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• Date: Saturday, May 13, 2017 (12:30-5:30)
• Venue: Kochi University, Asakura Campus, Humanities Bldg, 5F, Meeting Room 1
• Sponsors: Matsuyama JALT, East Shikoku JALT, Oxford University Press
• Website: East Shikoku JALT – http://esjalt.org
• Fees: JALT Members and students: free, One-Day Member Fee: 1000 yen

Conference Schedule:

• 12:30-12:50 Registration/Welcome
• 1:00-1:45 Keynote Lecture: Terry Laskowski (Kumamoto University), Unpacking Three Interrelated Concepts: Globalization (as Spaceship Earth), Active Learning, Teaching English Through English (TETE)
• 1:45-2:30 Oxford University Press Featured Speaker: Rob Peacock, Motivating Learners to Speak
• 2:50-5:30 Parallel presentation sessions:  Meeting Room 1 Seminar Room 1

1:00-1:45 Keynote Lecture: Terry Laskowski (Kumamoto University)
Unpacking Three Interrelated Concepts: Globalization (as Spaceship Earth), Active Learning, Teaching English Through English (TETE)
These three concepts often emerge regarding English teaching in Japan as a part of professional discourse in our communities of practice. Through teacher development, conceptualizations of pedagogical terms, stimulated by professional discourse, allow teachers to reconstruct or rename what they do to better inform their practice. Drawing on Vygotsky’s’ interrelatedness of language and thought, this talk stresses the binary need in professional development of encouraging teachers to further explore learning theories and teaching methods to enrich their teaching practices fused with nurturing professional discourse that enables teachers to better articulate why they are doing what they are doing in their practices.

1:45-2:30 Oxford University Press Featured Speaker: Rob Peacock
Motivating Learners to Speak
In this session, we will look at some of the difficulties which learners face when developing their productive skills, and then run through some activities which are designed to build students’ confidence to communicate. We will also look at some online material which can be used on both PCs and mobile devices to increase exposure to English outside of the classroom.

2:30-2:50 BREAK

Parallel presentation sessions:   Meeting Room 1 Seminar Room 1

Ian Willey (Kagawa University)
Title: An English Needs Analysis of Doctors and Nurses in Kagawa
(2:50 – 3:20 – University; ESP)
Despite the importance of English abilities to medical professionals, few analyses of the English needs of Japanese doctors and nurses have been conducted. The presenter will describe a study that investigated how doctors and nurses in Kagawa prefecture use English in their work, and their thoughts on English education. Over 2,500 questionnaires were collected from nurses and doctors at five hospitals. Results indicate that the doctors use English for various purposes, though primarily to gather information, whereas the nurses use English almost exclusively to communicate with patients. Both nurses and doctors expressed dissatisfaction in their university English education and indicated that nursing and medical students need training in English speaking rather than for the TOEIC or medical English. This study revealed the importance of needs analyses to develop meaningful curricula for specific groups of students, as well as the value of communicative English education.

Michaelangelo Magasic (Kochi University & Kochi Gakuen HS)
Title: Thinking About (Social) Media in the Language Classroom
(2:50 – 3:20 – University & HS/JHS; CALL/Materials)
The types of media which the teacher employs in class have specific implications for the learning outcomes of students. This presentation will provide a detailed portrait of recreational media consumption habits based on recent statistical data. Global and Japanese contexts will be compared in order to highlight the media preferences of Japanese students. A clear trend of increasing digital media consumption can be seen: young peoples’ interaction with broadcast media is down and time spent on personal devices is up. The challenge is how to harness shifting media literacies and user-practices to enrich learning outcomes in the language classroom. Drawing on practical experience at university and high school level, as well as relevant literature on the pedagogical potential of the participatory internet, implications for material development will be discussed with a special focus given to social media.

Laura Kawaguchi: (Ehime University Faculty of Education, Fuzoku Elementary School)
Title: Artistic Expression in the International Studies Classroom
(3:20 – 3:50 – Elementary & Education; International/Cultural Exchange, Motivation, Comm. Skills)
International Studies lessons for students at Ehime University Faculty of Education Fuzoku Elementary School consist of language tasks, cultural awareness exercises, various exchanges with an Australian school, and time for reflection. Students acquire communication skills not only through simple, engaging conversations, but through careful listening and observation, body language, attitude, and creative activities. Utilizing methods related to artwork encourages students of different abilities and interests to participate in a fulfilling and satisfying manner. I will describe my current international art exchange and its impact on students and teachers, and discuss the meaningful connections and discoveries that can be made when art is used in language lessons. In addition to being of interest to instructors of student teachers and elementary school children, this presentation will be beneficial to those curious about conducting innovative cultural exchanges with students of any age.

Darren Lingley: (Kochi University)
Title: Children’s Literature as a Language and Culture Resource
(3:20 – 3:50 – University; Intercultural Communication/Culture/ELT)
In this presentation, I will offer a range of uses for children’s picture books in the English language classroom. As a learning resource, children’s literature offers rich linguistic and cultural content for language learners of all ages. I will first provide an ELT rationale for using such materials in our language classes after which participants will be guided through a series of language-oriented activities based on different types of children’s books. Each activity will have a communicative language focus such a retelling of a story, a competitive vocabulary search activity, or the co-creation of language for picture books with no supporting text. Rich natural vocabulary use is a prominent feature of children’s picture books, making it possible for learners to access vocabulary items, grammatical patterns, colloquial expressions, and cultural content that is not often represented in EFL language-learning materials. Creative and structured use of children’s picture books offers a culture-rich way to provide authentic language input to learners.
Presentation schedule

Gerardine McCrohan (Kagawa University)
Title: Free-writing: More than just a Warm-up Activity
(4:00 – 4:30 – University; Second language writing)
Free-writing has long been seen as a way of brainstorming and as a warm-up activity. It allows learners to concentrate on content rather than form, bridges the gap between written and spoken communication, and separates the process of creating from the process of editing. This study aimed to see how effective free-writing activities are by investigating what changes, if any, occur in the quantity and quality of writing produced by learners during a weekly 15-minute free-writing activity. By examining their 2nd attempt with their 12th attempt, it became clear that most learners succeeded in producing more words. In addition, by analyzing the token-type ratio and the number of error free t-units, it was found that the majority of students became able to use a greater variety of words and expressions, that they wrote longer sentences, and there were more grammatically-correct sentences than before.

Bruce Lander (Kagawa University)
Title: Five iPad Apps to Encourage Active Learning
(4:00 – 4:30 – University; Second language writing)
In this presentation, I will introduce five popular iPad Apps that can help to encourage active learning. All of these apps are tailored towards the younger generation and propose innovative ways in which to learn collaboratively. The way the younger generation actively learn inside and outside the classroom is very much influenced by the multimodal technologies they are currently adopting. However, for the most part, the technologies that students in our teaching context of Japan are adopting are used mainly for private purposes. If we, as educators can introduce educational applications that encourage active-learning we can not only develop cognitive skills but also non-cognitive ones like collaborative learning, motivation and digital literacies. All of these skills should play an important role in their prospective endeavors and a world of further advancing technologies. Please come to this presentation if you are interested in learning more about integrating iPads into your teaching.

Elizabeth Yoshikawa (Naruto University of Education)
Title: Understanding Representations of Internationalization
(4:30 – 5:00 – University; Higher education/internationalization)
Increasingly Japanese universities are adopting an internationalization ideology. While higher-ranking universities have developed infrastructures to support international students, many lower-ranking institutions are currently still developing this infrastructure. This presentation addresses how the foreign language homepages (FLH) indicate the degree to which Japanese universities have adopted an internationalization ideology. Through a semiotic analysis, FLHs are analyzed as signs. Here the meaning of these signs is interpreted in terms of the amount of support a foreign student might expect from a university. By understanding how foreign students are turning to these webpages as both an introduction to the university and as a potential resource for specific information, universities could develop the image they are portraying on their FLHs. Common mistakes in information displays and information which is of importance to foreign students will be addressed, as FLH development does have implications for attracting foreign students to the university.

Gordon Bateson (Kochi University of Technology)
Title: Auto-grading Essays in Moodle
(4:30 – 5:00 – University & HS/JHS; CALL/Extensive writing)
In the standard “Essay” questions in Moodle, students must wait for the teacher to manually input a grade and feedback. This can lead to an intense workload for the teacher and demotivating delays for the students. To address these issues, a new question type, the “Essay (auto-grade)” question, was developed. It awards a provisional grade as soon as the student submits an essay. The provisional grade is based on the number of words, sentences and target phrases that are present in the essay. In addition, this question type allows the teacher to specify “grade bands” which can be used to create a non-linear grading scheme. At any time, the teacher can override the automatically generated grade by giving a manual grade and feedback as in the standard “Essay” question type. The presentation will conclude with several examples of how this question type can be used in actual educational contexts.

Paul Daniels (Kochi University of Technology)
Title: Exploring Extensive Speaking & Writing Activities
(5:00 – 5:30 – University & HS/JHS; Extensive writing/Extensive speaking/CALL)
‘Extensive’ language tasks, where learners are engaged in language for enjoyment, have the potential to enrich the language learning experience. Extensive reading programs have shown considerable promise in advancing EFL learners’ reading and writing skills, but little research has been published on the effects of extensive speaking or writing tasks on language development. In this presentation, I will describe how to administer extensive speaking and writing tasks using a flipped classroom approach. Sample speaking and writing tasks can include human-to-human tasks as well as computer-assisted tasks. I will demonstrate how open-ended activities such as blogs, journals, group discussion, or mini-presentations can be adapted and used as ‘extensive’ tasks. Evaluation of the tasks will also be explained and suggestions given on how to automate the scoring or award process using computerized-assessment and portfolios.

Gerard Marchesseau (Naruto University of Education)
Title: Linking Achievement and Motivation in English Learning
(5:00 – 5:30 – University; Motivation)
This research shows the correlation between university students’ academic achievement in learning English and various motivational factors. Academic achievement was measured using the grade 2/3 level of the Eiken institution based test. Despite some limitations, this test provided a quantitative measurement and is clearly related to the construct of academic success observable in Japanese public English language education. To assess motivational factors, a five point Likert scale questionnaire was given to the students. The questionnaire consisted of ten items which were derived from the main contemporary theories on motivation. A general trend was found where the factors which correlated most highly with academic achievement were the least observable among the students. Likewise, factors which appeared to have less of an impact on academic success were more prevalent with the students.

5:30-6:00 Steering committee meeting: 9th Shikoku JALT Conference (Takamatsu, 2018)

6:30-8:30 Party: Izakaya Sakura (咲くら) is centrally located just south of Ohashidori. Cozy place with good food! Sign up by Monday, May 8. Contact: lingley@kochi-u.ac.jp
Restaurant website: https://tabelog.com/en/kochi/A3901/A390101/39000362/