This presentation covers the IntelliSpeech assessment system developed by EnglishCentral as well as AI-based speech solutions from other providers in the English learning market. It reviews the use of these technologies in read-aloud applications, elicited imitation, sentence building and finally conversational chatbots. The accuracy and efficacy of these systems are discussed as well as the pedagogy that underpins them.

This presentation outlines an on-going project to investigate text extracted from a 60,000-word corpus compiled from transcripts of YouTube how-to videos (e.g., how to use tools, operate machinery, navigate software applications, and other hands-on activities). Discussion includes how the study’s results will be used to compare similar texts produced by Japanese university students and the underlying goal of developing a valid pedagogical approach for teaching how to give effective procedural instructions in EFL.

The main goal of language learning is undoubtedly social. We all have a strong desire to connect with others in meaningful ways, sharing experiences, exchanging information, or collaborating. Apart from language skills, connecting with others in meaningful ways requires intrinsic motivation, self efficacy, social and emotional intelligence and other traits or states that make up interpersonal competence. This presentation discusses key issues affecting relationship building and communication through storytelling, collaborative video projects, and interactive presentations.

Editors from JALT’s The Language Teacher and Postconference Publication will give advice and answer questions about getting published, including opportunities for non-peer-reviewed articles. They will also discuss how volunteering in various roles can help you to understand the publication process and improve your writing and researching skills. Drop by and learn about the many ways JALT publications can assist you in your professional development.

Japanese university students are often required to perform free writing activities in their English language classes in an attempt to encourage confidence in writing in English. This poster will explain the free writing activities used in the authors’ courses, provide quantitative and qualitative data describing the participants’ writing activities, and discuss the students’ reflection on their free writing experiences. Attendees will receive ideas for effectively employing free writing in their English language classes.

Effective note-taking by hand plays an integral role when students must research and discuss complex topics. However, first-year university students may lack experience in preparing and using notes effectively. Also, they may not be aware of specific benefits that hand-written notes can offer. In this presentation, methodologies used to help students develop note-taking skills for communication and reflection, as well as ways that hand-written notes can be used in online classes, will be discussed.

This study examined how Japanese ESL learners use turn-taking to develop interactions in US or Canadian university settings. The results present the variation of turn transitions in conversations, which shows the diversity of turn types. The learners and their interlocutors had much in common using their resources in turn-taking. Turn-taking aimed at facilitating a conversation smoothly and correcting misunderstandings in the talk. Despite sharing these objectives, these resources had various outcomes.

This presentation looks at the strengths and weaknesses of synchronous (Zoom) and asynchronous (Video on Demand) teaching approaches in German teaching in Japan. For this purpose, a student survey was carried out in four German classes at Hiroshima University (N=78). In order to provide different types of learners with an effective online teaching method, it will be argued that a combination of both types of teaching approaches is required.

This poster session outlines the first part of a longitudinal qualitative study that investigates university students’ participation in a self-access center by focusing on their perceptions, learning experiences, and attitudes. The research is concerned with whether students will become more willing to seek out future opportunities to use English beyond the classroom in non-formal settings after having been strongly encouraged to do so as part of their English course.

In pair- and group-work, teachers often do not recognize how their students communicate or complete given tasks because the teacher cannot be present in all the groups. This conversation analysis (CA) aims to explore how high school students perform given tasks without their teacher's intervention. The results suggested that students attempt to achieve tasks if they clearly comprehended the purpose of the task, while avoiding tasks for which the purpose is unclear.

Profanity, dirty words, swear words, foul language. All describing a group of words not used lightly. Yet, many use them frequently in successful, positive interactions. So-called bad words have an image problem, but does that extend to Japanese learners? What about learners at a Christian women’s university, where youth, gender, and educational setting may each contribute to perceived image of language. Findings of a study on attitudes of profanity with such learners will be presented.

This poster session will discuss survey results showing that after taking an English as a medium of instruction (EMI) Ainu and Maori Studies course, students felt they became not only more knowledgeable about the course aims, but were more sensitive to discrimination, the importance of indigenous rights, and the need for society to learn more about indigenous cultures. Presentation participants will be invited to discuss the conclusions and the topic in general.

When writing research papers, learners of English need not only a sufficient level of English but also knowledge of writing strategies and language use in pragmatics. This presentation focuses on a textbook analysis of how hedges are taught to Japanese EFL learners, especially for academic research writing. Although textbooks generally focus on writing strategies in the English language, there were few instructions of hedging use in academic writing textbooks.

The interactional skills of Japanese university students were examined using conversation analysis (CA). Data was gathered from teacher-fronted interaction and student-student group discussion. Results showed that students used a more diverse array of interactional skills when the teacher was not involved. This poster presentation will demonstrate how an equal power speech exchange system can be an enabling environment for developing interactional competence.

本研究は、日本語教師養成に関する実践研究である。コロナ禍のため大学の授業が全面的に遠隔となったことから、オンラインによる日本語教育実習（模擬授業）を行う授業を計画し、学生にオンラインによる日本語授業の方法を模索させた。ここでは実習を通じて学生が学んだことや課題等を明らかにする。

Participants will join a roundtable exploring how teachers at a university in Japan transformed their in-person English communication courses into on-demand lessons. Topics include the techniques used to create content, how the techniques evolved over time, how the content was distributed to students, and how communication was encouraged in an on-demand environment. Participants will be encouraged to consider how the techniques and content created for the course could be integrated with future in-person classes.

This presentation will describe an exploratory study conducted in Japan and Nepal of lower secondary school students and their teachers who engage in PBL projects they create collaboratively through a learning server that also includes channels for learner autonomy and professional development. Specifically, we will share strategies for empowering teachers through cross-cultural professional development and collaboration. We believe such strategies will strongly enhance students’ language learning for their empowerment.

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.

Gaining mastery of the English tense-aspect system remains challenging for university ESL learners. They may have academic writing needs and a need for proficiency given work-related purposes. We developed shortcuts that reflect the shared conceptualizations of the main tense-aspect grammar rules, based on ontological structures of time and happenings. These have allowed students to efficiently understand the main workings of the system, and to facilitate appropriate use of the English tenses while developing self-correction skills.

English Clinic is a person-to-person tutoring program designed to provide the opportunity for oral communication experience for students in an English program at a university. This presentation will provide a brief description of English Clinic, argue for its necessity, give an analysis of program efficacy, and give recommendations for development. The aim is to improve the program and help guide other institutions by providing insights in how tutoring clinics can be implemented successfully.

The purpose of this presentation is to explore the efficacy and effectiveness of self, peer, and teacher assessment of discussions from both student and teacher perspectives. This research centers around the use of check sheets of discussion function phrases which were used to measure individual students’ input and participation in a small group discussion. Students were asked to reflect on each type of assessment, and their participant observations were compared with those of the author.

The presenter will report the results of a genre-based research to compare essays for TOEFL Independent Writing Task and IELTS Writing Task 2. For analysis, 31 model essays have been selected from three publications: the Official Guide to the TOEFL iBT Test 6th Edition, Official TOEFL iBT Tests Volume 2, and Cambridge IELTS Practice Tests. The presenter will suggest useful essay structures and linguistic features of quality essays for the two tasks respectively.

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.