JALT2024 Plenary Speakers

JALT is proud to have the following distinguished plenary speakers for JALT2024!

Liying Cheng

Assessing for Student Success

Workshop

Presentation Time: Sunday, November 17, 12:00 PM-1:00 PM

In the present educational climate, teachers are continually faced with complex assessment issues. There is a great deal of discussion now about alignment as a guiding principle for high quality assessment; that is, the degree of agreement amongst standards/examinations, curriculum, learning outcomes, assessment tasks (including tests) and instruction. Alignment, along with validity, reliability, fairness, consequences, and practicality, are viewed as central aspects of assessment practice which supports learning. Assessment serves as the key process to check on learning and provide essential information to teachers. Assessment is an on-going, iterative, and cyclical process of supporting students throughout teaching. In this sense, teaching and assessment are one integral and interconnected process. Teachers need to constantly ask themselves: Have my students learned? And how well have they progressed as a result of my assessment practices? For teachers to support student learning through assessment, teachers need to engage themselves as well as their students in the discussion of assessment of learning, assessment for learning, and assessment as learning. We know that alignment and assessment of, for, and as learning ultimately empower our students’ language development.

Andy Curtis

The New Peace Linguistics: Words and Worlds, War and Peace

Workshop

Presentation Time: Sunday, November 17, 2:20 PM-3:20 PM

Although the idea of Peace Linguistics (PL) has been around for decades, the practice of PL is much more recent, and until recently PL in the field of TESOL was defined and described mainly in terms of English language teachers working with English language learners to help them use non-threatening language that would not upset anyone, and thereby avoid conflict. In addition to adding more to the already-full plates of such teachers and students, much of the PL work was heavy on the ‘P’ for Peace but light on the ‘L’ for Linguistics or Language Study, i.e., with little, if any, deep-level systematic analyses of any language. Consequently, PL was re-defined as: “an area of applied linguistics, based on systematic analyses of the ways in which language is used to communicate/create conflict and to communicate/create peace. PL is interdisciplinary, drawing on fields such as peace studies/peace education and conflict resolution/transformation, bringing those together with fields such as sociolinguistics and critical discourse analysis, including text/genre analysis” (Curtis, 2018). Out of that re-defining came a New Peace Linguistics (NPL) which focuses on the language of the most powerful people in our world today, as it is they – sadly not us, as language teachers and learners – who have the power to end the war or to end the world. How they use language can affect us all. Therefore, NPL dives deep into the language of those people, to help us make a more peaceful and less war-torn world.

Liying Cheng is Professor and Dean, School of Education, City University of Macau. Prior to joining the City University of Macau, she has been Professor and Director of Assessment and Evaluation Group at the Faculty of Education, Queen’s University, Ontario, Canada. Her seminal research on washback illustrates the global impact of large-scale testing on instruction, and the relationships between assessment and instruction – with 2.4 million CAN$ of research grants and more than 170 publications.

Andy Curtis is a Specially Appointed Professor in the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at the City University of Macau. From 2015 to 2016, Dr. Curtis served as the 50th President of the TESOL International Association. He has (co)authored and (co)edited 200 publications, presented to 50,000 language educators in 100 countries, and his work has been read by 100,000 language educators in 150 countries.

This journey of embracing diversity in our teaching practice, can be a transformative one, offering educators a chance for personal growth and professional development. Moreover, the dichotomy between native and non-native speaker teachers, far from being beneficial, has proven to be outdated and a source of more harm than good to the development of English language teacher identity (Houghton & Rivers, 2013). This dichotomy has resulted in discriminatory practices towards teachers who do not fulfil certain racial, gender and nationality criteria, such as being denied job opportunities or facing unequal treatment in the workplace. As a result, it has limited students’ access to cultural funds of knowledge and diverse teaching methods. It is now time to move beyond such limiting discourses and celebrate the different things teachers from all backgrounds bring to the table. In this talk, I will discuss how teachers can use their diverse identities to create meaningful student learning experiences. Using examples from my teaching career and stories from my research participants, I will illustrate how important it is for students and teachers to increase their awareness of diversity-related issues and the positive impact such awareness has on increasingly diverse student populations. In a world marked by divisions, the act of embracing diversity not only becomes a path to excellence but also a gateway to a multitude of opportunities for all.

Diversity and Teaching Practice

Workshop

Presentation Time: Monday, November 18, 1:00 PM-2:00 PM

Berbain, Bainegas, and Beacon (2021), assert that “Diversity needs to inform the construction of the learning environment, syllabi, and curricula…” (p.5). This assertion underscores the practicality of the strategies discussed in this workshop. Educators will be encouraged to increase their awareness of the importance of diversity in ELT, stimulating the creation of culturally responsive and inclusive activities that they can readily use in their classrooms. The workshop will start by examining the concept of diversity in ELT and then progress to the various strategies that can be used to incorporate diversity and issues related to diversity into classroom practice. This interactive workshop will provide educators with practical opportunities to examine their current teaching practices and curricula and devise strategies to teach in inclusive ways that value hidden and visible diversity within student and teacher populations. Berbain, P., & Banegas, D.L, & Beacon, G. (Eds.). (2021). International perspectives on diversity in ELT. Palgrave Macmillan.

Avril Haye-Matsui, a lecturer at Aichi Prefectural University, holds a PhD in applied linguistics from Ochanomizu University. Her research focuses on intersectionality, teacher identity, and social justice in ELT. She explored the experiences and identity development of African Diaspora women in Japan. Dr. Haye-Matsui co-founded Black Women in Japan and founded the Women’s Empowerment Circle. She resides in central Japan with her family.

As threats to human dignity and existence are growing in our society, language educators have increasingly recognized the importance of equity, diversity, inclusion, and social justice. This trend is consistent with our professional mission to promote cross-cultural communication which contributes to protecting human dignity and building solidarity across differences. Central to this mission is justice-affirming language teaching for raising critical consciousness of how oppressive forces affect the lives of individuals who are positioned differently in power hierarchies. This pedagogical framework also requires what Paulo Freire called “praxis” or committed critical reflection and action for transformation. In this presentation, I will outline the conceptual foundation of justice-affirming language teaching by shedding light on critical pedagogy, antiracism, decolonial/anticolonial thinking and praxis, and intersectional justice. While these orientations synergically work to advance justice, they are also confronted with obstacles. They include enduring coloniality and Eurocentrism, neoliberal ideology that imposes norm-based accountability, a risk of becoming complicit with normative ideas and practices, a tension between universal rights and the contextual meaning of justice, and a tendency of merely thinking or talking but not acting. One way of exercising praxis is mobilizing knowledge in the form of public scholarship. I will share some examples and invite the audience to explore how a justice-affirming vision can be put into praxis.

Embracing the Diversity of English and English Users

Workshop

Presentation Time: Saturday, November 16, 11:50 AM-12:50 PM

In English language teaching and sociolinguistics research, the heterogeneity of English has been discussed in terms of world Englishes, English as a lingua franca, English as an international language, nonnative speakerness, among others. Although these perspectives challenge the normative understanding of language forms and practices, including phonological, lexicogrammatical, pragmatic, and discourse features, they tend to overlook interactional experiences of language users with various intersectional identities. Moreover, as Kumaravadivelu (2016) points out, scholars and professionals who engage in intellectual critiques of normative ideologies, such as native speakerism and the superiority of standardized language, often fail to practice what they advocate in their professional discourses. Overall, critical discussions tend to be confined in academic bubbles and devoid of praxis—committed critical reflection and action for transformation (Freire, 1998). This workshop will provide an overview of the importance of focusing on language users by addressing the intersectionality of race and language as an example and introduce a documentary film making project as a form of public scholarship. Audience will be invited to generate ideas of how the film can be used for raising critical consciousness and what similar projects can be developed as enacting praxis.

Ryuko Kubota is a Professor in the Department of Language and Literacy Education at University of British Columbia. Her research draws on critical approaches to language education, especially focusing on antiracism, intersectional justice, language ideologies, and critical pedagogies. Previously, she taught EFL in public schools in Japan and JFL in higher education in the United States. She is a co-editor of Discourses of Identity: Language Learning, Teaching, and Reclamation Perspectives in Japan(Palgrave, 2023).

How can we help our students strive for excellence, embrace diversity, and maximize opportunity? As we celebrate JALT 50 we find ourselves reflecting on our journeys as educators in Japan, and looking forward to where we must go. Sixteen years ago, I founded KOBILS, a bilingual international school in Kobe, with the aim of cultivating creative thinkers bold enough to take responsibility for their own learning, make mistakes, embrace diversity, and view challenges as opportunities for growth. In this session I share innovative strategies and examples from our work at KOBILS that transcend traditional language teaching to foster resilience, autonomy, creativity and flexible thinking, and enhance social-emotional learning among students of all ages. I propose a three-pronged approach that 1) integrates soft skills with highly engaging, collaborative learning 2) encourages students to identify what needs changing in our world, speak up and speak out against everyday injustice, and fiercely protect the environment, and 3) leverages the power of AI to responsibly boost students’ academic contributions without overshadowing their individual voices. Join me in exploring this plan that transforms language classrooms into incubators of innovation and empathy. Let’s rethink and reshape our approaches to teaching, to ensure we equip our students with the skills, tools and mindset to thrive in an ever-changing world. Let’s commit to making a difference by embracing opportunity, celebrating diversity, and striving for excellence so it is reflected back in our students’ achievements, contributions and their love of learning.

Rethinking Assessment for Future Success

Workshop

Presentation Time: Saturday, November 16, 3:20 PM-4:20 PM

This future forward workshop will challenge educators to explore alternative approaches to assessment that align with the themes of Opportunity, Diversity, and Excellence and turn traditional assessment on its head by embracing innovative approaches to evaluating and supporting student growth. It is crucial we develop assessment strategies that not only measure academic performance but also foster creativity, critical thinking, personal growth, autonomy and resilience in students. This session will examine formative assessments, project-based learning, and student self-assessment techniques that provide a more holistic view of student capabilities while developing their pride in their achievements. Participants will engage in practical exercises to kickstart the design and implementation of these alternative assessments in their own classrooms whether they be teaching children, university students or adults. We will discuss how these methods meet diverse student needs and how they promote a growth mindset, encouraging students to see assessments as a tool for learning and development rather than just to please parents or teachers, to secure a grade or as a ticket to career advancement. Additionally, we will explore the integration of technology in assessment, particularly the use of AI to provide personalized feedback and support student learning. Educators will leave this workshop with actionable strategies to transform their assessment practices that ensure they are equitable, inclusive, and conducive to preparing students for future success.

Janina Tubby is the founding head at Kobe Bilingual School (KOBILS), a bilingual international elementary school, kindergarten, and licensed daycare. With 30 years of diverse educational leadership experience, from university to corporate setting to public school, Janina is committed to pushing educational boundaries and fostering resilience, creativity, and a passion for learning and seizing opportunity in her students and the education system as a whole.