Date: November 18, 2012
Time: 2 PM
Location: Room 811, Faculty of Education, Saiwai Campus, Kagawa University, Takamatsu.

Abstract: This presentation will introduce a commercially-available word prediction system and describe a very preliminary investigation into whether the use of such systems may offer benefits to L2 writers of English.

Word prediction systems attempt to predict what word a user is trying to write, or what word they might want to write next. The user is typically presented with a list of predictions that is updated as they type, and given the option of selecting any of the predictions for insertion into the text. Such systems have been widely used for people who have learned English natively but still struggle with writing, and have been used in mobile devices where typing can be difficult and users can benefit from using fewer keystrokes. Word prediction has not been widely used for L2 writers, though it is reasonable to suspect that certain systems may offer some benefits. In this talk, I will explain the motivation for believing that word prediction may benefit L2 writers, as well as explain some of the reasons for believing that its benefits may be limited. Lastly, I will offer some initial impressions on recent, informal trials of word prediction software with Japanese university students.

Speaker Bio: Robert Swier is a lecturer in English as a foreign language at Kagawa University. His background is in computational linguistics, and he holds degrees in computer science from the University of Rochester and the University of Toronto.

Date: Saturday, May 12, 2012 (1:00-5:30)
Venue: Kochi University, Humanities/Jimbun Bldg, 5th Floor, Meeting Room 1
Sponsors: East Shikoku JALT & Matsuyama JALT
Website: http://esjalt.org
JALT Members and students: free
One-Day Member Fee: 1000 yen
Download the conference handbook here.
Keynote Lecture: Mike Guest (Miyazaki University)
Deculturizing language for communication – Can it be done?
Although most teachers are aware that cultural baggage may be attached to language, explicit ‘culture learning’ in the EFL classroom may actually serve to distance learners psychologically from the target language by presenting yet another communicative hurdle, one that is particularly susceptible to ‘othering’. Perhaps we can relieve students of this burden by taking some leads from the emerging analysis of ELF (English as a Lingua Franca) and – of all things – modern approaches to teaching grammar.
Matsuyama JALT Featured Speaker: Jim Ronald (Hiroshima Shudo University)
Bringing Pragmatics to the Classroom
Pragmatics is in the air we breathe – in how we express what we say or write, in how we catch each other’s meanings or feelings, in how we respond… Except in our language classrooms, where, very often, meaningful language use is filtered out, leaving only sterile, context-free language practice. This English many of our students experience is an alien language: direct, grammar-bound, and unsociable. Through this presentation we will explore various ways to increase real, pragmatics-sensitive communication in the classroom.
OUP Featured Speaker: Grant Trew – (Oxford University Press)
Business English and the TOEIC
Courses for practical workplace English are usually taught separately from test preparation courses, and there is the perception that the skills, language and classroom activities required by each are significantly different.This presentation will look at these two types of courses and show that they are much more similar and complementary than many teachers and students believe.
Presentation sessions:
Jennie Kern: The Effects of Planning and Task Type on Narrative Evaluation
Sean Burgoine: Incorporating Pronunciation Activities into Conversation Classes
Harry Carley & David Paterson: The past, present and future of a Travel English course
Samuel Barclay: Do we have an accurate picture of our students’ vocabulary knowledge?

The annual East Shikoku Tech event brings together local experts in the field of language learning and technology to offer hands on workshops in the following areas:

• The process genre approach to EFL composition
• Creating language learning content for mobile devices
• Using PowerPoint to supplement textbooks
• Introduction to mapping software

Date: December 10, 2011
Location: University of Kochi, Eikokuji Campus.
Time: 2:00 PM – 5:00 PM (Year end party to follow at Amigo).
Cost: Free for JALT members, 500 yen for non-JALT members.
Workshop Coordinator: Paul Daniels, Kochi University of Technology
Schedule:
2:00 – 3:00 Davey Leslie: The Life in Kochi Project: Real writing and the process genre approach to EFL composition.
3:00 – 4:00 (electronic poster sessions & mini workshops)
4:00 – 5:00 Paul Daniels: Creating mobile content for language learning
Mini Workshops & Electronic Poster sessions:
Lawrie Hunter: (Workshop) Mind the Map: an introduction to the richness of mapping technology for education
David Grant: iPods in the classroom
Takahiro Ioroi: PowerPoint for developing simple materials for English language teaching
Paul Daniels: A mobile course manager
Davey Leslie: Blogging and EFL Writers
Michael Sharpe: Student Sideshows in Moodle
We are still accepting proposals for electronic poster sessions. Please send a title, short description or your technology enhanced lesson, activity or content to Paul Daniels (paul at hokulele dot us. The proposal deadline is December 7.

Dr. Fred Davidson (http://www.linguistics.illinois.edu/people/fgd), Professor of Linguistics at the University of Illinois, will be giving a workshop on Practical Classroom Language Assessment.
Title: Practical Classroom Language Assessment
Date: Sunday, 30 October
Time: 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM
Location: University of Kochi Eikokuji Campus, Campus Meeting Room, 2nd floor
Handouts:
Main Workshop Handout (Copies available onsite.)
Supplemental handout of test specs (No copies available onsite. Please download and print or view this PDF file electronically.
Follow up documents are here:
Davidson_Kansai_Kochi_report_Oct2011.pdf
pre-pub_Davidson_Blackwell_Encyclopedia_of_Applied_Linguistics.pdf

Speakers: Gerardine McCrohan and Paul Batten, Kagawa University.
Title: Teaching and Testing communicative strategies.
Date: June 30, 2011
Time: 2pm-3.30pm
Location: Room 411 Education Campus, Kagawa University, Saiwai-cho 1-1, Takamatsu.

Speaker: Mike Byram
Title: Purposes and approaches to foreign language education: universalism or particularism?
Details: The main focus of this talk will be whether language teaching can be ‘universal’ or has to be ‘particularistic’ i.e. with the purposes and aims /objectives specific to each country. This will lead onto dealing with the model of intercultural communicative competence (Byram, 1997). The talk will include a question and answers section.
Date & time: June 28 (Tuesday) – 6:45pm – 9:00pm
Location: Lifelong Learning Center in Umeda (OSAKA)
Main sponsors:

• Framework & Language Portfolio Special Interest Group (FLP SIG), see http://tinyurl.com/CDSLEJB%5D
• East Shikoku Chapter, see https://esjalt.org/eastshikoku/
• Osaka Chapter, see http://osakajalt.squarespace.com/)

Alex Kerr, the author of ‘Lost Japan’ (1994) and ‘Dogs and Demons’ (2002) will talk about his activities at Iya in Tokushima and in other places. This talk is part of the Department’s Japan Studies Program and will be in Japanese.
June 18 (Sat.)
18:00
Room 203

Speaker: Joyce Hampton is Director of ELL/International Programs at Elms College in Chicopee, Massachusetts. She will be staying with a group of college students at UOK from May 21 through June 3.
Date, location & time: May 25, University of Kochi Eikokuji Campus, 18:00

Date: Saturday, May 7, 2011 (1:00-­‐5:30)
Venue: 100th Kinenkan, Matsuyama Shinonome High School
Sponsors: Matsuyama JALT & East Shikoku JALT Matsuyama JALT
Website: http://MatsuyamaJALT.50megs.com/
East Shikoku JALT Website: http://esjalt.org
JALT Members and students: free
One­‐Day Member Fee: 1000 yen
Download conference handbook with abstracts here:
2nd All Shikoku JALT Conference.pdf

Date and Time: Sunday, 27 March 2011 – 10:00am – 11:30am
Speaker: Tadashi Ishida
The presenter will discuss how a social educational organization called PEACE has helped promote international understanding and intercultural communication between Japanese and non-Japanese people through the medium of English. He will also report on PEACE’s activities, including demonstrations of calligraphy, the tea ceremony and how to put on a kimono, as well as musical performances using Japanese musical instruments, and a program that matches up non-Japanese visitors with volunteer tour guides. The presentation will end with a case study illustrating what happened at a festival where international students from Waseda University carried a portable shrine with the help of residents of a downtown Tokyo community.
This is a co-sponsored event held in conjunction with the West Tokyo Chapter.