The Japanese national curriculum specifies balanced teaching of speaking, reading, listening and writing -- and universities are moving towards assessing all four skills. As part of this movement, Tokyo University of Foreign Studies and the British Council have jointly developed a Speaking Test for university entrance purposes called BCT-S, a localised version of the British Council’s global Aptis test. In this hands-on session, attendees will work with tasks, speaking samples and rating criteria from the Aptis test to better understand, in concrete terms, the way these tests rate candidate’s speaking performance using the CEFR descriptors.

This workshop will guide participants through the process of creating and administering online speaking tasks in Moodle using a custom speech assessment quiz-type. The speaking tasks can either be automatically scored by the computer or manually scored by the teacher. Sample speaking tasks can include audio, video or text prompts and can include a mixture of open-ended and closed-ended tasks. Participants will have the opportunity to demo sample computer-scored speaking tasks and to design their own custom speaking tasks. At the end, download and installation of the speech assessment quiz-type will be covered.

In this workshop I will discuss my recent experiences fostering a reflective learning environment via (a) the delivery of accelerated teacher and peer feedback and (b) subsequently requiring students to submit reflections about their learning experiences using cloud computing (G Suite for Education).Outcomes of the workshop should include (1) Awareness of learner-centered pedagogical practices and how to implement them using cloud computing (2) Immediate knowledge of how to apply the Google Education Suite in varied educational settings, and (3) How to better communicate with students.

This presentation will focus on the use of Flipgrid, a mobile application that allows students to record “selfie” video responses to a teacher’s prompt as an option for asynchronous speaking activities. The presenters will discuss their experiences using Flipgrid as graded speaking activities in their English classes at two universities, focusing on the successes and failures. The presenters will lead a discussion that will focus on how Flipgrid could be used in other ways, including in hybrid and f2f classes. Participants will leave with an understanding of Flipgrid and how it could be implemented into their teaching context.

One difficulty for many EFL teachers facing oral discussion classes relates to the simple issue of conversational topics. Some topics might be either uninteresting or unfamiliar to some students making it difficult for them to contribute opinions or questions. Explain It: Discussing Japanese Culture in English is a textbook solving this problem, helping students to explore their own culture and opinions about it. Topics range from sports, handicrafts, superstitions, the arts, and theater, among others.

The presenter, an escape room creator and writer, will introduce the concept of escape rooms and how they can effectively be used in the classroom. Participants will receive tips on how to add cooperative and competitive elements to quizzes and communication activities along with suggestions for creating immersive puzzles and challenges to engage students. Additionally, the presenter will share how she brought escapism to her university students adapting to English classes on Zoom.

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.

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.

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.

The global COVID pandemic forced sudden, massive changes to how students were being taught. Post COVID, do we just pick up from where we left off? Or do we use this unprecedented event to reflect upon what really works, what doesn’t, and strive for true effectiveness—trusting how learners actually learn languages, and letting them do so—rather than repeating the failed orthodoxies of the past?

This is a meeting of JALT membership chairs to discuss issues, catch up, etc.

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.

Research has consistently shown that extensive reading (ER) helps students in numerous ways, and most teachers would like to incorporate ER into their English courses. In many contexts teachers are required to use a textbook, and the difficulty with effectively implementing ER may be how to integrate ER with other course materials. This presentation describes a project to create a course based around ER materials, where tasks in the textbook facilitate learning through ER.

Tackling a graduation thesis in English is a huge challenge for undergraduate students in Japan. It is easy for seminar students, for example, to feel overwhelmed. Emphasizing surveys and interviews as means of collecting data can get the research process started and help students understand the goal of creating knowledge. This presentation will cover materials appropriate for students who will benefit from consideration of writing their research in English.

This presentation will describe ways to teach conversation online. It will focus on how the researcher utilised the textbook Discover Conversation and Microsoft Teams to implement a one-semester conversation skills course for university students. It will provide an overview of the Discover Conversation methodology, the activities and assessment that were employed, and feedback from students who undertook the course.

Chapter, SIG, and National JALT officers will present reports, discuss JALT business, and vote on motions. All JALT officers and committee members are encouraged to attend. All JALT members, especially those interested in becoming officers, are invited to observe the management of JALT business. 各支部、分野別研究部会、全国選出のJALT役員が報告書を提出し、JALTの運営について議論し、議案に投票します。JALTの役員および委員会のメンバーはぜひご出席ください。会員の皆様、特に役員になることに興味のある方は、JALTの運営について見学していただけます。

The EBM will be from 18:40 ~ 19:40, but the room will be open at 17:40 for those who would like to come and ask questions beforehand.

The JALT Financial Steering Committee will hold a meeting to discuss the current and future financial status of JALT. Any JALT member is welcome to attend and observe, but only FSC members can participate.

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.

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.

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.

What technology is actually used in public schools in Japan? Ongoing government policy changes and projects (GIGA School Programme) regarding technology suggest classrooms are evolving and modernising. This presentation will discuss the results of a mixed-methods survey about the availability and usage of CALL in public schools as of spring 2021. Results are based on the responses of English teachers across Japan, giving insight into the current landscape of technology in Japanese public schools.

Research has shown that text-based computer-mediated communication (CMC) has many advantages over face-to-face communication, and the skills learned in the former can transfer to the latter. These findings suggest that CMC may remain pedagogically useful after the pandemic to prepare students for classroom interaction. The present study compares EFL students’ group discussions in two written CMC contexts (synchronous and asynchronous), focusing on how effectively these discussions prepare students for subsequent face-to-face discussions.