Want to get to know more of your fellow Nara JALT members? Over the next year, Nara JALT will host a series of online events aiming to get to know chapter members better. The first event in this series kicks off on December 5th. All Nara chapter members are invited to come together in this […]

Motoko Teraoka, Leigh McDowellMeet the Members in an interview series aiming to get to know our chapter members better. These interviews are released as Youtube videos and podcasts. In this the first episode in the series, we hear from Motoko Teraoka, who has been the Membership Chair and face of Nara JALT for over a […]

Kathy Yamane, Leigh McDowellMeet the Members is an interview series aiming to get to know our chapter members better. These interviews are released as Youtube videos and podcasts. In the second episode in the series, we talk with co-founding Nara JALT member, Kathy Yamane. Kathy’s work in linguistics and language teaching in Japan over the […]

Shoji Miyanaga, Leigh McDowellMeet the Members is an interview series aiming to get to know our chapter members better. These interviews are released as Youtube videos and podcasts. In this month’s episode of the Meet the Members series, we talk with Shoji Miyanaga. Shoji’s journey highlights the breadth of diversity of our membership. Enjoy. This […]

Masaki C. Matsumoto Students who come from minority backgrounds face obstacles that teachers, classmates, and administrators may not be aware of. Subtle and not-so-subtle biases exist, and it is important to not only raise our awareness, but to also actively work on ways to combat any resulting negative effects. Biases exist not only in the […]

All Nara Chapter members are invited to join this year’s AGM, to be held online on Zoom on the first Sunday of October from 9:00–10:30. The Zoom link and password, along with the agenda and details, will be sent out to chapter members in the October edition of the Dear Nara JALT newsletter. While this […]

John Carle, Jack Bower, Hiroya Matsumoto, Hiroyo Nakagawa, Kathy Yamane, Andy SowterKeep the first Sunday in December free for the Annual Conference for the JALT Nara Chapter! The theme of the conference is simply Nara JALT, and the program showcases the work of our own chapter members. 9:45–10:00 Opening Address 10:00–10:45 Andy Sowter—The Reality of […]

Azusa Matsumoto, Leigh McDowellEvent Speaker(s):  Azusa Matsumoto & Leigh McDowell Wednesday, June 28, 2023 Meet the Members is an interview series aiming to get to know our chapter members better. These interviews are released as Youtube videos and podcasts. In the fifth episode of the series, we talk with Nara JALT member, Azusa Matsumoto. Azusa is […]

Akiko Mokhtari, Leigh McDowellMeet the Members is an interview series aiming to get to know our chapter members better. These interviews are released as Youtube videos and podcasts. In this month’s episode of the Meet the Members series, we talk with Akiko Mokhtari. Akiko is one of our long-distance members whose continuing support is much appreciated. Enjoy.

Announcing the return in September of the popular Nara JALT MyShare event. Like its namesake, the long-running column in JALT’S The Language Teacher, the Nara JALT MyShare event is a great forum for the exchange of practical teaching ideas. The event will be held online, as follows. Date: Sep 10 (Sun) Time: 10:00–12:00 Venue: Zoom […]

All chapter members are cordially invited to the chapter AGM, to be held online on the second Sunday of November, as follows. Date: Sunday, November 12th, 2023 Time: 13:30 pm to 14:30 pm Location: Zoom* *The AGM is for Nara Chapter members in good standing.   Any chapter members in good standing who wish to attend the AGM […]

Prof. Gary Barkhuizen, ​ Prof. Takaaki Hiratsuka Friday, Dec 1, 7-9 pm Join us for an enlightening workshop that delves into the profound global and local applications of narrative inquiry within the realm of language teacher identity research. Narrative inquiry is a meticulous examination of “how individuals employ stories to construct meaning from their experiences in […]

Nara JALT 2023 This is the second annual NaraJALT conference. After our successful inaugural Nara JALT chapter conference in December 2022, we will once again be hosting a conference at Nara Women’s University in December this year. We have a wonderful group of speakers and hope to build on last year to see even more of […]

Tamara Cohen, Felicity Tillack , Seunghyun LeeNara JALT Co-sponsored Event: SIETAR Kansai presents: Women’s Mini Film Festival. Details: March is Women’s History Month, so in celebration: Women filmmakers: Past, present, and future Language: English About the Film Festival presenters: PAST: Tamarah Cohen taught English at the university level and made several thought-provoking films as well as transforming hundreds […]

Like the enduring MyShare column in JALT’s The Language Teacher, the Nara JALT MyShare event is a forum for educators to share and discover actionable teaching tips in a friendly and supportive atmosphere.  Event Theme: Teaching to Learn, Learning to Teach: We want to know your best teaching ideas for 2024!! This year’s MyShare will be held […]

  For the first time after the Covid 19 restrictions were lifted, Nara JALT holds a social gathering after the MyShare event. With the benefit of the event venue location, a cable car ride leads you to the eatery area near Mt. Ikoma, where you can pick out your favorite dishes from various types of […]

Amanda Gillis-FurutakaNaraJALT is proud to Co-Sponsor the SIETAR Kansai September 2024 meeting Profanity across cultures: What is taboo and why profanity exists Speaker:        Amanda Gillis-Furutaka (Kyoto Sangyo University) Date:              September 28, 2024 (Saturday)   Time: 14:00-17:00 Fee:                Free for members and students; non members: 500 yen Language:     English Venue:                        Nishinomiya […]

Eric Martin, Leigh McDowellThis is the seventh episode of the Meet the Members series.  In this episode our chapter president Leigh McDowell talks with Eric Martin who discusses his experience teaching at university here in Nara. Enjoy!! Meet the Members is an interview series aiming to get to know our chapter members better. These interviews are released as Youtube […]

Annual General Meeting: This is a reminder that the chapter AGM will be held online this month. The details are as follows: Date: Sunday, October 20th, 2024 Time: 1:30 pm to 2:30 pm Location: Zoom* *The AGM is for Nara Chapter members in good standing.    All Zoom Meeting Details: The details have been provided via the NaraJALT […]

Ben Tanaka, Erin Noxon, David Eckford, Olga Li & Akiko Mokhtari, Eric Martin, The 2024 Nara JALT Conference will be held at Nara Women’s University* on December 1st. Access: https://koto.nara-wu.ac.jp/gakusei/ryugaku/AI_NWU_e/access_map_e.html   We have another great lineup of speakers this year. The program has five presentations throughout the day, with plenty of time during and after for networking. […]

Held in spring to coincide with the beginning of the academic year, the NaraJALT MyShare event is a round-table discussion for sharing practical teaching ideas. We want to hear your best, tried-and-tested, practical language-learning activities.  Participants, or MySharers, in this open forum are given the choice to share one activity. No slides or elaborate presentations […]

This spring, join NaraJALT for a fun day out on Mount Ikoma, featuring wood-fired artisan pizza, easy-grade mountain hike, and exceptional spring views. Times, Locations and Links: 11:36 Ikoma Cable-car Tori-mae Station 12:00 Kumotei Stone-Oven Mountain Pizza Restaurant 14:00 Ikoma-sanroku Park Lunch Following the annual NaraJALT MyShare event, participants will walk to the Ikoma Cable-car Tori-mae […]

NaraJALT’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) was held in person and online on Sunday, the 19th of October.The meeting included three items: an amendment to the constitution, Officer reports and the election of new officers. We amended our constitution to change the informal chapter name of Nara JALT to NaraJALT Please refer to the constitution on the website for […]