ALT,  Professional Development,  Programs

ALT Agorà – February 15, 2022 – Register Now!

New year, new setup. In order to give more space to all of our speakers, this month there will be no spotlight speaker. Instead, the three presenters will introduce their topics in the main room before moving into breakouts!

When: February 15, 2021 @7:30pm JST
Where: Zoom CLICK HERE TO REGISTER
***Please update your Zoom software to the latest version**
How to join: the link will be sent to your email address.
Follow us on FB: https://facebook.com/altagora

This month join us to talk about the following topics!

Room 1: Quick and Effective Graphic design tips for ALTs.
Miguel Mision (University of Nagano)

In a rush to quickly make some flashcards? Interested in making your worksheets look more appealing to your students? Or maybe you’ve been asked to make a poster and have no idea how to get started? Miguel Mision will share some tips on how to quickly and effectively use PowerPoint as more than just a presentation tool for your classes.

Room 2: English for Entertainment: Teaching Engaging Presentation Techniques to EFL Learners.
Casey Olthaus (Kyoto Prefectural ALT)
Giving speeches and presentations can be stressful, but these are important life skills. From nonverbal cues and voice inflection to storytelling, we can teach them in a low-stress environment through peer interaction.  Let’s work together and exchange our ideas for introducing speeches, presentations, and general public speaking skills in our classes… in fun ways!

Room 3: イントネーションと抑揚:英語のリズムを教える / English Stress and Intonation: Teaching English Rhythm (Pronunciation) (JP/EN)
Chiaki Lawler (Director, Endeavour English Education)

This is an interactive presentation delivered in Japanese. It aims to encourage teachers whose first language is not English to explore a variety of ways to understand and to be able to incorporate creative learning activities to improve their students’ pronunciation through intonation and stress.

 このプレゼンテーションは日本語によるインタラクティブ形式のものです。英語を第一言語としない英語教育関係者向けに学習者の発音向上を図るためのイントネーションや抑揚に焦点を当てたクリエイティブな学習活動を提案、並びに体験することにより参加者が自らの理解を深めると共に今後の授業の学習活動に積極的に工夫を凝らしたアクティビティを取り入れることを推奨します。

The speakers that will join us for this event are:

Miguel Mision (University of Nagano)
Miguel did his undergraduate in engineering and international studies with a major in Japanese at the University of Technology, Sydney. Once upon a time he was an engineer and worked for Toshiba Corp in Australia. He came to Japan in 2009 and worked as an ALT teaching all levels from kindergarten to high school to corporate. Miguel has an MA in Education majoring in TESOL with the University of Wollongong. His research interests include both Computer and Mobile Assisted Language Learning.

Casey Olthaus (Kyoto Prefectural ALT)
After studying history and sociology in university Casey moved to Germany where she became interested in foreign and second language acquisition. She later received her TEFL certification through the University of Toronto and has been teaching at Kyoto Prefectural Sagano High School since 2019. She enjoys using technology in the classroom and creating communicative-based, learner-centered classroom environments.

Chiaki Lawler (Director, Endeavour English Education)
Teaching students and training teachers in Australia and in Japan for more than three decades. Australian Government accredited Trainer and Assessor (TAE), Pre- and in-service teacher trainer. Special interest area: World Englishes, native-speakerism, bilingualism, and cross-cultural issues. M.A. TESOL, Grad. Cert. TESOL, B. Min, TAE, Cambridge TTT, Cert IV TESOL, N.A.A.T.I

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.