JALT2022 Invited Speakers

Each year, JALT welcomes two speakers to our annual international conference who represent the values, work, and vision of two teachers who served as leaders in our association: the Bill Balsamo Asian Scholar and the Kevin Cleary Invited Speaker.
In 1988, JALT started an Asian Scholar Program through which teachers from other Asian countries are brought to give presentations at JALT’s annual international conference. In 2008, the program was renamed the Balsamo Asian Scholar Program in honor of Bill Balsamo, president of JALT’s Himeji Chapter and founder of JALT’s Teachers Helping Teachers SIG. Over the years, teachers from many countries have visited Japan on this program.
The JALT2022 Bill Balsamo Asian Scholar is Marianne Rachel G. Perfecto (Ateneo de Manila University, Philippines). The title of her talk is “Translanguaging in Multilingual Classrooms: Assumptions, Aims, and Advantages.” Marianne Rachel Perfecto is Associate Professor at the Ateneo de Manila University. She has a Certificate (with Distinction) of Advanced Studies in the Communicative Teaching of English from Lancaster University, UK and finished Doctor of Arts in Language and Literature (English) from De La Salle University, Philippines. As a teacher trainer and educator, she has worked with secondary and tertiary teachers in the country and the region in the areas of materials and curriculum development, and language and literature teaching. She served as Chair of the English Department of the Ateneo de Manila University, and as Executive Director of ACELT. Her research focuses on teacher cognition, ELT reading & writing, multilingual education, and translanguaging in ELT.
The Kevin Cleary Invited Speaker program was begun in 2014 in memory of a beloved JALT President who passed away in January of that year. Kevin had been involved with JALT as an officer at the chapter level and the national level since 2002. He served as JALT President from 2010 until his death in 2014. He is remembered as a soft-spoken but dynamic leader with energy, vision, a great sense of humor, and strong interpersonal skills. The speaker for this award is one who encompasses the same spirit and enthusiasm Kevin showed during his time with JALT.
The JALT2022 Kevin Cleary Invited Speaker is Jo Mynard (Kanda University of International Studies). The title of her talk is “Promoting Reflection on Language Learning.” Jo Mynard is a Professor in the Faculty of Global Liberal Arts and Director of the Self-Access Learning Center (SALC) at Kanda University of International Studies (KUIS) in Chiba, Japan. She is also the Director of the Research Institute for Learner Autonomy Education (RILAE) at KUIS. She has co-edited and co-authored several books and book chapters on learner autonomy, advising, reflective dialogue, and social learning spaces.
For full details about both of these presentations, please see our JALT2022 Invited Speaker page.