Ibaraki JALT Chapter October 2019 Meeting (Tsukuba)
October 2019 Chapter Meeting
Date: Saturday, October 5th, 2019
Venue: Tsukuba Gakuin University, Tsukuba
Directions: https://www.tsukuba-g.ac.jp/access/
Morning Program: 10:00 – 12:00
Title: A Glance at English Education in Iran and Turkey
Presenter: Abdollah Dodangeh, Tsukuba Gakuin University
Summary:
In our discussion, I will address the place of the teaching/learning English language in Iran and Turkey from a social and cultural perspective. English language teaching in public and private institutions will be briefly discussed. Grammatical and phonetic affinities between Persian, Turkish and English languages will also be touched upon.
Families' enthusiasm in educating their children at an early age, the value of English language skills in the community, the function of the English language in the labor market, and its impact on securing a better career for new generations will be focused on. Finally, examples of research topics related to English language and literature will be briefly presented.
Afternoon Program: 14:00 – 16:00
Title: Teaching English Pronunciation to Japanese Students in the Era of English as an International Language
Presenter: Yasushi Sekiya, Ed.D., Kanda University of International Studies (Kanda Gaigo Daigaku)
In this presentation I will discuss the essentials of teaching English pronunciation in the Japanese EFL context, especially from the increasingly important viewpoint of English as an international language (EIL) or a lingua franca (ELF). First, I will review some important factors affecting second language (L2) learners’ pronunciation learning such as age, first language, motivation, amount of L2 exposure, and identity based on some research findings. Second, I will discuss the paradigm shift in instructional goals from the nativeness principle to the intelligibility principle in the era of EIL/ELF. Then, I will propose what specific pronunciation features should be prioritized in instruction to help Japanese learners improve intelligibility in their English pronunciation. Lastly, I will introduce the online resource and material called “World Englishes Modules”, which Kanda University of International Studies and Tokyo University of Foreign Studies jointly developed for the purpose of exposing and acclimating Japanese students to different varieties of English.
(3) Bio
Dr. Yasushi Sekiya holds an MA in linguistics from Sophia University and an M.Ed. and Ed.D. in TESOL from Teachers College, Columbia University. He is currently Professor in educational linguistics and serves as Director of the MA TESOL program at Kanda University of International Studies. He has published and presented in the areas of pronunciation learning/teaching, learner autonomy, content-based language teaching and language acquisition in study-abroad programs.
Business Meeting/Chapter Officer Elections: 16:00 - 17:00
December 2019 Meeting -- PRELIMINARY SCHEDULE (at UT CEGLOC)
The University of Tsukuba CEGLOC FD Committee, in collaboration with the JALT Mind, Brain and Education SIG is organizing the 3rd CEGLOC Conference “Language Learning and the Brain” in Tsukuba on Saturday, December 7th , 2019. We will join their program. Details of the meeting will be uploaded later.