The Japan Association for Language Teaching

Kobe Chapter

(Read the archived description for the Kobe Chapter)

Kobe Chapter Events in 2008

Events archive by year:
2008; 2007 [6]; 2006 [10]; 2005 [7]; 2004 [6]; 2003 [7]; 2002 [9]; 2001 [8];

Saturday, January 26th, 2008

Professional Peer Development: Teacher-directed classroom observations

Speaker: Robert Croker and Juanita Heigham
Time: 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM (Sat., January 26th, 2008)
Fee (JALT members): free
Fee (One-Day members): 1,000 yen
Prefecture: Hyogo
City: Kobe
Venue: Kobe YMCA (2-7-15 Kano-cho, Chuo-ku, Kobe. tel: 078-241-7204)
Description: Teachers at all stages of their professional journey benefit from having another teacher come and observe them teaching. However, many teachers shy away from observations, as they feel that they will have little control over the process, and be evaluated subjectively by the observer. This workshop shows how the observation process can be teacher-directed not observer-directed, through reciprocal peer observations with another teacher. The workshop will walk participants through one observation cycle, from pre-observation discussions to the observation itself to the post-observation feedback. Participants will practice four classroom observations tasks.

Friday, March 28th, 2008

From Visitor to Resident - How you can set down roots in Japan

Speaker: Debito Arudou
Time: 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM (Fri., March 28th, 2008)
Fee (JALT members): free
Fee (One-Day members): 1,000 yen
Prefecture: Hyogo
City: Kobe
Venue: Kobe International House (Kokusai Kaikan) Gokodori 8-1-6, Chuo-ku, Kobe 651-0087. Tel: 078-231-8161
Description: Been in Japan for awhile? Planning to stay longer, even indefinitely? You owe it to yourself to know a few things about how to make your life easier over here--from getting the right visa to getting a better job, from dealing with family issues to dealing with employment issues, from living a quiet life to being an agent for social change. Arudou Debito, activist and author of book JAPANESE ONLY (Akashi Shoten 2004, 2006), will be presenting from his new co- authored book, HANDBOOK FOR IMMIGRANTS TO JAPAN (Akashi Shoten Inc. 2008). Learn how to make the best of life over here, from port of entry all the way through funereal arrangements. See table of contents and synopsis of the book at http://www.debito.org. The presentation will be followed by a lengthy Q&A session so you can raise other issues of your choice as well. Debito's website may be

found at www.debito.org.

Saturday, April 26th, 2008

Preparing for a University Year Abroad: Insights of Japanese Returnees

Speaker: Teresa Bruner Cox
Time: 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM (Sat., April 26th, 2008)
Fee (JALT members): free
Fee (One-Day members): 1,000 yen
Prefecture: Hyogo
City: Kobe
Venue: Kobe International House (Kokusai Kaikan) Gokodori 8-1-6, Chuo-ku, Kobe 651-0087. Tel: 078-231-8161
Description: What challenges do Japanese university students face when participating in

study abroad programs in English-speaking countries? How well are sponsoring

institutions preparing ryugakusei for the intercultural academic experience?

In-depth debriefing interviews with students who had returned from a year

abroad yielded a wealth of insights which have been compiled into a training

video featuring 9 Strategies for Academic Success.

Saturday, May 24th, 2008

Themed Tasks for the Communicative Classroom

Speaker: Marcos Benevides
Time: 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM (Sat., May 24th, 2008)
Fee (JALT members): free
Fee (One-Day members): 1,000 yen
Prefecture: Hyogo
City: Kobe
Venue: Kobe YMCA (2-7-15 Kano-cho, Chuo-ku, Kobe. tel: 078-241-7204)
Description: The speaker will demonstrate a 'strong' task-based approach to communicative teaching. This will be based on his co-authored title, Widgets (2008 Longman), but will also be relevant to teachers seeking to develop their own task-based materials. Focusing on classroom practice, and featuring relevant video examples, the presenter will encourage teachers to view fluency-building, motivation and classroom management from a new perspective.

This presentation is aimed at teachers of young adults in classes of 12-40 students (ie: senior high school and college/university). However, junior high school and conversation school teachers may also find it informative.

Saturday, June 21st, 2008

Shaping Teaching to fit Theories of Learning

Speaker: Curtis Kelly & Greg Rouault
Time: 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM (Sat., June 21st, 2008)
Fee (JALT members): free
Fee (One-Day members): free
Prefecture: Hyogo
City: Kobe
Venue: Kobe International House (Kokusai Kaikan) Gokodori 8-1-6, Chuo-ku, Kobe 651-0087. Tel: 078-231-8161
Description: Brain studies have given us a better picture of how learning occurs, but classroom methods have not kept pace. In this workshop, the presenters will review the fundamentals of learning – including multisensory input, deep processing, and meaningfulness – and examine multiple intelligences as a model for learning. Participants will then discuss teaching approaches that take these discoveries into account.

Saturday, September 27th, 2008

Rapid Word Recognition and Vocabulary Building Activities via Moodle

Speaker: John C. Herbert and Greg Rouault
Time: 3:00 PM - 5:00 PM (Sat., September 27th, 2008)
Fee (JALT members): free
Fee (One-Day members): 1000 yen
Prefecture: Hyogo
City: Kobe
Venue: 8th floor room 6, Kobe International House (Kokusai Kaikan) Gokodori 8-1-6, Chuo-ku, Kobe 651-0087. Tel: 078-231-8161
Description: In this workshop, the presenters will demonstrate how to create and facilitate online skimming and scanning activities and student-generated online glossaries. These activities have been derived from related paper-based activities which the presenters will expound upon. Therefore, participants who are not interested in taking the activities online will still walk away with useful teaching ideas to administer on paper.

Friday, November 7th, 2008

CLT in ELT inVietnamese Schools– Reality and Solutions

Speaker: Dr. Tran Van Phuoc
Time: 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM (Fri., November 7th, 2008)
Fee (JALT members): free
Fee (One-Day members): 1000 yen
Prefecture: Hyogo
City: Kobe
Venue: 8th floor room 4, Kobe International House (Kokusai Kaikan) Gokodori 8-1-6, Chuo-ku, Kobe 651-0087. Tel: 078-231-8161
Description: The research analyzes 5 aspects and 38 problems related to (1) teachers' understanding of CLT in ELT and their actual performance in the classroom, (2) teachers' organization of teaching activities in class, (3) existing textbooks and teaching-learning materials, (4) teaching facilities, and (5) teachers' suggestions. The presenter goes on to reaffirm the on-going application of CLT and presents some realistic solutions, namely (1) re-understanding about the principles of CLT, (2) a methodology appropriate to the Vietnamese context, and (3) an interlingual Vietnamese-English.

Find Events


The Japan Association for Language Teaching
Urban Edge Bldg 5F, 1-37-9 Taito, Taito-ku, Tokyo 110-0016, Japan
Tel: 0352885443