Iwate Chapter

(Read the archived description for the Iwate Chapter)

Iwate Chapter Events in 2008

Events archive by year:
2008; 2007 [8]; 2006 [10]; 2005 [6]; 2004 [11]; 2003 [10]; 2002 [10]; 2001 [9];

Saturday, January 19th, 2008

Comined Iwate JALT & morioka Cricket Club New Year's Party

Speaker: various
Time: 7:00 PM - 10:00 PM (Sat., January 19th, 2008)
Fee (JALT members): 3000 yen
Fee (One-Day members): 3000 yen
Prefecture: Iwate
City: Morioka
Venue: Tex-Mex Restaurant, Oodori, Morioka
Description: Join us to celebrate the new year and all the changes in our groups!

Sunday, March 9th, 2008

Assessing Young Learners' Language (YLL)

Speaker: Gerry Lassche, Miyagi Gakuin Women's University
Time: 1:30 PM - 4:30 PM (Sun., March 9th, 2008)
Fee (JALT members): free
Fee (One-Day members): 1,000 yen
Prefecture: Iwate
City: Morioka
Venue: Aiina, 8th floor, room 815
Description: Description: Assessing L2 development and proficiency tends to be a complicated responsibility for teachers and unpleasant for learners. It is even more complicated in the case of young (pre-adult) L2 learners (YLL), whose L2 proficiency develops even as L1 proficiency is still maturing and the learner continues to develop emotionally, socially, cognitively. In a workshop format, issues of psychological development as they relate to YLL assessment will be discussed, comparing and contrasting with the case of adult learners; guidelines for responsible assessment of YLL will be suggested; and assessment portfolios as a possible solution to some of the issues raised will be explored.

Gerry Lassche (MA � Education; RSA CELTA) is a lecturing professor of English at Miyagi Gakuin Women's University in Sendai Japan. Previously, Gerry worked in Korea for 10 years, teaching business English and teacher training. His research interests include testing, and curriculum / materials design.

Sunday, May 25th, 2008

Lesson Planning: As Easy As Pie!

Speaker: Lesley Ito
Time: 1:30 PM - 4:30 PM (Sun., May 25th, 2008)
Fee (JALT members): free
Fee (One-Day members): 1,000 yen
Prefecture: Iwate
City: Morioka
Venue: Aiina, Morioka
Description: Lesley Ito, owner of BIG BOW English Lab in Nagoya will present a simple and easy-to-use "Pie Chart" system for consistently creating high quality, balanced lesson plans and for keeping a manageable record of what has been taught throughout the year. Teachers who use the "Pie Chart" system will be able to easily create a curriculum that incorporates all four skills and school owners who employ teachers will be able to maintain high quality control in all classes.

Lesley Ito's bio:

Originally from Florida, Lesley Ito is an EFL teacher, private language school owner and teacher trainer in Nagoya with over 15 years of experience.

Sunday, June 22nd, 2008

Debate and Structured Discussions in the EFL Classroom

Speaker: Mark Neufeld
Time: 1:30 PM - 4:30 PM (Sun., June 22nd, 2008)
Fee (JALT members): free
Fee (One-Day members): 1,000 yen
Prefecture: Iwate
City: Morioka
Venue: Aiina, 6th floor, room 602
Description: In the first hour of the presentation I discuss the teaching of debate in the college EFL classroom. For those unfamiliar with debate, I examine the format of parliamentary-style debate, along with the vocabulary and methods involved in teaching and conducting debates in an English class. Then I open the discussion up to those attendees who have taught debate so that we can share our experiences and opinions.

In the second part of the presentation I describe a technique I've developed over the last six years or so that I call "Structured Discussions". The technique can be taught to high school and college students with high-beginner to advanced English ability, and can be used in oral English or integrated skills classes. It incorporates many of the skills associated with debate, but does not require the learning of specialized vocabulary or debate procedures. It can be done in pairs or small groups, and can be easily tailored to the students' needs and interests. The activities leading up to actual structured discussions include brainstorming, outlining, and practicing conversation management skills. Students get a chance to read, write and speak target vocabulary and grammar in a structured and systematic way, and I've found that by the end of a unit even weaker students are able to handle discussions lasting 15 minutes or longer.

Biography:

Mark Neufeld has an M.A. in Education (Emphasis in ESL) from the University of Colorado in Denver, Colorado, U.S. He is an assistant professor at Sakura no Seibo Junior College in Fukushima, where he has taught English for 15 years. Before that he taught at Sakura no Seibo High School for two years and at Berlitz Language School in Tokyo for 4 years.

Sunday, July 27th, 2008

What Do Your Students Really Think of Your Classes? Achieving More Effective Course Evaluations

Speaker: Christine Winskowski, Morioka Junior College and Susan Duggan, Iwate Prefectural University
Time: 1:30 PM - 4:30 PM (Sun., July 27th, 2008)
Fee (JALT members): free
Fee (One-Day members): 1000 yen
Prefecture: Iwate
City: Morioka
Venue: Aiina, 8th floor, Room 817
Description: Do you know what your students really think of your classes? Can you know this from conventional course evaluation forms? Are the course evaluation forms, which many colleges and universities make their students fill out, giving teachers accurate and meaningful feedback? If not, what can we do about it?

This workshop has two parts. In the first part, the presenters will bring up problems of standardized course evaluation forms with evidence from interviews with students. As students filled out a course evaluation form, they were asked, "What does this item mean?" and "Why did you choose that number for your answer?" We invite participants to comment on and discuss the surprising results.

In the second part of the workshop, participants will consider how to improve course evaluation forms and how to attain more efficient feedback from students about classes. The presenters will offer models and aids for meaningful course evaluation. Participants may use these to improve on course evaluation forms or think of alternative methods of evaluation. If you have a course evaluation form which you would like to discuss or work on, please bring it!

By the end of the workshop, participants should be able to think more critically about course evaluation, and determine more confidently the best way to elicit their own students' opinions and observations on their learning.

Sunday, September 28th, 2008

English Story Cycle: What, Why and How

Speaker: Anthony S. Rausch
Time: 1:30 PM - 4:30 PM (Sun., September 28th, 2008)
Fee (JALT members): free
Fee (One-Day members): 1000 yen
Prefecture: Iwate
City: Morioka
Venue: Aiina, 6th floor, room 602
Description: This presentation will introduce English Story Cycle as an approach to elementary school English in Japan. The presentation will detail what the English Story Cycle idea is, why it is appropriate for elementary school English in Japan, and how to conduct English Story Cycle, either as the basis for the overall curriculum or as a meaningful add-on to any other curriculum. Handouts will be provided, along with materials for a mock English Story Cycle sequence and samples of story books that have been used.

Note 1: Although the books that will be introduced are published by the major textbook publishing companies in Japan, the presenter has no financial interest in the materials.

Note 2: To the degree possible, materials and presentation will be offered bilingually, in English and Japanese.

Anthony S. Rausch is a member of the English Department of the Faculty of Education at Hirosaki University. He has taught English in a variety of circumstances and at a variety of levels for over 15 years. His current interests are elementary school English education and teacher training.

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