Osaka JALT Journal Vol. 10 is out!
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We are pleased to welcome you to Osaka Jogakuin University for the 2024 Back to School Conference.
Registration will begin at 9:30 on the second floor.
Please refer to the schedule below for the room numbers and presentation contents:
Presentation Abstracts and Presenter Bios can be found here.
2024, Back to school, Conference, OJU, Osaka 
Sunday, May 15, 2022 - 9:30am to 9:30pm
Back to School 2022 is Osaka JALT’s 12th annual spring conference aiming to share ideas on a wide range of topics related to language teaching and learning to help everyone in the new academic year. This year's conference will again be online, which, as in the past two years, has the benefit of allowing us to welcome presenters and participants from all around the world. To get a sense of what to expect, and to see some of what you might have missed last year, please see the schedule and some of the recorded sessions from last year's conference and the presenters' bios and abstracts.
Please click here to view the abstracts for the conference presentations.
Here is the schedule for the Back to School Conference, please click on the presentation names to watch the videos.
Jennifer Yphantides – A grassroots effort to help Ukrainian refugees learn English
Jennifer Yphantides is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Liberal Arts at Soka University in Tokyo.
Lori Zenuk-Nishide – Model United Nations: Building English as a lingua franca and 21st century learning skills
Lori Zenuk-Nishide is the Director of Model United Nations Programs at Kobe City University of Foreign Studies. She has taken delegations to over 60 conferences, and co-founded a high school and university conference since 1990.
Paschal Orjika – Self-directed learning in the university classroom
Paschal Orjika, is a graduate of Nanzan University, and currently teaches at Maple English School. He holds both a Bachelor's and a Master's degree. His area of specialization is self-directed learning, human resource development and adult education.
John Carle – How to create a digital workbook
John Carle is the author of The English Gym series, written under the pen name, Jon Charles. His books have been used at over twenty universities and language schools in Japan.
Wade Muncil – Starting a startup from the start
Wade Muncil holds a Master of Arts in Teaching from the School for International Training and is presently teaching at Osaka Jogakuin University/College after spending nine years teaching in the Western Region of The United Arab Emirates. His interests are hiking, documenting and preserving the great cultures of our planet, and promoting service learning.
Eucharia Donnery – The International Virtual Exchange (IVE) Project: Meeting low-level EFL learner needs
Eucharia Donnery works as a coordinator of communicative English at the World Language Center, Soka University, Tokyo.
Terry Tuttle – A how-to video activity sequence for Japanese high school EFL students
Terry R. Tuttle is an ALT for Higashiosaka City, an Osaka JALT Member-at-Large, and a GALE SIG Co-Coordinator. He is pursuing a M.S.Ed degree with a concentration in TESOL at Temple University, Japan Campus.
Paul Goldberg – Xreading: What’s new and what’s next
Paul Goldberg has taught English for over 20 years, and is the founder of the online system, Xreading, which he developed to make extensive reading more accessible for students and easier for teachers to manage.
Paul Mathieson & Claire Murray – The AWL Readers: An Academic Vocabulary Story
Paul Mathieson is an associate professor at Nara Medical University, where he teaches medical students and nursing students. He is also a PhD candidate at Kyoto University.
Claire Murray has an MA in Applied Linguistics from the University of Birmingham, UK. She is currently an ESP lecturer at Nara Medical University.
Thomas Boutorwick – ESL Speed Readings, the free mobile app
Thomas (TJ) Boutorwick received his PhD in Applied Linguistics from Victoria University of Wellington in 2017. His research focuses on vocabulary development through reading. He also develops educational software and currently resides in Hiroshima.
Zoe Barber – (Un)willing to communicate?: Incorporating different modes of participation in the classroom
Zoe Barber is from Australia and has taught English at various educational levels in Japan for 10 years. She is a graduate of the Queensland University of Technology and currently teaches at Konan University.
Anthony Walsh – A step-by-step guide for speech contests
Anthony Walsh is from Melbourne, is a graduate of University of Southern Queensland and currently teaches at the University of Fukuchiyama. He is trying to stay healthy by learning to cook various dishes.
Elizabeth Leigh – A tour of the “Zero-waste” town of Kamikatsu, Tokushima prefecture
Elizabeth Leigh is from the UK, is a graduate of Manchester University, and is currently a Tokunin teacher at Osaka Metropolitan University. Her interests include hiking, swimming and scuba diving, as well as environmental issues.
Eric Martin & Robert Kerrigan – Presentation and evaluation of an Extensive Listening program using Xreading
Eric Shepherd Martin teaches at Momoyama Gakuin University and is a candidate for a Ph.D. in applied linguistics from Temple University. He can be reached at ericshepherdmartin@gmail.com.
Robert Kerrigan teaches at Shitennoji University and is pursuing a Ph.D. in applied linguistics from Temple University. He can be reached at kerrigan@shitennoji.ac.jp.
Michael Herke – From the known to the new: Everyday creative arguments for language learning
Michael Herke has been living in Kansai for over 20 years. He has taught in public and private institutions in Canada and Japan. He works in the Faculty of International Studies at Setsunan University in Osaka.
Matthew Wiegand – Re-evaluating expectations of camera use in online language classes
Matthew Wiegand: BA Cultural Anthropology, UC Santa Cruz, Global Japanese Studies, Meiji University. MA candidate at Waseda GSICCS. Teacher at University of Tsukuba Attached High School at Komaba, Sundai College of Business and Foreign Languages
Mehrasa Alizadeh – Professional development and distance learning with Gather.Town: A preliminary report
Mehrasa Alizadeh is an assistant professor at the International Professional University of Technology in Osaka, where she teaches EFL courses. Mehrasa's research interests include blended, mobile and immersive learning in second language education.
Back to school, Conference Thank you to everyone for making Back to School 2021 a great success. Click on the links in the block schedule to see recordings of sessions. More will be added later.
Back to School 2021 is Osaka JALT’s 11th annual spring mini-conference which aims to share ideas on a wide range of language teaching and learning topics to help everyone in the new academic year. There is sure to be something for everyone, and all are very welcome to join us for all or any part of the day or evening.
This year we'll again hold the event online due to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic. Last year's event was our first online event and it went very well. Here's last year's schedule with links to recorded presentations, and abstracts.
Many thanks to everyone who submitted presentation proposals this year! Below are this year's conference presenters and presentation titles with some of the pre-recorded session links. You can find the list of presenters, their biographies, presentation titles and abstracts here.
Back to School 2021 Schedule
Supplementary Files & Links from the chat:
John Carle's "Who will take care of Mum?" Document.
Free Trial Request for EssayJack
https://share.nearpod.com/ZhNMVdDfldb
https://nflrc.hawaii.edu/rfl/item/399
https://www.thebrianselznick.com/
https://youtu.be/0HeujZ45OZE?t=12
This event is free for everyone, so please help spread the word and plan to join us on Sunday, May 9th, for part or all of what is sure to be a great day and evening!
Back to School 2021は、新年度に向けて言語教育や学びに関するさまざまなアイデアを参加者の皆さんと共有する、大阪JALTが年に一度開催する春のミニ会議です。今年の会議はコロナ感染拡大に伴い5月9日（日）にオンラインにて開催します。過去の会議もそうであるように、今年のミニ会議も参加者の皆さんにきっと何かをもたらすはずです。最後まであるいはその日のいくつかのセッションの参加でも歓迎いたします。
どのような内容か興味がありましたら、去年のスケジュールと録音されたプレゼンテーションとプレゼンテーションの要約をご覧ください。
今年度のこのイベントも大阪女学院大学 国際共生研究所（RIICC）との共催です。開始時間および終了時間に変更が生じる可能性はありますが、日時が近づいてきましたら詳細はこのホームページ上でお伝えいたしますのでご確認ください。
プレゼンテーションを現在募集中です！締め切りは4月4日です。企画書提出の際にいただいた情報はこのイベントの目的のみで使われます。 何か質問がございましたら osakajalt@gmail.com までいつでもご連絡ください。
参加費は無料です。皆さんのカレンダーの５月９日（日）（母の日ですね！）にしるしをつけてください。このイベントを宣伝して、企画書を提出して、そしていくつかのあるいは全部のセッションにご参加ください！きっと素敵な一日になりますよ！
2021年5月9日（日）9:30a.m. ～ 9:30p.m.
大阪
発表者：後日発表します。
連絡先および質問：osakajalt@gmail.comまでメールをお願いします。
イベントのテーマ：年に一度春に開催されるミニ会議です。
2021, Back to school, Conference, Online
BACK-TO-SCHOOL 2014: Osaka JALT's 5th annual spring mini-conference, April 27 (Sun.) at Otemae University - Itami campus
Back to School is our annual spring one-day mini-conference which aims to share ideas on a wide range of topics to help everyone start the new school year on a positive note. It's one of our favorite events of the year, including a great dinner party afterwards.
For photos, videos, and schedules from past years' events please see http://bts.osakajalt.org
When: Sunday, April 27, 2014 from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. (Doors open from 9:30 am.) (Note: We recommend bringing your own lunch since time is limited.)
Where: Otemae University, between Hankyu Inano Station and JR Inadera Station, about 20 min. from Umeda.
Map: http://bts.osakajalt.org/map
Cost: 1000 yen for official JALT members (500 yen for full-time students & senior members);
2000 yen for non-members (1000 yen for full-time students & seniors 65 or older).
Click on Schedule to download pdf version.
~~~~~~~~~~~
This year's 22 presentations (in alphabetical order):
Sugu Althomsons - Ways to effectively use note-taking apps (especially Evernote)
Gordon Carlson - Snooze-busting games and activites for all ages and levels
Lucas Dickerson - Teaching Pragmatics with Comics
Ann Flanagan - A Shared Learning Partnership in the Classroom
Michael Furmanovsky - Getting to Know You
Sean Gay - Choose two, pick one
Hazel Hashinishi - Ways to keep students engaged and motivated
Michael Herke - International Integration and Task-based Learning
Mary Hillis, Lucas Dickerson, Bilunta Carter, and Jade Ivy - Multiple Perspectives from the Writing Center
Michael Hollenback - Contextualizing EFL Lessons: How to foster relevance and immediacy
Harlan Kellem - Critical Reading for Critical Thinking
David Lees - Use of Digital Flashcards For Vocabulary Practice
Matt Lucas - Self-publishing: Customizing materials for learner needs
Laura Markslag and Robert Sheridan - Publish or Perish: Presenting Papers at English Language Teaching Conferences Home and Abroad
David Ockert - Self-determination theory-based lessons plans that work
Megumi Ohsumi - Why Not Poetry?: Reading Alexander Pope, William Blake, and Robert Frost
Rob Peacock - Cross-Curricular Learning for Teenage Students in Japan
Rob Peacock - Track Your Students' Success with Online Learning
Oliver Rose - Integrating Online Reading and Game Apps for Vocabulary Development
Martin Salinas - Reinforcing Speech Intonation with Music
Martin Salinas - Storytelling with tempo-controlled background music
Ryan Smithers - Writing with Hyphens
Please print out and post up the flier below at your schools to help spread the word:
Back to school, Mini-conference 
