Practical Publishing Skills: Turning Research into Clear, Publishable Papers by Kinsella Valies
September 20 @ 1:00 PM – 5:00 PM
Speaker
Kinsella Valies is a lecturer at Sophia University with an MA in Applied Linguistics from the University of Limerick. Her research focuses on filmmaking in language learning, TTRPGs, and collaborative research. She is a former The Language Teacher co-editor, a 2025 JALT invited speaker, and a JSPS Grants-in-Aid co-investigator.
Abstract
This session is designed for language teacher-researchers at all career stages who want concrete, transferable skills for developing research into publishable writing. While early-career teachers often face challenges in moving from data to manuscript, mid- and late-career researchers also benefit from refining alignment, clarity, and contribution in increasingly complex projects. This session treats research writing as a developmental, genre-aware, and socially supported practice, offering clear โcan doโ outcomes and practical strategies participants can immediately apply.
The 1-hour workshop focuses on core writing competencies across career levels. Participants will learn to align research questions, methods, results, and claims with clarity and precision, and to articulate meaningful contributions for different audiences and journals. They will also develop the ability to recognize and revise common weaknesses in quantitative and mixed-methods writing, while applying ethical and transparent uses of generative AI such as structural support, reader-simulation, and language-level revision.Through guided analysis of sample excerpts, participants will identify strengths and gaps in manuscripts and practice revising for coherence and reader engagement.
The 30-minute hands-on activity emphasizes practical application and take-home strategies. Participants will map their own research projects onto a clear manuscript structure, demonstrating that they can organize a paper from introduction to discussion. They will exchange focused peer feedback using reader-oriented prompts, showing that they can give and apply actionable feedback. They will also design a simple, ethical AI-supported revision plan tailored to their context, demonstrating that they can integrate AI responsibly into their writing workflows.
Across both components, the session highlights achievable โcan doโ goals for each stage of the writing process and provides adaptable tools, checklists, and peer feedback techniques. Emphasis is placed on maintaining human control, ensuring transparency, and building sustainable writing practices through collaboration, supporting participants in making steady progress toward publication regardless of experience level.
Event
The event will be held at Keio University, Hiyoshi, Raiosha Building 2F (Map Below)
It is free for JALT members or first-time non-JALT members and ยฅ2,000 for others.
