2023 Archive of Past Fukuoka JALT events
This shows our past events from 2023. Upcoming events are listed on our front page.
Saturday, September 16, 2023
Early finishers: What do students do when they finish tasks early, what does this tell us about tasks, and how should we treat early finishers?
6 PM (18:00), in person and online
Speaker: Paul Stone
This talk will focus on a recent study I undertook that looked at what happens when pairs and groups of students finish tasks early. In classrooms that use small-group tasks, it is possible that some groups may finish a particular task earlier than other groups. Teachers may be concerned that these groups of early finishers will become disengaged or go off-task, perhaps by speaking in the L1, and will usually try to avoid early finishing or else keep early finishers meaningfully engaged. However, there are comparatively few studies that carefully examine how students bring about an early finish and what they do after they have finished a task early.
This study uses Conversation Analysis to investigate how EFL students in two Japanese university classes finish tasks early, describing a set of practices that the students use to bring tasks to completion. In doing so, the study reveals something of how the students see their interactional task-based roles, and how they orient to the achievement of task outcomes over the development of conversation.
The study finds that early finishing does not necessarily mean that students have finished interacting. Students may have more to say on task topics than the actual task allows, and early finishers may develop these topics in post-task talk in the target language. In this talk, I will argue that early finishing may at times lead to useful language practice, and that teachers should therefore be cautious when assigning extra work to early finishers.
There will be time for audience discussion, particularly concerning teachers' attitudes to and practices for dealing with early finishers.
Bio
Paul Stone has been teaching English in Japan for 20 years. His career has taken in conversation schools, ALT positions, and - for the most part - university positions. He currently works as an Associate Professor in the Foreign Language Teaching and Research Centre at Gakushuin University. His research interests include Conversation Analysis and Multimodal Interaction Analysis, and he received his PhD in Education from Exeter University.
This study uses Conversation Analysis to investigate how EFL students in two Japanese university classes finish tasks early, describing a set of practices that the students use to bring tasks to completion. In doing so, the study reveals something of how the students see their interactional task-based roles, and how they orient to the achievement of task outcomes over the development of conversation.
The study finds that early finishing does not necessarily mean that students have finished interacting. Students may have more to say on task topics than the actual task allows, and early finishers may develop these topics in post-task talk in the target language. In this talk, I will argue that early finishing may at times lead to useful language practice, and that teachers should therefore be cautious when assigning extra work to early finishers.
There will be time for audience discussion, particularly concerning teachers' attitudes to and practices for dealing with early finishers.
Bio
Paul Stone has been teaching English in Japan for 20 years. His career has taken in conversation schools, ALT positions, and - for the most part - university positions. He currently works as an Associate Professor in the Foreign Language Teaching and Research Centre at Gakushuin University. His research interests include Conversation Analysis and Multimodal Interaction Analysis, and he received his PhD in Education from Exeter University.
Saturday, July 22, 2023
TBLT (Task-Based Language Teaching) and ELF (English as a Lingua Franca): Implications for materials design
6 PM (18:00), in person and online
Speaker: Justin Harris
This talk will focus on how ELT materials design can effectively reflect the core principles of Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) and English as a Lingua Franca (ELF). It will begin with a short discussion on the basics of TBLT and ELF, and then provide clear and practical examples from classroom tested tasks that include a focus on both.
As a learner-centered approach emphasizing authentic tasks to foster the development of communication skills, TBLT allows students to use their existing linguistic resources to engage in meaningful communicative encounters and to realize gaps in their language ability. In particular, the focus on non-linguistic outcomes in tasks helps develop learner motivation, an essential element for successful language acquisition. In ELF approaches, the strong emphasis on effective communication, rather than strict adherence to a native speaker model of English, means that students may develop greater confidence in their own Englishes, leading to more positive outcomes.
As well as examples of materials that feature TBLT and ELF approaches, there will also be reference to some of the challenges that teachers can expect when trying to implement these approaches in their classrooms, and how to overcome them. Although the talk will be grounded in theory, the main focus will be on practice. There will also be time for audience contributions and discussions.
Cost: 1,000 yen to non-JALT members. Free for JALT members.
Note from Fukuoka JALT: Even though this is a non-commercial presentation, the speaker will occasionally make us of published materials as examples of the points he is making.
Hybrid event: This event will be in person as well as online. Online details will be posted here on the Fukuoka JALT website on the day of the event, as well as sent out through our newsletter.
Online information: [deleted]
In-person Location: Elgala (Daimaru East) Building, Tenjin (6 F, Kurume University Satellite Campus room; go in the back entrance shown on the map) Also note that since the Nanakuma Subway Line connected to Hakata Station in late March, this venue has become much easier for anyone coming from the Hakata area. Please take the Nanakuma Subway Line to Tenjin-Minami Station, exit 2.
If you haven't been to this location before, please note that the entrance is NOT through the department store, it is around the back from the department store entrances, here: https://goo.gl/maps/hj8VXmpfjAykeXBV9 (You'll find this by Googling エルガーラ オフィス棟)
As a learner-centered approach emphasizing authentic tasks to foster the development of communication skills, TBLT allows students to use their existing linguistic resources to engage in meaningful communicative encounters and to realize gaps in their language ability. In particular, the focus on non-linguistic outcomes in tasks helps develop learner motivation, an essential element for successful language acquisition. In ELF approaches, the strong emphasis on effective communication, rather than strict adherence to a native speaker model of English, means that students may develop greater confidence in their own Englishes, leading to more positive outcomes.
As well as examples of materials that feature TBLT and ELF approaches, there will also be reference to some of the challenges that teachers can expect when trying to implement these approaches in their classrooms, and how to overcome them. Although the talk will be grounded in theory, the main focus will be on practice. There will also be time for audience contributions and discussions.
Cost: 1,000 yen to non-JALT members. Free for JALT members.
Note from Fukuoka JALT: Even though this is a non-commercial presentation, the speaker will occasionally make us of published materials as examples of the points he is making.
Hybrid event: This event will be in person as well as online. Online details will be posted here on the Fukuoka JALT website on the day of the event, as well as sent out through our newsletter.
Online information: [deleted]
In-person Location: Elgala (Daimaru East) Building, Tenjin (6 F, Kurume University Satellite Campus room; go in the back entrance shown on the map) Also note that since the Nanakuma Subway Line connected to Hakata Station in late March, this venue has become much easier for anyone coming from the Hakata area. Please take the Nanakuma Subway Line to Tenjin-Minami Station, exit 2.
If you haven't been to this location before, please note that the entrance is NOT through the department store, it is around the back from the department store entrances, here: https://goo.gl/maps/hj8VXmpfjAykeXBV9 (You'll find this by Googling エルガーラ オフィス棟)
Bio: Justin Harris is a professor at Kindai University in Osaka Japan, and he has been a language teacher for over 20 years. His research interests center around methodologies that encourage learner motivation, including task-based language teaching (TBLT) and English as a lingua franca. Justin is cofounder of the JALT Task-Based Learning Special Interest Group which is focused on bridging the gap between TBLT research and classroom implementation. He has also published a number of ELT textbooks including the OnTask and Talking Point series for ABAX.
June 17th, 2023
(1) ALTs - procurement, employment status and cost;
(2) University teachers and the 5 year rule/10 year rule
6 PM (18:00), in person and online
Speaker: Chris Flynn (Kyushu Institute of Information Sciences)
Part 1: The ALT “Industry” through Freedom of Information:
The many and varied ALTs - procurement, employment status and cost
Do you know how many ALTs there are in Japan? What percentage of them are JETs? Since the JET program brought the ALT to the classroom their working conditions have steadily deteriorated. Over more than a decade of collecting information on contracts between BOEs and dispatch companies, this presentation will show how English education in public schools has been monetized to the detriment of working conditions and education, and how a stroke of an administrative pen can lead to the sudden termination of dozens of ALTs.
Part 2: University teachers and the 5 year rule/10 year rule for transfer to unlimited term contracts
When the law granting employees the right to demand permanent contracts after 5 years was introduced in 2013, universities clamored to find ways to terminate non-tenured teachers. The government responded with the 10 year exemption for researchers. Still universities are trying to find ways to prevent teachers from gaining their right to stable employment. This turnover of teachers is especially pronounced among language teachers. This presentation will give a brief summary on what type of teacher can apply for the 5 year law, and how universities are trying to avoid granting them their right to permanent employment.
About Chris Flynn: For over 20 years, Chris Flynn has been involved in union activities representing language teachers in Japan including fighting cases (and winning) district and high court, Prefectural Labour Commission, and even assisting English teachers "escape" from employers because they feared for their safety if they quit. Flynn is a Professor at the Kyushu Institute of Information Sciences in Dazaifu, Fukuoka, Japan. He has a Master of Arts in Advanced Japanese Studies from the University of Sheffield and has the NAATI certification as a professional translator and interpreter (Japanese/English), and is the author of "Faces of Fukuoka." Last year, Flynn represented Fukuoka in the over 60s Nenlympic national rugby tournament.
The many and varied ALTs - procurement, employment status and cost
Do you know how many ALTs there are in Japan? What percentage of them are JETs? Since the JET program brought the ALT to the classroom their working conditions have steadily deteriorated. Over more than a decade of collecting information on contracts between BOEs and dispatch companies, this presentation will show how English education in public schools has been monetized to the detriment of working conditions and education, and how a stroke of an administrative pen can lead to the sudden termination of dozens of ALTs.
Part 2: University teachers and the 5 year rule/10 year rule for transfer to unlimited term contracts
When the law granting employees the right to demand permanent contracts after 5 years was introduced in 2013, universities clamored to find ways to terminate non-tenured teachers. The government responded with the 10 year exemption for researchers. Still universities are trying to find ways to prevent teachers from gaining their right to stable employment. This turnover of teachers is especially pronounced among language teachers. This presentation will give a brief summary on what type of teacher can apply for the 5 year law, and how universities are trying to avoid granting them their right to permanent employment.
About Chris Flynn: For over 20 years, Chris Flynn has been involved in union activities representing language teachers in Japan including fighting cases (and winning) district and high court, Prefectural Labour Commission, and even assisting English teachers "escape" from employers because they feared for their safety if they quit. Flynn is a Professor at the Kyushu Institute of Information Sciences in Dazaifu, Fukuoka, Japan. He has a Master of Arts in Advanced Japanese Studies from the University of Sheffield and has the NAATI certification as a professional translator and interpreter (Japanese/English), and is the author of "Faces of Fukuoka." Last year, Flynn represented Fukuoka in the over 60s Nenlympic national rugby tournament.
Recording from our May event:
May 20th, 2023
Using No-Code Tools for Language Experiments and Activities (Laurie Griffiths)
言語実験とアクティビティーにおけるノーコードツールの使用（発表者: ローリー・グリフィス）
6PM (18:00) in person and online
The online part of this event was recorded. The video is available here: https://youtu.be/BOBzuDwLP_w
PsychoPy is a no-code tool for building psychology and language experiments. In this workshop, Laurie will demonstrate how to design, build, run and collect data from a language experiment using PsychoPy. The first half of the talk will consist of a live demonstration of building a PsychoPy experiment. The second half will be a Q and A session where you find out more about how to build experiments for your own research.
This event will be in-person and online; details will be posted here on the day.
概要: PsychoPy は、心理学と言語実験を構築するためのノーコード ツールです。 このワークショップでは、ローリーさんがPsychoPy を使用した言語実験の設計、構築、実行、およびデータ収集の方法を実演します。 トークの前半は、PsychoPy 実験を構築するライブ デモンストレーション、後半は、自分の研究のための実験を構築する方法について詳しく知るための質疑応答セッションとなります。
PsychoPy is a no-code tool for building psychology and language experiments. In this workshop, Laurie will demonstrate how to design, build, run and collect data from a language experiment using PsychoPy. The first half of the talk will consist of a live demonstration of building a PsychoPy experiment. The second half will be a Q and A session where you find out more about how to build experiments for your own research.
This event will be in-person and online; details will be posted here on the day.
- Sat., 20th May, 2023
- Doors open at 6PM
- Demo: 6:30-7:30, followed by Q&A
- Free admission (non-JALT members welcome!)
- Hybrid: Online and in-person!
- Note the venue (this month only) Engineer Cafe at Fukuoka Akarenga Cultural Center ("Red Brick Building"), 1-15-30 Tenjin, Chuo-ku, Fukuoka City (map: https://goo.gl/maps/5qXgfFTVxNQgUw5y6)
- This event is cosponsored by the Engineer Cafe (Hacker Space Fukuoka) at Fukuoka Akarenga Cultural Center, and JALT's Student Peer Interaction Network Subcommittee (SPINS).
- As usual, attendees will be getting together after the meeting to socialize at a local pub or restaurant and anyone is welcome to join.
概要: PsychoPy は、心理学と言語実験を構築するためのノーコード ツールです。 このワークショップでは、ローリーさんがPsychoPy を使用した言語実験の設計、構築、実行、およびデータ収集の方法を実演します。 トークの前半は、PsychoPy 実験を構築するライブ デモンストレーション、後半は、自分の研究のための実験を構築する方法について詳しく知るための質疑応答セッションとなります。
- 日時：2023年5月20日（土）
- 開場：18時
- 実演：18時半~19時半
- 質疑応答：19時半~
- 入場料：無料 （JALT会員以外の方も歓迎）
- 会場：赤煉瓦文化館、福岡市中央区天神1丁目15番30号（地図：https://goo.gl/maps/5qXgfFTVxNQgUw5y6）
- 共催団体はエンジニアのためのハッカースペースとJALTの学生支援交流分科会(SPINS)です。
- いつものように、参加者はミーティングの後、地元のパブやレストランで懇親会を行います。どなたでも参加できます。
Saturday, April 8th
Fukuoka JALT My Share
6PM (18:00) in person
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Title: Arts-based gender transformative education in high school EFL
Presenter name: Yaya Yao, Kyushu University This early stage youth participatory action research (YPAR) study explores how arts-based pedagogies can facilitate gender transformative education in the Japanese high school English teaching context. Language education can play a key role in working towards gender equity through collaborative approaches that foster agency, criticality, and relationality in creative, multidisciplinary ways. Yaya Yao is an educator, editor, and poet born and raised in downtown Tkaronto. She is the author of Flesh, Tongue and the lead writer of the Educator's Equity Companion Guide. Over the past 20 years, Yaya has in worked in school, university, and NGO settings in Canada, Hong Kong, Japan, and Thailand. She lives with her family in Fukuoka, Japan, where she is pursuing a PhD at Kyushu University with a focus on arts-based transformative education. Title: Tourism Video Project (and Film Festival) Presenter name: Brendan Van Deusen, Nagasaki International University This presentation will cover a student-led tourism video project. The presenter will provide an overview of the process in which students were responsible for researching, writing, filming, performing in, and editing a 5 minute video that introduced a local tourism location. Short selected clips will be presented to illustrate the final results. Finally, the presenter will discuss future plans to expand this project into a mini-film festival on campus. Brendan Van Deusen is a Senior Assistant Professor in the Dept. of International Tourism at Nagasaki International University. His areas of interest include the use of technology in language teaching and project-based learning. Title: Teaching Phonics Through Games in the Classroom Presenter name: Steven Apotheker, Seinan Gakuin University Japanese students are notorious for freezing mid-sentence when reading a passage. This is because they lack the skills to sound out long words. In this presentation, I will give an example of two easy, no prep, classroom games that you can use to introduce your students to phonics. I will also give a simple progression to follow when teaching phonics. Steven Apotheker is an Assistant Professor at Seinan Gakuin University in Fukuoka, Japan. Title: Role of Reported Speech in Teaching by Talking with no Texts Presenter name: David John Wood, Chikushi Jogakuen University Through this presentation, I hope to confirm some communication basics, as learning from and about each other is communication's primary function. To extend an activity's potential, reporting speech can link and reinforce classes. Participants can enjoy some recorded examples of interactions. David John Wood is a Communication Program designer, with thousands of classes and students for over 20 years. He has been a JALT member since 1980s, a SIG founder and a National Executive representative at TESOL’s convention. He loves movies, music and poetry, and was Sony Pictures Cinema English Chief Editor. He has sung on national TV, and just published his first book on Amazon. Cost: 1000 yen to non-JALT members. Free for JALT members. Location: Elgala (Daimaru East) Building, Tenjin (6 F, Kurume University Satellite Campus room; go in the back entrance shown on the map) Also note that since the Nanakuma Subway Line connected to Hakata Station in late March, this venue has become much easier for anyone coming from the Hakata area. Please take the Nanakuma Subway Line to Tenjin-Minami Station, exit 2. If you haven't been to this location before, please note that the entrance is NOT through the department store, it is around the back from the department store entrances, here: https://goo.gl/maps/hj8VXmpfjAykeXBV9 (You'll find this by Googling エルガーラ オフィス棟) |
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March 25, 2023 (Saturday)
University Entrance Examinations Stratify High School English Education (Fukunaga, Sunao)
6:15 PM in person
This qualitative study examined how the Japanese university English entrance examination reform functions as policy planning and elucidates how the reform has ended up stratifying high school English teaching practices, exacerbating disparities between students who have access to quality instruction and those who do not. Central to the argument is how the lack of understanding of intersectionality when planning English education policy leads to planning inequality and privileging elites in the Japanese education context.
Keywords
English education policy, university entrance examinations, intersectionality
Schedule:
Please note that the mask policy for the venue is to require masks.
Cost: 1000 yen to non-JALT members. Free for JALT members.
Location: Elgala (Daimaru East) Building, Tenjin (6 F, Kurume University Satellite Campus; go in the back entrance shown on the map)
If you haven't been to this location before, please note that the entrance is NOT through the department store, it is around the back from the department store entrances, here: https://goo.gl/maps/hj8VXmpfjAykeXBV9 (You'll find this by Googling エルガーラ オフィス棟)
Keywords
English education policy, university entrance examinations, intersectionality
Schedule:
- Doors open 18:00
- Presentation 18:15-19:45
- Out of room by 20:00
Please note that the mask policy for the venue is to require masks.
Cost: 1000 yen to non-JALT members. Free for JALT members.
Location: Elgala (Daimaru East) Building, Tenjin (6 F, Kurume University Satellite Campus; go in the back entrance shown on the map)
If you haven't been to this location before, please note that the entrance is NOT through the department store, it is around the back from the department store entrances, here: https://goo.gl/maps/hj8VXmpfjAykeXBV9 (You'll find this by Googling エルガーラ オフィス棟)
February 11, 2023 (Saturday)
An Introduction to Test Item Analysis Using jMetrik (Trevor Holster)
5:30 PM online and in-person
Update: This event will be HYBRID. It was designed as an online event, so if you've been planning to attend online, please don't worry, you'll still get the full presentation experience. If you're in the area, though, and would like to gather in the same room to get hands-on assistance, come to our usual venue: Elgala (Daimaru East) Building, Tenjin (6 F, Kurume University Satellite Campus), back entrance, map: https://goo.gl/maps/hj8VXmpfjAykeXBV9
Test item analysis can provide valuable information about classroom tests, as well as for researchers and standardized test developers. This workshop is intended to introduce the basic principles of item analysis to novices with no previous experience of test analysis. It will provide hands-on experience using the free jMetrik software package.
Although basic analysis can be conducted in spreadsheet software such as Microsoft Excel, dedicated software such as jMetrik is faster and provides a much deeper range of analysis. However, learning how to import data and conduct the analysis can be difficult for novices. This workshop will provide a walk-through demonstration of data formatting and importation, and then demonstrations of classical and Rasch item analysis. A sample dataset will be provided and participants are encouraged to bring a Windows, Mac, or Linux laptop to practice conducting the analysis.
This presentation is co-sponsored by the JALT CALL SIG and the JALT TEVAL SIG.
Cost: 500 yen to non-JALT members. Free for JALT members.
Schedule:
Test item analysis can provide valuable information about classroom tests, as well as for researchers and standardized test developers. This workshop is intended to introduce the basic principles of item analysis to novices with no previous experience of test analysis. It will provide hands-on experience using the free jMetrik software package.
Although basic analysis can be conducted in spreadsheet software such as Microsoft Excel, dedicated software such as jMetrik is faster and provides a much deeper range of analysis. However, learning how to import data and conduct the analysis can be difficult for novices. This workshop will provide a walk-through demonstration of data formatting and importation, and then demonstrations of classical and Rasch item analysis. A sample dataset will be provided and participants are encouraged to bring a Windows, Mac, or Linux laptop to practice conducting the analysis.
This presentation is co-sponsored by the JALT CALL SIG and the JALT TEVAL SIG.
Cost: 500 yen to non-JALT members. Free for JALT members.
Schedule:
- Doors open and Zoom starts: 5:30
- 5:30 - 6:00 Socializing, orientation, and troubleshooting of hybrid set up
- 6:00 Presentation starts
January 22nd (Sunday)
More Personal Finance in Japan with Ben Tanaka (Shearon)
2 PM - 4 PM in person
We're finally back to an in-person meeting this month! This will not be recorded and it will not be on Zoom. If you haven't been to this location before, please note that the entrance is NOT through the department store, it is around the back from the department store entrances, here: https://goo.gl/maps/hj8VXmpfjAykeXBV9 (You'll find this by Googling エルガーラ オフィス棟)
Description:
Personal finance is the cornerstone of a comfortable life. If you have good money habits and knowledge you will be able to enjoy your life and spend your time doing interesting and productive things. If you have bad money habits and knowledge you will probably not enjoy your life and will spend a lot of time worrying about money. This session will go through a rapid-fire series of practical personal finance principles and tips for residents of Japan, followed by a question and answer discussion session. This is a new workshop format so should be useful even if you have attended a RetireJapan seminar before.
Cost: Free for JALT members, 1,000 yen for non-members.
Location: Elgala (Daimaru East) Building, Tenjin (6 F, Kurume University Satellite Campus; go in the back entrance shown on the map)
Description:
Personal finance is the cornerstone of a comfortable life. If you have good money habits and knowledge you will be able to enjoy your life and spend your time doing interesting and productive things. If you have bad money habits and knowledge you will probably not enjoy your life and will spend a lot of time worrying about money. This session will go through a rapid-fire series of practical personal finance principles and tips for residents of Japan, followed by a question and answer discussion session. This is a new workshop format so should be useful even if you have attended a RetireJapan seminar before.
Cost: Free for JALT members, 1,000 yen for non-members.
Location: Elgala (Daimaru East) Building, Tenjin (6 F, Kurume University Satellite Campus; go in the back entrance shown on the map)