ELT experts believe that reading can help improve student writing. However, experience tells us that this is not always the case. Many L2 readers continue to find writing challenging. In my talk, I offer practical tips on what language teachers can do to help good L2 readers become more proficient L2 writers.

Willy Renandya is the JALT2021 Bill Balsamo Asian Scholar: In 1988, JALT started an Asian Scholar Program through which teachers from other Asian countries are hosted in Japan, meet with teachers here, and give presentations at the annual international conference as well as at local chapters all over Japan on the Four Corners Tour program. In 2008 the program was renamed the Balsamo Asian Scholar Program in honor of Bill Balsamo, president of the Himeji Chapter and founder of the Teachers Helping Teachers SIG. Over the years, teachers from many countries have visited Japan on this program.

Narrative Inquiry is a body of research that considers personal accounts, giving voice to those often invisible in academia. The presentation incorporates Japanese university students’ English language accounts. The purpose is to understand learners from a holistic perspective. Language learning is an individual journey of discovery and progressive skills. It is hoped this presentation will provide perspective, as an educator or a language learner yourself, on personal journeys represented in the Japanese classroom.

Lyndell Nagashima is the JALT2021 Kevin Cleary Invited Speaker. The Kevin Cleary Invited Speaker program was begun in 2014 in memory of a beloved JALT President who passed away in January 2014. Kevin was involved with JALT as an officer at the chapter level and the national level since 2002. The speaker for this award is one who encompasses the same spirit and enthusiasm Kevin showed during his time with JALT.