The Japan Association for Language Teaching

Himeji Chapter

(Read the archived description for the Himeji Chapter)

Himeji Chapter Events in 2006

Events archive by year:
2008 [4]; 2007 [7]; 2006; 2005 [4]; 2004 [7]; 2003 [3]; 2002 [7]; 2001 [4];

Sunday, February 19th, 2006

The Role of Popular Music in the EFL Classroom and Preparing Students to Study at English-Speaking Universities

Speaker: Maggie Lieb and Linda Martine
Time: 1:30 PM - 5:00 PM (Sun., February 19th, 2006)
Fee (JALT members): free
Fee (One-Day members): 300 yen
Prefecture: Hyogo
City: Himeji
Venue: Hanakita Shimin Hiroba (Located directly across from Nozato Station on the Bantan Line. Plenty of free parking.) Bantan Line train leaves Himeji Station at 13:46
Description: POPULAR MUSIC AND ITS ROLE IN THE EFL CLASSROOM

Effective teaching and learning relies heavily on student interests and motivation. Itfs no secret how much high school and university students love popular music. It makes sense, therefore, to build upon this in the teaching of English, since the wealth of popular songs in the English-speaking world offers a rich and extensive course for language education. This workshop will examine the roles of popular songs in optimizing learning and motivation. The rationale for using popular songs in the EFL classroom will be explored and suggestions will be offered for their use. Song selection guidelines will be discussed. There will also be a practical demonstration of the use of popular songs in the classroom.

PREPARING STUDENTS TO STUDY AT ENGLISH-SPEAKING UNIVERSITIES

As more and more Japanese students seem to be electing to study at universities in English-speaking countries, it seems pertinent to examine the challenges students may encounter in their classroom interaction with their English-speaking classmates in the future. This presentation will outline the concerns come Japanese and other Asian students experienced while attending the MA TEFL at the University of Birmingham and using their recommendations, suggested activities that can be used in Japanese university classes to prepare students to study abroad. These activities will focus on helping students with the use of discourse strategy of turn-talking as well as focusing on raising cultural conciousness awareness and exposing students to the principles of small-group-work.

Sunday, July 9th, 2006

Singing for EFL

Speaker: Robin S. Eve
Time: 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM (Sun., July 9th, 2006)
Fee (JALT members): free
Fee (One-Day members): 1,000 yen
Prefecture: Hyogo
City: Himeji
Venue: Hanakita Shimin Hiroba (Located directly across from Nozato Station on the Bantan Line. Plenty of free parking.) Bantan Line train leaves Himeji Station at 13:46
Description: A music and language teacher, and long time resident of Japan, Robin Eve will lead the participants through an interactive session involving music, discussion, and detail regarding the use of song in the EFL classroom.

Sunday, September 10th, 2006

Multiple Pathways to Multiple Intelligences in the EFL Classroom

Speaker: Maggie Lieb
Time: 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM (Sun., September 10th, 2006)
Fee (JALT members): free
Fee (One-Day members): 1,000 yen
Prefecture: Hyogo
City: Himeji
Venue: Hanakita Shimin Hiroba (Located directly across from Nozato Station on the Bantan Line. Plenty of free parking.) Bantan Line train leaves Himeji Station at 13:46
Description: This presentation will provide an overview of Howard Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligences, and how it can be specifically applied to the EFL classroom. Since little research exists on the implementation of MI Theory in the EFL classroom, the presenterŐs goal is to de-mystify MI theory and to demonstrate to participants that many of the classroom techniques they currently use cater to a variety of intelligence types. The presentation aims not only to reinforce, but to add to MI practices already in use in EFL classrooms.

Sunday, October 8th, 2006

Easy and Fun Vocabulary Building Activities

Speaker: George Mano
Time: 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM (Sun., October 8th, 2006)
Fee (JALT members): free
Fee (One-Day members): 1,000 yen
Prefecture: Hyogo
City: Himeji
Venue: Hanakita Shimin Hiroba (Located directly across from Nozato Station on the Bantan Line. Plenty of free parking.) Bantan Line train leaves Himeji Station at 13:46
Description: Words are the building blocks of communication. This presentation aims to give teachers a ready made set of activities to use in helping students to build their vocabulary base.

Sunday, November 12th, 2006

Two Presentations: (1)Outdoor Language Activities, and (2) Combatting Plagiarism

Speaker: Terry Fellner
Time: 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM (Sun., November 12th, 2006)
Fee (JALT members): free
Fee (One-Day members): 1,000 yen
Prefecture: Hyogo
City: Himeji
Venue: Hanakita Shimin Hiroba (Located directly across from Nozato Station on the Bantan Line. Plenty of free parking.) Bantan Line train leaves Himeji Station at 13:46
Description: Title: Outdoor Language Learning: A novel approach to language learning through Outdoor Education

The presenter will introduce and justify the use of Outdoor Language Learning (OLL), as useful approach to enhance traditional classroom language learning. OLL represents a blend of several conventional language learning approaches and Outdoor Education. The presentation will illustrate the theoretical basis for OLL and then present nine reasons why all language educators should find Outdoor Language Learning compelling to use in enhancing their regular language teaching. The presenter also proposes that while OLL can be used in nearly any foreign or second language learning context it may be particularly useful for developing nations. The paper concludes by outlining several factors teachers should keep in mind when developing an OLL program and provides several examples of OLL activities that teachers can use in their classrooms.

2) Title; Student Plagiarism: What can be done?

Recently there seems to be an increased concern among the educational community regarding the problem of student plagiarism. While plagiarism is in itself not a new concern, there has been a renewed focus on this topic among teachers in Japan and other Asian communities. A recent Internet search using 'plagiarism by Japanese students' produced more than 300,000 hits alone. Is this concern among language instructors regarding plagiarism justified?

This presentation attempts to answer this question by first briefly examining some of the difficulties instructors have in defining plagiarism, determining what constitutes plagiarism, and consequently dealing with student plagiarism. The presentation will then illustrate eight common reasons as to why Japanese students are likely to plagiarize university writing assignments and show that plagiarism may be more prevalent than many teachers believe. It will offer a number of measures that instructors can take to motivate their students in creating and developing a sense of ownership and identity in academic writing, thereby reducing the likelihood of them plagiarizing.

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The Japan Association for Language Teaching
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Tel: 0352885443