We are very pleased to announce our full roster of Featured Speakers for JALT2015. Each speaker will give a special 90 minute workshop and an additional 60 minute presentation. This is a great chance to learn from some of the leading researchers and practitioners in our field.
Marcos Benevides
Nigel Caplan
Philip Chappell
Alice Chik
Paul Nation
Carol Numrich
Cameron Romney
John Spiri
Jane Spiro
Marcos Benevides
Designing lessons that focus on the learner
Sponsored by Atama-ii Books
While there is no one secret to perfect engagement or to lesson innovation, there are several principles that experienced teachers and lesson planners tend to apply. These go beyond methods and approaches, and are rooted in our own identities as teachers and as learners. In this workshop, the speaker will draw on insights from the classroom, the literature, and his own experience with lesson and materials design.
Nigel Caplan
Mastering writing with the teaching/learning cycle
Sponsored by Oxford University Press
Experience the power of language-focused, scaffolded instruction for academic and professional writing. The Teaching/Learning Cycle is a genre-based writing pedagogy that prepares all students to understand and produce the genres they need for school and work. Grammar and vocabulary are meaningfully integrated as students write with purpose in authentic contexts. Using cutting-edge research and classroom examples, the presenter demonstrates the three stages of genre analysis, collaborative writing and independent composition for learners of all levels.
Philip Chappell
Seeing the invisible: Investigating classroom talk
Sponsored by Macquarie University
We take classroom talk for granted. It’s just what we use to get our lessons done. But it’s also a big part of what we want to teach. In fact, talk is intimately connected to thinking. By attending this workshop, you will understand the different types of talk that occur in the language classroom, see the differences they each make to learning and teaching, and have a go at analysing talk from an actual classroom.
Alice Chik
Visualizing language learning: Draw and tell
Sponsored by Tokyo Chapter and the Learner Development SIG
In this workshop, we will draw and tell our language learning histories. We will explore strategies to solicit, process and analyze visual language learning narratives for pedagogical and research purposes.
Paul Nation
Recent research in vocabulary learning
Sponsored by Compass Publishing Japan
Although there has been published research on the teaching and learning of vocabulary for over 100 years, 30% of this research has appeared within the last ten years. The research has confirmed the importance of comprehensible input, revealed the relative ineffectiveness of deliberate vocabulary teaching, and underlined the importance of combining deliberate attention and analysis with opportunities for incidental learning. This paper explains the practical significance of the research for language teachers and learners.
Carol Numrich
Meeting four key academic challenges head on
Sponsored by Pearson Japan
In an interactive format, the presenter will identify 4 key challenges for language students: Attention, Authenticity, Accountability and Academic Preparation. She will offer instructors compelling classroom solutions. Particularly in academic settings, students must be supported to: overcome distraction, produce new language, synthesize texts, and perform critical thinking tasks in classroom and testing situations. The presenter will demonstrate materials and strategies that guide students to meet these specific academic challenges as they build overall language proficiency.
Cameron Romney
Harnessing the power of visual design
Sponsored by Materials Writers SIG
Making great teaching materials is not only about the content but also how it is presented. Research has shown that visual design influences both student comprehension and motivation. This workshop will offer some visual design best practices to improve student learning, and demonstrate how they can be applied to materials using word processing software. Participants are encouraged to bring copies of their own materials and/or their laptop to practice with.
John Spiri
Extended talks for learning and assessment
Sponsored by englishbooks.jp
Getting learners to talk is a major challenge. Getting learners to reflect on and improve their speaking is even more difficult. Utilizing pictures for extended talks achieves all that. Learners talk about a picture, record and transcribe their talks, make corrections, and include them in e-portfolios. Extended talks are assessed on relevance, word choice, corrections, and word count. This prepares students for standardized exams such as Japan’s Eiken and Cambridge’s PET (Preliminary English Test).
Jane Spiro
Writing mirrors: teacher-writers & learner-writers
Sponsored by Literature in Language Teaching SIG, Extensive Reading SIG, the C-Group, and Pilgrims English Language Courses
This session suggests a scaffolded approach to the language learner’s journey from appreciative reader to reflective writer. A teaching cycle is explained, informed by Dr. Spiro’s ‘real-life’ processes as a creative writer. The session explores how this teaching cycle enabled learners to develop their own writing to arrive at something of significance. The workshop ends by developing the principle that writing processes effective for the teacher can also be effective for their learners.