Event Report, Tottori Chapter May 2018

The Tottori JALT May 27 event focused on language education for children. It was a three-hour mini-conference of three speakers from JALT Junior. The speakers shared with us not only their knowledge and expertise but also a great deal of books and reference materials for language teaching. These materials, along with the information provided by the speakers, proved to be of quite some use to the Tottori JALT members.
The first workshop, presented by Emi Sugita, presented a number of activities and ways to teach English to young children. Young learners in Japan often find English to be a difficult language to learn, particularly when it comes to pronunciation. Ms. Sugita presented us with many methods that can be used to overcome language acquisition barriers. By combining props, activities, and targeted worksheets, students are able to both enjoy learning English and increase their skills.
The second workshop, presented by Deborah Grow, concerned primarily the teaching of English through songs, rhythms and games. Through the English Garden, her language school, Ms. Grow has created a large number of songs and read-along picture books that can aid students in the learning of English. She showed us that through creativity, dynamic energy, and addictive rhythm games, both children and adults can find learning English to be fun and productive.
The third workshop, presented by Caroline Lloyd, concerned the concept of CLIL – Content and Language Integrated Learning. The concept of CLIL, which can be broadly summed up as teaching subjects such as math and social studies in English, has gained a great deal of popularity in Japan in recent years. This is largely due to ECC, one of the largest English conversation school companies in Japan, incorporating it into their curriculum. However, the concept of CLIL is often poorly understood, as it involves a lot more careful preparation than simply teaching a subject in English. CLIL classes can involve soft CLIL, usually held once a week, and hard CLIL, in which CLIL classes are held on a routine basis. In both cases, a great deal of structure and care must be taken to ensure that CLIL is truly effective and not just a recipe for making students feel lost. Through her presentation, and the providing of several reference materials concerning CLIL, Ms. Lloyd introduced us to the concept of CLIL and broadened our understanding of it.
We would like to thank JALT Junior and all three speakers for taking the time to come to Tottori and share their knowledge, ideas, and energy with us. We look forward to future opportunities to learn from and be inspired by JALT Junior in the future.