful
This session will focus on active learning methods to make lessons more interactive and student centric.
Samia Khan is a graduate of Osaka University, and currently teaches at high schools and various other ages of learners.
David Lees - Subtitling for video materials: Introduction and basic toolkit
Creating digital materials to be as accessible for students as possible is increasing important in our modern, online societies. The addition of subtitles (of various types) to digital video helps to stabilize the information, facilitates noticing, and permits it to be viewed at quieter volumes if necessary. This presentation will give a basic introduction to subtitling digital video, as well as provide some takeaway examples and toolkits for you to try.
David Lees is from England, is a graduate of Liverpool University, and currently teaches at Kyoto University in Kyoto.
Thomas Legge - Creating Realistic and Effective IELTS Mock Tests
Beginning with a very brief introduction to the test, this presentation explains how to conduct realistic IELTS mock tests to give students the best chance of success at the real thing. It covers sources of information, materials, procedures, strategies for each session, consultation and feedback, and more!
Thomas Legge is a graduate of the London School of Economics, and currently teaches at Momoyama Gakuin University. His research interests are study abroad and IELTS. He is President of the JALT Study Abroad SIG.
Peter Lutes - Unlocking AI for educators: Understanding AI and practical applications of ChatGPT
The presenter will provide an overview of Artificial Intelligence (AI), explaining key words and concepts while addressing prevalent misconceptions about its capabilities. He will explain how educators can use ChatGPT for lesson planning and to encourage student-driven learning. He will also give examples of the output that teachers can get and discuss the prompts that has used with success. The session caters to AI novices in education, requiring no specialized technical knowledge.
Dr. Peter Lutes, a professor at the Faculty of Agriculture, Kagawa University, oversees English language education and leads various programs in international exchange, and sustainable food production. He is focused on the ethical integration of AI.
Paul Lyddon - Seven Tips for Better Academic English Writing
L2 English learners may somehow eventually manage to achieve satisfactory grammatical accuracy, but even many L1 users fail to master effective written expression without any sort of explicit instruction and, ignoring the conventions of standard academic writing, tend to fall back on intuitive strategies more appropriate to oral communication. This session will highlight seven of the most common issues found in novice academic English writing and suggest skillful ways of resolving them.
As Professor of Global Communication, Paul Lyddon teaches graduate-level academic writing at the University of Shizuoka. A long-time member of the JALT Publications Board, he also now serves as Senior Editor of The Language Teacher.
William Marcus - Writing, Reviewing, Discussing: Generating Output in Class
The classroom management and CALL techniques showcased in this presentation can be applied to any classroom context. Cloud documents are illustrated to maximize student interaction following a 'writing, reviewing, and discussion' format.
William Marcus is an experienced adjunct lecturer teaching at several Kansai universities. He is interested in TESOL at scale, applying approaches to streamline classroom management and assessment for large numbers of students.
Paul Mathieson and Claire Murray - AI-created Versus Teacher-created Academic Vocabulary Learning Materials
This presentation compares a teacher-created fictional graded reader series (The AWL Readers) with similar graded reading materials created by ChatGPT. Both sets of materials were designed to support academic vocabulary learning using student-centric stories. Our presentation examines the institutional environment that influenced the development of The AWL Readers and the ChatGPT-created materials. We also discuss the perceived strengths and weaknesses of using generative AI to produce academic vocabulary learning-focused graded reading materials.
Paul Mathieson is an associate professor at Nara Medical University, and has over 20 years of English teaching experience. He has published/presented on several different research areas, including vocabulary learning, CLIL/ESP, and learner motivation.
Claire Murray has over 15 years of EFL/ESL teaching experience in Japan and New Zealand, and is currently a lecturer at Nara Medical University. Her primary research interests are learning strategies and vocabulary acquisition.
Wade Muncil - Toward Objectivity: The History, Value, and Usage of Reflective Writing
Drawing from his 2006 publication, the author first takes the audience through a short history of reflective writing and its modern day connections with John Dewey, then talks about the academic value for students to personalize then author their own development and finally offers some suggestions for its usage in the classroom. For many of us, the presentation provides a “reflection on reflections” framing the process as a life skill and an important part of learning.
Wade Muncil and Steve Porritt - Modernizing Writing Centers: Google Classroom Integration for Inclusive Support
This presentation proposes an innovative approach to writing center operations, centered on Google Classroom integration. Students submit papers digitally, facilitating efficient feedback loops. Online reservations streamline scheduling for in-person or virtual sessions, each lasting 15 minutes. Annotate Pro enriches feedback with detailed annotations. By leveraging technology and inclusive practices, this framework redefines the writing center as an accessible resource for cultivating writing proficiency and fostering collaborative learning.
Wade Muncil holds a Master of Arts in Teaching from SIT and is presently teaching at Osaka Jogakuin University/College after spending nine years teaching in The United Arab Emirates. His interest is modernizing present-day Writing Centers.
Steve Porritt began life as a copywriter, technical editor, educational software developer, and designer-wannabe before finding his true calling, teaching writing. He wonders why universities regard translation and AI services as threats and not opportunities.
Hiroyo Nakagawa - Issues and Suggestions for Teaching Lower-proficiency Level University Students
This presentation explores how English L1 and L2 teachers can support lower-proficiency level students to develop their English competence. This presentation discusses the results of a survey of 31 students about their English learning goals and challenges. Based on this data, the presenter discusses what types of classroom management techniques, in-class activities, and out of class assignments can be implemented to improve outcomes for lower-level English L2 learners.
Hiroyo Nakagawa is a professor at Osaka Jogakuin University and College. Her main areas of research include learner autonomy, materials development, and effects of feedback on student learning. She can be contacted at nakagawa@wilmina.ac.jp.
Yosuke Ogawa - Word-Class-Shifting: Nominalisation and Sentence-Dynamism
This presentation demonstrates the tendency of Japanese users to construct an English sentence with frequent use of noun phrases. I will focus on the word-class-shifting Japanese users habitually do, especially their verb nominalisation strategy. The findings suggest that action verbs are also frequently replaced by attributive use of adjectives. Moreover, the subject part likely contains an excessive amount of information, and the predicate part turns out to be far shorter than the subject part.
Yosuke Ogawa teaches EFL at Kobe University and teaches JFL to overseas students at Kansai University. His current research interests include shifting participation constellation in L2 triadic interaction from multimodal Conversation Analysis viewpoint.
Thomas Peet - A study analyzing Japanese students’ perception of English in Japan
There has been a common discourse over the past few decades that Japanese speakers of English have a low speaking ability. This presentation first questions the reliability of this discourse. Then from the results of a questionnaire and interviews, this paper analyses and contrasts the opinions of 3rd grade high school students and high school teachers regarding their English proficiency and attitudes towards English in Japan.
Thomas Peet is from Cornwall in the U.K, is a graduate of Portsmouth University, and currently teaches at High School.
Justin Pool - Graphic novel selection, use, and value in the classroom
Graphic novels, with their combination of pictures and text, give students the confidence to follow a story and more accurately guess the meaning of words from multimodal contexts. Selecting appropriate graphic novels can give students confidence that they can successfully interact with authentic English and increase motivation for further English learning. My preliminary findings show that graphic novel reading is a meaningful task that leads to positive classroom outcomes.
Justin Pool is in the Department of English Education at Osaka Kyoiku University. He is in a DProf of TESOL program at University of Saint Andrews. His research interests are classroom innovation and authentic materials.
James Rankin - How motivational factors affect classroom activities - teachers' perspectives
Motivation assumes a critical function in the rate and level of accomplishment in second language learning. What overarching motivational and demotivational factors affect the successful implementation of communicative activities by second-language English teachers in Japanese universities? Which factors do teachers see as the most influential? And how can second language teachers’ awareness of these factors help spark and maintain classroom motivation during communicative tasks?
James Rankin is from the UK and holds MA's in both Mass Media and Linguistics. Since arriving in Japan in 2007 he has taught at all levels of the Japanese education system.
Christopher Regier - Then Suddenly: A Multifaceted Adaptation of Charades for EFL Classes
Charades, a beloved party game, has found its way into English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classrooms with notable success (Rahmah & Astutik, 2020). However, inherent constraints of this nonverbal communication activity limits the potential for a more comprehensive language learning experience. This presentation offers teachers an engaging adaptation of charades, called “Then Suddenly”, which incorporates not only reading, speaking, and listening skills, but also the option of writing for more advanced learners.
Christopher Regier has worked in ESL and EFL for over 15 years, journeying from Canada to Korea, China, and now Japan. He has taught students ranging from primary school children to adults.
Christopher Samuell - How Language Policy and Shadow Education Affect Meritocracy in TESOL
This presentation highlights the extent to which neoliberal policies and insufficient guidance from government agencies have allowed shadow education to sustain anti-meritocratic access to higher education in Japan. The presentation discusses how policy-making decisions, a reliance on cram schools, and an emphasis on English language as a test subject can operate to create and maintain uneven access to educational opportunities.
Christopher Samuell is from London England and is currently enrolled in a doctoral program at the University of Bath. He has been teaching English in Japan for more than 13 years and currently teaches at Kyoto Institute of Technology. His research interests include sociolinguistics, English as a lingua franca, and intercultural communication.
Bob Sanderson, Julie Kimura, and Paul Mathieson - Reflections on Teaching and Learning with the Teachers for Ukraine Initiative
The Teachers for Ukraine Initiative is an all-volunteer effort started in March 2022 (soon after the full-on Russian invasion) that connects English language teachers and speaking partners with adult Ukrainians for free, one-on-one, online language instruction and practice. The presenters will share reflections on their experiences volunteering with the group and explain how those interested can get involved.
Bob Sanderson (MA-TESOL from SIT) teaches at Kindai, Osaka Jogakuin, Hannan, and Kyoto University of Foreign Studies. He has volunteered with the Teachers for Ukraine Initiative since April 2023 and is president of Osaka JALT.
Julie Kimura earned her PhD in Applied Linguistics through Temple University and is JALT’s national Director of Membership. She teaches in the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at Mukogawa Women’s University.
Paul Mathieson is an associate professor at Nara Medical University, and has over 20 years of English teaching experience. He has published and presented on several research areas, including vocabulary learning, CLIL/ESP, and learner motivation.
Manami Sato - Empowering College Job Seekers: Crafting ‘Gakuchika’ (Self-Promotional) Videos for Personal Branding
Japanese college students may initially appear shy in language classrooms; however, when their needs and wants are met, they can express themselves confidently in the language. ‘Gakuchika’ refers to ‘the most focused things during college days. The video-making process involves opinion-sharing, script writing, refining pronunciation and delivery, and recording, forming a crucial cycle for language acquisition. This author will discuss the impact of needs analysis and various approaches in the context of video production.
Manami Sato is a junior associate professor at Kyoto University of Advanced Science. Prior to her academic career, she worked at a language school where she taught public speaking skills including speeches and presentations.
Yuta Sato and Noriko Yamane - Global Experiences’ impact on Attitudes towards Asian Englishes: Status and Accentedness
This study compared the perceived status/competence of L2 English speakers to that of L1 speakers, between an experimental group with overseas experience and a comparison group without. Implicitly, perceptions did not differ significantly between groups; however, explicitly, the SGE group showed a more neutral and analytical attitude. The analysis delves into the underlying causes of these observations and provide suggestions for future action.
Yuta Sato is from Kagawa and currently a fourth-year student at Hiroshima University. His interests lie in language attitudes towards English variation, specifically, global experiences’ impacts such as studying abroad on English L2 speech ratings.
Noriko Yamane is an associate professor at Hiroshima University. Her interests lie in laboratory phonology and experimental/educational linguistics, specifically focusing on the pedagogy of L2 pronunciation and phonetics, using biovisual feedback from ultrasound.
Alexander Sheffrin - Paternity Leave: Reflections and Educational Implications On Fathers Taking Leave in Japan
This presentation will cover the topic of taking paternity leave at Japanese universities. The presenter will speak of his personal experiences and reflections from taking paternity leave at universities in Japan. This presentation will also discuss both the background of laws regarding paternity leave in Japan and its importance to society and gender equality. Finally, this presentation will also cover how the topic of paternity leave can used as classroom discussion and speaking topics.
Alexander Sheffrin is an instructor at Ritsumeikan University. He has taught ESL/EFL in both the United States and Japan at primary and secondary schools, universities, and global corporations. He earned his MA in TESOL from the University of Maryland Baltimore County. In his free time, he enjoys traveling and spending time at home with his wife and two daughters.
Trevor Sitler - To Correct or Not to Correct: A Qualitative Study of Corrective Feedback.
This presentation will attempt to illuminate contextual variables influencing the effectiveness of corrective feedback (CF) through a diary study of a teacher’s decision-making process when giving CF. Previous studies on corrective feedback have focused on finding the most effective CF by comparing CF types in isolation of contextual factors. This study will attempt to make up for this by shedding light on contextual factors that influence CF effectiveness.
Trevor Sitler is from Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.A. After teaching in the private language industry for 9 years, he obtained his M.A. in TESOL from Birmingham University and has started teaching at Kindai University from April.
David Stepanczuk - Forest Bathing As A Remedy to Teacher Fatigue
I came to Japan with a small ESL certificate. After securing two small jobs at cram schools in January, I continued job hunting everyday in the city through March. In March, a visit to Nara Park with students brought a sense of tranquility and rejuvenation, providing a much-needed break from the daily grind. This experience reenergized me, enhancing my ability to function effectively. I'd unknowingly discovered shinrin-yoku.
David Stepanczuk is a long-time adjunct EFL professor in Japan. He is currently semi-retired and working at Osaka Metro University and Kindai University.
Tim Stoeckel, Stuart McLean, Young Ae Kim, and Allie Spencer Patterson - Examining the Role of Context in the Word Family Debate
This presentation describes research comparing Japanese university students’ (N = 172) knowledge of 16 basewords and 48 morphologically-related forms at three levels of contextualization: word-only, non-contextualized sentence, and page-length passage. LMM revealed context was a weak predictor of test score (Cohen’s d = .04). Likewise, baseword knowledge (d = .04) and context (d = .02) were negligible predictors of derivational form knowledge. Hence, assumptions underlying word family use were not supported regardless of context.
Tim Stoeckel teachers EFL and course in applied linguistics at the University of Niigata Prefecture. His research interests include L2 vocabulary teaching, learning, and testing.
Stuart McLean teaches at Kindai University and is making online self-marking form-recall and meaning-recall (orthographic and phonological) vocabulary levels tests. Automatically marked responses and actually typed responses are downloadable (www.vocableveltest.org).
Thomas Stones - How to adjust group speaking tests for higher and lower-level classes
Group or paired speaking tests are becoming increasingly common as a means of assessment due to their obvious transferability to real-world interaction. However, teachers are often unsure of how to adapt them for different levels, especially for lower-level classes. Thus, this presentation outlines are variety of ways teachers can adjust their teaching and assessment strategy to make group speaking tests an achievable reality for both lower and higher-level classes.
Thomas Stones currently teaches at Kwansei Gakuin University. His research interests include the teaching and assessment of interactional competence, assessment validation, especially using many-facet Rasch measurement, and self-directed learning.
Brad Visgatis and Tamara Swenson - AI prompts for essay evaluation
This presentation will discuss how to construct and provide to students prompts that help them use generative AI to improve their work instead of using AI to do the work for them. Presenters will explain the stages taken to prepare a model prompt, provide templates for other educators to help students use AI prompts for essay self-evaluation, and provide data on their use from a pilot study.
Brad Visgatis is a professor emeritus (Osaka International University). He keeps active by teaching at Kwansei Gakuin University.
Tamara Swenson recently retired from Osaka Jogakuin University. She continues to advise doctoral students at Temple University and is teaching at Osaka Metropolitan University and Kwansei Gakuin University.
Linfeng Wang - Inquiry-based curriculum development at the university level: design and practice of a language pedagogy class for student teachers
This study investigates the implementation of inquiry-based curriculum development in a language pedagogy class for student teachers at the university level. It examines the design process and practical application of inquiry methods to enhance teaching practices. By focusing on language instruction within teacher education programs, this case study provides insights into integrating inquiry-based approaches to cultivate reflective and proficient language educators.
Linfeng Wang holds a PhD in education from the University of Tokyo and currently teaches at Osaka Kyoiku University. Her practice and research fields focus on foreign language education and teacher education.
Joseph Wood - What to expect when you’re expecting zemi students
This presentation will provide practical survival skills to teachers who are either new to teaching zemi students or for those who are hoping to be in a position to be teaching them later in their careers. The presenter will share a basic outline of what kinds of things happened during weekly meetings with his zemi students and also give examples of how the he trained his students to undertake their research projects.
Joseph Wood is an associate professor at Nanzan University. From 2019-2023 he served as president of Nagoya JALT. He can be reached at: josephcharleswood@gmail.com
David Wybenga - Teaching With Picture Books
Picture books are a tremendous asset for the classroom. Presented will be some unique picture books useful to kindergarten and elementary age, and activities to use with them.
David Wybenga is from the US and lives in Shiga. He has a master's degree in social work, has written a weekly blog on picture books for six years, and has taught English in Japan for over 20 years.
Junko Yamamoto, Tomomi Otsuka, and Imogen Custance - The purpose and impact of developing oral presentation rubrics
Rubrics serve as valuable tools benefiting both teachers and students. By providing clear evaluation criteria, teachers can ensure fairness in assessment, while students gain clarity on areas needing improvement. Our aim is to create oral presentation rubrics we developed to be widely applicable across institutions. We are open to any suggestions for improvement.
Junko Yamamoto has been with Osaka Jogakuin University since 2019. Her fields of study include second language acquisition and learners’ motivation.
Tomomi Otsuka has been teaching at Osaka Jogakuin University since 1997. Her major research interests are phonetics, listening, and teaching methods.
Imogen Custance received her MA in TESOL from Temple University Japan in 2016 and is currently studying for a doctorate in Applied Linguistics at Lancaster University focusing on the impact of post-tasks on the development of speaking proficiency.
Miyako Yoshida - ‘Necessity’ in University English Classes: Japanese Lifestyle and Culture as Student-centered Topics
Recent research suggests that there has been a decline in the English proficiency of university students. However, many students still recognize the importance of English for their future. In this study, I prioritize student engagement and topical relevance to explore what motivates language learning. The effectiveness of my teaching methods is evaluated by examining student responses.
Miyako Yoshida currently teaches at Osaka University of Health and Sport Sciences in Osaka. She engages in English education with a teaching experience in both Junior high schools and senior high school. Her current research interests focus on content-based learning and early childhood education, including Montessori.
