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Nara JALT 2022

Pre-register for the conference at the following link: https://forms.gle/9HgoUZRDHF2Upc49A

Event Speaker(s): Jack Bower, John Carle, Hiroya Matsumoto, Hiroyo Nakagawa, Andy Sowter, and Kathy Yamane.

Date: Sunday, December 4, 2022, 9:45am-17:00pm

Location: Nara Women’s University. Lecture Hall S235 on the 2nd floor of the S building.

Keep the first Sunday in December free for the Annual Conference for the JALT Nara Chapter!

The theme of the conference is simply Nara JALT, and the program showcases the work of our own chapter members. 

9:45–10:00 Opening Address

10:00–10:45 Session 1: Andy Sowter

The Reality of Climate Change Education

11:00–11:45 Session 2: Hiroyo Nakagawa

Enhancing False Beginners’ Writing Skills Through Collaborative Tasks

12:00–12:45 Session 3: Hiroya Matsumoto

Deliberate Practice in SLA

12:45–14:00 Lunch

14:00–14:45 Session 4: Jack Bower

Suggestions for Using Digital Gamification to Increase Learner Engagement

15:00–15:45 Session 5: John Carle

The English Gym Series

16:00–16:45 Session 6: Kathy Yamane

Tasks for Cultivating Inferencing Skills in Adult Language Learners

16:45–17:00 Closing Remarks

Six reasons to get excited about Nara JALT 2022, plus one more

Location

The Nara Women’s University is a pleasant stroll from both Kintetsu Nara and JR Nara stations. And don’t be surprised if you meet some deer on your way into the campus.

Large lecture hall

A 300 m2 large lecture hall provides ample room for all chapter members to come together in a safely social-distanced setting.

Full day program

Three presentation slots in the morning session and three in the afternoon with plenty of time in between to relax, be social and enjoy a full day out in Nara.

Free for JALT members

It’s rare to be able to attend a conference for free but as a membership-based organisation, members can fully capitalise on membership.

Chapter member priority

Showcasing the work of chapter members. Whether it is research- or classroom-based, Nara chapter members can get excited about what is happening in education near them. 

In Person Event (+ online option)

We are aiming to hold this event in person so our local members can reconnect, but will offer a hybrid model (with an online option via Zoom) for participants unable to attend at NWU. 

A pre-registration form will be posted here closer to the event. Members will be asked to provide their Membership No./ Date, so please have your details on hand. Non-members will be given PayPal details at the time of pre-registration. For the online option, please register at least 24hrs prior to the event. For in person attendance, pre-registration is preferred, but attendance on the day will still be possible.

Nara JALT MyShare 2021: Successful use of online tools and effective in-class activities. *Updated with video links*

Nara JALT hosted an excellent online event in April. Four educators kindly shared their successes and reflections they experienced when implementing either online tools or in-class activities in their teaching practices during academic year 2020. We would like to share these videos with you because they are all immensely helpful and still relevant.

Here are the links to the complete event and to the individual presentations:

Nara JALT April Myshare Event:https://youtu.be/2yZzMKFUYTU

MyShare 1: “The successful implementation of a commercial online proficiency test”Jason Moser (Kanto Gakuin University)https://youtu.be/CknfoF0UCv8

MyShare 2: “Using the app Padlet in online classrooms”Rachel Patterson (Berlitz/ Kindai University Language Center)https://youtu.be/lZyO-pj4ThE

MyShare 3: “Building learner confidence and fluency with mini-poster presentations”Paul McAleese (Nara Institute of Science and Technology)https://youtu.be/i7LlT68q8Qw

MyShare 4: “Activities to address sensitive topics: Discussing sexual harassment and assault in a gender studies class”Elisabeth Williams (Doshisha Women’s College)https://youtu.be/KZpw8ZAKO-A

Nara JALT April MyShare: “Successful use of online tools and effective in-class activities in academic year 2020”

Coinciding with the unprecedented situation brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic in academic year 2020, which saw many education institutions being forced to switch from in-class teaching to online teaching (and back again), or even a blend of both,  Nara JALT is pleased to announce its April MyShare event.

This MyShare event will highlight four educators who will share their successes and reflections they experienced when implementing either online tools or in-class activities in their teaching practices during academic year 2020.  

Date: Sunday, April 18, 2021

Time: 10~12:30

Venue: Online event via ZOOM. Free for JALT members.

Pre-registration: https://bit.ly/2O8L2em

To receive the link to this online event, participants must first pre-register via the link (above). Deadline is 9:30 am on the morning of the event (i.e., Apr 18).

Cost: 500 yen to non-JALT members.

MyShare 1: The successful implementation of a commercial online proficiency test. Jason Moser (Kanto Gakuin University).

MyShare 2: Using the app Padlet in online classrooms.
Rachel Patterson (Berlitz/ Kindai University Language Center). 

MyShare 3: Building learner confidence and fluency with mini-poster presentations. Paul McAleese (Nara Institute of Science and Technology). 

MyShare 4: Activities to address sensitive topics: Discussing sexual harassment and assault in a gender studies class. Elisabeth Williams (Doshisha Women’s College).

More details of each presentation is included below:

MyShare 1: The successful implementation of a commercial online proficiency test. Jason Moser (Kanto Gakuin University) will share with participants the importance of orientation prior to the implementation of a commercial online proficiency. After briefly introducing the test features, he will outline the steps he implemented that ensured the successful implementation of the test across four faculties (480 students) for both faculty and students, and the positive test results that were obtained. 

MyShare 2: Using the app Padlet in online classrooms. Rachel Patterson (Berlitz/ Kindai University Language Center) will introduce and demonstrate effective ways to use the interactive cork board app “Padlet”. She will show how she was able to give her students opportunities to post their input, participate in class discussions, and get feedback from their teachers via this non-threatening platform. 

MyShare 3: Building learner confidence and fluency with mini-poster presentations. Paul McAleese (Nara Institute of Science and Technology) will present on how he was able to get learners to overcome their apprehension about speaking in front of the whole class through the successful implementation of a poster presentation task in an in-class setting, that required learners to “mingle” around different presentations while completing simple listening tasks. 

MyShare 4: Activities to address sensitive topics: Discussing sexual harassment and assault in a gender studies class. Elisabeth Williams (Doshisha Women’s College) will share her experiences of discussing the difficult topic of sexual harassment and assault in an introductory gender studies class at women’s university. Specifically, the presentation will focus on two activities that were used to facilitate discussion about these issues: Creating a list of “common myths” of sexual harassment/assault and watching a street-interview style video about the topics. The presenter will also introduce the successes and challenges of the lesson.

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