Hello, and welcome to another monthly edition of JALT Talk, the announcements newsletter of the Japan Association for Language Teaching.
In this issue:
Job listings
JALT receives a number of job advertisements each month. If you're looking for a new position, please check out our job posts on our JALT Publications site: https://jalt-publications.org/tlt/departments/career-development-corner/jobs
From the Director of Conference
The JALT2024 conference is over and I am sure those who participated have been reflecting on what you learned, who you met, what you did, and all other manner of thoughts. The first thing that comes to my mind is, thank you for supporting your own professional development by supporting JALT through this conference.
If you participated in JALT2024 by attending the conference, please check your emails for a survey from our CVENT system. We want your thoughts, opinions, and suggestions.
With over 1200 registered participants there were a lot of people at The Granship in Shizuoka. This was made all the richer by the large number of international participants. One hundred thirty-six people from abroad visited Japan for this conference. Thank you to all our international participants, you added a vibrant flavor to our conference. In particular Team Mongolia and Team Thailand - 33 and 25 respectively - thank you for diversifying our ranks. Following up, 13 people from Taiwan, 12 from the United States, and 10 from South Korea round out our double-digit participants. Thank you again to them and everyone who made the choice to attend JALT2024!
JALT2024 was JALT’s 50th conference and takes its place among a great history of professional development events. From a fledgling band of language teachers to one of the preeminent language education conferences in the world, this annual Autumn international conference and materials exhibition is carried out by a dedicated team of volunteers whose mission is to provide the best experience possible. We strive to elevate the best in our community and find a place for everyone. Whether you are new to research or a veteran; an academic at a university or a business owner reaching a neighborhood community, a teacher of children, teens, young adults or seniors; and even though many of our messages come to you in English, we are a place where all languages, cultures, and voices are welcome; a place for all. We will keep highlighting these aspects in the next 50 years of JALT conferencing!
On that note, let me take this moment to introduce the theme for JALT2025, which will be conference 51, and sees JALT as an organization turning 50 years old!!
LanguageS: Learning, Teaching, Assessing
— JALT 50 Years —
Challenges and Perspectives
Our Conference Chair is Gabriela Schmidt whose L1 is German and has chosen this theme to emphasize that JALT is a LANGUAGE teaching organization that is not bound by one language. A significant portion of our members speak and teach multiple languages, and the rich treasure of LanguageS will be open for exploration in Tokyo from October 31 to November 2, 2025 at the National Youth Olympic Center in Yoyogi. The call for presentation proposals will be open soon with a tentative deadline of February 17, 2025. Keep your eyes on https://jalt.org for updates regarding everything JALT2025!
Once again, and on behalf of our dedicated Conference Planning Team and NPO JALT, thank you for supporting JALT, and the wider language education community!
Be well and stay safe.
Sincerely,
Wayne Malcolm
Director of Conference
NPO JALT
Photos from JALT2024 available
Come see the photos from JALT2024: The 50th Japan Association for Language Teaching International Conference. https://www.flickr.com/photos/jalt/albums We uploaded 1,140 photos from the event. A huge thank-you to the JALT photography team: Bradford Lee, Tim Cleminson, and Becky Alp.
Announcing the 2024 JALT Awards Winners!
The JALT Awards and Recognition Committee is proud to announce the winners of the JALT Awards for 2024! The JALT Awards Ceremony took place during the JALT2024 Annual International Conference.
Congratulations to the winners, and thank you to everyone who submitted nominations for the awards! Details: https://jalt.org/news/awards-and-recognition-committee-4
Winners of the 2024 JALT Research Grants
Every year, JALT awards up to three grants for a maximum of 100,000 yen each for research on language teaching in Japan. The JALT Research Grants Committee is happy to announce the recipients of this year's grants.
Congratulations to you all and good luck with your research projects next year!
If you are interested in applying for a JALT Research Grant next year, check out the JALT Research Grants website for more information: https://jalt.org/groups/specialty-groups/research-grants-committee (Updates for the 2025 JALT Research Grants will be coming in the spring.)
PanSIG is an annual conference usually held in May, and organized by many of the Special Interest Groups (SIGs) of JALT. Information about past PanSIG conferences (including photos, conference handbooks, etc.) can be found in the PanSIG Archive.
Call for Presentations
The call for presentation proposals opened on November Proposals for must be submitted by Tuesday, January 14, 2025, at 11:59 pm (JST). Responses regarding your submissions will be sent via email from mid-February 2025. See the PanSIG 2025 event space for details: https://events.jalt.org/e/PanSIG
A separate CfP will be sent out for the following formats:
Plenary Speaker Announcement
PanSIG is proud to announce our Saturday plenary speaker for PanSIG 2025: Johnmarshall Reeve (Professor, Institute for Positive Psychology and Education at the Australian Catholic University). Details: https://pansig.org/plenary
Grants for PanSIG
The PanSIG 2025 Committee has prepared three types of grants: conference grants, research grants, and student grants. These grants will be awarded to applicants who do not have financial support from their institutions or workplace. The grants support the conference's goal of empowering educators to improve the quality of education. Applicants can only apply for one type of grant. In the case of applicants applying for two grants, only the first received application will be considered. Details: https://pansig.org/grants
Michele Steele Best of JALT Awards for 2023
The Michele Steele Best of JALT Awards is a program that was started to honor the speakers who make JALT events such valuable experiences. A total of 15 presentations and publications were nominated by JALT's chapters and SIGs. Details: https://jalt.org/main/best-jalt
Call for presenters for Thinking about Thinking 2025 due January 31, 2025
Thinking about Thinking 2025 in an online event to be hosted by the JALT Critical Thinking SIG on February 15th, 2025 from 15:00-17:00. We are accepting presentation proposals from those who would like to present on their research or classroom practice related to any aspect of critical thinking or higher order thinking skills in language education. This opportunity is open to both CT SIG members and non-members. The deadline for submissions is January 31st, 2025. To submit a proposal: https://forms.office.com/r/jWhmVMp4jW
Learner Developent SIG Call for presentations (on demand and face-to-face) for CCLT8 (due to December 8th)
Creating Community: Learning Together 8 (CCLT8) is an informal, supportive conference, taking place on Sunday, December 22nd, from 12:00-17:00 at Otsuma Women's University, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo (with an on-demand conference space).
Students and teachers are invited to share their experiences, ideas, perspectives, and puzzles, related to the theme "Stories of Collaborative, Sustainable, and Transformative Learner Development."
Support group open to JALT adoptees and fostered JALTs
Announcing a new private support group open to JALT adoptees and fostered JALTs. Sometimes, it feels like we are a hidden group because it feels like there is never a chance to say, "I am adopted" or "I was fostered." So often, we don't know that we are standing or working next to one another. This is a safe space just to come and say "hello." To share your story if you want and listen to others. Or come and not feel like you are alone here. If you are interested, please ping Robert Dykes on JALT's Basecamp group or email him at rdykes@m.sojo-u.ac.jp.
Recent JALT Publications
For a full list of all of JALT's publications (including SIGs, chapters, and conferences), please see https://jalt.org/main/publications
Upcoming JALT Events
Event details: https://jalt.org/events
01 December 2024, 9:00am to 5:00pm
2024 NaraJALT Annual Conference
Nara Chapter
01 December 2024, 7:00pm to 8:00pm
2024 ER SIG AGM + PresentERs
Extensive Reading SIG
01 December 2024, 8:00pm
Meet the Maker: David Barker, Read to Write
Materials Writers SIG
08 December 2024, 9:30am to 5:30pm
The 2024 Tohoku ELT Expo
Sendai Chapter
08 December 2024, 10:00am to 1:00pm
Beyond Chalk and Talk
Tokyo Chapter
08 December 2024, 1:00pm to 4:00pm
YoJALT MyShare - Call for Presenters!
Yokohama Chapter
08 December 2024, 1:00pm
The Importance of Names
Toyohashi Chapter
08 December 2024, 2:00pm to 3:30pm
Classroom Activity Types and their Relationship to Cognitive Discourse Functions
Kobe Chapter
08 December 2024, 2:00pm to 5:00pm
An afternoon Zoom presentation with Steve McGuire: Experience Engaging Image-Based Critical Thinking Activities Using Google Apps, Including Alternatives to Google Jamboard
Matsuyama Chapter
08 December 2024, 2:00pm
Integrating AI into language learning: Exploring the issues / AIを語学学習に統合する: 課題の探求 via Google Meet
Kyoto Chapter
10 December 2024, 8:00pm
JALT ZPD Networking Event in December
Preregister: http://bit.ly/ZPDRSVP
11 December 2024, 7:00pm to 8:30pm
Multilingual Café on Urdu
Other Language Educators SIG
11 December 2024, 7:30pm to 8:30pm
Unpacking ELTs' Capacity for Inclusive Teaching in Japanese Higher Ed
Tokyo Chapter
13 December 2024, 3:00pm to 5:00pm
CEFR LP SIG AGM with an CEFR thematic News and Talk time
CEFR and Language Portfolio SIG
13 December 2024, 6:00pm to 7:15pm
Diverse Opportunities to be Excellent: Highlights from JALT2024 Presenters - Jason Peppard, Jerry Miller, AND a few YU Student Volunteers!
Yamagata Chapter
14 December 2024, 12:00am to 11:55pm
The Global Englishes SIG Online Conference 14th December 2024
Global Englishes SIG
14 December 2024, 8:30am to 6:30pm
Hiroshima JALT 2024 Conference, with keynote speakers: Jennie Roloff Rothman & Adrianne Verla Uchida
Hiroshima Chapter
15 December 2024, 11:00am to 12:00pm
Tokyo JALT Edtech - AI, EFL, and Study Abroad: An exploration of AI as a preparatory companion
Tokyo Chapter
15 December 2024, 2:00pm
Grad Student Poster Session: Classroom-Based Discourse Analysis
Akita Chapter
Reminder: Extensive Reading World Congress call for propsals due Febrary 28th, 2025
The ER Foundation and the ER SIG are hosting the 7th Extensive Reading World Congress in Hokkaido, Japan, September 5-9, 2025! Do you want to share your experiences or research in ER? The Call for Presentation Proposals is now open. Secure your spot soon and submit your proposal by February 28, 2025. https://erwc7.edzil.la/submit/select/12871
Reminder: The School House journal call for papers
The School House journal accepts submissions any time of year and is published three times a year (winter, spring, and summer/autumn). Deadlines: Submissions for The School House are accepted on an ongoing basis. Types of articles:
To find out more check out the website: https://tyl.jalt.org/submission-guidelines/
That's all for this month. You can subscribe and / or access back issues here. Alternatively, if you'd rather not receive more information from JALT, you can unsubscribe here: https://hosted.jalt.org/membermail/unsubscribe-success.php?c=196
Best regards,
Bill Pellowe
JALT Director of Public Relations
pr@jalt.org
https://jalt.org