Omiya Chapter

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Omiya Chapter Events in 2002

Events archive by year:
2008 [9]; 2007 [10]; 2006 [10]; 2005 [10]; 2004 [9]; 2003 [5]; 2002; 2001 [11];

Sunday, January 13th, 2002

The Cancer of Competition: Games in the ESL Classroom

Speaker: Chris Hunt, Wise Hat
Time: 12:00 PM - 5:00 PM (Sun., January 13th, 2002)
Fee (JALT members): free
Fee (One-Day members): 1,000 yen
Prefecture: Saitama
City: Omiya
Venue: Omiya Jack 6 F (near Omiya JR Station, west exit) tel: 048-647-0011
Description: Most teachers now regard the use of games as beneficial to language learning. But little attention has been given to the effect of the structure of the games used. By comparing the structure of competitive games with co-operative games the presenter will demonstrate how the structure of games affect learning. The inherent problems of competitive structures will be outlined and solutions given. By directly experiencing different kinds of game structures participants will come away both with practical new activities to use in the classroom and an understanding of how games fit into the classroom context.

Sunday, February 17th, 2002

Encouraging Listening Skills, and Practical Techiniques and Vocabulary Development for High School and Adult Students

Speaker: Andrew Tope, Longman ELT
Time: 2:00 PM - 5:00 PM (Sun., February 17th, 2002)
Fee (JALT members): free
Fee (One-Day members): free
Prefecture: Saitama
City: Omiya
Venue: Omiya Jack (near Omiya JR Station, west exit) tel: 048-647-0011
Description: Using high interest input, accessible tasks that clearly target specific listening goals, usable strategies and practical tips the presenter will offer techniques for teachers looking for ways to develop the listening skills their students need to succeed outside the classroom. In the second part, the presenter will demonstrate a variety of practical activities designed to boost vocabulary and reinforce vocabulary retention for students of all levels.

Sunday, March 17th, 2002

Meaningful Personal Discourse in the Classroom....Despite Textbooks

Speaker: Rob Hughes and Simon Evans, Seigakuin University
Time: 2:00 PM - 5:00 PM (Sun., March 17th, 2002)
Fee (JALT members): free
Fee (One-Day members): free
Prefecture: Saitama
City: Omiya
Venue: Omiya Jack 6F (near Omiya JR Station, west exit)
Description: The presenters believe that the communicative exchanges that take place in the classroom are rarely meaningful. This can change. Commercial instructional materials will be examined to determine their "communicativeness." The presenters advocate the use of icon-supported, teacher-made pairwork activities as a means to get students producing meaningful, extended, unscripted discourse.

Sunday, April 7th, 2002

Hanami Party (Cherry Blossom Viewing Party)

Speaker: It's a party!
Time: 2:00 PM - 5:00 PM (Sun., April 7th, 2002)
Fee (JALT members): see description
Fee (One-Day members): see description
Prefecture: Saitama
City: Omiya
Venue: Omiya Koen (see description for details)
Description: Come enjoy the cherry blossoms with our group! Cheese, senbei, mikan, and soft drinks will be provided. (Please feel free to bring your own alcohol.) JALT Members and their families pay 500 yen per person OR bring a dish. (FREE for Children under 12 and seniors.) One-day members pay 1000 yen. (500 yen discount with a dish.) For more information, please contact Paul Lyddon at palyddon@hotmail.com (or 090-5335-5130 on day of event). If the weather looks bad, please confirm on the day. Meeting place: Omiya Koen: Meet at "Mamenoki" in center of JR Omiya Station at 13:30 to go over with group.

Sunday, May 19th, 2002

Winning the Struggle to Teach High School Students to Communicate

Speaker: Phil Julien, Saitama Medical University
Time: 2:00 PM - 5:00 PM (Sun., May 19th, 2002)
Fee (JALT members): free
Fee (One-Day members): 1,000 yen
Prefecture: Saitama
City: Omiya
Venue: Omiya JACK 6F (near Omiya Station, west exit)
Description: Most high school teachers would probably agree that the textbooks approved by the National Ministry of Education are inadequate for teaching real communication. However, we can easily develop suitable materials ourselves just by using a little creativity and raising student awareness. The presenter will demonstrate how to create communicative materials that both maintain student interest and are easy to use.

Sunday, June 16th, 2002

The Art of Composing Haiku in English

Speaker: Kanda Sosuke, Haiku Society of America
Time: 2:00 PM - 5:00 PM (Sun., June 16th, 2002)
Fee (JALT members): free
Fee (One-Day members): 1,000 yen
Prefecture: Saitama
City: Omiya
Venue: Omiya JACK 6F, conf. room #2 (near Omiya Station, west exit)
Description: Haiku has been experiencing not only a revival in Japan but a surge in popularity abroad as well. In workshop format, the presenter will explain the hows and whys of writing haiku. The participants will then have the opportunity to write their own verses, later sharing their work and receiving personalized feedback.

Sunday, July 14th, 2002

What EFL Teachers Can Do to Stop the Spread of AIDS in Japan

Speaker: Louise Haynes, Nanzan University
Time: 2:00 PM - 5:00 PM (Sun., July 14th, 2002)
Fee (JALT members): free
Fee (One-Day members): 1,000 yen
Prefecture: Saitama
City: Omiya
Venue: Omiya JACK 6F (near Omiya Station, west exit)
Description: HIV infection rates are rising in Japan. What can teachers do? The topic of HIV/AIDS is one that students are eager to learn about, but teachers often feel it is difficult to talk about such sensitive topics in class. This presentation will give participants the background knowledge and teaching skills they need to be able to raise the issue of HIV/AIDS in their EFL classrooms, in order to help stem the tide of HIV. Participants will be shown how to approach the topic at various levels, using worksheets, videos, songs, games, and the Internet. Free teaching materials will be available.

Sunday, September 29th, 2002

Fluency vs. Accuracy: Habbick on Havoc

Speaker: Robert Habbick, Oxford University Press
Time: 2:00 PM - 5:00 PM (Sun., September 29th, 2002)
Fee (JALT members): free
Fee (One-Day members): 500 yen
Prefecture: Saitama
City: Omiya
Venue: Omiya JACK 6F, conf. room #2 (near Omiya Station, west exit)
Description: Having a good range of techniques for getting students to speak out in class is essential for the successful development of both fluency and accuracy. Giving students the right things to talk about is also important. This workshop will address the issue of fluency vs. accuracy and will offer practical techniques general activities for adult and young-adult students that can be put to immediate use in the classroom. There will be a full display of Oxford University Press materials and free sample copies available.

Sunday, October 20th, 2002

JALT 2002 Conference Preview

Speaker: Simon Evans, International Christian University; Phil Julien, Bunka Women's Univesity; Paul Lyddon, Seigakuin University
Time: 2:00 PM - 5:00 PM (Sun., October 20th, 2002)
Fee (JALT members): free
Fee (One-Day members): 1,000 yen
Prefecture: Saitama
City: Omiya
Venue: Omiya JACK, 5F, conference room #1 (near Omiya Station, west exit)
Description: In separate presentations, three local Omiya JALT members will give us a sneak peek of what to look forward to at the JALT 2002 conference in Shizuoka this November.

Simon Evans: The Cambridge Young Learners Exams.
English is now being taught in Japanese elementary schools, but the issue of testing student ability has yet to be addressed. The University of Cambridge has recently developed a series of tests to measure proficiency in all four basic communication skills for students aged 7-12 years. This presentation will examine the nature of these tests and their constituent tasks and consider their appropriacy in a Japanese context. Particular attention will be given to the compulsory speaking interviews.
Phil Julien: The Effects of Semantic Field and Depth of Processing on Incidental Vocabulary Acquisition.
Research has established that reading leads to considerable gains in vocabulary acquisition in both L1 and L2. However, to date researchers have concentrated on intentional vocabulary learning, with little attention being paid to incidental acquisition. This presentation will focus on the latter, specifically by exploring the effects of semantic fields and depth of processing.
Paul Lyddon: Creating the Conditions for Real Communication
Many students, especially in large classes, show minimal oral proficiency gains because they only "practice" language without ever processing it in any truly meaningful way. In this workshop, pairs of participants will analyze and compare speaking tasks with similar objectives to determine what makes one more genuinely communicative than another. Later, they will devise strategies for increasing student involvement and try them out on a sample activity before sharing their thoughts with the other participants.

All three presentations will also be done at the JALT 2002 conference.

Thursday, November 21st, 2002

Vocabulary and Grammar as Foundations for Reading Instruction

Speaker: William Grabe, Northern Arizona University
Time: 6:00 PM - 8:30 PM (Thu., November 21st, 2002)
Fee (JALT members): free
Fee (One-Day members): 1,000 yen
Prefecture: Saitama
City: Omiya
Venue: Omiya JACK 6F, conf. room #1 (near Omiya Station, west exit)
Description: In the many discussions of reading research and implications for instruction, the roles of vocabulary and grammar are often minimized. In this talk/workshop, Dr. William Grabe will highlight the importance of these two neglected areas and explore ways that they can be taught usefully in support of reading skills development. Example texts will then be examined to give practical consideration to various options and opportunities.
About the speaker:William Grabe is Professor of English and Chair of the English Department at Northern Arizona University. He is also the author of The Theory and Practice of Writing (with R.B. Kaplan, 1996) and the soon-to-be-published volume in the Longman series of Applied Linguistics in Action entitled Reading (with Fredricka Stoller), and a leading researcher in issues of L2 reading, writing, and literacy. He is currently the president of the American Association of Applied Linguistics and was, until recently, the chief editor of the Annual Review of Applied Linguistics.

Sunday, December 8th, 2002

My Share: Sharing Activities from Our English Language Classrooms (followed by Bonenkai)

Speaker: Various Omiya JALT Chapter Members
Time: 2:00 PM - 5:00 PM (Sun., December 8th, 2002)
Fee (JALT members): free
Fee (One-Day members): 1,000 yen
Prefecture: Saitama
City: Omiya
Venue: Omiya JACK, 5F, conference room #1 (near Omiya Station, west exit)
Description: Omiya JALT Chapter's annual tradition continues as various chapter members share activity and lesson ideas from their personal repertoires. Have something of your own to share? Contact Omiya JALT Chapter. Also, join us afterwards for a little merrymaking at the annual bonenkai (17:30 � 21:00, 6F, mtg. room #4).

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