Shinshu Chapter

(Read the archived description for the Shinshu Chapter)

Shinshu Chapter Events in 2006

Events archive by year:
2008 [10]; 2007 [11]; 2006; 2005 [11]; 2004 [10]; 2003 [7]; 2002 [8]; 2001 [6];

Sunday, February 19th, 2006

Abraham and Albert- The ELT Implications Of Two Western Pedagogical Theories

Speaker: Sean Mehmet
Time: 2:00 PM - 4:45 PM (Sun., February 19th, 2006)
Fee (JALT members): free
Fee (One-Day members): 1,000 yen
Prefecture: Nagano
City: Matsumoto-shi
Venue: Nan-nan Hiroba, Shichokakushitsu (AV Room), near Minami Matsumoto Station
Description: Part 1: (Approximately the first sixty minutes, including a ten minute Q & A session) Abraham Maslow's "Hierarchy of Needs" is now a full five decades old. So, over the past fifty years, what have educators gleaned from this theoretical framework? Specifically, this interactive, practical presentation will address ten points that language educators could implement to help learners journey down the path to self-actualization. Motivating the unmotivated will be one of the thrusts of this first hour.

Part 2: (Approximately the second sixty minutes - including a ten minute Q & A session) More recently, Albert Bandura's "Theory of Social Learning" offers several direct insights for in the field educators. These insights will be examined, and in the process, reference will, time permitting, be made to the work of Lev Vygotsky, and his "Theory of Social Cognitive Development".

Sean Mehmet holds a graduate degree from the University Of Ottawa, Canada, where his main research interest was intercultural competence for educators. He aspires to one day relate the psychoanalytic research of R.D. Laing to the (seemingly unrelated) field of ELT. He and his family reside in Ueda city, where they strive to engage in grassroots level internationalization on a daily basis.

Sunday, March 19th, 2006

The 2nd Annual Mini Colloquium

"Researching ELT in the Japanese Context"

Speaker: Theron Muller, Joel Thomas, Sue Fraser Osada, Tetsu Osada, Phil Brown, Takashi Matsuzawa, Atsuko Otsuki and Eddy Jones
Time: 9:15 AM - 3:00 PM (Sun., March 19th, 2006)
Fee (JALT members): free
Fee (One-Day members): free
Prefecture: Nagano
City: Nagano
Venue: Seisen Jogakuin College, Nagano
Description: The Shinshu ELT Research Group will be holding its 2nd Annual Mini Colloquium on the general theme of "Researching ELT in the Japanese context" in association with Shinshu JALT. This will be a day of academic presentations (20-25 mins)for teacher/researchers with a slightly longer Q and A time (10-15 mins)so that more time can be given over to discussion and feedback to improve that research. There will also be an Open Research Support time for those looking for guidance in their academic assignments at postgraduate level. It is an event intended as a platform for researchers wishing to polish and improve their work in a constructive environment. Those undertaking distance MA programmes, especially with Birmingham University will find this a valuable event to support their research.

For further details check out the website for the Research Group at www.eltresearch.com

For enquiries contact 2006miniconference@eltresearch.com

For general enquiries about the event (including a map), contact

John Adamson on 0266 - 288070 or

johnadamson@eltresearch.com

The Shinshu ELT Research Group is a regional group operating in the Shinshu area, but welcomes participation from those in other areas. We look forward to seeing you at the Mini Colloquium.

Sunday, April 16th, 2006

Communication through Drama

Speaker: Sue Fraser Osada
Time: 2:00 PM - 4:45 PM (Sun., April 16th, 2006)
Fee (JALT members): free
Fee (One-Day members): 1,000 yen
Prefecture: Nagano
City: Matsumoto-shi
Venue: Matsumoto M-Wing, Room 4-2, across from PARCO
Description: In this workshop, drama techniques and activities to develop communication skills through fluency, pronunciation, co-operative learning, confidence-building and intercultural awareness will be presented. Osada will demonstrate how drama can be effectively employed to motivate all levels and ages of FL learners, by introducing activities used in contexts as diverse as Japanese high schools, multi-lingual teacher training, young learners and non-EFL-specialist university courses. Techniques reflect a progression from discrete warm-ups to extended practice and performance. Active involvement by participants is expected in this workshop!

Osada is now teaching at Seisen University and Nagano Kosen, and conducting research into L2 communicative competence of Japanese senior high school students. Prior to settling in Japan, she worked at the Institute for Applied Language Studies (IALS), University of Edinburgh, UK, mainly involved in teacher training and ELT materials writing. Her particular interests are in attitudes to pronunciation and varieties of English, language and culture, and developing fluency through the use of Drama and Literature inFLT. She holds a M.Sc. in Applied Linguistics from Edinburgh University, and is currently working on a Doctorate of Education at University of Durham.

Wednesday, May 3rd, 2006

The 17th Annual Suwako Charity Walk

Speaker: Hirokazu Takahashi
Time: 8:10 AM - 2:00 PM (Wed., May 3rd, 2006)
Fee (JALT members): free
Fee (One-Day members): free
Prefecture: Nagano
City: Suwa
Venue: Meet at the Katakura Fureai Nagisa (the outside auditorium next to Lake Suwa)
Description: The 17th Lake Suwa Charity Walk is a great opportunity to discover the environmental issues about Lake Suwa. The starting time is at 8.10 am with an introductory talk at 8.15 to explain the day's schedule. After this we have the choice of walking in two directions halfway around the lake (appr. 8 km.) accompanied by Shinshu University researchers who will explain environmental issues in easy terms. We all meet up at Shimohama Kumin Center (across from Kamaguchi Suimon, the water lock) at 11.30. A special forum starts at 12.00 in which we can enjoy an environmental talk by Shinshu University graduate student Hirokazu Takahashi. A quiz game in both English and Japanese follows this talk, and a prize will be given to the winner. This year's musical entertainment will be provided by Oliver Carter and Mark Brierly. The forum itself closes at 1.30 after which we catch the swan boat back to Suwa at 2.00 pm.

Please bring your own lunch and pencils for the quiz.

Donations are welcome (to go to Suwa Kankyo Machizukuri Kondankai - a local Suwa-based environmental group).

This is a family-friendly day so bring the kids!

Sunday, June 4th, 2006

Adapting textbooks for more successful lessons

Speaker: Tetsu Osada
Time: 2:00 PM - 4:45 PM (Sun., June 4th, 2006)
Fee (JALT members): free
Fee (One-Day members): 1,000 yen
Prefecture: Nagano
City: Matsumoto-shi
Venue: Matsumoto M-Wing, Room 4-2, across from PARCO
Description: In this workshop, problems facing EFL teachers at Japanese high schools and colleges resulting from using published textbooks will be presented and discussed. Problems arise when activities are not suitable for large-class, or mono-lingual situations. Some activities are too mechanical, whereas others are too ambitious, so that students cannot produce output as is intended by the textbook. Such unsuccessful activities may not only lead to demotivation, but also result in students being unable to communicate in the target language. In order to solve these problems, underlying causes will be identified, and ideas for adapting published textbooks for more appropriate and hence more successful lessons will be explored and suggested.

Osada is now teaching at Yashiro High School. His main interests are listening tests and textbook adaptation. He holds a M.Ed. in TESOL from University of Edinburgh.

Sunday, July 9th, 2006

A Comprehensive Approach for Learning English with Computer Assistance

Speaker: Peter Wanner
Time: 2:00 PM - 4:45 PM (Sun., July 9th, 2006)
Fee (JALT members): free
Fee (One-Day members): 1,000 yen
Prefecture: Nagano
City: Nagano
Venue: Nagano Kinrosha Fukushi Kaikan, Ongaku shitsu (Music Room), Kenchomae dori.
Description: For English teachers, the concept of independent and dependent English skills is an area that university and class curricula tend to take into consideration. The independent approach tends to separate the skills and hence the four skill areas might be taught independently in different class units. The dependent approach is represented more in courses that teach all four skills within one class unit. This presentation will discuss the relationship between reading and writing, and speaking and listening. These two groups of skills often accompany each other as pairs. The presenter will show the relationship reading and writing can have in improving fluency in speaking and listening. Two groups of students will be discussed, a control group and an experimental group. The discussions of both the control and experimental group were the same discussion topics. The results indicate that the experimental group that performed reading and writing tasks related to discussion topics in group conversations was more fluent in speaking and listening skills than students in the control group who were not required to do reading and writing skills related to their discussions. The presenter will provide examples of how to incorporate computer grammar check programs, reading fluency programs, and speaking analysis programs into a comprehensive learning environment for developing more fluent conversation skills in Japanese college students.

Dr. Wanner has taught large and small classes at national and private universities for the past 12 years. He is currently an Associate Professor in the Graduate School of International Cultural Studies at Tohoku University.

Sunday, August 27th, 2006

Phonics and Animating your Children�fs Classes

Speaker: Akemi Takagi
Time: 2:00 PM - 4:45 PM (Sun., August 27th, 2006)
Fee (JALT members): free
Fee (One-Day members): 1,000 yen
Prefecture: Nagano
City: Matsumoto-shi
Venue: Matsumoto M-Wing, Room 4-2, across from PARCO
Description: This workshop is geared toward teachers of children; however, it should provide inspiration to any language teacher. Areas to be covered are:

1. From listening to reading

Phonics activities

How to teach vowels

2. Nonverbal communication

3. How to use chants to animate your classes

Takagi, a longstanding member of Matsuka Phonics Institute and teacher of children, has been a seminar instructor for five years.

Sunday, October 1st, 2006

Planning for Immersion Education

Speaker: Michelle Nagashima
Time: 2:00 PM - 4:45 PM (Sun., October 1st, 2006)
Fee (JALT members): free
Fee (One-Day members): 1,000 yen
Prefecture: Nagano
City: Okaya
Venue: Irufu Plaza (ILF), Okaya, 3rd Floor, Room 7. Turn right outside Okaya Station and walk 3 minutes through the shopping area.
Description: Cognitive development and language development in young children go hand-in-hand. When learning a second language, motivation for communication is learned by children in the most meaningful context. Content-based language education can provide a strong cognitive base for language development. At Katoh Gakuen English immersion education is following the Japanese national curricula, to teach English to children through content that is both important and interesting to their lives.

The presenter will discuss all that is involved for teachers when planning for immersion education, as well as introduce some activities and invite participants to develop a unit of work.

Participants are encouraged to generate discussion on immersion education and content-based language learning through the workshop.

Michelle has been an EFL teacher in Japan for the past 17 years. At Katoh Gakuen she has worked as English Curriculum Coordinator, a homeroom teacher, and taught in most curriculum subject areas. She currently works as a specialist and mentors and trains teachers new to the Katoh Gakuen and immersion education.

Sunday, December 24th, 2006

Yearend Party!

Speaker: TBA
Time: 1:30 PM - 4:30 PM (Sun., December 24th, 2006)
Fee (JALT members): free
Fee (One-Day members): free
Prefecture: Nagano
City: Matsumoto-shi
Venue: Ikegami Hyakuchikutei, near Matsumoto Castle
Description: Let's get together to ring out the old year at a very historic, beautiful Japanese house! Games will be played, and there will an appearance by a "special guest", so please do bring your children, partners and/or friends (and a snack) along! If you have a game you'd like to introduce, please bring that, too! Drinks will be provided (alcoholic drinks are not allowed on the premises). Please bring your own eating/drinking utensils. Hope to see you there!

Find Events

By chapter or SIG
By month
By prefecture

Front page