As the use of digital technology continues to increase, the types of communicative competencies that are needed in this digital era are also evolving. Focusing on young people born after 2000 (whom I refer to as the “digital generation”), I address how they use digital technologies today and what kinds of communicative abilities are called for in this new era of advancing digital technology.

This presentation will share research on how dubbing audio in the EFL classroom impacts student oral proficiency. The presenter will share data comparing the pre-post oral proficiency from two groups of students. The experimental group worked with dubbed audio materials and the control group did not. Findings related to variation in proficiency across the two groups will be discussed.

In this session, I will briefly report on a school filmmaking project I organised. This showcase session will show attendees just how creative and video savvy our students can be if given the chance to freely express their talents using these skills and talents. At the end (time permitting) we will open the floor for further comments and discussion. Links to guides for how attendees can mirror this approach will also be provided.

The presenter will report on the effectiveness of the literacy program she developed for 5th and 6th graders of public elementary schools in Tokyo. She worked with the school board and compared the students in experimental schools and those in control schools (N = 3085). The ANOVA results suggested that the students developed their reading ability and its subset abilities significantly, and the effectiveness of the program was verified.

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.

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.

In this session, one student from each of the grade levels I teach (junior high school 2nd- and 3rd-years, and, and high school 1st-, 2nd-, and 3rd-year) will take part as panelists in a symposium. They will talk about their experiences as learners with a specific focus on teacher feedback as well as some other issues.

There is increasing pressure to equip students with global skills and to be able to use English. This presentation details a project-based communication task for junior high school students in one school. Also, the elements that facilitated how the project was adapted from an out-of-class oral research project to an in-class collaborative written communication project in response to the limitations imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic will be highlighted.

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.

From 2014, Myanmar began reforming primary school English education, and new textbooks from grades 1 to 4 have been introduced into all public primary schools. The presenters, who were involved in developing the textbooks, will compare the current books with the former ones. Based on observations of classes and the voices of teachers from online forums, they will discuss the positive reviews of the textbook as well as challenges in using it.

With the recent change of English as a primary subject in elementary schools, Japanese homeroom teachers have faced difficulties. This presentation will describe the teaching circumstances between a Japanese English teacher and an assistant language teacher. With two experienced teachers who understand the curriculum goals, lesson planning and delivery appear to be more efficient than with a homeroom teacher. Compared to class feedback from another school, students overall enjoyed classes and learnt more English.

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.

Project-based learning is a teaching approach that can turn students into active learners by engaging them in real-world situations where they apply their knowledge to achieve their goals. The researcher will present case examples of implementing and organizing PBL projects in EFL teaching. This will include sharing the experiences of PBL English classes in Brazil as well as those in Japan, and how to adopt PBL into various contexts for different age groups.

This workshop presents a genre-based approach to writing instruction for multilingual learners, drawing on work in systemic-functional linguistics. This approach emphasizes an apprenticeship model – the teaching and learning cycle - based on detailed reading, deconstruction, joint construction, and independent construction. Using examples from elementary classrooms, the presenter highlights some challenges a genre approach can address and shows how teachers can assist second language writers in the context of the classroom.

Participants will discuss what the content and language integrated learning (CLIL) approach is and how to use it in an international preschool class setting. Participants will also be able to create their own CLIL-based lesson plans during this session.

The early stages of young learners’ education have the potential to form a solid foundation for children’s lifelong English language learning, so there is a need to research learners’ attitudes and motivation. This presentation reports on research examining the motivation among Japanese children learning English at a public elementary school. 195 3rd and 4th graders were surveyed about their learning experiences in order to better understand their preferences and attitudes towards lessons, activities and materials.

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.

MEXT has encouraged “small talk” conversation activities in elementary schools. However, homeroom teachers and students may be unsure how to conduct these activities smoothly. The presenters have created experimental resources and guidelines to support and expand on small talk, and monitored their implementation in local 5th and 6th grade classrooms. The presenters will summarize the results these initiatives have had, using data from surveys, interviews, and classroom observations, and make suggestions based on their findings.

The Teaching Younger Learners SIG Annual General Meeting and Forum. The first part of this forum will be devoted to SIG business and the AGM. We will explain each officer role and open the floor up for questions. The second part, depending on time, will focus on questions from our membership and how to better build a community with the SIG. We will offer ideas for activities and suggestions moving forward with professional development using a hybrid format. We look forward to seeing your there.

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.

For students who use English as a second language, the “speaking” skill is usually placed after reading, writing, and listening. This is not due to the priorities in actual life communication needs, but largely due to the exam-driven educational systems in Asia. In this forum, we will introduce an 8-week long Youth Leadership Program which prepares children and teenagers to speak English in public through various leadership role designs.