Moodle is familiar among language teachers as a Learner Management System. However, by simply copying and pasting some basic HTML computer language, Moodle can also be used to create attractive, easy-to-navigate websites. With reference to a website created for teachers at a university, the presenter will explain how to make use of standard Moodle features, as well as some simple HTML. The presenter will also share ideas about user-friendly design and avoiding pitfalls. The workshop is suitable for people with no HTML experience, as well as those who are interested in learning how to expand the potential of Moodle.

Microsoft Teams is a fantastic resource for universities with Office 365 subscriptions. Used in conjunction with software available through the subscription, you can create a rich learning environment. This workshop will go through how to set up and get the most out of a Teams course. Topics include creating a Team and Class Notebook, Teams channels, creating and assessing assignments (quizzes through Forms, attached Office files, the Class Notebook), sharing content with Class Notebooks (videos, individual feedback, handouts), and Teams Meetings. This workshop will give you a clear understanding of Team’s capabilities, limitations, and how to use it.

The turbulence of the 2020 academic year onwards has taught us how to react, reflect, and respond. Reacting to the abrupt pivot from face-to-face classes to online. And back again. Yet simultaneously serving as lighthouses for students by providing stability in a world of uncertainty by developing coping mechanisms and renewing our professional skill set. This workshop provides a platform in which teachers can reflect upon their experiences with teaching during the pandemic and how they overcame these herculean challenges through discussions and reflective dialogues. These discussions and dialogues will be divided into four sections – pivot, reflect, develop, and grow.

This workshop will provide participants with opportunities to engage in reflective practice (RP) to better understand their teaching and themselves. The presenters will explain definitions of RP, highlight Farrell’s six principles of RP (2019), and introduce tools for engaging in RP. Participants will be encouraged to try some tools and share about their respective situations. It is hoped that participants will be motivated to engage in such practices when they return to their own contexts.

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.

This presentation introduces the Cambridge One online learning platform, the all-in-one online English language learning platform for easy access to all teaching and learning materials across multiple devices including smartphones and tablets as well as on PCs. This session will look at how Cambridge One lets you plan, present, and assess student performance, all in the same place whilst also demonstrating the online learning components learners can fully access on their smartphones.

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.

Many institutions are now opting for remote or hybrid classes. Teaching online requires a different approach and different resources than face-to-face situations. This presentation will look at the challenges of teaching in an online environment and present a checklist of tools that can increase the effectiveness of these kinds of classes. The New Interactions series will be used to demonstrate how these tools can be successfully used by teachers and learners in an EAP class.

This workshop will explore what “reading” really means in the IELTS reading test. It will look at the purpose of this test, and how to develop the most appropriate and useful skills and strategies for dealing with the questions efficiently and effectively.

If you are involved with publicity for your JALT chapter or SIG, please consider attending this meeting. We’ll start with a question and discussion session. Ideally, this will involve some short “show and tell” presentations by various people to show the rest of us some part of your group’s publicity. If we have a lot of people, we can do smaller breakout room sessions on different topics.

Business English learners need a wide range of cultural knowledge and specialized language related to common business situations. Critically, they need activities—both restricted-use and authentic-use—that work with a wide range of learning styles, to give them opportunities to practice as realistically as the classroom will allow. In this workshop, the presenter and participants will look at a range of activities to help learners acquire the language and knowledge they need.

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.

These days, it seems extremely challenging to get students interested in reading; there’s just so much competition from digital media for young learners’ attention. But teachers are aware that an early, positive experience with reading can help provide learners with vital input and a foothold for learning English. In this workshop, participants will look at how hands-on projects can be used to make non-fiction reading more interesting and engaging for young learners.

Surveys of English language teachers around the world have reported that teachers find it difficult to make speaking happen. While the need for interaction is frequently acknowledged, educators have reported great difficulty in implementing it successfully in their lessons. This session will look at common misunderstandings about communicative interaction, the teacher’s role in making interaction happen, and practical, evidence-informed solutions to problems teachers may face when trying to get students to communicate in the classroom.

This workshop shall attempt to bridge the gap that exists between teaching Core English skills and teaching IELTS test skills. We will analyse the language learning techniques that can facilitate the systematic development of the students’ abilities, especially speaking and writing skills, which may be crucial in obtaining their desired IELTS scores.

This workshop will discuss teachers’ experiences of managing students’ expectations around their needs for specific IELTS scores, and strategies for convincing students to improve their English before taking IELTS. Resources to help with this, and alternatives to IELTS preparation for students with lower language levels will be considered. Finally, the presenter and participants will examine and discuss ways to adapt two short IELTS course descriptions prepared by the IELTS partners for students at B2 level.

Best practices in online teaching should include the eight steps of the synchronous online flipped learning approach (SOFLA), a distance learning model which most closely replicates actual classroom teaching. SOFLA includes structured, interactive, multimodal activities, both asynchronous and synchronous, that create fertile spaces for teaching and learning online. Participants will learn how to implement each step and will receive digital resources to guide them in using SOFLA.

Flipped instruction is popular in STEM courses, but it also fits in an ESL classroom. This presentation will explore the advantages and disadvantages of flipped instruction as well as how to incorporate it in an online classroom. The presenter will offer teachers a variety of online tools they can use such as YouTube and Quizizz.

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.