NPO The Japan Association for Language Teaching

Dr. Kazuyoshi Sato – Plenary Speaker

EFL Teacher Development through Collaborative Action Research Projects

How teachers learn to teach in context has been the focus of general educational research for almost a century (e.g., Lortie, 1975; Rosenholtz, 1989; Waller, 1932), and eventually a focus for Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL), English as a Second Language (ESL), and foreign language communities (e.g., Freeman & Johnson, 1998; Kleinsasser, 1993; Sato & Kleinsasser, 2004). After reviewing the literature, I will introduce my study which examined how English as a Foreign Language (EFL) secondary teachers (junior and senior high school teachers) in Japan participated in collaborative action research and engaged in their professional development over four years. In particular, little is known as to how EFL teachers challenge their beliefs and implement innovative practices based on Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) through teacher learning processes. Using a mixed methods design, the study identified three developmental stages regardless of years of teaching experience: (1) Challenging teacher beliefs through TESOL classes and modeling teachers who have done similar action research through trial and error teaching as they practice communicative activities; (2) Making sense of teaching through adapting and modifying theories of CLT; and (3) Building confidence in teaching by actually seeing students change. These stages overlap and are not mutually exclusive, depending on teacher and teaching context. The study reveals teachers’ dynamic learning processes and professional development.

Kazuyoshi Sato is a professor emeritus at Nagoya University of Foreign Studies. He holds an MA and a PhD in Applied Linguistics from the University of Queensland, Australia. He established an MA TESOL program for in-service teachers in 2006 and has been promoting action research. He has published several papers on communicative language teaching and teacher development in journals including the Modern Language Journal, Teaching and Teacher Education, and Language Teaching Research.

Dr. Loy Lising – Plenary Speaker

Multilingual mindset to multilingual habitus in language teaching

The concept monolingual mindset is a way of thinking that privileges the possession and use of a singular linguistic code and considers multilingualism problematic. This concept has long influenced language learning and teaching. It has done so by the way the teaching of language, especially English, has been framed towards achieving an ideal monolingual speaker. Although the multilingual turn in language teaching has been influential in questioning and reframing the monolingual mindset in language teaching and learning, there needs to be a more consistent framework to guide how we move forward and consider language teaching and learning that empowers students beyond the classroom. To achieve this, in this talk, I argue for a shift towards a multilingual mindset, a way of thinking about language learning, language teaching, and language use expectant of variations in our learners’ language repertoire, language use, and language features. I further argue that the multilingual mindset can extend to multilingual habitus, an institutional stance that views linguistic diversity favourably and reflects this at the levels of principles, policies, and practices in (English) language learning and teaching. Such approach highlights the benefits multilingualism engenders, especially for example in intercultural communication, and how it facilitates a more inclusive society.

Loy Lising is Senior Lecturer in the Department of Linguistics, a Graduate Research Supervision Fellow at Macquarie University, and a Senior Fellow with AdvanceHE. As an applied sociolinguist, Loy’s research interest is centred on multilingualism and social participation. She investigates this intersection with a focus on two strands: language features (micro sociolinguistics) and language use (macro sociolinguistics) of multilinguals in both diasporic and homeland contexts particularly in the domains of family, education, health, and law.

Dr. Noriko Ishihara – JALT Junior Plenary Speaker

Noticing and Disrupting Microaggressions: Toward Linguistic Justice

This talk will discuss microaggressions through a sociopragmatics lens and explore how everyday language choices in today’s globalized world can nurture or jeopardize our dignity, inclusion, identity, belonging, and well-being. Microaggressions are subtle messages hidden in brief, seemingly harmless comments/actions. Even when a speaker is well-intentioned, a bias or stereotype may inadvertently surface to insult or invalidate the listener especially in intercultural communication. Worse, microaggressions can accumulate over time and take a toll on the mental well-being of the marginalized target (Shimoji & Ichikawa, 2024; Sue & Spanierman, 2020).

The session will introduce relevant research in psychology and connect it to learner realities, focusing on children, adolescents, and adult learners of particular race/ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, (dis)ability, religion, and language status. In educational settings, mixed-heritage children and adolescents, returnees, and international students, for example, may experience microaggressions or even bullying in person and through social media (Piller, 2016; Tsai et al., 2024). Teachers may find themselves in need of responding in the moment when something harmful is said, yet they can also unintentionally contribute to microaggressions themselves through pronoun use, terms of address, other pragmatic choices, accentism, or cultural assumptions (Ishihara & Glasgow, in press). By focusing on sociopragmatic awareness of microaggressions and the role of power, I invite teachers and teacher educators to reflect on the ethical and social dimensions of language and intercultural communication education. I will also share practical resources to begin addressing these issues in age-appropriate and context-sensitive ways in the classroom.

Noriko Ishihara, Ph.D. is Professor of Applied Linguistics/TEFL at Hosei University and facilitates professional development courses for language teachers in Japan, the US, and elsewhere with a focus on instructional pragmatics and intercultural awareness. Her research interests include pragmatics and microaggressions, criticality in language education, and teacher development.

Dr. Willy A. Renandya – Bill Balsamo Asian Scholar Invited Speaker

Teacher Learning Within and Beyond the Classroom Walls

Great teaching is an ongoing journey of continuous learning that takes place in the classroom, and perhaps more importantly, extends far beyond its walls. In this presentation, I explore how language teachers can actively grow and adapt by focusing on six essential areas of professional development: developing professional competence, becoming AI-fluent in a rapidly changing digital world, engaging in reflective practice, embracing student-centredness, committing to life-long learning, and staying gritty when facing daily challenges. Drawing on current research and my own decades of hands-on teaching experience across diverse Asian contexts, I share practical, real-world insights. Through this discussion, I hope to support fellow language teachers in navigating these areas, helping them keep learning, adapting, and improving their craft every single day.

Dr Willy A Renandya is a language teacher educator with extensive teaching experience in Asia. He currently teaches TESOL courses in Singapore, including at Nanyang Technological University and Singapore University of Social Sciences. He is also a visiting professor at Chulalongkorn University and the Industrial University of Ho Chi Minh City. He has given numerous keynote presentations at international ELT conferences, including at AsiaTEFL,  IATEFL, KOTESOL, SEAMEO RELC and ThaiTESOL and published extensively in the area of second language education. 

Kip A. Cates – Kevin Cleary Invited Speaker

Think Globally, Teach Locally: Ideas from Rural Japan

This talk will summarize lessons learned from the presenter’s four decades of experience working with global education, an exciting pedagogical field that encourages language teachers to bring the world into the classroom and take students out into the wider world. Global education arose in the 1980s with the work of scholars such as Pike & Selby (1988). Pioneering work on global education and language teaching began in Japan with the publication of TLT special issues on “Global Issues” (Cates & Mark, 1990) and “Global Education” (Cates, 1993).

The session will start with a brief overview of the presenter’s background, his rationale for taking a global education approach to language teaching and his experiments creating language classes designed to prepare students for global citizenship in a multicultural world. It will then describe initiatives the presenter has taken to engage students with the world beyond the classroom. These include overseas pen-pal programs, community research tasks, field trips to national NGO festivals and overseas programs to Korea and Mexico as well as an annual 1-week Asian Youth Forum for EFL college students designed to promote global awareness, international understanding, cross-cultural communication and leadership skills.

The session will conclude by emphasizing the message of scholars such as Bentley (1998) and Jacobs & Crookes (2022) that one key aspect of our mission as educators is to provide students with opportunities to use their language skills through real-world experiences in the local community and the wider world.

Kip A. Cates is professor emeritus in the Faculty of Regional Sciences at Tottori University. For the past 40 years, he has been active in the field of global education and language teaching as a writer, speaker and teacher trainer. He is a founder of JALT’s Global Issues SIG and edits its quarterly Global Issues in Language Education Newsletter. He has lived, worked or travelled in 50 countries and speaks 9 languages.