JALT2010 Submission Instructions

The Call for Presentations for JALT2010 is now closed.
Thank you to those who submitted presentation proposals. Notices of acceptance, or otherwise, will be sent out by email as soon as possible once the vetting procedure is complete. If you have not heard about the status of your presentation proposal by July 31st, please contact us.
Instructions for Submitting Presentation Proposals
Interest Areas
Presentation rooms at JALT2010 will be organized according to the interest areas below, which closely parallel JALT Special Interest Groups (SIGs). These are divided into two main sub-groups:
A. Learning/Teaching Contexts
College & University Education (CUE)
Conversation /Language School (EIKAIWA)
Junior/Senior High School (JSHS)
Teaching Children (TC) (Presentations will be included in JALT Junior)
Teaching Mature Learners (Lifelong Language Learning)
General (applicable to any, or at least a range of, teacher/learner populations)
Non-teaching content (for meetings and JALT business sessions)
B. Content Areas
Administration, Management, & Employment Issues (PALE)
Bilingualism (BIL)
Business English (BE)
Corpus (COR)
Culture (CUL)
Elementary and Preschool (ELEM)
English for Specific Purposes (ESP)
Extensive Reading (ER)
Framework (CEFR etc.) & Language Portfolio (FLP)
Gender Awareness in Language Education (GALE)
Global Issues in Language Education (GILE)
Japanese as a Second Language (JSL)
Languages Other than English or Japanese (OLE)
Language and Technology (CALL)
Learner Development (LD)
Listening (LIS)
Materials Writing and Design (MW)
Motivation (MOT)
Pragmatics (PRAG)
Pronunciation (PRON)
Reading (READ)
Sociolinguistics (SL)
Speaking/Communication (SC)
Study Abroad (SA)
Teacher Education (TED)
Testing and Evaluation (TEVAL)
Teachers Helping Teachers (THT)
Vocabulary (VOC)
Writing (WRIT)
Non-teaching area (for meetings and JALT business sessions)
Presenters should indicate BOTH which learning/teaching context they are targeting AND which content area they feel the presentation best fits.
Formats
Choose the format that best suits the presentation that you want to make. If your submission is deemed inappropriate for the requested format, we may suggest an alternative. For example, you may be asked to form a panel with other presenters speaking on a similar topic, or you may be asked to change your planned presentation into a poster session.
Short Paper: (25 minutes)
A formal, presenter-centered lecture where ideas or research results concerning either theory or practice are presented and audience questions answered. Opportunities for audience participation are limited.
Workshop: (60 minutes)
Presenter(s) model activities, display materials, outline tasks, or introduce issues for discussion. Participants take an active part.
Long Paper: (60 minutes)
A limited number of long paper submissions will be accepted, depending on space available. Only those long papers rated highest in the selection process will be considered. Presenters may be asked to do a short paper instead.
Forum: (90 minutes)
Multiple presenters give presentations on a similar topic. A Forum can also be convened as a roundtable discussion or a panel discussion.
Poster Session: (120 minutes)
Poster presentations with charts, graphs, illustrations, and summaries convey information quickly and effectively, without the formality of other types of presentations. Please note that audio-visual equipment cannot be used. Posters may be displayed for longer than the specified time, but presenters should be with their posters during the specified 2-hour period on the conference schedule in order to answer questions. Poster sessions allow the presenter to enjoy more one-to-one communication with conference participants.
Meeting: (60 minutes)
This format is unvetted and is restricted to JALT business and alumni meetings. No other requests for this format will be accepted.
Promotional Presentations
Will this session be promoting commercial teaching materials or systems, or other commercial services?
Language
Presentations may be delivered in any language although English and/or Japanese are used in the main.
Handouts
All presenters are encouraged to provide bilingual handouts for their presentations at JALT2010. No onsite copying for presenters can be promised. JALT does not prepare copies for distribution at presentations. If you plan to distribute handouts, be sure to bring a sufficient number of copies with you (50 is usual).
Equipment
Each room will be equipped with tables and chairs. Larger rooms will be provided with a microphone. All other equipment incurs a charge for rental, delivery, pick-up, and insurance. THIS CHARGE MUST BE PAID FOR BY THE CONTACT PERSON LISTED IN THE DATABASE AT THE SAME TIME AS THE CONFERENCE PRE-REGISTRATION FEE.
Digital Projector (for computer display) (¥2000)
DVD player/monitor (¥2000)
CD audio player (¥2000)
Any other equipment, including cassette players, and computers and cables, must be provided by the presenter.
Please choose your equipment carefully.The final deadline for changes in equipment requests will be Friday 1, October 2010. Changes to equipment requests after that date will not be possible.
Abstracts
Abstracts are evaluated by the Reading Committee to determine which vetted presentations are accepted. Each proposal is reviewed by three Reading Committee members. The Reading Committee sees only the titles and the abstracts.
Please make sure that:
Your abstract is between 150 and 250 words in English, 300 to 500 characters in Japanese, and that your title has a maximum of 50 characters and spaces total.
The presentation’s purpose and point of view are clearly stated.
Supporting details and examples are included.
The best format (i.e., short paper, workshop, long paper, forum) has been selected.
The material outlined can be covered in the allotted time.
The contents have been carefully edited and proofread.
No name or information is included in the abstract that could be used to identify the speaker.
Short Summary
The short summary appears in the conference handbook. Short summaries help conference participants decide which presentations are the most appropriate to their interests. The short summary may be written in the language of the presentation.
In the short summary, include enough information to convey the main ideas of your presentation. Short summaries are limited to a maximum of 75 words and to 150 characters in Japanese. Short summaries will be edited for length and clarity. All information should be in complete sentences, and written in the third person future form: “The presenter will show…” rather than “I will show…” and “Participants will…” rather than “You will…”
From the Program Committee
Advice Regarding Submissions
JALT encourages broad participation and a wide range of viewpoints; however, time and space limitations make it impossible to accept all the proposals submitted. Major factors in the selection process include: clarity, appropriateness for the intended audience, relevance to the conference theme, quality of research and writing, and indications that the presentations will be well prepared. The selection committee also tries to achieve a balance of topics and interests.
We do not accept submissions that are not directly related to language teaching or the professional development of language teachers.Factors that strengthen:
The topic and point of view are clearly stated.
The format is appropriate to the topic.
The material to be presented fits the time allotted.
The presenter shows familiarity with current practice and/or research.
The abstract is well written, carefully edited, and proofread.
Proposals that are attuned to the conference theme will be reviewed more favorably.
The format of the proposal abstract should follow a clear three-step order: background introduction, problem addressed, and finally exactly what will be attended to in the presentation. Make very sure there is no doubt in the mind of the reviewer what the presentation will show, investigate, or discuss.Factors that weaken:
The abstract is too short.
The abstract is too general and no details or examples are given.
The title is obscure, inappropriate, or unrelated to the content.
Elaborate equipment is needed.
The abstract is carelessly written.
Insufficient time would be available to present.