Plenary Speakers

Each year JALT invites accomplished researchers, teachers, and experts to join us and share their knowledge, perspectives, and experience. We welcome a wide range of plenary speakers, so all participants should find something interesting and relevant no matter what your teaching context.
Jean-Marc Dewaele
Joan Kang Shin
Tomoko Yashima
Jean-Marc Dewaele
Emotions in multilingualism and foreign language learning
Sponsored by the College and University Educators SIG and the Educational Research Foundation
Abstract
In this lecture I will present an overview of the recent surge of interest in the field of emotion, multilingualism and foreign language acquisition (Dewaele, 2013), after many years of neglect (Dörnyei & Ryan, to appear). I will show how researchers from various theoretical backgrounds, using different research methodologies, attempt to answer common research questions. I will look at emotion words and expressions (swearwords, anger, declarations of love), which are generally perceived to be more emotional in multilinguals’ first language. However, in some cases it is the foreign language that becomes more emotional. I will also consider possible implications of these findings for foreign language instruction, especially in culturally mixed classes (Dewaele, 2015). Finally, I will consider how teachers and learners can deal with positive and negative emotion (anxiety) in the classroom (cf. Arnold, 2011, Dewaele, 2011, 2013).
References
Arnold, J. (2011). Attention to affect in language learning. Anglistik. International Journal of English Studies, 22, 11-22.
Dewaele, J.-M. (2011). Reflections on the emotional and psychological aspects of foreign language learning and use. Anglistik. International Journal of English Studies, 22, 23-42.
Dewaele, J.-M. (2013). Emotions in Multiple Languages. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan (2nd ed.).
Dewaele, J.-M. (2015). Culture and emotional language. In F. Sharifian (Ed.) The Routledge Handbook of Language and Culture (pp. 357-370). Oxford: Routledge.
Dörnyei, Z. & Ryan, S. (to appear). The Psychology of the Language Learner – Revisited. New York: Routledge.
Jean-Marc Dewaele is Professor of Applied Linguistics and Multilingualism at Birkbeck, University of London. He is Vice-President of the International Association of Multilingualism, Convenor of the AILA Research Network Multilingualism and former president of the European Second Language Association. He is General Editor of the International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism. He holds a black belt in karate and is a big fan of Haruki Murakami.
Joan Kang Shin
The 21st century meets professional development
Sponsored by National Geographic Learning | Cengage Learning
Abstract
The 21st century has seen much innovation in technology and social media. How can teacher educators and trainers utilize emerging technologies and social media tools to design effective teacher professional development (PD) programs? Based on her research conducted in a fully online distance TESOL PD program with participants from over 100 countries, the presenter will share her successes and challenges in using 21st century technologies to engage English teachers in effective online learning communities. From real-time to asynchronous interactions, from text-based to video-based instruction, examples shared will illustrate how effective online TESOL PD can be for practicing teachers around the world.
Joan Kang Shin, Professor of Practice, Education Department, Director, TESOL Professional Training Programs at University of Maryland Baltimore County, is a teacher, teacher trainer, professor, and researcher in the field of TESOL. She specializes in professional development programs for teaching English as an international language to young learners and teenagers. She is also an expert in online TESOL education and conducts research on building international virtual communities of practice for English teachers. Her most recent book called Teaching Young Learners English, co-authored with Jodi Crandall, received the prestigious Ben Warren International House Trust Prize.
Tomoko Yashima
Imagined L2 selves and motivation to communicate
Abstract
Over the past 15 years, we have seen a resurgence of interest in language learning motivation, with learner identity and its dynamic nature being spotlighted. In this talk, I will review recent trends in research on L2 learning motivation and willingness to communicate, with a focus on the Japanese EFL context. I will show how the recent socio-dynamic turn in motivation inquiry has complemented traditional psychological, mostly quantitative approaches and as a result enhanced the power of research to help us understand the learner in context. Using key concepts such as international posture, ideal L2 selves, and an imagined community, I will argue that teaching that triggers learners’ imagination and visions of themselves using English in social contexts can bridge the gap between classroom practices and the L2-using world, and through this, lead to the emergence in learners of a desire for intercultural communication.
Tomoko Yashima is Professor of Applied Linguistics and Intercultural Communication at Kansai University, where she teaches graduate courses in second language acquisition and supervises research. Her research interests span two broad areas; communication behaviors and second language use in intercultural contact situations on the one hand, and motivation and affect in L2 learning on the other. She has published widely on motivation, willingness to communicate, and intercultural contact in international journals such as Language Learning, the Modern Language Journal, and the International Journal of Intercultural Relations as well as in book chapters. She has authored several books in Japanese, including Intercultural communication: Global mind and local affect (Shohakusha, 2012). For more information, visit: http://www2.ipcku.kansai-u.ac.jp/~yashima/.
Recent JALT Plenary Speakers have included:
Phil Benson – The Hong Kong Institute of Education
Suresh Canagarajah – Pennsylvania State University
John Eyles – Eyles and Associates, Ltd.; EON Foundation
Thomas Farrell – Brock University
Alan Firth – Newcastle University
Keith Folse – University of Central Florida
Bill Harley – Grammy-award winning musician, story-teller, and author
Laurel Kamada – Tohoku University
Özge Karaoglu – Terakki Foundation Schools
Claire Kramsch – UC Berkeley
Caroline Linse – Queen’s University, Belfast
Jeannette Littlemore – University of Birmingham
Jack C. Richards – Regional Language Centre, Singapore; University of Sydney
Kristin Sherman – Central Piedmont Community College
Penny Ur – University of Haifa
Ken Wilson – Author, Teacher and Teacher Trainer
Gerry Yokota – Osaka University
Emiko Yukawa – Ritsumeikan University
and more …