The Japan Association for Language Teaching

Osaka Chapter

(Read the archived description for the Osaka Chapter)

Osaka Chapter Events in 2001

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

Sunday, February 18th, 2001

Language and Cognitive Science

Speaker: Dean Williams
Time: 2:00 PM - 4:30 PM (Sun., February 18th, 2001)
Fee (JALT members): free
Fee (One-Day members): 1,000 yen
Prefecture: Osaka
City: Osaka
Venue: Abeno YMCA (near Tennoji Station)
Description: Psychological, symbolic-mathermatical, or social theories of language are insufficient because they do not adequately address the indisputably biological nature of our species' linguistic ability. This presentation will attempt to draw together the strands of evolution, brain science, and linguistics to portray at least roughly how nature may have formed language in the human model.

Sunday, May 20th, 2001

Self Assessment

Speaker: Gregory Anderson, Kwansei Gakuin University
Time: 2:00 PM - 4:30 PM (Sun., May 20th, 2001)
Fee (JALT members): free
Fee (One-Day members): 500 yen
Prefecture: Osaka
City: Osaka
Venue: Abeno YMCA (near Tennoji Station)
Description: This workshop will focus on aspects of evaluation used in the English for Academic Purposes program at Kwansei Gakuin University's School for Policy Studies. Participants will learn how peer and self assessment involves students in discussions, presentations, and writing. Participants will receive a booklet of materials and discuss the rationale and possible adaptation of the methodology.

Sunday, June 17th, 2001

Developing a Conversational Syllabus

Speaker: Josh Kurzweil, Kansai University
Time: 2:00 PM - 4:30 PM (Sun., June 17th, 2001)
Fee (JALT members): free
Fee (One-Day members): 500 yen
Prefecture: Osaka
City: Osaka
Venue: Abeno YMCA (near Tennoji Station)
Description: The presenter will show how by adopting a "test-teach-test" approach in speaking classes, teachers can create a student-centered environment which focuses on real communicative needs. Kurzweil will give examples of how language study, skills practice, and conversation strategies arise directly from gaps that teachers observe in student interactions.

Sunday, October 21st, 2001

Stories for the Heart

Speaker: Curtis Kelly and Mitsuo Nakamura, Heian Jogakuin University
Time: 2:00 PM - 4:30 PM (Sun., October 21st, 2001)
Fee (JALT members): free
Fee (One-Day members): 500 yen
Prefecture: Osaka
City: Osaka
Venue: Abeno YMCA, near Tennoji Station
Description: Kelly and Nakamura will help us explore the power of stories in the classroom: why they appeal to us and how we can use them to humanize our classes. In addition to some general theories, we will be given some heart-warming stories to try out ourselves. There will be officer elections after the presentation.

Saturday, November 17th, 2001

English Teaching Development in Vietnam

Speaker: Nguyen thi Hoai An, a featured speaker at JALT 2001
Time: 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM (Sat., November 17th, 2001)
Fee (JALT members): free
Fee (One-Day members): 500 yen
Prefecture: Osaka
City: Osaka
Venue: Abeno YMCA, near Tennoji Station
Description: Nguyen thi Hoai An will talk about the dramatic changes that English teaching has made in Vietnam. While relying totally on textbooks provided by the Ministry of Education in the 1970s, English teachers and learners in Vietnam are now enjoying a much wider variety of resources. There are signs that English teaching has been impressively enhanced, although teaching and testing methodologies and facilities still need to be improved. Nguyen thi Hoai An will relate personal and professional experiences to her developing understanding of learner autonomy, and encourage participants to make similar connections. About the speaker: Nguyen thi Hoai An has worked with University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate (UCLES), first as an Oral Examiner, then as a Consultant and Regional Team Leader (Speaking Tests). She is a featured speaker at the PAC3/JALT2001 Conference.

Sunday, December 2nd, 2001

Personal and Public Writing

Speaker: Michael Carroll, Momoyama University
Time: 2:00 PM - 4:30 PM (Sun., December 2nd, 2001)
Fee (JALT members): free
Fee (One-Day members): 500 yen
Prefecture: Osaka
City: Osaka
Venue: Abeno YMCA, near Tennoji Station
Description: The idea of 'finding your voice as a writer' has obvious relevance to high-level learners but some may be skeptical about whether it has any meaning in relation to other learners. Michael Carroll of Momoyama University will show that coming to feel a sense of ownership over words and structures of a language is a crucial part of being able to use that language at any level. This sense of ownership is not separate from, but inextricably tied to an understanding of concrete grammatical features.

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The Japan Association for Language Teaching
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Tel: 0352885443