March 30 - SIETAR Kansai presents: Women's Mini Film Festival, co-sponsored with Osaka & Nara JALT

March is Women’s History Month, so in celebration:

Women Filmmakers: Past, Present, and Future
Sat, March 30, 2:00 - 5:00 pm

Language: English
Venue: Nishinomiya Daigaku Koryu Center (ACTA East Tower 6F Room 1)
2 minutes from Hankyu Nishinomiya Kitaguchi station
Social event (optional): Dinner after the session at a nearby restaurant
Reservations are required by March 27 (Wed). Contact: fujimotodonna@gmail.com

The Film Festival presenters:

PAST: Tamarah Cohen taught English at the university level and made several thought-provoking films as well as transforming hundreds of student presentations into interactional video-based teaching material. She retired early to devote herself 100% to her cat sanctuary in Kyoto. (Tamarah won't be present for the event, but Donna Fujimoto will show some of Tamarah's former students' videos.)

PRESENT: Felicity Tillack is an Australian writer and filmmaker who has made several feature and short films based in Japan. She has an active YouTube channel, Instagram, and TikTok series–all of which explore Japan and its culture. Her debut 2019 film “Impossible to Imagine,” a romantic film dealing with identity and bicultural issues, is streaming on Amazon Prime. Those without Prime can watch the film on Vimeo (rent or buy). Please watch this before the event due to time constraints. 

FUTURE: Seunghyun Lee, is a designer and videographer from Seoul who has recently made a short feminist-leaning video based on a Korean legend. She is currently working on using video to bring to life the oil painting and personal records of Jang-Mi, an up-and-coming artist, who is painfully aware of Korean society’s anti-women currents. This collaboration is new and innovative, and it promises to open interesting perspectives in the world of art and film.

Promoting Critical Multiculturalism in the Japanese EFL Classroom: Conceptualization, Design, and Delivery

Promoting Critical Multiculturalism in the Japanese EFL Classroom: Conceptualization, Design, and Delivery

Sunday, October 8, 2023 - 2:00pm to 5:00pm

In an era of social justice and racial reckoning, teachers have been increasingly addressing topics related to race/racism, ethnicity, and identity. However, some may consider tackling such issues as daunting, complex, and too controversial to broach in Japanese EFL settings. This may be due to not only vague student background knowledge but also teacher uncertainty with respect to course design and implementation. This workshop will demonstrate how Kubota's (2012) basic concepts of critical multiculturalism can be applied to design a university CLIL course. Activities from the course will be simulated, and discussions that reflect on those activities will be facilitated. Any questions or concerns about best practices when it comes to the promotion of diversity, intercultural awareness, and inclusion in ELT course creation will be addressed.

Gregory Paul Glasgow is an Associate Professor in the Department of English at Kanda University of International Studies. He is a critical applied linguist who draws on social theory to examine the politics of Global English(es) in language teaching in contemporary society. Most specifically, he is interested in issues of language, race, and identity as they relate to the implementation of English language education policy and pedagogical practice. Glasgow holds a Ph.D. in Applied Linguistics from the University of Queensland in Australia and previously served as an English Language Specialist for the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo.

ZOOM Online presentation *registration required*
Contact: fujimotodonna@gmail.com to get the Zoom link; and with any questions.
This event is co-sponsored with SIETAR-Kansai.

April 2022 SIETAR Kansai

Osaka JALT is proud to co-sponser, along with JALT Osaka, Kyoto, Nara, Kobe:

April 2022 SIETAR Kansai: 

Biased Teaching, Biased Language, Marginalized Students

Speaker: Masaki C. Matsumoto (writer, speaker, YouTuber)

Date:   April 24, 2022 (Sunday)

Time:   14:00-17:00

Fee:     Free for all

Language: English (Q & A in English and Japanese)

ZOOM Online presentation *registration required*

Contact: fujimotodonna@gmail.com to get the Zoom link; for any questions.

Description: Students who come from minority backgrounds face obstacles that teachers, classmates and administrators may not be aware of. Subtle and not-so-subtle biases exist, and it is important to not only raise our awareness, but to also actively work on ways to combat any resulting negative effects. Biases exist not only in the ways that educators teach, but also in how language itself operates within the confines of social and cultural landscapes. The speaker will share examples of biased teaching and of biased language where students may feel ignored, left out, or forced to silence themselves in the classroom—and in some cases, they may even feel compelled to quit learning altogether. Be prepared to have your eyes opened!

Presenter:

Masaki C. Matsumoto is originally from Tochigi prefecture and currently lives in Gunma prefecture, where he blogs, produces YouTubes and podcasts, while lecturing on topics that draw attention to issues that dispute heteropatriarchy—in particular, these include the LGBT movement, the history of social discourse on sexual desires, and the rights and dignity of sex workers.

For details, see https://medium.com/@MasakiCM 

ja.gimmeaqueereye.org

Film Showing: The Grandpa from Brazil

Sunday, 12 February 2012, 2:00 - 4:30pm

Film Showing:

The Grandpa from Brazil

Speaker: Nanako Kurihara (film director/producer)

The film "The Grandpa from Brazil" documents the life of Mr. Kenichi Konno, who emigrated to Brazil at the age of 19 in 1931.

Konno went abroad in search of a decent job, and he vowed to return after achieving success. He worked very hard for decades, and 60 years after leaving Japan he began making annual trips back to Japan staying for a month at a time in order to check on Japanese-Brazilians who had emigrated in the opposite direction. Konno had been very concerned about the many difficulties that these Japanese-Brazilians face in Japan. He made these trips over a period of 15 years, and he helped many people in the process.

This 60-minute film follows this extraordinary yet ordinary man as he retraces his journey through the streets of Tokyo and Kansai, recounting his life in Brazil, and discovering more about the actual situation of Japanese Brazilians. This heartfelt documentary explores issues of migration, ethnicity, family, and global citizenship.

After the film there will be time to meet and ask questions to the filmmaker, Nanako Kurihara. English subtitles will be provided.

Nanako Kurihara is a graduate of Waseda University and an award-winning Japanese producer/director. Her first film made in 1993, was “Ripples of Change” (also titled “Looking for Fumiko”) which is about the Japanese women’s movement in the 1970s. It has been shown internationally and has been broadcast in the United States and Australia. Kurihara holds a PhD in Performance Studies from New York University.

This event is co-sponsored by SIETAR Kansai. (SIETAR =The Society for Intercultural Education, Training, And Research)

For more details about Mr. Konno, please see this 2008 article: http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20081022f2.html

Location: 

Takatsuki Shiritsu Sogo Shimin Koryu Center, 5th floor 視聴覚センター

Guide to Location: http://www.city.takatsuki.osaka.jp/db/kurasu/images/koryu.gif

Fee for JALT members: 500 yen for JALT & SIETAR members, and students

Fee for one-day members: 1,000 yen

Contact or Queries: osakajalt@yahoo.com