Hello, and welcome to another monthly edition of JALT Talk, the announcements newsletter of the Japan Association for Language Teaching. As we head into the holiday season known in Japan as Golden Week, I hope all of you teaching on the academic calendar that started in April have had a satisfying start to the new semester. What better way is there to reflect on the new school year than by attending JALT's monthly Zoom for Professional Development session on Tuesday, April 30th?
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
Moving? Bring JALT with you
April marks the season of new beginnings! The new academic year means that some of us are moving on to new jobs, perhaps even in new cities.
To ensure you stay connected, we'd like to remind you to update your mailing or email address if it is changing. Keeping your information current ensures you receive JALT publications and news without any interruptions.
To update your address, please follow this link for easy instructions: https://jalt.org/main/help-update-information
JALT Board of Directors and Auditor elections
The JALT Nominations and Elections Committee (NEC) would like to formally invite all JALT members in good standing to vote in the 2024 JALT Board of Directors and Auditor elections.
The voting period began on April 8th, 2024, and ends on May 24th, 2024. All JALT members received an email on April 8th titled "[NPO JALT] 2024 JALT Board of Directors and Auditor elections". If you cannot find your personal invitation to vote, please use this link: https://jalt.org/main/elections-jalt-board-directors
The biographical information and statements of intent for all candidates can be found here:
https://jalt.org/main/2024-election-announcement
The results will be announced on May 31st, 2024, and then submitted for approval to the JALT Ordinary General Meeting.
Basic details:
Announcing the JALT2024 Plenary Speakers!
JALT is pround to announce our plenary speakers for JALT2024! Further details about their sessions will be announced soon on the JALT2024 Conference website.
Dr. Curtis and Dr. Cheng will do a joint plenary session. Their appearance will be sponsored by the Tokyo JALT chapter, the Okinawa JALT chapter, the TEVAL (Testing & Evaluation) SIG, and the CUE (College & University Educators) SIG.
Ms. Tubby will be the JALT Junior plenary speaker. She is sponsored by the TYL (Teaching Young Learners) SIG and the School Owners SIG.
Announcing the JALT2024 Invited Speakers!
Each year, JALT welcomes two speakers to our annual international conference who represent the values, work, and vision of two teachers who served as leaders in our association: the Bill Balsamo Asian Scholar and the Kevin Cleary Invited Speaker.
The JALT2024 Bill Balsamo Asian Scholar is Francisca Maria Ivone, Ph.D. She is an Associate Professor in Applied Linguistics in the Department of English, Faculty of Letters, Universitas Negeri Malang.
The JALT2024 Kevin Cleary Invited Speaker is Robert Chartrand, Ph.D. He is a Professor at the Institute of Foreign Language Education, Kurume University.
Further details about their sessions will be announced soon on the JALT2024 Conference website.
JALT2024 Pre-registration will open in August
Details about the JALT2024 pre-registration fees and on-site registration fees were announced in detail in the previous issue of JALT Talk. Pre-registration will open in August 2024.
JALT2024 Tips and Historical information:
Photos from past JALT conferences in Shizuoka:
JALT Awards Nominations Deadline: October 7, 2024
JALT has awards for teachers and researchers at various stages of their careers: Early Career Excellence Award, Mid-Career Scholar Award, and Lifetime Achievement Award. Any member is welcome to nominate another JALT member for an award--simply complete the Nominations Form in English or Japanese by 23:59 on Monday, October 7, 2024.
Nomination form: https://forms.gle/cYMTpciyxrqq7TXf9
Call for Submissions: 21st Century Language Teaching Conference 2024 due June 30
The 21st Century Language Teaching Conference 2024 is sponsored by the JALT Okinawa Chapter and JALT's Teaching Young Learners SIG.
PanSIG 2024 Pre-Registration closes May 12th!
Save money by pre-registering for PanSIG by May 12th! (This deadline is for both attendees and presenters.)
Pre-registration details are here: https://pansig.org/registration
Information for Presenters:
You'll receive your schedule this week.
Please see the section for presenters on the PanSIG website for information and tips. We wish you a successful conference, and thank you for participating!
Plenary Speakers
Full details about both plenary speakers are available on the PanSIG website.
Invited Speaker Yuichi Nakagaichi
Yuichi Nakagaichi (中垣内 祐一) played on the Japan National Men's Volleyball Team at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain, and was the head coach of the team from 2017 to 2021. Born in Fukui, he has returned to his hometown as a professor at Fukui University of Technology in the Department of Sports Health Sciences. PanSIG 2024 welcomes Professor Nakagaichi as an invited speaker to our conference. Read details about Prof. Nakagaichi's career and his talk.
Social events
Enjoy these opportunities at the PanSIG 2024 Conference to network and relax with fellow conference attendees in a different setting. Read details and how to join these social events.
Special Performances at PanSIG 2024
We welcome Kunie Kāhea O Nā Lani Sakai, a local hula dance troupe, who will entertain us with a special hula performance during the Opening Ceremony.
Also, during lunchtime on Saturday at PanSIG 2024, the Drummers of YATSUSUGI, a local Wadaiko Troupe, will perform traditional Japanese drumming in the Japanese garden on campus! Be sure not to miss this chance to experience some local Fukui culture.
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.
The Listening Conference 2024 Call for presentation proposals closes on 6th May (extended deadline)
The JALT Listening SIG, in affiliation with the JALT Kyoto Chapter, is delighted to announce their third conference. The "Listening Conference 2024 - Learning, Teaching, and Research" will be a free one-day event taking place face-to-face at Campus Plaza, Kyoto on Saturday 13th July 2024.
Our call for presenters is now open. We are looking for 20-minute presentations on topics related to listening and teaching, pedagogy, assessment, and resources. Presentations will be followed by a five-minute Q&A session. In addition to these three areas of research, we welcome other projects who mesh listening with other research areas.
Please submit a 200-word abstract using the google form link below.
https://forms.gle/Nnfbe6ZUBVnVLnop7
Submissions are limited to one presentation (as lead presenter) per person. An individual presenter can present a total of two times to allow for a diverse selection of presenters.
This call for abstracts will close at midnight on 6th May 2024.
If you have any questions about the forthcoming conference, please email us at listening@jalt.org.
JALTCALL 2024 (May 17-19) message from the chairs
Basic details:
"I have been volunteering for JALT for almost a decade. I have never been more proud to be part of a team as I am for JALTCALL 2024. The team has really come together this year to put on the best CALL conference to date. Since attending conferences for almost 15 years, I have never seen a conference theme as timely as JALTCALL 2024's. Nor have I seen such a lineup of interesting and felicitous presentations. I truly believe future JALTCALL conferences will be measured against this for a very long time to come."
Conference Chair Robert Dykes
"Welcome back to Meijo University and the return to Nagoya for JALTCALL. It has been 6 years since the last time we hosted the conference for you all, and we welcome you with open arms. Enjoy the presentations, the city, the sights, and the sounds. We hope you take away great ideas, an enjoyable memory, and a network of new friends to build our CALL community."
Conference Site Chair Brian Gallagher
The Performance in Education (PIE) SIG presents three events in 2024
The Performance in Education (PIE) SIG will present THREE productions/conferences in 2024. Each of the three has already opened a Call for Papers at https://jaltpiesig.org/conferences-events/
"EVERYONE LOVES PIE!"
Call for Poster Proposals: CUE ESP Symposium due June 30
The JALT College and University Educators (CUE) SIG will hold a symposium on Teaching English for Specific Purposes on September 21 at Iwate University.
For more information:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeYtfrj6rFQuhYpUxjsfYX8fnmFwdiPlcA4FM1o_489FcUGjA/
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
Reminder: Accessibility in Language Learning SIG call for articles
ALL Review, the official newsletter of JALT's Accessibility in Language Learning SIG, announces an open call for articles. Accepted articles will be scheduled for publication in issues slated this year. For details on how to submit, please access https://jalt.org/news/accessibility-language-learning.
Reminder: Win a complimentary TESOL membership!
Seven (7) lucky JALT members will win one-year complimentary memberships to the TESOL International Association!
Participants must be active and current JALT members, and not a TESOL member (or someone who has not been a TESOL member in the past five years). To sign up for your chance to win, please follow this link to the sign-up form.
The deadline to sign up is April 30th, 2024, and seven names will be chosen at random from the pool of eligible applicants. The seven lucky winners will be announced this May. Good luck!
Upcoming JALT Events
Event details: https://jalt.org/events
30 April 2024, 8:00pm
ZPD in April
JALT ZPD - Zoom for Professional Development Event Committee
11 May 2024, 6:00pm to 8:00pm
Two presentations on Pronunciation by Yusuke Shibata
Fukuoka Chapter
11 May 2024, 6:00pm
Benefits of Discourse Analysis in language learning classrooms
Kitakyushu Chapter
12 May 2024, 3:00pm to 5:00pm
小学校英語教員の専門能力開発ニーズ Professional Development Needs of Elementary School Teachers of English
Matsuyama Chapter
17-19 May 2024
JALTCALL 2024
Computer Assisted Language Learning SIG
https://jaltcall.org/jaltcall-2024/
17 May 2024, 7:00pm to 8:00pm
EdTech: VocAPPulary Land: A 1-Hour Tour
Tokyo Chapter
18 May 2024, 2:00pm
Teaching Fluency Using the Verbalclassrooms Method
Akita Chapter
18 May 2024, 2:00pm to 4:00pm
Island Insights: Unveiling Challenges and Dreams of Future Language Teachers in Curaçao
Shizuoka Chapter
19 May 2024, 1:30pm
Processing Instruction Workshop
Toyohashi Chapter
19 May 2024, 2:00pm to 5:00pm
An afternoon Zoom presentation with Steve McGuire II: Experience Using Google Apps
Matsuyama Chapter
24-26 May 2024, 12:00am to 11:55pm
JALT PanSIG 2024
https://pansig.org
25 May 2024, 6:30pm to 8:30pm
(1) Has Junior High School English Education in Japan Changed? (2) Does Soft-CLIL work in National Institute of Technology?
Fukuoka Chapter
28 May 2024, 8:00pm
ZPD in May
ZPD - Zoom for Professional Development Event Committee
29 May 2024, 7:00pm
エスペラントの歴史と現在 - "The history of Esperanto and how it is used today"
Other Language Educators SIG
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=175
Best regards,
Bill Pellowe
JALT Director of Public Relations
pr@jalt.org
https://jalt.org