Hello, and welcome to another monthly edition of JALT Talk, the announcements newsletter of the Japan Association for Language Teaching.
In this issue:
JALT International Conference NewsRegistration:
JALT2025 will feature two exclusive panels, new additions to the conference.
Details: https://jalt.org/conference/jalt2025/featured-panels/
Plenary Themed Panel Discussion (Friday, October 31st, 2025)
Theme Featured Panel Discussion (Sunday, November 2nd, 2025)
Details: https://jalt.org/conference/jalt2025/invited-and-featured-speakers/
Invited Speakers
Featured Speakers
Childcare will be available during the conference. Please contact our Childcare Coordinator to get more information at conf-childcare@jalt.org. We hope that this encourages parents and caregivers to apply to participate in JALT2025.
JALT2025 conference goods have been added to our online shop! T-shirts, hoodies, keychains, hats, stickers, more! Show up in style.
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
Each year, JALT awards up to three grants for a maximum of 100,000 yen each for research on language teaching in Japan. The grants aim to support language teachers with no outside sources of funding and encourage JALT members to engage in classroom-based research. Winners of the 2025 grants receive funding to conduct their research in the 2026 academic year. The deadline for applications is October 5, 2025.
Please visit the JALT Research Grants website (https://jalt.org/jalt-research-grants/) to learn about the grants in detail and download an application.
Winners will be announced at JALT2025!
Although April is when most new jobs start, September can also mark new beginnings, with some of us 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.
Please visit https://jalt.org and click "Log in" in the upper right hand corner of the website. If you haven't logged in since April or earlier, you'll need to click "Lost Password?" to re-set your password because we have updated our website database.
New email? To change your JALT Talk email, you should unsubscribe (there's a link at the bottom of the email) and then subscribe with your new email. Changing your email on the JALT website does not cancel your old email's subscriptions.
The Learner Development (LD) SIG is delighted to welcome both students and teachers to take part in this year's Creating Community: Learning Together 9 (CCLT9) in a supportive, low-stress environment to share ideas, give (poster) presentations, and engage in meaningful discussions. Taking place on Sunday 30th November at Chuo University, Myogadani Campus (a 1-minute walk from Myogadani Station on the Marunouchi Line), CCLT9 will include concurrent poster presentations of 45 minutes or so.
We warmly invite you and your students (and individual teachers) to start planning for CCLT9 and to share practices, stories, and challenges related to learner development for an inclusive and connected world. You don't need to have "perfect results" or academic polish. If you have a story, question, or puzzle related to learner development, we hope you'll join us.
CCLT9では、皆さんと学生の皆さん（または個人の教師の方）には、ぜひ計画を始めていただき、包括的でつながりのある世界における学習者ディペロプメントに関する実践、経験談、課題などを共有してください。「完璧な結果」や学術的な完成度は必要ありません。学習者ディペロプメントに関するストーリー、疑問、あるいは謎をお持ちでしたら、ぜひご参加ください。
Sponsorship Opportunities:
Sponsor Applications for Publishers, IT Developers, and Independent Authors are OPEN NOW (click here). Sponsorship pre-registration deadline is September 15, 2025.
Topics should be about Performance in Education (speech, drama, presentation, debate, discussion, etc.). Please complete by Sunday, November 9, 2025 JST.
We plan to invite 17 SIGs that have some relation to STEAM topics, 22 JALT Associate Members/Publishers, and all of the international language organizations JALT is affiliated with.
JALT's Performance in Education (PIE) SIG has launched a new monthly podcast exploring how drama, music, debate, and other performance techniques can enhance language learning and teaching.
In the first episode, PIE SIG founder David Kluge discusses Readers' Theatre, the use of song lyrics in the classroom, and how these techniques improve student engagement and memory. He also talks about his new textbook, assessment in performance-based classes, and how AI may influence future practice.
The podcast is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and other major platforms.
Listeners are encouraged to follow, rate, and share the podcast. New episodes will be released monthly.
In partnership with JALT’s Board of Directors, JALT’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion Committee has two important initiatives to share. As announced at the February 2024 EBM, a set of DEI Presenter Guidelines has been established. It is posted on JALT’s website.
In order to help achieve the goals in the new Guidelines, we are asking all members of JALT to fill out the survey: Complete the DEI Presenter Database Survey・DEIプレゼンターのデータベース構築の為のアンケート. Completing the survey is not a commitment to present but will allow a more streamlined approach to connecting with potential speakers outside of personal networks. Please note that all questions are optional and will be used by program chairs to help diversify their speakers. Please see our poster for more information.
Are you interested in breaking into the world of publishing? Looking to get involved in the JALT community? Kobe JALT Journal may be the place for you! The editors of Kobe JALT Journal are looking for interested and motivated people to join our team as reviewers. No prior reviewing or publishing experience is necessary. Please get in touch with the Kobe JALT Journal editors at kobejaltpublications@gmail.com for more information!
For a full list of all of JALT's publications (including SIGs, chapters, and conferences), please see https://jalt.org/jalt-publications/
Event details: https://jalt.org/events
Saturday, August 30, 9:30 AM-4:30 PM
Hiroshima Chapter of JALT
Voices in Education: IBAJ-JALT Regional Collaboration Day
Saturday, August 30, 10:00 AM-12:00 PM
Pragmatics SIG
Examining L2 pragmatic competence in a speaking exam: A focus on opinion-giving skills
Sunday, August 31, 7:00 PM-8:00 PM
Extensive Reading SIG
PresentERs-Listening to the Voices of College Students: What promotes or hinders ER?
September 5, 12:00 AM-September 9, 11:55 PM
Extensive Reading SIG
Extensive Reading World Congress 7
Saturday, September 6, 6:00 PM-8:00 PM
Fukuoka Chapter of JALT
Hybrid event: Creating a 4-skills E-Learning Curriculum: Challenges and Accomplishments
Saturday, September 13, 9:00 AM-September 14, 5:00 PM
College and University Educators SIG
2025 CUE SIG Conference-Bridging Divides: Japan's Role in Language, Commerce, and Peace
Saturday, September 20, 10:00 AM-5:00 PM
Yamagata Chapter of JALT
JALT Yamagata Professional Development Mini Conference
Saturday, September 20, 3:00 PM-5:00 PM
CEFR and Language Portfolio SIG
CEFR LP SIG-Roundtable Series 2025
Saturday, September 20, 6:00 PM-8:00 PM
Nagoya & Gifu Chapter of JALT
A two-part workshop for educators in Junior High School & Senior High School Settings
Sunday, September 21, 10:00 AM-5:00 PM
Kobe Chapter of JALT
From Insights to Action: A Teacher Development Event
September 21, 2:00 PM-4:00 PM
Tottori Chapter of JALT
Global Citizenship and Linguistic Awareness: World Languages and Writing Systems
Sunday, September 21, 2:00 PM-4:00 PM
Niigata Chapter of JALT
Proven Techniques for Building EFL Speaking Fluency
Sunday, September 21, 2:00 PM-4:30 PM
Gunma Chapter of JALT
Practical Tips for Teaching Oral Communication Classes in Japan
Wednesday, September 24, 7:00 PM-8:30 PM
Other Language Educators SIG
Multilingual Cafe / OLE SIG: Finnish language-Is it really so difficult?
Sunday, September 28, 2:00 PM-5:00 PM
Sendai Chapter of JALT
Mari Nakamura-Beyond Participation: Prioritizing Student Engagement in Young Learners' Classrooms
Tuesday, September 30, 8:00 PM-9:00 PM
JALT ZPD: Zoom for Professional Development (networking event)
https://go.jalt.org/zpdrsvp
EdYOUfest Conference:
Was held in Tokyo, Japan, August 19-21, 2025
Website: https://www.edyoufest.org/tokyo
English Language Teachers' Association of India (ELTAI):
The 19th International and 55th Annual Conference of ELT@I, Bengaluru, India, November 12-15, 2025
Website: https://conf2025.eltai.in
Call for presentations due September 10, 2025
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=219
Best regards,
Bill Pellowe
JALT Director of Public Relations
pr@jalt.org
https://jalt.org