The next meeting for the East Shikoku Chapter is on Sunday, January 28th, 2007 from 1:30 PM to 3:00 PM.
This will be the first of a two-part series of events aimed at supporting young teachers and researchers in our chapter who have limited experience in publishing and presenting.
The meeting is at Kochi Women’s University, Language Lab, 5-15 Eikokuji-cho, Kochi City..
Cost for non-JALT members: 500 yen; for JALT members: free

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Psychometrics in Applied Linguistics
Ian Isemonger

Ian Isemonger of Kochi Women’s University talked the group through the
methodology behind the creation of psychological instruments: constructions and
operationalizations. An intelligent discussion ensued.

More
images by Lawrie Hunter.

Event Announcement

Psychometrics in Applied Linguistics
Ian Isemonger
In this presentation, Ian Isemonger, Associate Professor at Kochi Women’s University, will give a presentation entitled Psychometrics in Applied Linguistics. After a general survey of how psychometrics is relevant to applied linguistics, this presentation will focus on instruments that claim to measure various psychological constructs. These instruments are frequently suggested to teachers as a means of profiling students in the classroom so that they can assist those with particular problems or needs. This presentation will explain the psychometric theory behind such instruments, and methods for determining their validity, so as to enable teachers to make better choices of instrument.
Ian is a specialist in psychometrics and has recently been published in Studies in Second Language Acquisition (in press, March, 2007) where he has criticized Rod Ellis in a rebuttal to a major study of the psychometrics of implicit and explicit knowledge. He has also published in other leading international journals such as Educational and Psychological Measurement. Ian’s teaching background over 13 years in Asia includes posts at four universities in Thailand, Korea and Japan.
Place: Kochi Women’s University, Eikokuji Campus, Room 351, 3rd floor (signs will be posted). 5-15 Eikokuji-cho, Kochi City.
Date: Saturday, December 16th
Time: 1:00 – 2:30
Cost for one-day members: 500 yen; for JALT members: free

This workshop, held in conjunction with JALTCALL, featured three 45-minute hands on presentations and an electronic poster session. In the main presentations, Paul Daniels & Timothy Gutierrez – Delivering Digital Content through Moodle, showed how an open-source content management system can be utilized to support in-class language learning activities. Lawrie Hunter presented on Effective PowerPoint presentations, guiding his audience through techniques for effective use of PowerPoint in the language classroom. Hunter suggested useful tips for the design, content and use of this software. Davey Leslie, in his presentation, The website as narrative: scripting a site with a notepad and a cup of coffee, shared ideas for creating unique sites based on his experience as a professional website developer and language teacher.

In the poster session’s unique digital format, presenters were assigned a table with four notebook PCs with Internet access, digital video and still cameras. Presenters demonstrated digital course content, useful websites, student projects, and educational lessons, giving their audience hands-on time with their software and content. Posters were presented by Marcus Otlowski– Online learning sites, Sean Burgoine – Using mobile phones/digital cameras for storytelling, Michael Sharpe – Mobile blogs, Charlie Robertson – Use of video storyboarding, Paul Daniels and Tim Gutierrez – Moodle: Classroom Use, and Ian Isemonger– An online-refereed journal for students.

View more images here.

Sunday, October 22, 2006, 3:00 to 5:00 PM.
K-Building, 3rd floor, LL Room
Kochi University of Technology, Tosayamada-cho, Kochi-ken

I. Workshops

Paul Daniels & Timothy Gutierrez: Delivering digital content through Moodle
The free content management software called Moodle is looking to be the state of the art for some time to come in CALL. Learn how this easy-to-use system can put you in the IT driver’s seat.

Lawrie Hunter: Effective PowerPoint Presentations
PowerPoint is ubiquitous, much maligned, much misused. This sharing oriented presentation looks at the design, content and use. Power
up!

Davey Leslie: The Website as Narrative: Scripting a site with a
notepad and a cup of coffee. Who does what? And why? And then what happens? A
guided tour to creating unique sites by a professional developer / language
teacher.

II. Poster Sessions

Marcus Otlowski
Online Learning Sites
With the abundance of online English study sites it has become increasingly difficult for students to, not only find useful sites, 
but be able to move around and use the activities found on them. 
This presentation will introduce a number of websites that were 
recommended by students in Department of International Studies at 
Kochi University for their simplicity and usefulness. Participants will be able to access these websites and explore the online learning environment.
http://web.mac.com/motlowski/iWeb/University/Online%20English.html

Sean Burgoine
Using mobile phones/digital cameras for storytelling.
To make storytelling more structured for the narrator and more vivid for the listener, a series of still images can be used. By recreating a story and taking pictures at certain intervals, an aid that can compensate for linguistic limitations can be made. The necessary technology, being a personal computer and digital camera, should be at every students disposal.

Michael Sharpe
Mobile Blogs
This poster session will introduce a project that involves students using their
mobile phones to create mobile blogs or MoBlogs about their daily lifestyles.

Charlie Robertson
This poster presentation will demonstrate the use of Video Storyboarding as a creative means to narrative development based on sound grammar and logical thinking.

Timothy Gutierrez & Paul Daniels
Moodle: Classroom Use
Tim Gutierrez and Paul Daniels will focus on
how Moodle’s activities can be utilized to support in-class language learning activities.

This event, held in conjunction with the Naruto Education University’s Center for English Education at Elementary Schools, featured a workshop by Stan Pederson on Seven Steps to Success with Young Learners. Pederson guided a large group of primary school English teachers through his seven steps, emphasizing song, stories and physical movement all of which encourage self-expression. All of Pederson demonstration activities provided insight into what young learners enjoy and how they learn. The workshop concluded with Pederson noting the importance of the feedback loop in setting achievable goals and assessment standards, noting that assessment for young learners is an area much in need of research in the Japan context.

The event also featured two presentations on issues related to elementary school English. Hidenori Ogyu discussed perspective of the jhs teacher in his presentation Starting Junior High School: The Current Situation and what Teachers expect from Elementary School Education. Soukichi Yoshioka presented on Issues in Elementary School English Education from the Perspective of the JTE. The event concluded with a discussion session centering on the need for a better link between elementary and junior high school English education.

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Professor Kip Cates from Tottori University gives a workshop on “Methods for Introducing Global Issues in the EFL Classroom” at Kochi University.

More
photos by Lawrie Hunter

If you have any suggestions for presentation themes or locations, please leave us a comment on our comments page.

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The East Shikoku JALT Meeting on pronunciation in the EFL classroom was held on January 14, 2006. More images by Lawrie Hunter can be found here.
Our five presenter’s are listed below:

• Roger Nunn (above): “Teaching Rhythm and Stress Through Songs”
• Lawrie Hunter: “Blending Tasks, Motivation and Ownership of Texts”
• Akiko Matsuyoshi: “The Perceptual Distinction of /r/ and /l/”
• Marcus Otlowski: “Using Inflection to Change Meaning”
• Maiko Ogasawara: “Avoiding Phonological Errors when Using Authentic Materials”

A special Guest Speaker, Professor John Wells, joined us in Kochi to share his technique for Teaching English Intonation.

Professor Wells is a Professor of Phonetics at University College London and is President of the International Phonetic Association.

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East Shikoku JALT Chapter comes to life in the spring of 2005 with intellects from Tokushima, Kagawa and Kochi.
Our guest speaker from Hokkaido, Ken Hartmann, provided the energy to
launch our new chapter. Also present was Lawrie Hunter from Kochi University of
Technology who shared his expertise in publishing classroom material. You can
download Professor Hunter’s presentation
here.
View
more images of our first meeting.