Event Report, Gunma Chapter March 2019

In this presentation, the speaker introduced and demonstrated a wide selection of web-based English language teaching and learning tools, including some of those designed and developed by the speaker himself. Beginning with a primer on CALL acronyms such as SAMR, TAM, and TIM, Raine quickly brought Gunma JALT attendees up to speed with the lingo. Then he introduced the Japanese terms gari-ben and suma-ben; with the former indicating a nose-to-the-grindstone traditional cramming, and the latter referring to smarter, focused study that is capable through computer analysis of previous performance. This was followed by a general discussion of the benefits and drawbacks of introducing tech in the classroom with some members offering their own personal experiences. With the necessary preliminaries taken care of, Raine then hit Gunma JALT attendees with veritable deluge (sorry) of digital and online resources. They are listed on Gunma JALT’s website alongside Raine’s own projects apps4efl.com, lingolab.live and his new, still in beta, efl.digital. Finally, all attendees took part in a lively discussion of what was on the horizon as far as digital learning tools and how those might impact both students and teachers.
apps4efl.com – dozens of web-based elf tools
https://articoolo.com – artificial text creation
https://quizlet.com – studying using flashcards, games, and more
http://lingolab.live – multi-player language learning live quiz tool
duolingo.com – worldwide multilingual language learning tool