Nara Chapter Events Calendar 2012

Time and date: 12:40–17:50 Sunday, January 29th, 2012

Theme: Reconsidering the Standards of Teaching

Schedule:

12:40–13:00

Opening Addresses

13:00–13:30 Presentation 1

Kazuya Nakakono (Unebi Junior High School)

Looking Back at My First Year as a Junior High Teacher

13:40–14:20 Presentation 2

Yasuhiro Sakata (Takada High School)

Pronunciation Practice for the High School Students Who Want to Be Elementary School Teachers

14:30–15:10 Presentation 3

Takashi Yamamoto, Misa Naruse, and Motoyasu Saito (Tenri High School)

Towards Establishing the a Unified Syllabus for the Whole School

15:20–16:00 Workshop/Presentation 4

Matthew Apple (Nara National College of Technology)

To Use Tech or Not to Use Tech: Is This Even the Right Question?

This part-lecture, part-workshop will first offer a set of criteria for assessing the use of technology in the language classroom, after which participants will be invited to examine a list of potential language learning activities and discuss what technology could be used to help the learning process.

16:10–17:40

Jyuichi Suzuki (Kyoto University of Foreign Studies)

Improving Teaching Procedures through Self-evaluation

Jyuichi Suzuki, vice-president of the Kansai English Language Education Society (KELES), has been advocating the use of self-evaluation on the part of English teachers in order to improve the procedures of everyday teaching in language classes. He is going to give us some advice, which helps us reconsider the “standard” procedures of our teaching.

17:50–18:50

Snack party and informal discussion session

For further details or to register, please contact Hidetami Nakai of Tenri University at: h-nakai@sta.tenri-u.ac.jp (Just write your name and “I will attend”).

Directions:

For directions to the event, please refer to the Tenri Uni’s official homepage. If you drive, first go to the Tenri City Hall, which is on the route 169 (Nara to Tenri to Sakurai). Turn left if you are coming from Nara and go along the Gingo avenue for about a kilometer, then you’ll get to the Tenrikyo Headquaters. Tenri University is across the street.

Or, if you get off at Tenri Higashi Intersection of Meihan highway, and drive along for about 2 miles, then you’ll hit Isonokami Shrine. You can see Tenri Uni from there. You’ll see the two tall chimneys. Just turn right at the first traffic signal in front of the Shrine. From there you’ll find the event posters.

 Note:

Tenri Univ has two campuses: 1) the PE Department right behind Tenri Station and 2) the Somanouchi campus in front of the Tenrikyo Headquarters (kyokai-honbu). The venue is the Somanouchi campus near Isonokami Shrine. If you come by train, walk up the main arcade up to the Headquarters. It takes about 25 minutes on foot, or 5–10 minutes by taxi.

Date:     Sunday, 18^th December 2011.

Time:    14:00 to 17:00

Venue:  2F Yumekaze, Nara (just near the entrance to Todaiji)

Cost:      (Up to, but no more than) 1500yen per head.

*Finger food and softdrinks provided, BYO alcoholic beverages.

*** If attending, PLEASE RSVP to narajalt@gmail.com ASAP or by the 11^th Dec to assist with planning and catering***

We hope to see you all there with your X’mas bells on!

Kinki University Nara campus is accepting applications for part-time teaching positions for English language classes at Kinki University, Tomio Campus for the 2012 school year.

Tomio Station is located between Gakuenmae Station and Higashi Ikoma Station on the Kintetsu Line.

We presently have openings during Tuesday periods 3.4 and Wednesday periods 1.2.4.5.

Preferred Qualifications: Master’s degree in TESOL, Applied Linguistics, or closely related field

:Native speaker of English

:At least two years of relevant university
teaching experience

If interested, please send your resume to me at: tom.koch.kindai@gmail.com

Best regards,
Thomas Koch

Associate Professor
Department of Agriculture
Kinki University
Nara

Date: Sunday, 27^th November 2011

Time: 14:30 – 17:30

Venue: Yumekaze, Nara City (by the entrance to Todaiji in Nara Park: http://jaltnara.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/directions-to-yume-kaze.pdf)

Cost: Free for JALT members, 500 yen for day members

Pre-reading: http://writinginnovation.wordpress.com

Presentation description:

If innovation can be defined as a new method or idea, how do learners in the Japanese post-secondary classroom respond to innovations in writing curricula? Likewise, how do instructors develop and implement such innovations? Despite the plethora of studies documenting development of teaching EFL (English as a Foreign Language), there has been little previous research in writing curricula investigated from two different perspectives such as the lived experiences of both learners AND instructors, or how the Japanese EFL writing context, itself, is a unique environment. Although research has tended to highlight oral skills as effective strategies to improve English proficiency in Japan (Ogura, 2009), few studies exist that examine how EFL writing curricula addresses students’ emotional needs (Falout, 2009). This presentation focuses on written dialogues between both Japanese post-secondary English learners and English instructors in the Japanese EFL context, in order to more deeply explore innovative writing pedagogies in the Japanese post-secondary classroom, and the lived experiences of those involved in such innovations. Learn more at: http://writinginnovation.wordpress.com  

About the presenter:

Dr. Marlen Elliot Harrison has been teaching language, communication, composition, literature and gender/sexuality studies at universities in Asia, Europe and North America since 1997. Having published numerous articles and chapters on topics ranging from second language teaching to writing classroom pedagogies, he specializes in writing across the curriculum and multilingual learner writing pedagogies. Currently teaching for the Language Centre at the University of Jyväskylä, Finland, he previously taught in both Japan and the English department at Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP), USA where he also completed his PhD in Composition and TESOL. With a background in mental health counseling and an MA in Education and Human Development/Counseling from The George Washington University, he is an inter-disciplinary instructor-researcher who works at the crossroads of humanities and social sciences to explore how both spoken and written language are shaped by cultures and identities. Learn more at http://marlenharrison.com

We strongly encourage all current Nara JALT chapter members cast a vote and have their say regarding officer positions and the direction of the chapter as a whole.

Points to note:

• Nara JALT officer elections will be held on Sunday the 23October 2011 at the AGM.
• Votes can only be cast in person.
• Proof of current membership is required to vote.
• Chapter members may offer their support for ONE candidate for EACH position.

The names of candidates who have accepted officer nominations have been included below for your reference.

Members up for re-election/appointment:

Jeff Crawford—President

Leigh McDowell—Treasurer

Luke Rigano—Publicity

Matt Reynolds—Program Chair

Alessandro Stanciu—Membership Chair

Motoko Teraoka—Officer-at-Large

Your cooperation with the matter is very much appreciated. We sincerely look forward to seeing you all at the AGM (see blog post for further details).

Nara JALT Officers.

A call for presenters: Brief proposals for presenters are required to present at the event and should be submitted ASAP or no later than October 3rd to: narajalt@gmail.com or simply fill in the handy submission form located on this post.  Presentations may run anywhere from 10-20 minutes on a topic of your choosing. Come and share YOUR ideas!!

Sample Proposal:

______________________________________________________

Presenter’s Name: Jeff Crawford

Association (not required): Nara JALT

Quick guide:

• Key words: C.A.L.L. Autonomy, Input, Output
• Learner English level: Beginner to advanced
• Learner maturity: Elementary school to adult
• Preparation time: Various
• Activity time: Various
• Materials:  This version requires that all students have access to a PC, microphone/headphone set.

Presentation time: 20 minutes

Synopsis:

This presentation will outline a simple C.A.L.L based lesson that requires learners to create a personal narrative with aid of a PC and the internet. This particular lesson’s coup de grace has low proficiency non-English majors intently absorbed in an intensive listening exercise.

Appendices: Available

_____________________________________________________

*Please note that the Nara JALT Annual General Meeting (AGM) will be held prior to the OURSHARE event from 13:15.  Once again, all members are welcome and encouraged to have their say.  In addition, volunteers are being sort to fill various officer positions for 2012.  Come along and throw your proverbial hat into the ring. We would welcome and appreciate any contribution of efforts in building a bigger, better and stronger Nara JALT chapter.  We sincerely look forward to seeing you there.

As always,be sure to keep an eye on our blog and Facebook page for all the latest news and announcements from Nara JALT.

There has been an overwhelming amount support from our members shown in making this event a reality.  Rest assured, if you are one of the many interested in a look behind the scenes at making a private language school a viable and successful entity, we are determined to squeeze this session into our 2011 Events Schedule.  Check back here at our blog for updates on the rescheduled date. Alternatively, keep an eye on our Facebook page for all the latest news and announcements from Nara JALT.  Apologies for any inconvenience this postponement may have caused.

Technology and Education: So what do you want it to do?

Presenter:

Robert Perkins

Date: Saturday, 20^th August, 2011

Time: 18:00–19:30

Venue: 奈良西部公民館 (Nara Seibu Kouminkan):Conveniently located by the south exit of Kintetsu Gakuenmae Station, above Starbucks.

Venue Access/Info: http://www.city.nara.nara.jp/icity/browser?ActionCode=content&ContentID=1147685292150&SiteID=0000000000000

Cost: Free for JALT members, 500 yen for day members.

In ten years of work at three different universities in two countries, I have rarely escaped being tagged “The Technology Teacher” or “The Tech Guy”. It’s the kind of nickname that immediately establishes in people’s minds that I hold a particular love of technology, and that I only wish to promote its use at every opportunity.  But the name is a misnomer because—though I use technology in ways that are rarely to never seen from my fellow academics—I’m not a technology cheerleader. I don’t believe that technology is the answer to every problem, and I certainly don’t view technology as the fix-all for educators with weak pedagogical foundations.

I don’t intend to give another tired old presentation about, “here is some technology you might try to use!” I’ve seen many such presentations and I tend to find them a) alienating to audience members who do not have a base in using technology already and b) lacking in generalizability and transferability; What works for one teacher in one given environment with a very specific set of variables and skill sets, does not often apply to wider audiences with their own unique needs.

Therefore, please join me for an open discussion of technology’s use in education. I promise to bring everything I have in my bag of tricks. I will go over some of the reasons I use some things, and why I stopped using others. I believe that teachers and administrators have to stop asking what technology can do for them, and start thinking more about what they want the technology to do. What do you think?

Who should attend? Technology lovers, technology haters, the technologically adept and inept can all share a room and take part in the discussion.

What will we discuss? The floor is open and the direction and topics of the discussion will depend on the interests of the group. Possibilities include:

• The technology that I use: What I love and hate about technology’s use in education
• I showed you mine…:Share with the room what and how you are using technology in education
• What is it and how do I use it? Blog, Blurp, Moodle, Mylanta, Podcast, Prezi, RSS, Snizzlesnap, Social Network, Wiki.
  Have you ever thought about having a go at some of these new internet based technologies (two of which I just made up and one isn’t even a technology) but you have no idea what they are or how they work? Let’s talk about it!
• Questions and troubleshooting: Sorry, I don’t know why your headphone volume switch stopped working.
  It has taken me years of trial, error, searching, and shouting at inanimate objects to acquire the skills and knowledge I have in using technology. Perhaps I can save you some of the hassles I have been through by answering some questions.

Presenter’s Personal Website: http://shoukoedu.com/ and wiki site for classroom material: http://shoukoedu.pbworks.com

Further details of Nara JALT events, reviews and more at: http://jaltnara.wordpress.com/

Email: narajalt@gmail.com

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