Ayako Ooiwa and Michael Y. Yap

Online meeting for April 20. 

Zoom link will be provided on the Shizu-JALT website 10 minutes before the meeting.
Link to the website: https://www.shizujalt.org/#/

Contributors to the soon to be published: Barrier-Free Instruction in Japan: Recommendations for Teachers at All Levels of Schooling, (Edited by Alexandra Burke, Davey Young, and Melodie Lorie Cook, Candlin & Mynard Publishing), Ayako Ooiwa and Michael Y. Yap will present for us. Please check the following abstract: 

Co-authors of the chapter in the new publication “Barrier-free Instruction in Japan: Recommendations for Teachers at all Levels of Schooling”, Ayako Ooiwa and Mike Yap will be explaining their context of the chapter “Steps Forward in Empowering and Enabling Learners Towards Equity and Justice for All: A Case Study Through English Language Courses in Japanese Tertiary Education”. The presenters will explain their project to recalibrate the orientation session of the core curriculum English classes to empower first year university students who are newly placed in the environment where they are expected to be independent. This presentation focuses on an acquisition of academic skills leading towards students’ self-efficacy and self-advocacy, which is critical for so-called “gray-zone” students. The presentation also includes updates on the context.

Biodata: 

Ayako Ooiwa is an associate professor at Keiwa College. She teaches core curriculum English classes, courses related to teaching English to young learners, and seminars which focus on citizenship education. Her research areas include critical pedagogy, Universal Design for Learning, Montessori education, and academic coaching, all of which are considered to be critical parts of citizenship education.

Michael Y. Yap is a full-time Lecturer at Meiho Junior and Senior High School. He is currently pursuing graduate studies in special education. His main research interests include differentiated instruction, teaching English to students with learning difficulties, developing literacy skills for English language learners, extensive reading, extensive listening, and curriculum design for teacher development.