ALT Agorà ⑧ – October 19 – Register Now!
We are back with the usual Agorà program. The CLIL workshop was a success and there will definitely be more events following that style, but for now let’s focus on this month’s topics! Which one will you choose?
Event: ALT Agorà ⑧
When: October 19, 2021 (TUESDAY) @7:30pm JST (60 min)
Where: Zoom CLICK HERE TO REGISTER
***Please update your Zoom software to the latest version**
How to join: the link will be sent to the specified email address by the afternoon on the day of the event.
Follow us on FB: https://facebook.com/altagora
This month join us to talk about the following topics!
SPOTLIGHT: Fluency in the Classroom
Speaker: José Domingo Cruz (Kitakyushu University)
All teachers want their students to achieve higher levels of fluency, but how to teach it, and what classroom methods actually work? Cruz will provide some food for thought on this topic, and then will be happy to discuss any ideas and questions in the Breakout Rooms. This session will try to move forward from Cruz’s previous ALTTO session in June 2021 to show more techniques, while making sure no attendees are left without a solid understanding of the basic methods VC involves.
Room 1: Fluency in the Classroom
Speaker: José Domingo Cruz (Kitakyushu University)
Part 2 of the topic introduced during the spotlight presentation.
Room 2: Awakening to Languages, and Learning about Language and Culture
Speaker: Daniel Pearce (Kyoto Notre Dame University)
Research has shown that language classrooms rarely foster capable bilinguals, despite this being the assumed outcome in many situations. As teachers, however, we can provide our learners with tools to promote successful language learning and intercultural understanding. In this session, I will discuss how ALTs can go beyond simply modelling language and demonstrating our own cultures, to creating lessons that engage learners on an intellectual level. I will also introduce the Awakening to Languages methodology, and a useful repository of free-to-use resources for teaching/learning about languages and cultures.
Room 3: Through the Lens of a Global World
Speaker: Namiko Tsuruta (Global Language Institute)
Do our schools’ EFL textbooks represent how we would like our learners to view themselves, us, and the world around them? How can we address important global issues with meaningful and interdisciplinary activities without overloading them with difficult language? Come join me in addressing the social responsibilities that all teachers play in promoting a more diverse and inclusive learning culture. Please come with your textbooks and ideas, and share your classroom stories with us as well.
Room 4: Games as TBLT activities in the classroom: WHY and HOW?
Speaker: Fabio Spano (Tokyo International Christian University)
In elementary and junior high school, games are mostly used for specific language Practice, they just substitute the second P in PPP (Present Practice Produce). But with TBLT games could be much more effective, giving the students a chance to have authentic interactions by using their own English to communicate with their peers, and negotiate for meaning.
With this little intervention, I will explain WHY is worth doing and HOW it could be done!
The speakers that will join us for this event are:
Jose Domingo Cruz (Kitakyushu University)
José Domingo Cruz works on several English study projects, including his main venture, “GOLDFish365”. Cruz is the author of the soon to be published, “ZOOM for Educators”. He helped create the protocols for and led the team of volunteer Room Hosts that guided the presentations (The Fire Station) during the PANSig and JALT National conferences of 2020. Cruz is a leading member of Online Teaching Japan, where he and David Juteau host the weekly broadcast of “OTJtv”. Cruz is from Canada, and is a veteran university instructor and Japan resident, specializing in fluency instruction and authentic materials creation.
Daniel Pearce (Kyoto Notre Dame University)
My name is Daniel Pearce, and I am currently working as a teacher-researcher at Kyoto Notre Dame University. I was an ALT in several high schools of the Shonai region of Yamagata Prefecture between 2008 and 2013. Since I moved to Kyoto, I have undertaken the JTE licensing program at Kyoto University, and now collaborate on several research/teacher training programs from the elementary to the senior high school level. My research interests include team teaching and plurilingual/pluricultural competence.
Namiko Tsuruta (Global Language Institute)
Namiko Tsuruta has taught English to learners in preschool, K-12 and in various industries since 1999. She is a bilingual returnee who has trained teachers in workshops all over Japan for 17 years. She is Program Director of Global Language Institute and Creative Director of The Tokyo Life, a community website for foreign residents.
Fabio Spano (Tokyo International Christian University)
Fabio Spano worked as an English teacher for 7 years, 3 of them as an ELT in Nagano prefecture, before starting, in April 2021, an MA in education and Psychology at ICU in Tokyo. His research focuses on Game-Based Language Teaching, more particularly on how to use games as TBLT tools in public education.
Nicholas J. Wilson
Nicholas J. Wilson is an elementary and junior high school English teacher and curriculum developer fostering students’ digital literacy through foreign language education. He is a Level 1 & 2 Google Certified Educator and Level 1 Adobe Creative Educator in charge of supporting the professional development of English and Japanese teachers as a mentor, area leader, and member of the local board of education’s Digital Transformation Committee. His current research focuses on exploring the potential of the metaverse as a learning environment. He is also an active JALT officer involved in planning, promoting, and coordinating regional events and national conferences, and the founder and organizer of ALT Agorà, a series of monthly webinars designed for assistant language teachers, part of the ALT Training Online grassroots initiative.
