Tokyo Chapter

(Read the archived description for the Tokyo Chapter)

Tokyo Chapter Events in 2008

Events archive by year:
2008; 2007 [6]; 2006 [3]; 2005 [9]; 2004 [6]; 2003 [6]; 2002 [3]; 2001 [4];

Tuesday, September 9th, 2008

Focus on Form in ESL/EFL Classrooms

Speaker: Dr. Sandra Fotos
Time: 7:10 PM - 8:40 PM (Tue., September 9th, 2008)
Fee (JALT members): free
Fee (One-Day members): 1000 yen
Prefecture: Tokyo
City: Tokyo
Venue: Temple University Japan Room 213
Description: Following the introduction of communicative approaches in second language (L2) teaching in the 1980s, teachers were encouraged to believe that grammar instruction plays little or no role in L2 pedagogy. Now, however, both teachers and researchers agree on the importance of formal instruction for the attainment of accuracy and emphasize the need for a focus on grammar in communicative language teaching. This talk introduces the concept of focusing on form, discusses its evolution and describes its current scope and definition. Different input and output options for integrating form-focused instruction and meaningful communication within the EFL context are presented and discussed.

Sandra S. Fotos is professor of English in the School of Economics at Senshu University. Her research interests include bilingualism, the effects of formal instruction on second language acquisition, and computer assisted language learning (CALL). Her books include Studies in Japanese Bilingualism (2000, Multilingual Matters), New Perspectives on Grammar Teaching in Second Language Classrooms (2002, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates), and New Perspectives on CALL for Second Language Classrooms (2004, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates). Her most recent book is Form-focused Instruction and Teacher Education: Studies in Honour of Rod Ellis (2007, Oxford University Press).

Friday, October 3rd, 2008

Huh? Oh. Aha! Differences between rote memorization and active thinking

Speaker: John F. Fanselow
Time: 7:15 PM - 8:45 PM (Fri., October 3rd, 2008)
Fee (JALT members): free
Fee (One-Day members): 1000 yen
Prefecture: Tokyo
City: Tokyo
Venue: Temple University Japan Room 213
Description: When a person in a language class responds to a question with "Huh? Sorry, I can't remember" the person is implying that rote-memorization is the main way to learn a language. Questions in textbooks and on tests that ask for restatement of information also send the message that we learn through rote memorization.

Though there is a place for some rote-memorization in all learning, to assimilate and internalize a language we want to learn we need to use predicting skills. Though we cannot learn without increasing the amount of language that we move into our memory, the least efficient way to move anything into our memory is through rote memorization. The most efficient way to move something into our memory is through predicting and projecting meanings -- connecting what we do not know with what we know.

During the session, we will do a range of activities to contrast learning through predicting and projecting and rote memorization.

Sunday, October 5th, 2008

The JALT 3rd Annual Joint Tokyo Conference - Exploring and Evolving Classroom Environments

Speaker: Rob Waring, Neil Cowie, Keiko Sakui, Kevin Ryan, Alastair Graham-Marr, Allan Bosaer, Tomio Uchida
Time: 9:45 AM - 5:30 PM (Sun., October 5th, 2008)
Fee (JALT members): Pre-Registered - 1,500 yen / Non-Registered 2,000 yen
Fee (One-Day members): Pre-Registered - 2,500 yen / Non-Registered 3,000 yen
Prefecture: Tokyo
City: Tokyo
Venue: Toyo Gakuen University, Hongo Campus - http://www.tyg.jp/e/other_information/access_information.html
Description: 09.45-10.15: Registration

10.15-11.00: Kevin Ryan - Some ideas for blending technology into the ELT Classroom

11.15-12.00: Tomio Uchida - Exploring how to use a corpus in oral communication courses

12.00-13.15: Lunch

13.15-14.00: Keiko Sakui & Neil Cowie - Beyond motivation: Exploring group dynamics, investment and resistance in Japanese EFL students

14.15-15.00: Rob Waring - Building an interesting Extensive Reading library

15.15-16.00: Alastair Graham-Marr - The benefits of output: an evolving understanding

16.15-17.00: Alan Bossaer - Do my students really know what I've just taught?

17.00-17.30: Coffee with the Presenters

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