My first International JALT Conference

English Central with Charles Browne

I had the great privilege of attending the International JALT Conference in Shizuoka from November 20-23. Nothing could have prepared me for a hectic weekend filled to the brim with presentations, workshops, talking to publishers, networking, hands on learning, sharing ideas, socializing and this list goes on. It was such an amazing opportunity to be surrounded by fellow peers, soaking in the wealth of knowledge and experience available. The weekend changed my outlook on the kind of educator I aspire to be, and armed me with the tools in order to succeed.

I have never attended a conference of this scale before, over 1800 attendants over the course of 4 days, from all sorts of teaching backgrounds. There is so much to see and do, people to meet that there doesn’t seem to be enough time for everything. There were many presentations and workshops I missed out on due to clashes or being preoccupied with something else.  My mind didn’t even have to chance to wander as there was always something that required my full attention.

A huge crowd gathers for Paul Nation

The theme of the conference was: Focus on the Learner, perhaps something that can be, but never should, be overlooked. A lot of the presentations I attended had an emphasis on the importance of needs analysis; who are the stakeholders and what do they want? Are we truly fulfilling our role as a teacher if we fail to meet this single requirement?

With needs analysis also comes the task of identifying problems and solving them: what is not working, why not and how to go about fixing it. Not every problem has a simple solution and you have to be equipped with the suitable knowledge and tools. A major point to keep in mind when it comes to self evaluation and expanding your teaching skills, something I will be keeping at the forefront when it comes to lesson planning.

Publicity Officers' meeting

Another thing that often cropped up, which is something I find myself guilty of at times, is the

teacher taking a step back and doing nothing. Let students do the work and let them figure out for themselves. The less time the teacher spends talking the better. I’m sure all my students would agree! I have a tendency to offer assistance prematurely and it is something that I need to work and improve on.

It was fascinating to get a glimpse of educators from across the globe sharing their insights, ideas and experiences. There was so much to take in that I was furiously scribbling in my notebook the entire time. I came away from the whole experience with a better understanding of how to cater to my student’s needs, my own pitfalls and weaknesses plus a host of ideas and techniques to implement in my classroom.

Research  results on show at a Poster Session

But it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows, I had to share a hotel room with Jim after all! One of the main grumps was that Shizuoka did not lend itself to a good “after-event”. There was a lack of venues to continue the conference into the evening in a much more social manner, gathering ideas together over a couple of beverages and exchanging personal experiences. I guess you cannot have your cake and eat it too.

But in no way did that take anything away from my first International JALT conference. I feel as though I have come a long way since my first day on the job, but this conference has made me realize I still have a long way to go. I am looking forward to every single step of that journey. A massive thank you to all the organizers of the event, the staff involved and everyone who contributed to such a fantastic event.

A special mention to Jim for driving me all the way to and from Shizuoka, (even though I was a lousy navigator!), and introducing me to so many brilliant people. I cannot wait for the next one!

Blending media: graded readers + iOS devices

This was originally going to be a quick posting about how I was trying to integrate Quizlet sets more into class at the table (rather than at the PC) now that I have my old iPhone 3 freed up as de facto iPod Touch.

Created on Tagxedo - regular past tense verbs in "Lost in the Jungle"

I was just about to start tapping away when I came across a blog posting on a very related topic - how to "teach" the pronunciation of regular verbs in the past tense: the -ed ones. It has taken me a few days to think about this one in a wider context...

I do not think (young) learners need to be told what they are going to learn, explicitly. Nor do they need to be scared with the mechanics of what they are going to do - before `we` have got there together (something I am sure David Paul would want students to realise for themselves). Of course, we (teachers) need to teach; that does not mean we have to stand at the front of the class & deliver pronouncements from on high. Far from it...

Complementary media - book & iOS

I like the dawn of realisation to sneak up on my students nice and quietly - preferably while they are reading. And that is secret weapon number one, methinks. Graded readers, deployed nice and strategically, quietly. Children aren`t daft - they recognise patterns, form opinions, arrive at conclusions. And after that, they ask questions or can have ideas teased out. With -ed endings, my favourite is to ask them to underline all the verbs (or 'doing' words, however you explain them?) as we listen to a new reader. My fave series has a CD narration of each title in the pack. I don`t have to explain they are all past tense; by the end of the book they want to know why they have all got -d or -ed stuck on the end (they have already come across the same words enough times to keep Paul Nation happy!). Teacher question = "When did this happen?"

Using Quizlet app to find irregular past tenses

Leave "it", the nutty crunchy grammar thing alone. Play with the book; get into the comprehension questions, true/false stuff, vocabulary mining. Mess about with the pictures and generally ENJOY READING. Again, my fave graded reader series has a dedicated workbook for each story - puzzles, yes/no, gap filling. They get suitably harder as the books climb in ambition. These are not a class activities; extra-curricula & opt-in. We follow up in class for sure - but the past tense thing is something I want to focus on here.

Once we have done everything else we usually do with the readers ("finished" them if you like!), one last teacher challenge. Listen for the words you underlined, and circle them in one of three colours (you choose the colours - but be consistent after this decision!)

• Red - if you hear a /d/ sound on the end
• Black - if you hear a /t/ sound on the end
• Blue - if you hear an "extra" syllable (ie longer than the original word) = /Id/ sound on the end

A word to the wise; every teacher has a slightly different way of pronouncing words. Decide how you are going to say your own -ed endings as a teacher, and hereafter be consistent. There are no golden rules; a general agreement, yes. What does your school want the students to be producing? What do the other teachers teach?

After all of that, I can`t imagine a book which managed to only use regular past tense verbs. Can you? Would be rather odd. I love Quizlet for making, saving & sharing online falshcards; a dedicated app means they can also be accessed by iOS. In this instance I wrote a list of the verbs (present tense) that occured in the story, and asked students to copy the list onto the inside back cover of their readers - usefully bank. Using the 'learn' function, students could match the present & past tense forms & then scribble it down - if they had not already known or guessed (encouraged them to dive back through the book to find the words too).

Screen shot, Quizlet app 'learn' function

Once learners have finished this task, there is a 'scatter' game, with a timer = immmediately compels YLEs to compete. Drilling, anyone?

Interview - vocabulary/learning guru

I came across an interesting interview with Paul Nation, who I have seen present a couple of times now at various EFL events and hold in high regard. I was talking about him in class with my students the other day, as his comments on learning vocabulary were very relevant.

The interviewer an OE for Luna, who I had the privilege of training earlier this year but missed the chance to say hello properly last Sunday in Nagoya. Well done Darren, good interview!