Kitakyushu Chapter

(Read the archived description for the Kitakyushu Chapter)

Kitakyushu Chapter Events in 2008

Events archive by year:
2008; 2007 [13]; 2006 [9]; 2005 [13]; 2004 [15]; 2003 [13]; 2002 [13]; 2001 [9];

Saturday, January 12th, 2008

Themed Tasks for the Communicative Classroom

Speaker: Marcos Benevides
Time: 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM (Sat., January 12th, 2008)
Fee (JALT members): free
Fee (One-Day members): free
Prefecture: Fukuoka
City: Kitakyushu
Venue: Kitakyushu International Conference Center (a 5-minute walk from the Kokura train station for shinkansen, JR train)
Description: Benevides will demonstrate a 'strong' task-based approach to communicative teaching. This will be based on his co-authored title, Widgets (2008 Longman), but will also be relevant to teachers seeking to develop their own task-based materials. Focusing on classroom practice, and featuring relevant video examples, the presenter will encourage teachers to view fluency-building, motivation and classroom management from a new perspective.

This presentation is aimed at teachers of young adults in classes of 12-40 students (ie: senior high school and college/university). However, junior high school and conversation school teachers may also find it informative.

Saturday, February 9th, 2008

Dichotomies and Issues in Japanese Elementary School English Education - A Tale of Two Teachers

Speaker: David Latz and James Burdis
Time: 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM (Sat., February 9th, 2008)
Fee (JALT members): free
Fee (One-Day members): 1,000 yen
Prefecture: Fukuoka
City: Kitakyushu
Venue: Kitakyushu International Conference Center (a 5-minute walk from the Kokura train station for shinkansen, JR train)
Description: The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) is implementing a comprehensive push for English lessons in elementary schools. As of 2004, MEXT claimed over The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) is implementing a comprehensive push for English lessons in elementary schools. As of 2004, MEXT claimed over 90 per cent of elementary schools had conducted some form of English education. MEXT also aims for native speaker Assistant Language Teachers (ALTs) to be present in the majority of English language classes in elementary schools.

David Latz and James Burdis will give a snapshot of elementary school English education, and encourage discussion on some of the issues arising from MEXT policy. They will present a timeline of MEXT's policy reforms for English education in elementary schools, and give accounts of their respective experiences in public and private elementary schools, and how English has been introduced in these contexts.

They will then open the floor to discussion of some of the dichotomies and issues associated with English in elementary schools, such as native vs. non-native teachers, team taught vs. solo lessons, and dispatch teachers vs. teachers as faculty.

It is the presenters' hope that the audience gain an understanding of the scale of MEXT policy, and an insight into some of the issues that will affect teachers and students, the effects of which could arguably be of lasting consequence in their educational lives.

David Latz is a Brisbane-born Australian who has been teaching in Japan since 1999. He has taught in a range of workplaces, from conversation schools to the university level. He is currently employed at both Kyushu Kyouritsu and Shimonoseki City universities. His present professional interests include the teaching of pragmatics-based conversation strategies and the use of the Immediate Method in university English classes.

James Burdis is a British educator who has been teaching English in Japan since 1999. He holds an Honors BA in Linguistics and a Certificate in Elementary School Teaching of English and Maths He currently Senior English Teacher at MGSG Elementary School in Kitakyushu.

Saturday, March 8th, 2008

New Ideas to Change Junior High Lessons

Speaker: Koichi Kawamura, a graduate of Aoyama Gakuin University in Tokyo, has been teaching at junior high schools in Saitama for over twenty years.
Time: 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM (Sat., March 8th, 2008)
Fee (JALT members): free
Fee (One-Day members): 1,000 yen
Prefecture: Fukuoka
City: Kitakyushu
Venue: Kitakyushu International Conference Center (a 5-minute walk from the Kokura train station for shinkansen, JR train)
Description: Summary: Since in most public junior high schools no more than three lessons of English are given per week, it has been really difficult for junior high teachers to teach a new language: English. Being one of those teachers, Kawamura had a hard time treating students who easily forget what they learnt but struggled to create a lot of ideas to make them concentrate on limited number of lessons. In this presentation he will share some of his ideas to change an uninteresting classroom into a lively stadium of fun, interest and motivation: super bullet input, self-evaluation, English salon, chain letter etc. Participants will be asked to take active part in his workshop pretending to be mid-teens.

Koichi Kawamura, a graduate of Aoyama Gakuin University in Tokyo, has been teaching at various junior high schools in Saitama over twenty years, during which he has made great efforts to motivate his students to study English, especially those who already gave up the hope of becoming good at it. He has also been leader of a private group of English teachers in Saitama area called "Kyokason-juku" where he shares his teaching ideas and tips with young teachers who want to brush up their skills. In 2004 Kawamura's ideas were introduced in Japan Laim's DVD program "Masters in English Teaching." This will be his first appearance in Kitakyushu although he has been giving dozens of workshops for English teachers all over Japan.

Saturday, April 12th, 2008

A three-dimensional understanding of communicative language ability

Speaker: Yosuke Yanase (PhD, Hiroshima University) is Associate Professor of Applied Linguistics and TEFL at Faculty of Education, Hiroshima University.
Time: 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM (Sat., April 12th, 2008)
Fee (JALT members): free
Fee (One-Day members): 1,000 yen
Prefecture: Fukuoka
City: Kitakyushu
Venue: Kitakyushu International Conference Center (a 5-minute walk from the Kokura train station for shinkansen, JR train)
Description: Despite the unquestioned acceptance of the term, "communicative language teaching" would be disoriented without a good understanding of the concept of communicative language ability. A relatively well-clarified theory of the concept has been offered by Bachman and Palmer (1996). It is not without problems, however, in that (1) the concept of its central competence "strategic competence" is not exactly clarified; (2) the role of the body is neglected; (3) the theory of communication is not explicitly considered. In this presentation, which is an extensively enlarged version of the JACET 2007 symposium presentation. I will present a "three dimensional understanding of communicative language ability.

Saturday, May 10th, 2008

Gender Equality: Teaching Beyond Grammar

Speaker: Stefanie Tacata
Time: 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM (Sat., May 10th, 2008)
Fee (JALT members): free
Fee (One-Day members): 1,000 yen
Prefecture: Fukuoka
City: Kitakyushu
Venue: Kitakyushu International Conference Center, room 31 (a 5-minute walk from the Kokura train station for shinkansen, JR train)
Description: The inextricable link between language and culture is indisputable. ESL educators must understand that their responsibilities to their students are multi-faceted. They are not only teaching a language, but redefining their students' cultural paradigm. Their job reaches beyond grammar and vocabulary; manifesting into something much less tangible. Gender equality is a nuance of this manifestation, and therefore a significant component of teaching English. This presentation will provide a brief analysis of the international movement for gender equality, review current activities within the ESL and JALT communities that focus on gender equality, and provide examples of activities that might be useful within the classroom to promote gender equality awareness. The presentation will be based on scholarly articles, including many from JALT archives. Results of student surveys done at Baiko Gakuin University in Shimonoseki will also be presented. Although the control group is composed of university students, the presentation should speak to all educators, no matter what age or level they teach. As the world progresses into a more gender equalized sociopolitical era, so should our ideas of language and the way we teach it.

Stefanie Tacata is a full time lecturer at Baiko Gakuin University in Shimonoseki and a former lecturer of History at California State University, Fresno. She received both her BA and MA in History from California State University. She has presented research on twentieth century Cuban feminism at multiple conferences including the Graduate Symposium on Women and Gender at the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign, and the Women as Global Leaders conference in the U.A.E. Stefanie plans to continue her research on feminism and gender studies, and enter a PhD program for international/cross-cultural education.

Saturday, June 14th, 2008

TPR-S Storybook Fun

Speaker: Melinda Kawahara
Time: 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM (Sat., June 14th, 2008)
Fee (JALT members): free
Fee (One-Day members): 1,000 yen
Prefecture: Fukuoka
City: Kitakyushu
Venue: Kitakyushu International Conference Center (a 5-minute walk from the Kokura train station for shinkansen, JR train)
Description: Even the best teachers sometimes run out of ideas for their next class. Especially when teaching young learners, lessons must be well prepared and full of fun. In this workshop the presenter will demonstrate how to use TPR-S storybooks for children through games and activities. Following the natural teaching approach, TPR-S focuses on teaching sentence structures through story telling. This hands-on workshop will use colourful, eye appealing storybooks for young learners as an example. You'll experience firsthand how your students feel when learning another language and also be given a chance to practice what you've learned. Fun, creative and imaginative, this teaching approach will have your students anticipating their next English class. In this session a detailed lesson plan will be outlined and everyone will be given the opportunity to write their own personalized story.

Melinda Kawahara has been teaching EFL for the last 19 years to students of all ages. For the past five years she has been promoting using storybooks and story telling in the EFL/ESL classroom using the TPR-S method. She is the author of the Lindy Lizard storybook series, which incorporates the TPR-S methodology into the story. She has successfully passed three extensive TPR-S training courses in the United States and is currently the director of Lindy Lizard's English House where all classes are based on this method. She travels around Japan promoting this teaching method as a qualified teacher trainer.

Saturday, July 12th, 2008

Putting Our Heads Together

Speaker: Various
Time: 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM (Sat., July 12th, 2008)
Fee (JALT members): free
Fee (One-Day members): 1000 yen
Prefecture: Fukuoka
City: Kitakyushu
Venue: Kitakyushu International Conference Center, room 31 (a 5-minute walk from the Kokura train station for shinkansen, JR train)
Description: This month, we're going to give some time to talk about topics that merit discussion, but haven't had their own program recently. There will be something for everyone! If there's a topic you'd like to discuss, let us know or bring it along.

1. Extensive Reading�ER is becoming more and more popular, and lots of people have been experimenting with it. Have you set up or run a program at your institution, or incorporated into your courses? Come tell us how your program is structured and how it's working, and if you're thinking about starting one, come learn how others have done it.

2. Throwing away the textbook�We've all run into the limitations of textbooks....and sometimes courses can work well without them. Have you done classes without a text? How did it go? What have your experiences been with replacing texts with your own materials and ideas? Please share your experiences and suggestions.

3. Ongoing or planned research projects�What kinds of research are you doing, or what are you interested in? Is there any area for collaboration between members? What are we finding, or hoping to learn, from our research? How can our local chapter assist our members with their research - or how can JALT as a national body assist us?

Saturday, August 9th, 2008

Kitakyushu JALT 2008 SUMMER SOCIAL

Speaker: None
Time: 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM (Sat., August 9th, 2008)
Fee (JALT members): To be announced
Fee (One-Day members): To be announced
Prefecture: Fukuoka
City: Kitakyushu
Venue: Mojiko Hotel Beer Garden
Description: While we won't be holding a regular meeting in August, please join us at our annual summer social event at the fabulous Mojiko Hotel Beer Garden. Relax, eat, and drink while enjoying the company of other local JALT people. Bring a friend!

Saturday, October 11th, 2008

Two Christmas Activities

Speaker: Christopher Carman & Margaret Orleans
Time: 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM (Sat., October 11th, 2008)
Fee (JALT members): free
Fee (One-Day members): 1000 yen
Prefecture: Fukuoka
City: Kitakyushu
Venue: Kitakyushu International Conference Center, room 31 (a 5-minute walk from the Kokura train station for shinkansen, JR train)
Description: Although Christmas may still seem a long way off, it's never too early to start preparing for the day! This month we have a couple of activities guaranteed to bring some seasonal cheer into the classroom, as well as help your students gain a better understanding of the whole Christmas experience.

- Merry Christmas, Mr. Bean: Find all the Christmas iconography in the short video "Merry Christmas, Mr. Bean". Determine which icons are religious and which are secular. Create a narration and dialogue for the silent film.

- Illustrated Christmas Carol Titles: Match the punny illustrations with the names of traditional and offbeat Christmas songs. There's no need to be familiar with the songs themselves for this activity.

Thursday, November 6th, 2008

Development of an Online Speaking and Writing Test

Speaker: Robert Courchene
Time: 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM (Thu., November 6th, 2008)
Fee (JALT members): free
Fee (One-Day members): 1000 yen
Prefecture: Fukuoka
City: Kitakyushu
Venue: Kitakyushu International Conference Center, room 31 (a 5-minute walk from the Kokura train station for shinkansen, JR train)
Description: This workshop focuses on the development of an online speaking an writing test by teacher/researchers from the Official Languages and Bilingualism Institute at the University of Ottawa. Topics discussed in the workshop will include: development of a testing protocol, materials design, preparation of online and face-to-face interview formats, pilot testing of the speaking and writing tests, data analysis and of protocols, development of a computer software program for the online tests, field testing, working model. Presentation of sample tests, discussion of challenges, technical problems and proposed solutions.

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