The Japan Association for Language Teaching

Fukuoka Chapter

(Read the archived description for the Fukuoka Chapter)

Fukuoka Chapter Events in 2001

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

Sunday, January 28th, 2001

Fukuoka JALT's Annual Book Fair

Speaker: 21 presentations and workshops
Time: 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM (Sun., January 28th, 2001)
Fee (JALT members): free
Fee (One-Day members): free
Prefecture: Fukuoka
City: Fukuoka
Venue: Kyushu Building, 8F and 9F, Hakataeki-minami 1-8-31, Hakata, Fukuoka
Description: The largest annual event in Kyushu is coming again!

  • FREE ADVICE Get top-quality advice about the texts that are best for your classes. WORKSHOPS AND PRESENTATIONS Presentations all day, in English and in Japanese, starting from 10:00. See how the newest texts were designed to be used, and get practical ideas to take into your classes.
  • MATERIALS EXHIBITION At the materials exhibit, ELT consultants from the top publishing companies will be there to listen to you to help you find texts to suit your needs.
  • COPIES OF BOOKS See a book that looks promising? Request a free inspection copy. Take it to work, show it around. Make the right choice while saving money.
  • NOT ONLY BOOKS There will be two companies there who specialize in financial advice and financial planning. Other companies specialize in software. Visit their booths and/or attend their presentations.

Sunday, February 11th, 2001

Extensive Reading Across the Ability Spectrum!

Speaker: Ronan Brown (Seinan Gakuin University), Stephen Donald (Nagasaki Junshin University)
Time: 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM (Sun., February 11th, 2001)
Fee (JALT members): free
Fee (One-Day members): 1,000 yen
Prefecture: Fukuoka
City: Fukuoka
Venue: Aso Foreign Language Travel College, Hakata-eki-minami
Description: Extensive Reading (ER) - requiring students to read in quantity, with enjoyment and interest the main motivators - is an effective means of developing reading ability and overall language competence. Ronan Brown will outline the rationale, design and management of an ER program that currently forms an integral part of the curriculum for English literature majors at Seinan Gakuin University.Stephen Donald will explain the use of Pause, Prompt and Praise remedial-reading technique for learners with reading difficulties, and who need more guidance in order to become independent readers.

Saturday, March 31st, 2001

First Lessons: Several ideas for your first lessons of the school year

Speaker: Bob Servetter, Lyudmila Fudzikata, Malcolm Swanson, Paul Westrick, Bill Pellowe and J. Lake
Time: 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM (Sat., March 31st, 2001)
Fee (JALT members): free
Fee (One-Day members): 1,000 yen
Prefecture: Fukuoka
City: Fukuoka
Venue: Aso Foreign Language & Travel College (map on web site)
Description: All teachers who work on an academic year schedule will be facing new students in April. Since we've been through this before, many of us have developed a standard "first lesson" format to set the tone for the year. Come see 6 teachers demonstrate condensed versions of their own standard plans, followed by discussion.

Saturday, April 21st, 2001

Stop Making Sentences!

Speaker: Michael Guest, Miyazaki Medical College
Time: 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM (Sat., April 21st, 2001)
Fee (JALT members): free
Fee (One-Day members): 1,000 yen
Prefecture: Fukuoka
City: Fukuoka
Venue: Aso Foreign Language & Travel College, Bldg 5, 1-14-17 Hakataekiminami, Hakata-ku Fukuoka-shi (10 minutes from Hakata Station, map on web site)
Description: It has often been said that there is no such thing as a sentence in speech. Yet teachers and classroom texts still place an inordinate amount of focus on using sentences to teach spoken English. Using authentic samples of spoken English, this presentation will demonstrate why sentences are often unnecessary in spoken discourse and how a fixation upon sentences can actually impede communication.

Sunday, June 17th, 2001

Introducing Public Elementary School English and the Monbusho Handbook

Speaker: Tom Merner, Japan College of Foreign Languages
Time: 2:00 PM - 5:00 PM (Sun., June 17th, 2001)
Fee (JALT members): free (also free for ETJ members)
Fee (One-Day members): 1,000 yen
Prefecture: Fukuoka
City: Fukuoka
Venue: Aso Foreign Language & Travel College, Building 5, 1-14-17 Hakataekiminami, Hakata-ku Fukuoka-shi (10 minutes from Hakata Station; map on web site
Description: Amid much confusion, concern, and worry, English instruction is about to officially become one of the options for the new "Period for Integrated Studies" in the Japanese public schools. The Ministry of Education has recently published a Handbook for Elementary School English Teaching Activities, in hope of clarifying its position and also to provide support to elementary school teachers with little or no background in teaching English. The presenter, a member of the authoring committee of this handbook, will introduce the contents of the handbook. He will also share some views of what has already taken place, and in which direction public elementary school English seems to be heading. He will also introduce results of a survey he conducted to investigate the current situation in schools which have already implemented English.

Saturday, July 14th, 2001

Broadening Horizons: Exploring Gender Issues in the Classroom

Speaker: Kathleen Brown
Time: 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM (Sat., July 14th, 2001)
Fee (JALT members): free
Fee (One-Day members): 1,000 yen
Prefecture: Fukuoka
City: Fukuoka
Venue: Aso Foreign Language & Travel College, Building 5, 1-14-17 Hakataekiminami, Hakata-ku Fukuoka-shi (10 minutes from Hakata Station; map on web site
Description: This presentation will cover both the theoretical and practical aspects of gender issues in the classroom. Our main focus will be on teaching materials and ideas useful for introducing gender-related topics. Through the discussion of different paradigms, participants will also be challenged to think through their own conceptualizations of gender and how we bring these to the classroom.

Saturday, September 22nd, 2001

Teaching Debate

Speaker: Dominic Marini, Fukuoka International University
Time: 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM (Sat., September 22nd, 2001)
Fee (JALT members): free
Fee (One-Day members): 1,000 yen
Prefecture: Fukuoka
City: Fukuoka
Venue: Aso Foreign Language & Travel College, Building 5, 1-14-17 Hakataekiminami, Hakata-ku Fukuoka-shi (10 minutes from Hakata Station; map on web site
Description: This presentation is on teaching debating to Japanese college students. Participants will be asked to reflect and share opinions on various aspects of teaching with special attention given to students' needs. The presenter will offer theoretical and practical approaches that have been successful in his own classes. The audience will be invited to reflect on their assumptions about debating, and how to teach debate in an EFL context. Some of the questions addressed include:

  • What is debate?
  • What are your students' needs?
  • How can you teach argumentation?
  • How are writing, reading and listening related to debating?
  • What is the "best" debate format?
The presenter who has been teaching debating in Japan for eight years will share his failures and successes as well as results of recent in-class action research. The presentation itself will be a mixture of EFL theory, recounting classroom practice and practical suggestions for successful teaching and curriculum design. It is hoped that participants will come away with some questions that will help them teach debating regardless of their students' level.

Saturday, October 20th, 2001

Affective Factors in the Language Classroom

Speaker: Randall Pennington
Time: 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM (Sat., October 20th, 2001)
Fee (JALT members): free
Fee (One-Day members): 1,000 yen
Prefecture: Fukuoka
City: Fukuoka
Venue: Aso Foreign Language & Travel College, Building 5, 1-14-17 Hakataekiminami, Hakata-ku Fukuoka-shi (10 minutes from Hakata Station; map on web site
Description: Pennington will examine and discuss the degree to which Japanese students' affective filters affect their ability to learn English from native speaker teachers. He will then examine Japanese student expectations of how their teacher will and should behave, and this will be contrasted with native teacher expectations of student behavior. Motivation, and the lack of it, will also be examined.

Saturday, December 1st, 2001

Placement Testing and Placement Issues

Speaker: Kathleen Brown and J. Lake
Time: 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM (Sat., December 1st, 2001)
Fee (JALT members): free
Fee (One-Day members): 1000 yen (for one or both of this day's presentations)
Prefecture: Fukuoka
City: Fukuoka
Venue: Aso Foreign Language & Travel College, Building 5, 1-14-17 Hakataekiminami, Hakata-ku Fukuoka-shi (10 minutes from Hakata Station; map on web site
Description: This is the first of two presentations this evening under the theme of Placement Testing and Placement Decisions. This will be followed by a presentation by Paul Westrick entitled "Making and Using Vocabulary Tests for Vocabulary Size and Placement Decisions" (read details).

Making and Using Vocabulary Tests for Vocabulary Size and Placement Decisions

Speaker: Paul Westrick
Time: 8:10 PM - 9:00 PM (Sat., December 1st, 2001)
Fee (JALT members): free
Fee (One-Day members): 1000 yen (for one or both of this day's presentations)
Prefecture: Fukuoka
City: Fukuoka
Venue: Aso Foreign Language & Travel College, Building 5, 1-14-17 Hakataekiminami, Hakata-ku Fukuoka-shi (10 minutes from Hakata Station; map on web site
Description: This is the second of two presentations this evening under the theme of Placement Testing and Placement Decisions. (The starting time is approximate.) Details for this presentation will be forthcoming. This presentation follows a presentation by Kathleen Brown and J. Lake entitled "Placement Testing and Placement Issues" (read details).

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The Japan Association for Language Teaching
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Tel: 0352885443