Gavin YoungTwine interactive fiction/essay software — Gavin Young Twine is free, open-source software for telling interactive stories that can directly be published to HTML. Either downloaded or used online, Twine allows students to create interactive texts that can include questions, images, and audio. As a tool to create games, Twine is intuitive for educators and […]

Scott Gardner, Teresa StockwellWe review several recorded Zoom classes to see how student and teacher humor in direct reference to the online medium contributed to the classroom environment. Often the humor was accidental, sometimes intentional. We then speculate how these humorous episodes may have worked—or not, in some cases—to empower students in their feelings of […]

severalJoin us on Zoom for a virtual hop-around to hear from our presenters about many interesting topics related to language teaching. Zoom breakout room access will be controllable by you, the guest (as long as you have a recent enough version of the free software). TOPICS: Jason Lowes – The Role of Prediction in Learning […]

Jennifer GreenWhat the f@!#: Taboo language for EFL? by Jennifer Green (Miyagi Gakuin Women’s University) Abstract: We all remember when starting to study another language, the giggly moment when you learn a “bad word”. The excitement, the laughter, but often not thinking beyond that to what situations you would actually hear or use such words […]

severalPlease join us for an afternoon of sharing. Peachy Presentations are short (6-8 minutes), visually oriented presentations on various topics that relate to learning, teaching, Okayama, Japan, and life. People share their thoughts in a relatively quick format, with a few slides to illustrate, and then we talk about those thoughts in a Q&A that […]

Simon Capper, Jim Ronald, Marshall HigaLateral thinking puzzles are goal-oriented, problem-solving, communicative activities that offer engaging and entertaining challenges for learners of all levels. Having used these puzzles extensively in class, and – a decade ago – based a textbook around them, we recently had the opportunity to revise the book and introduce an even […]

Keiko Sakui, Mari NakamuraThis presentation explores learner agency and motivation through project-based teaching. The two presenters will discuss their respective experiences of project-based teaching, and how and whether this type of teaching promotes learner agency and motivation. The first presenter, Mari Nakamura, will describe one of the creative projects that she implements in her language […]

Jason LowesThe year 2021 has not been easy. In some ways we were getting used to the “masked” life of pandemic Japan, and looking forward to its end. But then one of the worst corona outbreaks occurred this summer, 18 months in, just when we were supposed to be climbing back to normalcy. Okayama JALT […]

Peter BurdenA strong and vital school ethos has the potential to raise the levels of students’ school engagement. Yet what is “ethos”? It can be described as institutional “core values, attitudes, beliefs and culture”, or, more simply, the welcome of the office staff, the positive attitudes of teachers and students, or as a “subliminal smile […]

NatureJoin us for an easy hike on Mount Tatsunokuchi! Basic Plan We will meet at the parking. We will then take the ‘Danhara’ pilgrims’ route to the shrine at the top. The first section is a little rocky, but it’s good fun. We will then walk to the summit and back down to the parking. […]

Susan Meiki, Teresa StockwellSusan Meiki and Teresa Stockwell will talk about their experience of creating and self-publishing an English Speaking textbook using Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) system. In part one, we will discuss the catalyst, inspiration, content, and student reactions. In part two we will share the logistics of formatting and publishing on Amazon. […]

Satoko Kato, Dominique Vola Ambinintsoa, Melodie CookThis workshop focuses on enhancing teachers’ well-being through the approach of ‘reflective dialogue’. In this workshop, the presenters break down the concept of reflective dialogue and facilitate a practical session where participants can learn how to conduct reflective dialogue. Participants will learn some basic active listening strategies (repeating, restating, […]

Tim Cleminson, Ian NakamuraThis workshop starts with an introduction to exploratory practice by Ian. Exploratory practice is an inclusive approach to teaching and professional development that foregrounds mutual understanding through dialogue. Tim and Ian will then facilitate pair work based on the exploratory practice approach. Participants will be asked to think about their working lives […]

Tim Cleminson (organizer)Presenters write down a personal puzzle or question about their practice, then write a couple of short points to discuss. Observer/participants listen to presenters introduce their puzzles. They can share experiences and add thoughts and reflections to the puzzle. In this way, the presentation is collaborative and grows throughout the session. This will […]

variousWe invite JALT friends to contribute a short, visually oriented presentation for 6 to 8 minutes on a topic that’s important to you. You can talk about your research, about your philosophy of teaching, etc. (Hopefully your presentation will relate somehow to Japan, Okayama, and/or language teaching/learning, but it’s not a strict requirement.) We will […]

Robert PeacockPronunciation skills are vital for successful communication in English in today’s globalized world. But there are many important questions related to pronunciation practice. • Do learners need to sound like native speakers in order to communicate well? • How can learners retain their L1 identity? • When and how should learners practice their pronunciation? […]

Roger Ferrari , Bobby Saito Roger Ferrari This is a brief introduction of a method I’ve developed to help English learners improve their speaking skills. It is based on acting techniques and speech therapy and involves repetition of sounds to strengthen the biomechanics of speech (the tongue, jaw, lips and such). The presentation will discuss […]

Keiko Sakui, Neil CowieMachine Translation and the Future of Language Learning Keiko Sakui & Neil Cowie Machine Translation (MT) software such as Google Translate or DeepL is ubiquitous in society, and its level is now higher than that of most language learners. As a result, teachers need information about how best to use MT in […]

Tim CleminsonOFFICER MEETING From 15:00 to 17:00 JALT officers will meet to discuss the year’s plans and introduce new officers. NEW YEAR SOIREE Starting at 17:00 we invite all JALT members and friends to come for an informal social gathering at Kamp. Charge is free in general, although there is a one-drink minimum at the […]

These days students can easily use Machine Translation (MT) to avoid doing L2 educational activities, such as reading an English text. On the other hand, MT can be used as an effective learning and communication tool. Considering this, teachers must set guidelines and incorporate educational activities which promote the effective use of MT. As the […]

Tim Cleminson, Scott Gardner, Evelyn Hayashibara, Jason Baideman, David Townesend, Heather SuzukiOpportunity for members to present their research and practice in a friendly atmosphere.  Drink and food will be shared as well as lots of discussion on the topics and themes of the presentations.

Bruno Jactat, Shawna Carroll, John RucynskiIf you are encouraged (or required) by your institution to apply for yearly kakenhi research grants, join us for some helpful advice from a few people who have successfully applied. First we have: Bruno Jactat (University of Tsukuba) Perusal of a Successful Kakenhi Application : Drafting a Winning Grant Application […]

Tim CleminsonBusiness Meeting / Free Share and Social! Okayama JALT is going to hold a combined business meeting and free-share even this Saturday, June 17, at our usual location at Notre Dame Seishin University. Feel free to join us as we talk about the needs of JALT members in Okayama, and share other teaching, researching, networking […]

Alexandra Sebastiano, Justin HarrisTBLT and ELF: Implications for materials design Justin Harris, Kindai University This talk will focus on how ELT materials design can effectively reflect core principles of Task Based Language Teaching (TBLT) and English as a Lingua Franca (ELF). It will begin with discussion on the basics of TBLT and ELF, providing clear, […]

Tim Cleminson (Kawasaki University of Medical Welfare), Rudolf Reinelt (Formerly of Ehime University), Bettina Begole (Tottori University of Environmental Studies)Okayama, Matsuyama and Tottori JALT – ONLINE EVENT     COST: Free to all PRESENTATION RESCHEDULED (Date TBD) We are very sorry to inform you the event this weekend has to be rescheduled.  The rescheduling is due […]