Ibunka - Intercultural Communication in Daily Life, a new textbook and online platform from Alma Publishing, has two basic aims: (1) incorporate language scaffolding so that it can be used in intermediate-level language classes, and (2) tackle intercultural communication from the perspective of daily life habits rather than concepts, so that it is meaningful for average university students—even with limited life experience. The presenter will explain how this text can be used in various class contexts.

The use of dual-language authentic material in storytelling for English language learning is well understood. Though some studies have focused on the use of bilingual children’s books as authentic material, less is known about the effects of student-produced dual-language authentic material on early English language development. In this presentation, the presenter aims to explore how junior high school students make use of these materials in their language development.

Queer pedagogy is an approach to ELT that aims to foster an inclusive environment for all students (and teachers) to freely express their ideas and identities. In this interactive workshop we will share our experiments of introducing both explicit and implicit examples of queer pedagogy in our classes and then invite participants to share their own ideas, lesson plans, and experiences of promoting an LGBTQ+-friendly approach to English teaching and learning.

This workshop is for teachers who are interested in helping students explore the global academic community and collaborate with students in other countries. The workshop gives examples from a 2020 project on global student citizenship and discusses implications for intercultural communication skills, language awareness, and linguistic proficiency. Participants will receive practical advice on how similar projects can be designed and implemented in their own courses.

This workshop will explain and demonstrate the process of creating high-quality listening materials for classroom use, textbook audio, or online education. Participants will become familiar with the basic equipment and software, as well as how to record, edit and share audio of a high quality.

How well do we know our EAP textbooks? Influential elements of academic arguments are often unstated. The focus of this presentation is a framework for generating an answer to that question and the findings of its application to the 12 academic lectures in the popular EAP course book Contemporary Topics I. Being able to draw out and organize key elements of academic texts is a useful tool for finding previously unrecognized connections among academic content.

In this hands-on workshop, participants will learn the techniques and digital tools for designing and implementing lessons on visual storytelling in the ESL classroom. The workshop looks at the stages of storytelling from brainstorming, storyboarding, scriptwriting, recording, and editing to producing student-centered short films. Participants will leave the session with techniques for implementing visual storytelling in their lessons as well as their own handcrafted visual story to share with their students.

In asynchronous online learning environments, students often report a feeling of isolation or disconnect from their teachers and classmates that negatively impacts their learning experiences. Thus, a challenge educators face while teaching online is how to effectively build a rapport with students to help create a community of learners. This presentation will describe innovative approaches to providing feedback that can diminish this feeling of isolation, increase motivation, and improve student-teacher rapport in online learning environments.

The authors bring valuable findings accumulated through their research with current practitioners about how writing centers can best decide on the tutoring session length at their institution. In this presentation, the speakers will share advice about the important decision when selecting the proper tutorial session length. This session will be helpful both to those in the planning stage and those looking to improve an established writing center or self-access center with tutorial sessions.

サマリーライティングの効果的な指導・評価・フィードバックには理論的枠組に基づく抽象的概念を使うことが有効だ。ここでは選択体系機能言語学(SFL)のジャンル、および社会学の正当化コード理論(LCT)における意味の波の概念を学習者に合わせて再定義した概念を使った英語読解指導を紹介し、その成果と応用可能性を議論する。

A discussion and advisory forum-style session addressing the current state of play and future predictions for teachers, writing and publishing (or wanting to), and teachers using any published content for ELT classes. Bring your questions about getting published or sourcing and using materials in the new normal book supply chain. We will cover everything from conceptualizing and publishing through to selection and use of ELT content in the current climate in Japan and the world.

With the spate of theatre currently being streamed online, a unique opportunity has arisen to incorporate professionally filmed plays into academic teaching. By dramatically contextualising coursework, students are offered a platform for heightened levels of critical thinking, the fostering of which is one of the core objectives of any EAP curriculum. This presentation will look at how the National Theatre’s production of Frankenstein was used in a freshman academic class and offer further resources.

This presentation will highlight the effects of students’ self-assessments on their English learning in elementary schools. The presenter examined 26 sixth graders’ self-assessment sheets to understand the relationship between students’ self-assessments and their learning progress. By reflecting on their performance toward each lesson goal, students gained confidence in their small accomplishments, which helped them enjoy English lessons. Findings and implications for the application of self-assessment will be discussed.

Extensive reading (ER) research provides evidence for gains in fluency, vocabulary, and motivation. Practitioner reflections show that ER is underpinned largely by Krashen’s comprehensible input hypothesis and a whole-word approach. However, what about learners for whom ER is not working? To introduce a new perspective, this presentation highlights three fundamentals—the science of how we read, individual differences, and bottom-up reading processes—and invites a query into the future of ER and reading research.

Helping Matters is an ESP textbook for social welfare students. It introduces relevant topics in realistic situations to prepare future social workers who may be called upon to help foreigners in a professional setting. We will talk about why we decided to write this book, its development and how the book can be used in your classroom.

Recently, Japanese speakers of English have increasingly more chances to communicate with Asian people in English. Research shows that when listeners become familiarized with certain accents with explicit instruction on the pronunciation characteristics, they comprehend the accented English better and are more willing to communicate. This presentation will demonstrate how teachers can use a Web-based material jointly developed by two universities to acclimate students to the pronunciation characteristics of Singaporean, Indian, Philippine, and Malaysian English.

This talk reflects on teaching English oral presentation courses at a Japanese university over five years. A focus will be given to how online components were integrated into the course and implementing a comprehensive presenter feedback system that included multiple teacher-, peer-, and self-evaluations, along with reflection discussions. This experience, combined with post-course questionnaire results, will then be used to consider ideas on how presentations can be more effectively addressed in future face-to-face, online, and blended teaching contexts.

Paul Ricoeur’s “self” expands its self- and world-understanding by 1) encountering the outside or the other, 2) reflecting upon this encounter, and 3) mediating and processing it through the self’s existing identity: spiraling forward. This presentation employs said framework to engender students’ output that reflects their expanded worldview vis-à-vis their lived reality (e.g., hobbies, diet). This three-step process equips them ultimately to reflect upon the insights gained as a result of their encounters.

This workshop reviews an approach to critical thinking instruction in the context of academic L2 English courses. In this approach, students apply their critical thinking to study controversial issues by investigating comments on social media. During this workshop we will review the pedagogical features, teaching steps, and caveats of this approach. We will also review examples of student work and discuss student perspectives regarding this teaching approach, which were gathered in a post-course questionnaire.

With COVID-19 continuing to have an impact on education, the EFL teaching community has the opportunity to work together to develop and adopt effective standards that will allow us to move beyond the emergency remote teaching mindset to a more structured form of remote teaching with best practices in place to address the technical, educational, social, and psychological needs of both students and teachers.

Using authentic broadcast news materials in class is a powerful way to build English skills while also helping students to become more knowledgeable about world affairs and to develop the critical thinking skills necessary in today’s increasingly interconnected world. The presenter will demonstrate some of the teaching methods she uses with Broadcast: ABC World News Tonight, the popular series incorporating streamed video clips from the American television news program.

Students make greater efforts within language learning tasks if they fully understand where their performance is, where it should go, and how to get it there. The presenter will introduce how to raise student motivation and achievement within common English communication tasks with SMART checklists. Participants will see how they can create more confidence and focused classroom environments by applying simple checklists of skills, measures, actions, reasons and time to their own contexts.

Three researchers, two at the university level, and one at a public high school, are continuing to build a community to develop tech skills through AR, VR, and other 3D modelling technologies and to enhance their students’ learning in English. This workshop will go over the development of the technology used in the classroom, the workshop and lectures given to the students, and the development and status of the high school students’ developed research projects.

Reading picture books regularly in class can help young learners acquire language and early literacy skills, while developing their critical thinking and emotional intelligence. However, the constraints of online learning and rules for socially distancing within face-to-face classrooms have made doing an interactive read aloud very challenging. In this presentation different technological solutions, both readymade and homemade, will be introduced so that teachers can continue to use picture books with learners online and in person.

The Internet has revolutionized every aspect of language education. However, the downside of digital technology is it also enables unscrupulous students to find novel ways to cheat. In this session, the presenters will discuss a recent incident in which over 1400 students from 90 institutions in Japan were caught cheating using digital technology.

We present the results of an online discussion activity between university students in Japan (N=18) and Canada (N=14) on the topic of racism and its potential impact on our volunteer work. This discussion activity forms part of the training for international student peer supporters for language learning and intercultural understanding in their respective universities. Suggestions for encouraging awareness of racism for university students in language education in Japan will also be discussed.

As teachers, we develop a set of instructional skills and tools that we rely on. However, to what extent do we review our own performance? This session examines teaching portfolios as tools for reflective practice, using an example as a way to explore its efficacy. We will look at what to include and how to engage with the portfolio. This is a practical workshop intended to encourage instructors to consider this method of professional development.

This presentation will outline some of the current changes and challenges faced by instructors seeking academic employment, such as demographic issues, institutional stability, increasing professionalism, and minimum entry requirements. Strategies and solutions for navigating these challenges will be presented including tips on CV preparation, professional development, and career planning. We will adopt a workshop format for the final portion of the session to address audience members’ needs.

This presentation will discuss the development and use of a short, web-based lexical discrimination, phonological and orthographic skill, and vocabulary test to help a university English department assign students into levels and identify students with potential reading weaknesses. Practical and theoretical issues will be discussed, and the correlation of various parts of the test to the TOEFL ITP test and student course performance will be reported.

Grammar-based learning tries to prevent 10,000 mistakes and then measures ability by how many mistakes you make. It’s like the diet industry: it seems logical that it would work, but the success rate is 2%. Conversation-based learning is all conversations and conversation tests, and students find and fix their own mistakes. In short, students write what they will say, talk about what they wrote, transcribe what they said, and fix their own mistakes.

This workshop discusses an event combining local folklore, Japanese dialect literature, and performative language practice, and reflects on the self-reported experiences of the learners. Workshop participants will hear details of the event and students’ self-reflections on the learning process, touching on topics ranging from pronunciation to performative language, translation theory, code switching, and language modalities. The workshop will conclude by demonstrating how the lessons learned may be applied in a wider variety of contexts.

It is a challenge finding material that is authentic and can take learners outside of the classroom, and even more challenging to find engaging material that works in asynchronous, synchronous, and face-to-face classrooms. Structure is necessary only as far as it does not constrain creativity in any way. With measured scaffolding, authentic video material, and carefully chosen themes as a catalyst, let’s explore how learners can have real cross-cultural interactions in almost any classroom setting.

Banking customers need assistance with tasks such as opening bank accounts and transferring money. Some banks, however, do not provide English (ATM or teller) support, so banking can be challenging for non-Japanese speakers. This presentation will describe a banking English seminar which has been designed for staff at a prefectural banking institution. The materials have been assessed and improved using a holistic business English evaluation framework, and this presentation aims to share what was done.

Most of our students find it necessary to engage in casual conversations, either now or at some time in the future. How do these casual conversations work? What is their purpose? Is there more to casual conversation than simple chit chat? In this presentation I will provide a framework for understanding storytelling in casual conversation from a genre point of view, and I will suggest some ideas for the language classroom.

Most young learners love craft projects, whether it’s drawing, coloring, or creating. For this reason, many language teachers have incorporated craft projects into their classes. Although craft activities are enjoyable, there is a real risk that very little language acquisition may take place. This presentation will explain the benefits of incorporating craft projects within a second language learning curriculum, and what type of activities might provide maximum language acquisition.

This paper aims to examine the feasibility of the collective evaluating method for the learning outcome of English learners in intercultural virtual exchange. As intercultural exchange with multiple partner institutions requires a common ground for quality assurance of learning outcomes, we developed a common framework of reference for the learning outcomes on “language skills” interconnected with other required skills. This paper will share the application of the framework to the activities in international learning.

This presentation discusses the role and practical use of literature in the language classroom within the framework of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for curriculum developers. First, relevant literary texts will be introduced in relation to specific goals and analysed with reference to learner level suitability. Next, authentic classroom activities and assessments that may increase effective learner engagement, as well as their awareness of global issues, will be explored.

Reaching a 95% vocabulary comprehension level is essential for university English as a medium of instruction courses, TOEFL or IELTS, or overseas study. To meet this challenge, the presenters created an online program of 23 lessons combining the headwords of the UWL, EAP, AWL, and NAWL word lists into a 1,850-word core. This open-source series of 23 lessons utilizes free online Quizlet cards and gamification to motivate students, assess learning, and give feedback on progress.

Roleplaying activities are commonly used to teach social studies in the United States and other countries, and they can offer new perspectives for transforming content-based EFL courses (CLIL) in Japan to make them more accessible and fun. This presentation will introduce two roleplaying activities which were used in a university-level American Studies course. Attendees will participate in these adventurous activities and learn a roleplaying template they can use to enhance their own content-based classes.

This paper will demonstrate how and what to teach in addition to grading students’ interactional proficiency in speaking examinations. Some teaching activities and their grading criteria, which do not focus on form but focus on interactional fluency, will be shown. Following that, the importance that learners should be given certain learning tips and be explicitly trained to manipulate the interactional strategies will be broadly discussed.

When students’ emotional needs are met in the classroom through such strategies as smiling and eye contact, they may be more likely to succeed academically. But how can we nurture positive emotions when teaching online? This workshop will explore the online equivalent of several classroom-based strategies for meeting students’ emotional needs for learning. Attendees will be invited to offer suggestions and the results of the presenter’s own action research in this area will be shared.

What happens to a makerspace class when the space is taken away? This workshop will share how a makerspace class used a blended learning model (Kitchen, 2021), online makerspace tools (e.g., Microbit and Tinkercad), and communication activities for online instruction. It will also show initial research findings from an exploratory study investigating five university students’ written journals for language development through descriptive statistics, and makerspace learning benefits using initial and thematic coding.

To increase exposure to authentic English among students at our Japanese elementary school, we implemented an audio-assisted extensive reading program. In this workshop, we will share our experiences in growing this program over several years, including both successes and shortcomings. From the initial stages of development to evaluation of impact, we will offer candid and practical tips for administering a reading program that is age-appropriate for young learners of English as a foreign language.

The shift to emergency remote teaching has called for many educators to adapt existing materials, which has presented a unique array of challenges for teaching English to young learners. This workshop seeks to explore online tools and games that can be used in both synchronous and asynchronous lessons to encourage engagement, increase motivation, and provide challenges and fun. Attendees will be able to experience the digital tools from both student and teacher perspectives.

In the move to emergency online teaching, an evolving professional learning framework was created to respond to the training needs of teachers. Through regular targeted sessions and by harnessing the growing collective knowledge of an online teaching platform and online teaching approaches, timely solutions to emerging staff needs were provided. This session shares the successes and challenges of the framework, plus takeaways for the future in the return to normal face-to-face teaching.

In need of some escapism? Turning a classroom, or even a breakout room, into an escape room instantly engages students with fascinating tasks and challenges. Puzzle-based learning gets students communicating and actively participating in class. From simple puzzles to more complex missions, students are immersed in activities that build teamwork, creativity, problem-solving and other real world skills. Fiona is an escape room creator and enthusiast, and author of 2021 ELTon awards finalist Escape the Classroom.

Academic writing is a challenging subject to teach as well as to take. One way to support students and teachers in this process is by establishing a writing tutorial system. This presentation will share experiences of students, tutors, teachers, and coordinators as members of a virtual community of practice that provides newcomers the support they need and experienced writers a chance to share their expertise.

This presentation is an exploration of the process of designing and running an online study tour program between a Japanese University and an Australian University in Vietnam. It starts from initial fears and panic over pivoting from a planned face-to-face program, and moves on to the conceptualisation and implementation of a 2 week online study tour.

Language teacher noticing involves attention, interpretation, and decision making. It is a form of reflection occurring during engagement with learners. This talk aims to encourage dialogue about learning to notice among teachers of varying backgrounds and levels of expertise. Relevant literature will be described and participants will be invited to discuss suggestions concerning how to use noticing to: (1) develop rapport, (2) support acquisition, (3) enhance participation, (4) foster reflection, and (5) guide observation.

This presentation reflects on an instructional rubric created for an undergraduate academic debate course. The rubric was adapted from an existing model for formative feedback and assessment purposes. Key design features in relation to the teaching context are examined before discussing how the rubric was administered to provide performance benchmarks, communicate student progress, and support in-class activities. All analysis, interpretations, and suggested improvements derive from the presenter’s reflections, end-of-course survey data, and students’ informal feedback.

This workshop focuses on the use of CLT in a group of Japanese senior citizens, here termed third-age learners. In this workshop, each presenter will relate their experiences in teaching their third-age learner classes. They will explain how the learners differ from younger learners and how they adapted their classroom activities to allow for those differences. They will also demonstrate some activities and explain the results they achieved in their research project.

An overview and demonstration of a MOOC for intercultural education. The Global Englishes (GEs)-oriented MOOC refers to Baker’s (2011) intercultural awareness (ICA) to conceptualise the intercultural skills for learning. Integrating GEs and ICA links important emerging research with practical learning opportunities. These opportunities may support student intercultural learning and are potentially useful in a context of reduced student mobility. The 10-unit MOOC, shown in the presentation, is freely downloadable for use elsewhere.

In this practice based session, the presenter will introduce the concept of SMART goals, and explain how they can be used to help students set realistic and attainable goals for their individual learning. The presenter will explain their use of goal setting activities in a university EFL classroom with Japanese students, and how these activities can improve motivation and promote student autonomy.

In this workshop, the presenters will share some techniques they learned on their CELTA course to provide error correction for speaking. This will include error correction when focusing on accuracy in speaking/pronunciation as well as error correction when focusing on fluency in speaking. Participants in the workshop will role-play as learners and instructors, and they will practice instant correction and delayed correction techniques. Participants will also practice ways in which to allow student self-correction.

Brainpop is an online platform that is easy to use when teaching EAP, EFL, and MFL. It can document students’ learning efforts and is available to students asynchronously via multiple devices. This workshop will explain the scope and breadth of what resources Brainpop makes available, discuss the researcher’s experience regarding ease of use for teachers and students, demonstrate Brainpop’s learning management system, and present results from a questionnaire of learner perceptions of Brainpop.

The 2020 global pandemic tested the capability and disposition towards using technology of instructors and educational institutions. Looking forward, there is an opportunity to use what was learned to find better classroom solutions. This workshop will facilitate discussion about the use of technology to provide blended learning and share related data from student surveys. It will also give suggestions on how a positive balance can be struck between studying face-to -face and exploiting technology.

This presentation will demonstrate a way to enhance online distance learning through using virtual reality to simulate the multimodality lacking in video conferenced language classes. The presenter will show how using VR in conjunction with video conferencing can greatly enhance learning with explanation and demonstration of the multimodality that VR can bring to online learning. Finally, the presenter will address the limitations of VR such as cost and the physical aspects of implementing VR.

Participants will learn three classroom activities that are based on Japanese Psychologies, along with ideas on how they can be incorporated into face-to-face classes, online (Zoom) classes, and on-demand (pre-recorded) classes. Taken from a pre-study abroad program that contains aspects of both Western and Eastern psychological modalities and that supports students’ mental health while studying abroad, these activities promote self-reflection, cultural awareness, and language skills while also teaching students about the foundations of Japanese Psychology.

Reading books remains the most reliable and enduring means for learners to get second language input and experience. Beyond this technical (albeit important) characterization, reading narrative literature brings to learners a feast of culture, enjoyment, ideas, and insight. These gifts extend to second language teachers, as these rich texts offer many approaches to instruction. In this talk, the presenter will detail practical ways teachers can guide learners through the many compelling narrative texts available today.

To assist teachers and learners in HyFlex learning settings, the presenter will make a comparison and contrast of VR apps that can support collaborative language learning. Apps such as Mozilla Hubs, Virbela Open Campus, Frame VR, Spatial, and Engage have been selected due to cross-platform compatibility and minimal or no cost addition. The audience will get familiar with the functions of these apps and be able to make an informed choice that serves them well.

Introducing PronouncePro: a smartphone application used for the study of English pronunciation and related data gathering. In this presentation, audience members will be guided through the app while presenters discuss the decision making process involved in its development. Finally, attendees will be asked to discuss the potential of PronouncePro as both a resource for study and as a research tool. This feedback will help to improve upon future versions of PronouncePro.

This presentation’s focus is on best practices for teaching academic writing based on formative and summative feedback in an integrated writing process and reflection on standard writing pedagogy. By suggesting how these strategies of the past can be reframed in a digital context and combined for both asynchronous and synchronous learning opportunities, it explores the new normal in a post-COVID world where online learning, or at least hybrid learning contexts, are here to stay.

English is the global language of our multicultural world. Yet so much can go wrong when interacting with people from other countries. How can we help students become effective communicators in a diverse world? One way is to teach them how to analyze misunderstandings based on differences in language and culture. This short workshop will describe typical cross-cultural communication problems with a focus on misunderstandings in four key areas: pronunciation, vocabulary, usage, and non-verbal communication.

Giving effective feedback on speaking activities during university English classes can be a challenging area for teachers due to issues related to students (e.g. motivation or comprehension), the environment (e.g. large class sizes), or themselves (e.g. deciding which areas of student performance to select for feedback). This workshop will focus on some techniques for giving meaningful feedback to university learners and then allow for some discussion and sharing of ideas on best practice.

This workshop demonstrates how faculty development (FD) developers and TESOL teachers can co-construct and enhance professional identity through reflective practice. Identity will be used as an analytic lens. While improving teaching and learning has been the focus in FD activities (Leibowitz, 2014), awareness in teachers for not only what they do, but who they are, and who they want to become is believed to be an essential element in building their educational philosophy.