Iwate Chapter

(Read the archived description for the Iwate Chapter)

Iwate Chapter Events in 2006

Events archive by year:
2008 [6]; 2007 [8]; 2006; 2005 [6]; 2004 [11]; 2003 [10]; 2002 [10]; 2001 [9];

Sunday, January 22nd, 2006

The awareness of different communication styles and teachers' roles in different cultures

Speaker: Minako Kumagai, Kozukata High School, Morioka
Time: 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM (Sun., January 22nd, 2006)
Fee (JALT members): free
Fee (One-Day members): 1,000 yen
Prefecture: Iwate
City: Morioka
Venue: Iwate International Plaza, Morioka
Description: The Japan Exchange and Teaching program (the JET program) started in 1987, and the JET program seeks to improve foreign language education in Japan, and to enhance internationalization by helping promote international exchange at the local level and mutual understanding between Japan and other countries. Assistant Language Teachers (ALTs) are expected to assist in the improvement of foreign language and international understanding education at schools, and according to Council of Local Authorities for International Relations (CLAIR), in 2005 the number of ALT participants had reached 5,362 from 29 countries, and most of the ALTs are from English-speaking countries.

Many English educators and learners have welcomed the program, however, it cannot be denied that JTEs and ALTs have not integrated with each other completely. The presenter will talk about some problems and causes of the problems between Japanese Teachers of English (JTEs) and ALTs, and she will try to explore possible solutions for better understandings for both groups.

Sunday, February 26th, 2006

Enhancing Language Learning Awareness: an Orientation Workshop for College Students; JALT Open Mike Session

Speaker: Steve Brown, National JALT President
Time: 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM (Sun., February 26th, 2006)
Fee (JALT members): free
Fee (One-Day members): 1000 yen; students and ALTs 500 yen
Prefecture: Iwate
City: Morioka
Venue: Iwate International Plaza, Morioka
Description: Learners in colleges and universities are often left to their own devices when it comes to furthering their English studies outside the classroom. Having emerged from an exam-passing approach to get into the college or university, many of them are not quite sure how to set about improving their English, or even of what works (or doesn't work) for them.

In this presentation, Steve Brown describes and evaluates an orientation programme which was developed for incoming students in the English Department of a women's junior college over a period of five years. The programme was aimed at fostering students' awareness of their own learning styles, and also at alerting them to alternative approaches to learning English.

Steve will show some of the approaches used in the programme - active participation is encouraged! He also hopes to share ideas for ways in which this kind of programme might work in other contexts and institutions.

The presentation will be followed by an Open Mike session, when everyone can have a chance to ask questions, suggest ideas and share their concerns, complaints and opinions. Enjoy a no-holds-barred session with JALT's current President, Steve Brown!

Sunday, March 26th, 2006

How can we succeed in teaching English at Junior and Senior High Schools?

Speaker: James Hall, Iwate University Faculty of Education
Time: 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM (Sun., March 26th, 2006)
Fee (JALT members): free
Fee (One-Day members): free
Prefecture: Iwate
City: Morioka
Venue: Iwate University, Gakusei Senta, Room G21
Description: There is a consensus in second language acquisition that for students to learn a foreign language the following conditions must be met:

1) Learners should have plenty of exposure to the target language and the language that they hear should be comprehensible for their level of

proficiency

2) Learners need the opportunity to use the target language to communicate meaning and test their knowledge either by speaking or writing.

These conditions have not always been easy for me, the presenter, to meet at junior and senior high schools. On March 26, I would like to tell you about some of my successes and failures in 1) getting junior and senior high school students to listen and to understand my English and 2) providing the right kind of classroom environment or language activities where students want to use the language.We will then have small and large group story exchanging activities where we can share with each other our successes and failures in getting our students to listen and understand our English as well as getting our students to

speak. I believe that we can learn a lot from each other and from sharing our stories we can answer the question of �gHow can we succeed in teaching English at junior and senior high schools?�hJunior and Senior High School JTEs and ALTs, Iwate University students, and anyone interested in teaching English to junior and senior high school students are strongly encouraged to come and tell your stories. Even if you do not have any ideas or stories, come anyway! All are welcome!

Sunday, April 23rd, 2006

Language Learning Histories: A writing workshop for teachers with stories to tell

Speaker: Martha Clark Cummings
Time: 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM (Sun., April 23rd, 2006)
Fee (JALT members): free
Fee (One-Day members): 1,000 yen
Prefecture: Iwate
City: Morioka
Venue: Aiina, Morioka
Description: This workshop is for anyone who has a language learning story to tell. Through a series of exercises, using the techniques of published writers, the presenter, who writes fiction and non-fiction, will guide the participants through the writing and sharing of their stories. The workshop has three goals. The participants will learn how to bring their stories alive through writing and sharing. The participants will learn to help others, including their students, to write their stories. The presenter will solicit submissions for an edited volume of language learning histories that she is currently compiling for publication.

Sunday, May 28th, 2006

Kamishibai" in ESL/EFL classrooms (for students of all ages)

Speaker: Taeko Okamoto
Time: 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM (Sun., May 28th, 2006)
Fee (JALT members): free
Fee (One-Day members): Y1000
Prefecture: Iwate
City: Morioka
Venue: Aiina, Morioka
Description: Our May workshop will be a demonstration on how the art of Kamishibai picture storytelling can be implemented in ESL/EFL teaching. Ready-made commercialized kamishibai stories, magazine pictures, hand-drawn pictures, and photos will

be used. Reading, listening, speaking, and writing are involved. Live Kamishibai storytelling will also be done by the presenter-storyteller. Please don't miss this chance to

learn from an expert teacher!Taeko Okamoto, once a supervisor for practicing teachers,TESOL,Teachers College, Columbia

University, is presently an ESL Consultant, Kamishibai storyteller (local TV, schools, libraries, and other institutions) doing Kamishibai presentations/workshops at

Japan Education Center, Japan America Community Outreach, Japan Children's Society, JapanAmerica Communication Corp.,NY, and NYTESOL, State University of New York at New Paltz.

Sunday, June 18th, 2006

Seven Steps to Success with Young Learners

Speaker: Stan Pederson
Time: 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM (Sun., June 18th, 2006)
Fee (JALT members): free
Fee (One-Day members): 1,000 yen
Prefecture: Iwate
City: Morioka
Venue: Aiina, Morioka
Description: Young learners are less able to adapt education to their own needs. The teacher must therefore prepare more fully to provide them with a rich learning experience. This fast-paced workshop reveals the seven steps to success that apply to all your activities with young learners.

Sunday, July 23rd, 2006

Iwate JALT 20th Anniversary Barbecue

Speaker: various
Time: 1:00 PM - 5:00 PM (Sun., July 23rd, 2006)
Fee (JALT members): Free with potluck dish
Fee (One-Day members): Free with potluck dish
Prefecture: Iwate
City: Morioka
Venue: Higashi Matsuzono 3-2-9 Morioka
Description: We are very pleased to invite you to a barbecue to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Iwate JALT!!

Formerly Morioka JALT, our JALT chapter was started in 1986 by Robin Sakamoto, Natsumi Onaka and Izumi Suzuki.

Iwate JALT will supply a barbecue grill, charcoal, plates, napkins, cups, utensils, condiments and some chicken to barbecue.

Please bring a dish to share and your favorite beverage.Please respond to Catlin Hanna (hanna@iwate-pu.ac.jp) or Brian Evans (kazooboy2003@hotmail.com) if you plan on attending and tell them what kind of food you will bring so we do not have many people bringing the same food items.Some examples of food to bring: potato salad, pasta salad, edamame, yakisoba,onigiri, chips and dips, cheese and crackers, gyoza, fruit.

Sunday, September 24th, 2006

Celebration of Multiethnic Cultural Capital of Adolescent "Half" Girls in Japan

Speaker: Laurel Kamada
Time: 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM (Sun., September 24th, 2006)
Fee (JALT members): free
Fee (One-Day members): 1,000 yen
Prefecture: Iwate
City: Morioka
Venue: Mary's English Talk, 2-9-65 Kuroishino, Morioka; 019-663-3132
Description: This presentation examines the ethnic identities of a network of six Japanese-Caucasian early-adolescent girlfriends, who were born and raised in Japan by analyzing their talk within group discussions. The girls, who are all in the same grade at different schools and who consider each other to be "best friends", have been associated through their foreign parents' network of friends and associations since preschool. Spread over a geographically broad community, all of these girls attend Japanese schools, which socialize and enculture them in Japanese history, customs, mores, language, and thought parallel to their Japanese peers as opposed to multiethnic children who attend international or immersion schools in Japan. This presentation attempts to answer the research question of if these girls discursively (through their talk) celebrate their ethnicity; and if so how? This paper reveals that while they work to re-position themselves away from ethnic discourses of powerlessness, simultaneously, they create and celebrate their multi-ethnic cultural, linguistic, symbolic and social capital within alternative discourses of empowerment. The types of capital resources which these girls create for themselves here include: bilingualism, biliteracy, access to greater choices, multiethnic girl-friendships, intercultural savvy and ethnic embodied capital at the site of the body. The audience will be encouraged to ask questions and share their own stories.

Sunday, October 29th, 2006

"What did you think of the course?" - Understanding Students' Course Evaluations.

Speaker: Christine Winskowski and Susan Duggan
Time: 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM (Sun., October 29th, 2006)
Fee (JALT members): free
Fee (One-Day members): 1,000 yen
Prefecture: Iwate
City: Morioka
Venue: Mary's English Talk, 2-9-65 Kuroishino, Morioka; 019-663-3132
Description: Do you wonder what students are thinking when they fill out those end-of-semester course evaluation forms? Ever wondered why someone picked a 5 instead of a 6? A 4 instead of a 5? Since the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology mandated the administration of course evaluation forms in 1996, their use in Japan has sharply risen. In other countries, use of course evaluation forms is widespread, if still controversial. Since Japan has newly adopted this approach to teacher evaluation, we feel it is important to be clear what such instruments tell us, and what they don't tell us.

We decided to find out what students are thinking by interviewing 10 students as they filled out their evaluation forms. Following a recent line of research, we asked students to explain their understanding of the items' interpretation, and the reason for their ratings. While our findings are still at the pilot phase, it is very clear that students interpret items differently from one another, and base their ratings on different criteria (some of which seem only loosely connected to teaching effectiveness). These results reinforce the notion that course evaluation forms are at best low-precision instruments.In this talk, we will offer a little background on issues surrounding course evaluation forms, then present our preliminary findings (in the context of related research). Finally, we look forward to inviting your comments and discussion - please join us!

Christine Winskowski, who teaches English and American Studies at Morioka Junior College,(Iwate Prefectural University), has written and presented on the topics of students' course evaluations and the teaching of culture.

Susan Duggan, who teaches English at Iwate Prefectural University, specializes in English for medical and health professions.

Thursday, December 28th, 2006

Iwate JALT/Morioka Cricket Club Joint Bonenkai

Speaker: all
Time: 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM (Thu., December 28th, 2006)
Fee (JALT members): 3500yen
Fee (One-Day members): 3500yen
Prefecture: Iwate
City: Morioka
Venue: Tex-Mex Restaurant, Oodori, Morioka
Description: Please join us at the Tex-Mex restaurant (formerly Tipperary Pub) for our joint bonenkai!

Nomi-tabe hodai - Y3500

See you there!

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