Event Report, Ibaraki Chapter June 2018

IBARAKI: June— The brain’s many different memory processes: Applications to language teaching
by Bruno Jactat.
Teachers’ primary job in class is to help students learn new information and retain it in their memories so that they can use it in their own lives. More often than not, however, teachers are oblivious of actual ways in which students learn, cramming too much information in class or using teaching methods that do not meet students’ different sensory preferences. Showing us the mechanism of the brain’s memory processing, Jactat provided us with practical advice on language teaching such as making our lessons multisensory and multidimensional, modulating our voice volume, pitch, and speed, as well as dividing a lesson into 15-20 minute segments. True to his own words, Jactat made us take part in various activities including acting out the memory processes in a small group or organizing them in a flow chart. Through these activities, we could understand firsthand the benefits of brain-based teaching and felt compelled to implement it in our own classrooms.
Reported by Naomi Takagi
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Language-in-Education Policy in Nepal: Status and Challenges
By Researcher Manita Karki, School of Education, Kathmandu University, Nepal.
This presentation provided a brief picture of language policy and planning in Nepal especially English language education in particular. Further, it highlighted some critical comments, and key challenges to language planning in Nepal.
Reported by presenter