Textbooks and Vocabulary: Two Three Problems and a Way Forward Dr. Dale Brown On February 1, Shinshu JALT was very pleased to welcome to Nagano Dr. Dale Brown from Kanazawa University to speak on vocabulary learning, a topic of importance for all language teachers. Dale began by briefly introducing the three (up from the…

Shinshu JALT would like to thank our very own Trane and Cheryl, both of the University of Nagano, for their October 5th presentation about the flipped classroom. Cheryl began with a description of some of the challenges she has faced when conducting discussions in communicative classes in Japan: students confuse discussion with debate and/or…

On Sunday Shinshu JALT was very fortunate to have Masako Moriwaki as our presenter in Okaya. Masako had taught overseas for 13 years and spent 10 years in a language school where she had the creative freedom to explore new and interesting ways to teach English. The day started with a brief introduction of…

On April 21, Shinshu JALT was happy to welcome Jerry Talandis, Jr. of the University of Toyama for a talk in the new campus building of Nagano Prefectural College. Surrounded by glass walls and local wood, he presented on the very practical topic “Turning Speaking Tasks into Assessment Activities.” Jerry began by taking us…

Shinshu JALT was very fortunate to have Young-Mi Lim share her research and knowledge on the current state of commercial language tests. Young-Mi started the presentation by referring to the site 4skills.jp – a very useful resource for any prospective students hoping to enter university in Japan and teachers guiding said students. The presentation…

Last Sunday Shinshu JALT was very fortunate to host Louise Ohashi as she shared her presentation on Supporting Out-of Class Learning Through In-Class Activities and Supporting Students’ Learning Opportunities with Digital Technology. Louise’s presentation started with a brief explanation on the target of one of the subjects she teaches – “Self Directed Learning”. The…

On Suday April 21st, Shinshu JALT was very fortuate to be joined by Yoko Morimoto as she shared her insights into the use of drama in language learning. Yoko began her presentation by citing research that supports utilising drama in the classroom. Physical activity has proven to be directly linked to enhance learning behavior.…

Developing the L2 Reader: Texts and Tasks Kimberly Klassen Shinshu JALT would like to thank Dr. Kimberly Klassen of International Christian University for her presentation, Developing the L2 Reader: Texts and Tasks, at the University of Nagano on February 9. The two-hour session opened with a clever introduction by Program Chair Jean-Pierre, who succeeded…