Akita Chapter

(Read the archived description for the Akita Chapter)

Akita Chapter Events in 2006

Events archive by year:
2008 [5]; 2007 [6]; 2006; 2005 [8]; 2004 [9]; 2003 [10]; 2002 [8]; 2001 [7];

Saturday, February 25th, 2006

A Drama Approach in an Autonomous Learning Environment

Speaker: Steve Brown (current JALT's President)
Time: 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM (Sat., February 25th, 2006)
Fee (JALT members): free
Fee (One-Day members): 1,000 yen for non-members, 500 yen for students
Prefecture: Akita
City: Akita
Venue: Yugakusha
Description: Drama in the language classroom is often thought of as just a series of 'techniques' or 'fun activities' aimed to get students actively using the language, but it can be so much more.

In this presentation, Steve Brown links the theory and practice of a drama approach to the area of learner autonomy, arguing that the two areas make an extremely effective combination in the language classroom. He will give a practical demonstration of how such an approach has been used at university level, actively aiming to engage learners in the learning process and encouraging them to work together as a group, sharing the responsibility for their own learning.

This won't be just a talk: participants should expect to be actively engaged and have fun!

Saturday, April 22nd, 2006

Language Learning Histories: A writing workshop for teachers with stories to tell

Speaker: Martha Clark Cummings
Time: 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM (Sat., April 22nd, 2006)
Fee (JALT members): free
Fee (One-Day members): 1,000 yen for non-members, 500 yen for students
Prefecture: Akita
City: Akita
Venue: Room B103 at AIU (Akita International University)
Description: This workshop is for anyone who has a language learning story to tell. Through a series of exercises, using the techniques of published writers, the presenters, who write fiction and non-fiction, will guide the participants through the writing and sharing of their stories. The workshop has three goals. The participants will learn how to bring their stories alive through writing and sharing. The participants will learn to help others, including their students, to write their stories.

Saturday, May 27th, 2006

Using "Kamishibai" in ESL/EFL Classrooms for Students of All Ages

Speaker: Taeko Okamoto
Time: 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM (Sat., May 27th, 2006)
Fee (JALT members): free
Fee (One-Day members): 1,000 yen for non-members, 500 yen for students
Prefecture: Akita
City: Akita
Venue: Room B103 at AIU (Akita International University)
Description: This workshop demonstrates how the traditional Japanese art of kamishibai picture storytelling can be implemented in ESL/EFL teaching. Ready-made commercialized kamishibai stories, magazine pictures, hand-drawn pictures, and photos will be used. Reading, listening, speaking, and writing are involved. Live kamishibai storytelling will also be done by the presenter-storyteller.

Saturday, June 24th, 2006

Using a "College Success" textbook for university English students and on ways to use content in general

Speaker: Mark Cunningham
Time: 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM (Sat., June 24th, 2006)
Fee (JALT members): free
Fee (One-Day members): 1,000 yen for one-day members, 500 yen for students
Prefecture: Akita
City: Akita
Venue: Room B103 at AIU (Akita International University)
Description: �gCollege success�h courses and textbooks help new students adjust to an environment where they must take more responsibility for their learning while avoiding the many problems that contribute to high dropout rates at many US universities. They are an increasingly common feature in US higher education. This article considers how the language of learning skills and strategies in college success courses textbooks can provide both a useful foundation for integrated-skills, content-based language instruction and valuable opportunities for reflective learning about other cultures, about the distinctive culture of the university, and about learning itself.

The presentation describes experience with the use of a college success textbook in an advanced English for Academic Purposes class during five terms in an intensive English program. Student surveys, interviews, classroom video, and student-generated and instructor-generated materials and activities are discussed, along with student�fs views of tasks used in conjunction with the text and the extent to which they brought about improvement in specific areas such as vocabulary and reading speed and comprehension. The remainder of the presentation will focus on practical techniques for using content.

Saturday, July 22nd, 2006

ESP- Adapting a US High School Science Textbook for the Classroom - Redux

Speaker: Stephen Shucart
Time: 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM (Sat., July 22nd, 2006)
Fee (JALT members): free
Fee (One-Day members): 1,000 yen for non-members, 500 yen for students
Prefecture: Akita
City: Akita
Venue: Room B103 at AIU (Akita International University)
Description: This is a talk on how I adapted a high school science textbook for the language classroom based on Neal Anderson's ACTIVE READING series. The original presentation was given before the classes had actually begun. This talk presents the reaction to the classes, plus improvements that have been added, including listening to science essays on an iPod nano.

Stephen Shucart has been Associate Professor of English at Akita Prefectural University, Honjo campus for the last 7 years.

Saturday, September 30th, 2006

Assisting Learners: One ALT's Experience

Speaker: Mike Plugh
Time: 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM (Sat., September 30th, 2006)
Fee (JALT members): free
Fee (One-Day members): 1,000 yen for one-day members, 500 yen for students
Prefecture: Akita
City: Akita
Venue: Room B103 at AIU (Akita International University)
Description: Being an ALT means different things for different people. With few standardized guidelines about how an ALT is to be used, schools are left to build relationships with their new foreign staff on their own. For this reason, the range of ALT experiences is vast and varied. In my presentation, I hope to shed light on some of these experiences and the things I've learned about feelings on both sides of the team teaching system. My main focus, however, will be my own experience teaching at a SelHi, or Super English Language High School. Some of the important points that will be covered are:

1. How I got here.

2. I'm not an English teacher...

3. What value do I bring, contrasting the JTE's lessons?

4. Differences in teaching English Course and Regular Course students.

5. Where do I draw my teaching resources from?

6. My thoughts on the future of the JET Programme.

Saturday, October 21st, 2006

"What did you think of the course? - Understanding Students' Course Evaluations"

Speaker: Christine Winskowski and Susan Duggan
Time: 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM (Sat., October 21st, 2006)
Fee (JALT members): free
Fee (One-Day members): 1,000 yen for one-day members, 500 yen for students
Prefecture: Akita
City: Akita
Venue: Room B103 at AIU (Akita International University)
Description: Do you wonder what students are thinking when they fill out those end-of-semester course evaluation forms? Ever wondered why someone picked a 5 instead of a 6? A 4 instead of a 5? Since the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology mandated the administration of course evaluation forms in 1996, their use in Japan has sharply risen. In other countries, use of course evaluation forms is widespread, if still controversial. Since Japan has newly adopted this approach to teacher evaluation, we feel it is important to be clear what such instruments tell us, and what they don't tell us.

We decided to find out what students are thinking by interviewing 10 students as they filled out their evaluation forms. Following a recent line of research, we asked students to explain their understanding of the items' interpretation, and the reason for their ratings. While our findings are still at the pilot phase, it is very clear that students interpret items differently from one another, and base their ratings on different criteria (some of which seem only loosely connected to teaching effectiveness). These results reinforce the notion that course evaluation forms are at best low-precision instruments.

In this talk, we will offer a little background on issues surrounding course evaluation forms, then present our preliminary findings (in the context of related research). Finally, we look forward to inviting your comments and discussion � please join us!

Saturday, December 9th, 2006

Fostering Positive Changes in Students' Beliefs about Learning English

Speaker: Terri Lee Nagahashi
Time: 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM (Sat., December 9th, 2006)
Fee (JALT members): free
Fee (One-Day members): 1,000 yen for non-members, 500 yen for students
Prefecture: Akita
City: Akita
Venue: Room B103 at AIU (Akita International University)
Description: Becoming proficient in English as a foreign language (EFL) is a challenging task for many students in Japanese universities. Plagued by negative appraisals, low motivation and an inability to direct and sustain learning efforts, students�f progress is often slow. Previous research in this area has found that the university entrance examination system and the role of higher education are two critical factors that impact students�f appraisals, motivation and progress. Several key characteristics of this system, and potential strategies for improvement, will be addressed in this presentation. First, an explanation of the Japanese education system will be provided, as well as demonstrating how this system creates negative appraisals and restricts students�f opportunities for self-directed learning. Second, the traditional role of higher education and its impact on students�f motivation and progress will be examined. Third, the results and implications of a novel interventional study of learning English in a Japanese university will be presented.

Terri Lee Nagahashi has been teaching English to speakers of other languages (TESOL) for over twenty-five years in the United States, Mexico, Sweden, and Japan. She is currently a full-time faculty member of the International Communication Studies Department of Akita University.

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