The COVID-19 pandemic created upheaval for Japanese universities as they faced the necessity of shifting to emergency remote teaching on short notice. The sudden shift had a traumatic impact on the wellbeing of part-time language teachers. This presentation will discuss case-study data from six part-time teachers, indicating how occupational and personal factors affected their wellbeing. The presenters will also argue for greater institutional support for part-time teachers.

With so many students believing that women-only carriages during rush hour are a form of reverse discrimination against men, teaching about male privilege in today’s climate can be challenging. This talk will unpack effective ways in which we can introduce the concept of privilege and male privilege in a Japanese university course without raising defensiveness.

This presentation puts Japanese policy on creativity in education in a global context. It examines why creativity is receiving increasing attention in education policies around the world, and how far such policies reflect research on creativity. It assesses Japan’s more implicit strategy for creativity, and in particular, its promotion of foreign language education as part of that strategy. It should be of interest to all in Japanese education seeking to encourage creativity in their students.

A series of increasingly complex tasks within the TBLT framework pushes learners to experience language gains. A research methodology course using technology like Web 2.0 tools within the TBLT framework was offered to a group of 25 pre-service ESL teachers to examine the impact of TBLT on content learning. The findings showed a positive impact on teacher task difficulty perception and social use of technology on task completion and improved comprehension and content learning.

This presentation provides clear and practical information on publishing in JALT Publications journals, which include The Language Teacher, JALT Journal, and the Postconference Publication. Editors from each journal will cover their journal’s remit and submission guidelines, describe the various peer-reviewed and non-peer-reviewed publication opportunities available, and answer questions. First-time authors and those wishing to publish in Japanese are especially welcome.

Although research with children has gained substantial attention in child developmental studies, the methodological and ethical issues associated with research with children have not yet been sufficiently addressed in applied linguistics. Based on a game design project that I conducted with 6th grade students in a public school in Japan, I address both the opportunities and challenges associated with conducting research with children.

This study presents research on the role of feedback types in a computer simulation of an academic advising session that was designed for instruction of refusals and requests. Feedback was operationalized along the dimensions of sociopragmatics (feedback on the overall politeness of a selection in the simulation) and pragmalinguistics (feedback on the forms that contributed to impoliteness). This talk highlights issues with designing computer simulations and presents data on learning outcomes.

Extensive reading and creative writing are two activities that can be both enjoyable and motivating for students. With the objective of combining the two, a semester-long project was piloted in which students were tasked with writing their own graded readers. Despite multiple challenges, the result was successful. The presenters will discuss the process that was used, share some samples, and explain how the project will be expanded in the future.

This study explores the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Non-Native English Speaker Teachers (NNESTs) in Japan and the Philippines. Qualitative data were collected through a virtual symposium discourse, narrative knowledging forms (Barkhuizen, 2011), and semi-structured Zoom interviews. Thematic analysis revealed three major themes: workplace dilemmas, remote teaching interventions, and mutual help or ‘bayanihan’ during crisis. The findings provide insights into the concerns of NNESTs around issues such as pedagogy, culture, and mental health.

A common prerequisite of active learning content classes is preparation work before each lesson. How do educators deal with university students who are not required to do such work for non-active learning classes and are unwilling to comply? What are the best types of group composition for effective student learning? These questions will be addressed, students’ perspectives and solutions will be presented, and the audience will be invited to contribute suggestions.