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A chapter of the Japan Association for Language Teaching
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Our 2020 events have all been moved to our "Archive" menu.
Upcoming Fukuoka JALT events:
The event we had slated for May looks like it might not be going ahead.
Instead - why not attend (online) the annual JALT PanSIG conference?
Instead - why not attend (online) the annual JALT PanSIG conference?
Special announcement: attendance fees.
Fukuoka JALT meetings have always been free for JALT members, and any non-members who wanted to attend have paid 1,000円 at the door for each event (except for the events that were sponsored in full by a publisher). When we began holding our events online in mid-2020, we opened them up to everyone for free. This was all new to us, so "free" seemed the safest option. However, this is somewhat unsustainable in the longer term, so starting with our March 2020 event, we are now asking non-JALT-members to pay 500円 to attend our online presentations.
To avoid extremely tiresome and tedious administrative problems, we're simply going to operate on an "honor" system, rather than collect names and email addresses ahead of time to secretly send the links to. The Zoom link will be published as usual, on the day of the event, on our website, in an email, and in our Facebook group.
If you're not a JALT member and would like to attend this or any subsequent online Fukuoka JALT presentation, please pay 500円, via PayPal, to fukuokajalttreasury@gmail.com . JALT members (of any chapter) don’t need to pay anything. (If you're not a member of our chapter, though, we will ask that you sign in to a document during the meeting with your JALT chapter and, if you remember it, your JALT number.)
If you don't have a credit card, please contact that address for bank transfer details. There’s no strict requirement that you do so before the event, so if you’re reading this 10 minutes before the meeting starts, please come along and just remember to pay later!
We'd like to have as many people as possible at our online events, and want to make it as simple as possible for people to participate.
Fukuoka JALT meetings have always been free for JALT members, and any non-members who wanted to attend have paid 1,000円 at the door for each event (except for the events that were sponsored in full by a publisher). When we began holding our events online in mid-2020, we opened them up to everyone for free. This was all new to us, so "free" seemed the safest option. However, this is somewhat unsustainable in the longer term, so starting with our March 2020 event, we are now asking non-JALT-members to pay 500円 to attend our online presentations.
To avoid extremely tiresome and tedious administrative problems, we're simply going to operate on an "honor" system, rather than collect names and email addresses ahead of time to secretly send the links to. The Zoom link will be published as usual, on the day of the event, on our website, in an email, and in our Facebook group.
If you're not a JALT member and would like to attend this or any subsequent online Fukuoka JALT presentation, please pay 500円, via PayPal, to fukuokajalttreasury@gmail.com . JALT members (of any chapter) don’t need to pay anything. (If you're not a member of our chapter, though, we will ask that you sign in to a document during the meeting with your JALT chapter and, if you remember it, your JALT number.)
If you don't have a credit card, please contact that address for bank transfer details. There’s no strict requirement that you do so before the event, so if you’re reading this 10 minutes before the meeting starts, please come along and just remember to pay later!
We'd like to have as many people as possible at our online events, and want to make it as simple as possible for people to participate.
What's happening around JALT?
With so many JALT events going online, it's possible to participate in chapter events all across the country.
Look at the always-updating list on JALT's website, www.jalt.org/events.
Look at the always-updating list on JALT's website, www.jalt.org/events.
Past Fukuoka JALT events:
(For last year's events, please see our 2020 archive page.)
January 22, 2021 (Friday)
University entrance exams, four-skills tests and washback in the Japanese context
David Allen (Ochanomizu University, Tokyo)
6:00 pm start, on Zoom. Finishing up around 8:00pm, with a social hangout after the presentation.
Links/details/passwords will be published here on our website, and on our Facebook page, and in an email, on the afternoon of the presentation.
Since the middle of the 20th century, the English education system in Japan has undergone numerous reforms. These ‘communicative’ reforms have sought to modernize English language education, from the traditional grammar-translation methodology with its focus on the written language, to a communicative approach that emphasizes the acquisition of linguistic knowledge as well the ability to apply this through the four skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing (e.g., see MEXT, 2017a, 2017b, 2018a).
As part of the most recent reform, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology (MEXT) is seeking to reform the use of English examinations for university entrance. In MEXT’s view, without reforming the exams, school teachers will face difficulty in implementing the new curriculum because of the pressure to teach to high-stakes university entrance exams. Consequently, MEXT proposed the abolishment of the English section of the Common Test from 2024 and has recommended that universities utilize one or more of the officially recognized four-skills tests administered by private testing agencies to assess the English ability of applicants.
MEXT’s proposal has received a wealth of criticism, particularly regarding issues of fairness of opportunity, such as the costs involved in taking the tests (e.g., Abe, 2017; Haebara, 2018; JLTA, 2017). However, while many criticisms are legitimate and are made by those seeking to improve the system yet mitigate potential negative impact, in other cases the criticisms appear to be motivated by fundamental differences in opinion on the ideal approach to English language education in Japan (Allen, 2020).
In this presentation, I will describe the reform and its background, the criticisms of the proposal, and the different motivations of those who have criticized it. I will also consider the criticisms of the former National Center Test and note some of the revisions made for the new Common Test, which will be implemented for the first time in January 2021. Moreover, I will summarize some of the criticisms of the current entrance exams administered at universities (i.e., the in-house, second-round exams, or nijishiken). Interestingly, in the discourse surrounding the new proposal, discussion of the limitations of these current exams is conspicuously absent (Allen, 2020).
I will also discuss the washback mechanism and the factors that mediate washback to the learner and the teacher, with reference to studies conducted in the Japan context (e.g., Allen, 2016, 2017; Nagatomo & Allen, 2019; Sato, 2018; Watanabe, 1996, 1997). I will argue that, while washback is a complex process that is mediated by a range of context-dependent factors, washback research is ultimately the only way to truly determine the impact of exams on English education in Japan. I will consider some of the crucial aspects of conducting washback studies – that is, research that involves primary data collection, not mere discussion – so that the research outcomes have the potential to influence English education policy. Such washback research is urgently needed across a wide variety of tests and educational contexts in Japan.
David Allen teaches English language and applied linguistics courses at Ochanomizu University in Tokyo. He has been a teacher in Japan since 2002 and has taught in a wide range of contexts in Japan and the UK. He has published in journals such as Language Teaching Research, Language Assessment Quarterly, and the International Journal of Bilingualism. He has had a long-standing interest in language assessment, and has conducted washback research with research grants from the British Council and the Eiken Foundation of Japan. He is an active member of the TEVAL SIG and is the current editor of its publication, Shiken.
University entrance exams, four-skills tests and washback in the Japanese context
David Allen (Ochanomizu University, Tokyo)
6:00 pm start, on Zoom. Finishing up around 8:00pm, with a social hangout after the presentation.
Links/details/passwords will be published here on our website, and on our Facebook page, and in an email, on the afternoon of the presentation.
Since the middle of the 20th century, the English education system in Japan has undergone numerous reforms. These ‘communicative’ reforms have sought to modernize English language education, from the traditional grammar-translation methodology with its focus on the written language, to a communicative approach that emphasizes the acquisition of linguistic knowledge as well the ability to apply this through the four skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing (e.g., see MEXT, 2017a, 2017b, 2018a).
As part of the most recent reform, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology (MEXT) is seeking to reform the use of English examinations for university entrance. In MEXT’s view, without reforming the exams, school teachers will face difficulty in implementing the new curriculum because of the pressure to teach to high-stakes university entrance exams. Consequently, MEXT proposed the abolishment of the English section of the Common Test from 2024 and has recommended that universities utilize one or more of the officially recognized four-skills tests administered by private testing agencies to assess the English ability of applicants.
MEXT’s proposal has received a wealth of criticism, particularly regarding issues of fairness of opportunity, such as the costs involved in taking the tests (e.g., Abe, 2017; Haebara, 2018; JLTA, 2017). However, while many criticisms are legitimate and are made by those seeking to improve the system yet mitigate potential negative impact, in other cases the criticisms appear to be motivated by fundamental differences in opinion on the ideal approach to English language education in Japan (Allen, 2020).
In this presentation, I will describe the reform and its background, the criticisms of the proposal, and the different motivations of those who have criticized it. I will also consider the criticisms of the former National Center Test and note some of the revisions made for the new Common Test, which will be implemented for the first time in January 2021. Moreover, I will summarize some of the criticisms of the current entrance exams administered at universities (i.e., the in-house, second-round exams, or nijishiken). Interestingly, in the discourse surrounding the new proposal, discussion of the limitations of these current exams is conspicuously absent (Allen, 2020).
I will also discuss the washback mechanism and the factors that mediate washback to the learner and the teacher, with reference to studies conducted in the Japan context (e.g., Allen, 2016, 2017; Nagatomo & Allen, 2019; Sato, 2018; Watanabe, 1996, 1997). I will argue that, while washback is a complex process that is mediated by a range of context-dependent factors, washback research is ultimately the only way to truly determine the impact of exams on English education in Japan. I will consider some of the crucial aspects of conducting washback studies – that is, research that involves primary data collection, not mere discussion – so that the research outcomes have the potential to influence English education policy. Such washback research is urgently needed across a wide variety of tests and educational contexts in Japan.
David Allen teaches English language and applied linguistics courses at Ochanomizu University in Tokyo. He has been a teacher in Japan since 2002 and has taught in a wide range of contexts in Japan and the UK. He has published in journals such as Language Teaching Research, Language Assessment Quarterly, and the International Journal of Bilingualism. He has had a long-standing interest in language assessment, and has conducted washback research with research grants from the British Council and the Eiken Foundation of Japan. He is an active member of the TEVAL SIG and is the current editor of its publication, Shiken.
February 27, 2021 (Saturday)
Two presentations on Extensive Reading
Mark Brierley and Paul Goldberg
6:00 pm start, on Zoom. Finishing up around 8:00pm, with a social hangout after the presentation.
First presentation:
Using Booklog for Extensive Reading
Mark Brierley
Extensive Reading is an approach to language learning by reading a lot of easy, enjoyable books. It can only work when learners have access to a large range of books at a range of easily determined levels, and libraries are natural allies to proponents of this practice. While libraries are familiar with procedures to buy paper books, and can arrange them in shelves and with stickers to make their levels apparent, digital books present several challenges: finding books; navigating purchasing or licensing; finding funds to pay for them; displaying books to students and indicating how students can access them. Books are available through Maruzen and Ebsco, and our university library allows students to access them once logged into the University's online system. Librarie licenses titles for a limited number of years but requires students to set up accounts. None of these systems gives any indication of the level of books and only work well if you know which book you want to read. We have used a system called Booklog to help students see what books are available and at which levels.
Mark Brierley teaches at Shinshu University, in Matsumoto, Nagano. He has worked on the Extensive Reading Foundation Online Placement Test, an online systems for keeping track of student reading and a database of Graded Readers. He is an editor of JALT ER SIG's ERJ newsletter, and the Journal of Extensive Reading.
Second presentation:
Xreading: What’s New and What’s Next
Paul Goldberg
Xreading is an online library that gives students access to over a thousand graded readers from major publishers such as CUP, Cengage, and Macmillan. Students have unlimited access to all books at all times, and besides the books, they have access to the audio narrations, book ratings, and quizzes. In addition, the system tracks students' reading progress (books read, words read, reading speed, quiz scores, etc.) so it makes management and assessment much easier for teachers.
Since the launch of Xreading in 2014, constant improvements have been made to the system. However, the number of new features were accelerated this past year to help teachers deal most effectively with remote teaching. For example, teachers can now see in real time if their students are actively reading, and send messages to them. In this presentation, the founder of Xreading will explain the new features and functionality that have been added, and review what is planned for the future. Current users of the system who attend are encouraged to provide feedback and suggestions based on their experience.
Paul Goldberg is a native New Yorker. He has an M.S. in Secondary Education from Dowling College in New York, an M.A. in TESOL from Long Island University, and completed the coursework (ABD) for an Ed.D in TESOL at Temple University. He has taught English as a foreign language in Venezuela, Spain, Korea, the US, and most recently at Kwansei Gakuin University in Osaka, Japan. He also has done teacher training for many years, specializing in communicative activities. His main areas of interest are extensive reading and extensive listening. Finally, Paul is the founder of Xreading, which he developed because of his desire to make graded readers more accessible for students, and extensive reading programs easier for teachers to manage. Email: paul@xreading.com.
Two presentations on Extensive Reading
Mark Brierley and Paul Goldberg
6:00 pm start, on Zoom. Finishing up around 8:00pm, with a social hangout after the presentation.
First presentation:
Using Booklog for Extensive Reading
Mark Brierley
Extensive Reading is an approach to language learning by reading a lot of easy, enjoyable books. It can only work when learners have access to a large range of books at a range of easily determined levels, and libraries are natural allies to proponents of this practice. While libraries are familiar with procedures to buy paper books, and can arrange them in shelves and with stickers to make their levels apparent, digital books present several challenges: finding books; navigating purchasing or licensing; finding funds to pay for them; displaying books to students and indicating how students can access them. Books are available through Maruzen and Ebsco, and our university library allows students to access them once logged into the University's online system. Librarie licenses titles for a limited number of years but requires students to set up accounts. None of these systems gives any indication of the level of books and only work well if you know which book you want to read. We have used a system called Booklog to help students see what books are available and at which levels.
Mark Brierley teaches at Shinshu University, in Matsumoto, Nagano. He has worked on the Extensive Reading Foundation Online Placement Test, an online systems for keeping track of student reading and a database of Graded Readers. He is an editor of JALT ER SIG's ERJ newsletter, and the Journal of Extensive Reading.
Second presentation:
Xreading: What’s New and What’s Next
Paul Goldberg
Xreading is an online library that gives students access to over a thousand graded readers from major publishers such as CUP, Cengage, and Macmillan. Students have unlimited access to all books at all times, and besides the books, they have access to the audio narrations, book ratings, and quizzes. In addition, the system tracks students' reading progress (books read, words read, reading speed, quiz scores, etc.) so it makes management and assessment much easier for teachers.
Since the launch of Xreading in 2014, constant improvements have been made to the system. However, the number of new features were accelerated this past year to help teachers deal most effectively with remote teaching. For example, teachers can now see in real time if their students are actively reading, and send messages to them. In this presentation, the founder of Xreading will explain the new features and functionality that have been added, and review what is planned for the future. Current users of the system who attend are encouraged to provide feedback and suggestions based on their experience.
Paul Goldberg is a native New Yorker. He has an M.S. in Secondary Education from Dowling College in New York, an M.A. in TESOL from Long Island University, and completed the coursework (ABD) for an Ed.D in TESOL at Temple University. He has taught English as a foreign language in Venezuela, Spain, Korea, the US, and most recently at Kwansei Gakuin University in Osaka, Japan. He also has done teacher training for many years, specializing in communicative activities. His main areas of interest are extensive reading and extensive listening. Finally, Paul is the founder of Xreading, which he developed because of his desire to make graded readers more accessible for students, and extensive reading programs easier for teachers to manage. Email: paul@xreading.com.
March 13, 2021 (Saturday)
IB FILM: Teaching and Designing a Western Curriculum in a Japanese Secondary School Context
Cassidy Marra
6:00 pm start, on Zoom. Finishing up around 8:00pm, with a social hangout after the presentation.
In the spring of 2019, I was hired to be a Film Studies teacher in the International Baccalaureate (IB) Program at Fukuoka Daiichi High School. There was no textbook, no curriculum, and the students were all Japanese sixteen year-olds with Eiken Pre-2nd and zero knowledge of film. The only thing I had were three externally assessed projects that the students needed to complete in English within the next fifteen months. This is the story of how I scratched together a Film Studies curriculum and helped my students pass the class.
In this workshop, I’ll be sharing my experiences and challenges in creating a Film Studies curriculum at a Japanese high school. Although the subject matter in my class is “film,” I think that the ideas we discuss here can be applied to any subject that is taken by non-native English speakers but taught and assessed in English. The curriculum I’ve designed is very much a work in progress and in constant need of retooling. As you learn about the standards of the IB Film Studies course, I hope you'll share your ideas.
Some of the topics we’ll examine are:
- What is the IB program? What are the IB FILM assessments?
- What is the core content in IB FILM?
- Film Lesson Planning: Examples of IB FILM lessons
- Reverse-engineering the assessments: how I teach students to “beat” the assessments and why that’s a good thing
- Specific challenges teaching a Western curriculum in a Japanese school context
Cassidy Marra
I've been a language teacher in Japan, Australia and Canada since 2005. I'm not a researcher nor am I a language acquisition theorist. I'm just a simple practitioner. I look at the task that my students need to complete, I assess the obstacles in completing that task, and then I do my best to help the students surmount those obstacles.
IB FILM: Teaching and Designing a Western Curriculum in a Japanese Secondary School Context
Cassidy Marra
6:00 pm start, on Zoom. Finishing up around 8:00pm, with a social hangout after the presentation.
In the spring of 2019, I was hired to be a Film Studies teacher in the International Baccalaureate (IB) Program at Fukuoka Daiichi High School. There was no textbook, no curriculum, and the students were all Japanese sixteen year-olds with Eiken Pre-2nd and zero knowledge of film. The only thing I had were three externally assessed projects that the students needed to complete in English within the next fifteen months. This is the story of how I scratched together a Film Studies curriculum and helped my students pass the class.
In this workshop, I’ll be sharing my experiences and challenges in creating a Film Studies curriculum at a Japanese high school. Although the subject matter in my class is “film,” I think that the ideas we discuss here can be applied to any subject that is taken by non-native English speakers but taught and assessed in English. The curriculum I’ve designed is very much a work in progress and in constant need of retooling. As you learn about the standards of the IB Film Studies course, I hope you'll share your ideas.
Some of the topics we’ll examine are:
- What is the IB program? What are the IB FILM assessments?
- What is the core content in IB FILM?
- Film Lesson Planning: Examples of IB FILM lessons
- Reverse-engineering the assessments: how I teach students to “beat” the assessments and why that’s a good thing
- Specific challenges teaching a Western curriculum in a Japanese school context
Cassidy Marra
I've been a language teacher in Japan, Australia and Canada since 2005. I'm not a researcher nor am I a language acquisition theorist. I'm just a simple practitioner. I look at the task that my students need to complete, I assess the obstacles in completing that task, and then I do my best to help the students surmount those obstacles.
April 17, 2021 (Saturday)
Teaching EFL Students Essay Writing Remotely with EssayJack
Tamnna Patel: Client Support and Marketing, Essay Jack, and
Ayuna Uratani. Value Creator, mangoSTEEMS Japan
6:00 pm start, on Zoom. Finishing up around 8:00pm, with a social hangout after the presentation.
Links/details/passwords will be published here on our website, and on our Facebook page, and in an email, on the afternoon of the presentation.
FREE for everyone - publisher-sponsored.
How do you teach skills like essay writing remotely? How can you provide writing guidance and assistance to students in a structured way when you're not sitting next to them? How can you make sure they're practicing what they learned in online classes? Learn how EssayJack smart writing templates work and how to customize them to fit your lesson plans to teach and guide students' writing from anywhere.
Tamanna Patel has been with EssayJack Inc., an education technology start-up that focuses on teaching writing, since 2018, and currently fills the role of marketing and client support. She has a keen interest in education and how lifelong learning can uplift, empower, and push people to reach their potential. She graduated with a Magna Cum Laude with Honours in Economics and a minor in Management from Clark University in Massachusetts, United States. Previously, Tamanna worked at PwC (PricewaterhouseCoopers), then as an education policy researcher at the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS), a Malaysian think tank, before joining EssayJack. When not in the middle of a global pandemic, she’s an avid traveller.
Teaching EFL Students Essay Writing Remotely with EssayJack
Tamnna Patel: Client Support and Marketing, Essay Jack, and
Ayuna Uratani. Value Creator, mangoSTEEMS Japan
6:00 pm start, on Zoom. Finishing up around 8:00pm, with a social hangout after the presentation.
Links/details/passwords will be published here on our website, and on our Facebook page, and in an email, on the afternoon of the presentation.
FREE for everyone - publisher-sponsored.
How do you teach skills like essay writing remotely? How can you provide writing guidance and assistance to students in a structured way when you're not sitting next to them? How can you make sure they're practicing what they learned in online classes? Learn how EssayJack smart writing templates work and how to customize them to fit your lesson plans to teach and guide students' writing from anywhere.
Tamanna Patel has been with EssayJack Inc., an education technology start-up that focuses on teaching writing, since 2018, and currently fills the role of marketing and client support. She has a keen interest in education and how lifelong learning can uplift, empower, and push people to reach their potential. She graduated with a Magna Cum Laude with Honours in Economics and a minor in Management from Clark University in Massachusetts, United States. Previously, Tamanna worked at PwC (PricewaterhouseCoopers), then as an education policy researcher at the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS), a Malaysian think tank, before joining EssayJack. When not in the middle of a global pandemic, she’s an avid traveller.
April 2021 "Check-in"
Some of us are teaching 100% in the classroom, some are online, and some are working with a mix of the two. We’re all working within a new set of constraints and restrictions, and just like this time last year, we’re trying to figure out how to make it work.
An hour before our next regular monthly presentation (this coming Saturday), we’re going to open up the Zoom room early and just have an informal hang-out to discuss what’s happening in various schools and universities across the prefecture (and maybe beyond).
Please come along, JALT member or not, and chime in with what’s going on at your school(s) and how things are looking.
We’ll open the room at around 5:00pm, and chat til our presentation begins at 6:00pm. Come and go as you can and need to. (The presentation is free for everyone this month, as it’s a sponsored event.) As usual, there’ll be some kind of hangout after the presentation too.
Zoom details will go out on the day on our website, Facebook, and email. We hope to see you there.
Some of us are teaching 100% in the classroom, some are online, and some are working with a mix of the two. We’re all working within a new set of constraints and restrictions, and just like this time last year, we’re trying to figure out how to make it work.
An hour before our next regular monthly presentation (this coming Saturday), we’re going to open up the Zoom room early and just have an informal hang-out to discuss what’s happening in various schools and universities across the prefecture (and maybe beyond).
Please come along, JALT member or not, and chime in with what’s going on at your school(s) and how things are looking.
We’ll open the room at around 5:00pm, and chat til our presentation begins at 6:00pm. Come and go as you can and need to. (The presentation is free for everyone this month, as it’s a sponsored event.) As usual, there’ll be some kind of hangout after the presentation too.
Zoom details will go out on the day on our website, Facebook, and email. We hope to see you there.