In this issue: - JALT Publications

Fellner FEATURE ARTICLEUtilization of multiple intelligencesGardner (1999, p. 34) proposes that there areeight different intelligences found in each personthat can be developed and measured. They arelinguistic, logical-mathematical, musical, spatial,kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, andnaturalist (Gardner, 1999, p. 48). OLL tasks andactivities develop a variety of intelligences (Wurr,1996; Higgins & Nicol, 2002, p. 7) and with propertask selection all eight can be incorporated (Halvorsen,2005). This enables teachers to developand enhance the preferred learning styles of theirstudents thereby increasing their interest andchances of success.Development of positive attitudesStudent attitudes towards the target languageand culture have an enormous effect on thelearning process and learning outcomes (Walqui,2000). Educators such as Ellis (1994, p. 200) andWalqui (2000) have shown that positive attitudestowards the target language lead to better andlonger lasting learning. OLL develops positiveattitudes among students because the tasks arefun and enjoyable and students view Englishas not only a useful tool but also as a necessarylanguage to master in order to have fun.Additionally, positive attitudes towards the selfare also developed through outdoor languagelearning. Since OLL tasks are physically and linguisticallychallenging, the successful completionof these tasks will lead to an increase in learner’sconfidence. Confidence in one’s ability to successfullycomplete a task or series of tasks, referred toas self-efficacy (Bandura, 1994, p. 72) is importantas “successful learning necessitates overcominginhibitions and learning to take reasonable risks”(Oxford, 1990, p. 142).Curriculum enhancementOLL is not meant to be a stand-alone approachto language but rather it is intended to enhanceregular language classrooms’ curricula. Outdooreducation has been used for over a century inthis capacity and there is no reason why OLLwould not be able to provide the same functionfor language teachers. The combination of a taskbasedapproach along with outdoor educationcreates learning contexts that require meaningfullanguage and provides an element of authenticityand realism to what is occurring in the classroom.FlexibilityOutdoor language learning is incredibly flexiblein regards to locations and time. The environmentbeyond the classroom abounds with languagelearning possibilities. Teachers can make use ofthe schoolyard, community playground, practicallyany urban setting, and the natural environment(Hammerman, et al., 2001, p. 21; Halvorsen,2005). OLL tasks have no set time outdoors andcan range from mere minutes to weeks outsideof the classroom. The only requirement is thatthe students are engaged in real communicativetasks. To borrow a common phrase heard amongoutdoor educators, “anything is everything” andteachers are only limited by their imaginations.Focus on real communicationThe communicative nature of outdoor languagelearning tasks require students to use the languagefor real and meaningful purposes. Studentsfind they simply have to use the target languageto complete the task. Additionally, guided reflectionnot only allows students to interpret andmake sense of their experiences and feelings butalso provides them with the forum with whichthey can fulfill the need to express themselves.For example, after completing a challenging tasksuch as a canoe trip or a ropes course, studentswould be grouped together to discuss the challengesthey faced. They are encouraged to explainand describe how they felt before, during, andafter completing the task. The need and desireto create meaning and for self-expression, duringtasks and through guided reflection providesunlimited opportunities for real communication.Cost effectiveOutdoor language learning experiences can besurprisingly inexpensive. Many tasks requireno costs at all. Even overnight stays can be accomplishedfor as little as 1,000 yen per person(Halvorsen, 2005). Longer, more intensive excursionssuch as camping trips for a week need notcost more than 30,000 yen per student if properlyplanned and budgeted. The benefits of increasedmotivation, the development of positive attitudestowards English and themselves, and the creationof memorable experiences students cherish fora lifetime are all realized with very little investment.THE LANGUAGE TEACHER 31.6 • June 2007

FEATURE ARTICLE Fellner Increased environment awarenessAn important benefit derived from OLL is anincrease in environmental awareness amongstudents. Outdoor language learning often takesplace in the natural environment and familiaritywith the outdoors leads to an increased awarenessof the environment and a greater appreciationof the natural environment (Hammerman, etal., 2001, p. 17). Increased insights such as thesemay very well provide the first step for many studentsto become more environmentally friendlyindividuals.Outdoor language learning in developingcountriesWhile the author believes that outdoor languagelearning is an effective means of enhancing languagelearning in nearly any situation, he feelsthat OLL can be particularly effective in developingcountries. OLL not only provides a theoreticallysound methodology for language educationbut perhaps more importantly offers a costeffective method of teaching a foreign language.In countries where educational resources areextremely scarce the use of effective pedagogicalpractices are limited. All that is necessary for OLLis a creative use of the environment found metersoutside the classroom door. This is already beingdone in developing countries such as Nicaragua,Costa Rica, Honduras, and Mexico where theyare using outdoor language learning type tasksto teach local citizens to become nature guidesand English teachers (C. Brown, 2000). Simplyput, OLL provides a useful and cost effectiveapproach to enhance and possibly supersede languageprograms in less affluent nations.ReferencesBandura, A. (1994). Self-efficacy. In V. S. Ramachaudran(Ed.), Encyclopedia of human behavior: Vol. 4 (pp. 71-81). New York: Academic Press.Boniface, M. (2000). Towards an understanding of flowand other positive experience phenomena withinoutdoor education and adventure activities. Journal ofAdventure Education and Outdoor Learning, 1(1), 55-68.Brown, D. (1994). Principles of language learning and teaching(3rd ed.). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.Brown, C. (2000, Summer). Pumas and prepositions:Training nature guides on the Yucatan Peninsula. GreatBarrington, MA: Orion Afield.Dornyei, A., & Otto, I. (1998). Motivation in action: Aprocess model of L2 motivation. Working Papers inApplied Linguistics, 4, 43-69.Ellis, R. (1994). The study of second language acquisition.Oxford: Oxford University Press.Fellner, T. (2003). Outdoor language learning: An alternativelearning environment. Unpublished master’s thesis,University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UnitedKingdom.Gardner, H. (1999). Intelligence reframed: Multiple intelligencesfor the 21st century. New York: Basic Books.Halvorsen, J. (2005). Organizing intensive Englishcamps: With activities based on Gardner’s theory ofmultiple intelligences. JALT 2004 Language Learningfor Life Proceedings, JALT, 669-692.Hammerman, R., Hammerman, M., & Hammerman, E.(2001). Teaching in the outdoors (5th ed.). Danville, IL:Interstate Publishers.Higgins, P., & Nicol, R. (2002). Outdoor education:Authentic learning in the context of landscape. Sweden:Kinda Education Centre.McGroarty, M. (1996). Language attitudes, motivation,and standards. In S. L. McKay & N. H. Hornberger(Eds.), Sociolinguistics and learning teaching (pp. 3-46).New York: Cambridge University Press.Mohan, B., Leung, C., & Davison, C. (2001). English asa second language in the mainstream: Teaching, learning,and identity. London: Pearson Education.Nunan, D. (2001, December). Aspects of task-basedsyllabus design. Karen’s Linguistics Issues. RetrievedFebruary 18, 2006, from .Oxford, R. L. (1990). Language learning strategies: Whatevery teacher should know. New York: NewburyHouse.Purdie, N., & Neill, J. (1999). Japanese students downunder: Is Australian outdoor education relevant toother cultures? Australian Journal of Education, 4(1),48-57.Richards, J. C. (1985). The context of language teaching.Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Richards, J. C., & Rodgers, T. (1986). Approaches andmethods in language teaching. Cambridge: CambridgeUniversity Press.Skehan, P. (1996). Second language acquisition researchand task-based learning. In J. Willis &D. Willis (Eds.), Challenge and change in language teaching(pp. 17-30). Oxford: Heinemann.Walqui, A. (2000). Contextual factors in second languageacquisition. Retrieved May 10, 2006, from .Willis, J. (1996). A flexible framework for task-basedlearning. In J. Willis & D. Willis (Eds.), Challengeand change in language teaching (pp. 52-62). Oxford:Heinemann.THE LANGUAGE TEACHER 31.6 • June 2007

Fellner FEATURE ARTICLEWillis, J. (2004). Perspectives on task-based instruction:Understanding our practices, acknowledgingdifferent practitioners. In B. Leaver & J. Willis (Eds.),Task-based instruction in foreign language education(pp. 3-46). Washington, DC: Georgetown UniversityPress.Wurr, A. (1996). Classroom in the wild. The Journal ofKanda University of International Studies, 8, 257-271.and is currently an Associate Professor at SagaUniversity. He has studied at a post-secondarylevel in Canada, England, and Cameroon andbeen a language teacher for 15 years. In his nativecountry of Canada Terry taught junior highschool and high school English, social studies,and outdoor education. His research interestsinclude developing blended CALL courses, outdoorlanguage learning, and academic writing.Terry Fellner received his MA in English, TESL/TEFL from the University of Birmingham, UKJALT-Tunes: Highlights and Coming AttractionsThis is Phil, your DJ, mixing it up for you at the national conference program studio in beautifuldowntown Fukushima. Giving YOU an update on YOUR choices for YOUR (conference) listening andparticipating pleasure. Here is what our playlists are starting to look like . . .Front Row PlaylistThe plenary speakers for JALT2007 have beensigned to the JALT2007 record label. RonaldCarter, Paul Nation, John M. Norris, and AmyTsui will all be on-site and in good form givingus at least two presentations/performancesapiece. Information on these speakers, anddetails about our 11 Featured Speakers, will beavailable soon.Top 25 Most PlayedHere are the classic formats you can expect .. . JALT Domestic Forum, JALT Junior, JALT AsianScholar, Best of JALT and of course all the SIGAnnual Meetings and Forums. Don’t forget thepre-conference (technical) skills workshops forthe inept and expert alike.Recently PlayedSome events tried in the past are back againwith a different spin . . . Job Information Center(JIC) with Job Search Skills Workshops, Meet theExperts Session (face time with your favorite author/authority/personality)and the Story Space.Plus, selected Featured Speaker Presentationshave been moved to the pre-conferenceprogram—remember to pre-register, as spaceis limited.On-The Go 1:A venue in the heart of Tokyo—just one train stopfrom self-contained and convenient Shinjuku—JALT2007 has many on-site meal choices anda limited number of on-site accommodationpackages. Stay tuned!Party ShuffleMany of the regular social events are beingorganized, with some new-billed events in theworks. But with Shinjuku so close, and the nightstill young, there’s no limit to the possibilities.Whether you are a morning person or a nightowl, you are sure to be happy.Recently AddedUpdates and all the information you needare coming to you live at and in future issues of this publication—TheLanguage Teacher.About to sign off here but one last word . . .What’s the theme about: Challenging Assumptions:Looking in, Looking Out? Here’s my rephrase:Don’t believe everything you hear: Thinkabout it and speak up. Contemplate whereyou fit in the big picture and get ready for newdiscoveries.The national conference program is alwaysan eclectic mix of classic acts, remixes, andnew releases. Where is that perfect mix?Keeping It Real and this time really signingoff. . . your DJ, Phil McCasland—a.k.a. Directorof Programs.THE LANGUAGE TEACHER 31.6 • June 2007

Readers’ ForumPrefabs in authenticspoken language:Helping studentsstructure discourseKeywordsvocabulary, prefabs, MWUs, spokenlanguageThis paper shows how teachers canplace greater emphasis on prefabricatedinstitutionalized chunks of language inthe teaching of vocabulary by using authenticspeech data. A university commencementspeech, selected as a goodresource for its informal register and intrinsicmotivational value to students, isoffered as part of a text-based approachfor exploiting prefabs. Prefabs are highlightedhere as a key multi-word unit(MWU) category of vocabulary learningin need of more focused instruction.本 論 では、 実 際 のスピーチ・データを 使 って 語彙 を 教 えていく 際 に、 教 師 がいかに 既 製 の 慣 用固 定 表 現 を 利 用 できるかについて 論 じる。 大 学の 卒 業 式 の 祝 辞 は、インフォーマルな 言 語 使 用域 の 素 材 源 や 学 生 に 対 する 内 発 的 動 機 づけとして、よく 利 用 されるが、 本 論 では、 既 製 表 現 を 活用 するためのテキスト 中 心 のアプローチの1つとして 提 示 する。より 焦 点 を 絞 った 指 導 が 必 要 とされる 語 彙 学 習 における 大 切 なマルチ・ワード・ユニットとして、 既 製 表 現 を 取 り 上 げる。Darren LingleyKochi UniversityPrefabricated chunks of language, often referred to asprefabs or lexical phrases, are defined by Moon (1997) as“preconstructed phrases, phraseological chunks, stereotypedcollocations, or semi-fixed strings which are tied to discoursalsituations and which form structuring devices” (p. 47).Language, especially spoken language, is filled with these fixed(or semi-fixed) expressions which help us to structure speech,express shared meaning and streamline our communication.Common examples include as a matter of fact, by the way, thatreminds me of and come to think of it. University commencementspeeches can be exploited to focus on prefabs as devices forsignaling and shaping speech. Prefabs are highlighted here as akey multi-word unit (MWU) category of vocabulary learning inneed of more focused instruction. While the spoken sample ofspeech presented here can also be mined to teach other categoriesof MWUs such as idiomatic expressions and phrasal verbs,prefabs are selected for explicit focus because these set expressionsare an essential part of speaker’s lexical competence, andlend a sense of organizational fluency to spoken language.Fixed expressions are a feature of everyday spoken languageand need to be learned as whole chunks. A sample of authenticspeech will be used to show how teachers can address this importantpart of spoken language to help students organize what theywant to say in a more natural way. Examples of discourse organizingexpressions and structuring devices will be highlightedto show how students might improve fluency in recounting astory, in explaining what another person has said or in buildingargumentation. It will be suggested that we need to place greateremphasis on MWU prefabs in language teaching, and studyingtexts of spoken language in context are one way of doing this.THE LANGUAGE TEACHER 31.6 • June 2007

10 Lingley Readers’ ForumThe learning contextThe course for which the materials were developedis an English-language Intercultural Communicationand Comparative Culture seminar.The six upper intermediate-level learners takingthis course, five Japanese and one Chinese, allrated vocabulary as a language area in need ofwork. An oral follow-up session based on theirlanguage learning profiles, showed that theirprimary method of learning vocabulary to thispoint had been through memorization of wordlists with very little time having been spent tryingto understand words from context. Like manyJapanese learners, they had mainly approachedtexts on a word-by-word basis in previous study.None of the students had previously consideredMWUs as a target for learning but each expressedstrong interest when MWUs were explained indetail and believed them to be of use to improvetheir fluency. The students also expressed astrong preference to work with authentic speechrather than written language samples.Rationale for commencement speeches asauthentic spoken dataCommencement speeches, or graduation speeches,are an annual tradition of North Americanuniversities and high schools in May and June.Commencement speaking has also become asmall industry with many well-known speakersusing the platform not only to inspire graduatesbut also to bring out issues of personal importance.Commencement speeches were originallyintended as authentic cultural content for anintermediate-level Comparative Studies seminar.These speeches were chosen because the targetaudience is young people of roughly the sameage as the learners and therefore of interest andmotivational value. Guariento and Morley (2001)have noted the motivational impact of authentictexts in giving “the learner the feeling that he orshe is learning the ‘real’ language; that they arein touch with a living entity, the target languageas it is used by the community that speaks it” (p.347). While vocabulary specialists have raisedjustifiable caution about the use of authentic texts(see Waring, 2006, p. 46, for example) and arguefor graded introduction of vocabulary items andemphasis in high frequency items, it is arguedhere that authentic text studies have somethingadditional to offer to the intermediate and advancedlearner.Many commencement speeches are readilyaccessible online as both text and audio files (seeAppendix A). Three to four speeches are usedin a unit lasting about 6 weeks. Speeches arechosen that are of interest to the learners and tomatch the target cultural content of the seminar.A commencement address given at the Universityof Pennsylvania in 2004 by Irish rock star Bonofrom the band U2 was selected for its “povertyin Africa” content in developing a global issuesunit and because students were familiar with theentertainer.Though the context is obviously ceremonial,commencement speeches vary in terms of formalitywith the more formal speeches merely spokenversions of written texts featuring carefullyselected vocabulary, smooth topic transitionsand greater text density. The more informal andincreasingly popular commencement speechesfeature more colloquial language and humour,and though perhaps prepared and rehearsed,exhibit more aspects of spoken language andseem much less polished. The Bono speech, whilecertainly containing elements of prepared writtenspeech throughout, is clearly at the spoken end ofthe spectrum – there are slips and self-corrections,expletives, heavily idiomatic use of languageand metaphor, rhetorical questions to the audienceand several instances where he respondsnaturally to audience feedback and distractions.On listening to or reading the speech, Bono verymuch seems to be conversing with the listenersand uses many conversation-building set expressionssuch as come to think of it, as I say and I justwant you to know. He may be speaking from notesbut he is clearly not reading a written text.Spoken language and vocabularypedagogyMcCarthy and Carter (1997, p. 38) suggest thatmore spoken language input is needed in languageteaching and vocabulary instruction toreflect the reality that in everyday life we areexposed to more spoken than written language.Bono’s speech has many expressions and vocabularyitems that will be encountered by studentsin natural speech situations and can thereforebe mined for various language teaching purposes.However, as McCarthy and Carter pointout, these aims will necessarily differ from thosewhere written texts are used for vocabularylearning. A key difference has to do with howthe general lack of the lexical density in spokenlanguage is addressed. On first exposure to thetext, students remarked that the Bono speechseemed more accessible than the written textsthey had studied. This is likely due to the lowTHE LANGUAGE TEACHER 31.6 • June 2007

Readers’ Forum Lingley 11density of vocabulary items which is misleadingfor students in two ways. First, it may mean thatbecause the text is lexically less dense in terms ofvocabulary items, students may feel they havea better understanding of the content than theyactually do. Secondly, they may see such a text ashaving little to offer in terms of improving theirvocabulary. McCarthy and Carter state that the“lexical load may not necessarily be greater inspoken language programmes, but it will certainlyhave different priorities and emphases” (p. 39).They note that the “pervasiveness of multi-wordunits” (p. 39) in speech needs to be addressed inour vocabulary teaching approaches.MWU prefabs: Phrases and expressionsstructuring the discourseAs fixed expressions are a feature of spoken languagenot easily accessed with dictionaries, learnersneed to be exposed to them in other ways. TheBono speech sample has many such items whichprovide the teacher with a chance to address apart of spoken language that helps students organizewhat they say in a more natural way. Thediscourse organizing expressions Bono uses areuseful in a variety of speaking situations such asinformal conversation where a student may wishto recount a story or explain what another personsaid. For example, they would need organizingexpressions such as they were like ~, or and he goes~, to introduce quoted speech naturally. Whena student has to explain an opinion orally, setphrases like But the point is... and I would suggest...might provide the focus for a lesson on buildingargumentation.Most interesting for students working withBono’s speech was the use of an expression theyall had used on countless occasions – by the way.This item is learned early on in English languageeducation in Japan and is used very frequentlythough not always naturally. English learnersin Japan use it exclusively as a topic changingdevice, directly translated from tokoro de, and itis always used at the beginning of a sentence toopen a new discussion topic. The speech samplehas one such usage (sentence 32) but Bonoalso uses it several other times in the middle orat the end of a sentence to modify or qualify apoint or introduce a point as an aside which isnot directly related to the topic being discussed.These common and more natural functions of bythe way in the flow of a single stream of spokenlanguage rarely appear in the English productionof Japanese learners and bringing it to their attentionand providing them with time to practiceit in their own speech serves to improve spokenfluency and naturalness. Other expressions thatfunction similarly as modifying discourse markersare in my opinion, I would argue, as I say/as Isaid and I suppose. A sample list of prefabs foundin the speech can be found in Appendix B. Thefunctional use of these expressions by the speakerand how they can be used at different points in asentence is largely unknown even to intermediatelevel learners and in need of teaching attention.Lewis (1997, p. 257) notes the importance oflearning vocabulary as whole chunks or institutionalisedutterances such as sentence heads. Hesuggests that items such as If I were you...I’d ...are very useful to learners. Our text also includesthis sentence head as well as others like I’d justlike to say..., Because if you don’t mind me saying...,and I just want you to know..., that are very commonorganizers for what we want to accomplishwith speech. Introducing students to how theseare used in natural speech helps them to betterorganize their own spoken language andadds useful and natural features to their spokenrepertoires. Lewis’s approach calls for teachersto “search for, and direct attention toward thechunks of which all naturally occurring languageconsists” (p. 269) and that teachers need toinclude more awareness-raising activities in theirvocabulary teaching.While the materials and approach suggestedhere are designed for intermediate-level learners,teachers can find ways to use prefabs andother categories of MWUs with beginners as well.McGroarty and Taguchi’s 2005 study evaluatingthe communicativeness of EFL textbooks inJapanese secondary schools found that “linguisticforms are presented with little attention to theircommunicative functions and contexts” (p. 222)revealing a shortcoming in the early stages oflanguage education which could be at least partiallyaddressed with more exposure to languagesamples highlighting natural communicativefunctions. Teachers of all levels, and perhaps mostimportantly at the beginner level, need to look foralternative methods and materials for introducingspeech samples along discourse functional linesso that the communicative limitations of textbookscan be addressed. For example, a shorterextract from Bono’s speech can effectively targetmore common prefabs like by the way and as amatter of fact to demonstrate to students the rangein functions of well-known fixed expressions.Identifying these chunks and providing studentsof all levels chances to produce them in role playsand simulations addresses the dearth of “creativeexpression” communicative exercise types notedTHE LANGUAGE TEACHER 31.6 • June 2007

12 Lingley Readers’ Forumin McGroarty and Taguchi (p. 215). Real worldspoken texts are an excellent resource for this.Suggestions for classroom focus onprefabsWhile text-based study might be consideredreceptive in nature, prefab expressions offerexcellent opportunities for learners to practiceproductively. Students may prepare their ownbrief speech, attempting to integrate these itemsnaturally. Another is to set each learner the task ofworking with a different commencement speechor other speech sample resource, and report backto the class on the set expressions (or other targetMWU category) encountered in the spoken text.Finally, asking students to keep detailed vocabularynotebooks, as Fowle (2002) has recommended,for the unit on commencement speeches withan emphasis on recording prefab MWUs furtherentrenches this kind of vocabulary learning ascentral and facilitates independent (and productive)learning. Newton (2001) has shared how thiscan be done cooperatively through communicativetasks like vocabulary logs and interactiveglossaries. McCarthy has also noted the valueof encouraging students to “collect items alongdiscourse-functional lines” (1991, p. 87) citing theself-reliance organizational value for an area oflearning usually left to the individual learner.ConclusionTeachers can place greater emphasis on prefabricatedinstitutionalised chunks of language in theteaching of vocabulary by using authentic speechdata. A university commencement speech, selectedas a good resource for its informal registerand intrinsic motivational value to students, hasbeen offered as part of a text-based approach forexploiting prefabs from the perspective of discoursestudies. Such a method can be valuable forlearners looking for ways to sound more naturalin their speaking and is suggested as particularlyeffective for intermediate to advanced level learners.The text can also be mined for other MWUssuch as idiomatic expressions and phrasal verbswhich can be brought to the attention of learnersboth to get a deeper level understanding of a textand to add to their repertoires in their quest forgreater fluency.ReferencesFowle, C. (2002). Vocabulary notebooks: Implementationand outcomes. ELT Journal, 56(2), 380-387.Guariento, W. and Morley, J. (2001). Text and taskauthenticity in the EFL classroom. ELT Journal, 55(4),347-353.Lewis, M. (1997). Pedagogical implications of thelexical approach. In J. Coady and T. Huckin (Eds.),Second language vocabulary acquisition (pp. 255-270).Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.McCarthy, M. (1991). Discourse analysis for languageteachers. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.McCarthy, M. and Carter, R. (1997). Written and spokenvocabulary. In N. Schmitt and M. McCarthy (Eds.),Vocabulary: Description, acquisition and pedagogy (pp.20-39). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.McGroarty, M. and Taguchi, N. (2005). Evaluating thecommunicativeness of EFL textbooks for Japanesesecondary schools. In J. Frodeson and C. Holten(Eds.), The power of context in language teaching andlearning (pp. 211-224). Boston: Heinle.Moon, R. (1997). Vocabulary connections: Multi-worditems in English. In N. Schmitt and M. McCarthy(Eds.), Vocabulary: Description, acquisition and pedagogy.Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Newton, J. (2001). Options for vocabulary learningthrough communication tasks. ELT Journal, 55(1),30-37.Waring, R. (2006). Why extensive reading should bean indispensable part of all language programs. TheLanguage Teacher, 30(7), 44-47.Darren Lingley teaches Intercultural Communicationand Comparative Culture in the Departmentof International Studies at Kochi University.Current interests include the use of authenticmediated spoken texts in language classes,classroom interaction analysis and content-basedinstruction. He is also an Associate Editor withthe Asian EFL Journal.CHALLENGINGLOOKING INLOOKING OUTASSUMPTIONSJALT200722–25 Nov 2007National OlympicsMemorial YouthCenter, TokyoTHE LANGUAGE TEACHER 31.6 • June 2007

Readers’ Forum Lingley 13Appendix A. Internet resources for commencement speeches with Global Education themesUniversity URL Speaker Topic AudioUPennwww.humanity.org/voices/commencements/speeches/index.php?page=bono_at_pennAfricaPoverty inBonoYesJohns Hopkins www.c-span.org/commencement/Al GoreEnvironmentYesVassar College www.c-span.org/commencement/Tom EnvironmentHanksYesBerkeleywww.humanity.org/voices/commencements/speeches/index.php?page=albright_at_berkeleyAlbright* sanctionsMadeline IraqNoTuftswww.humanity.org/voices/commencements/speeches/index.php?page=steinem_at_tuftsSteinem suesGloria Gender is-NoWellesleywww.wellesley.edu/PublicAffairs/Commencement/1996/ Nora Gender issuesspeechesnephron.htmlEphronNo* This speech includes a strongly opposed valedictory response from Fadia Rafeedie, a Palestinian student.Appendix B. Sample list of MWU prefab items (Bono speech)Expression In-text example Sentence #Don’t get me.... Don’t get me too excited because I... 2I’d just like to say... I’d just like to say to the parents, your children are safe... 3Come to think of it... Come to think of it, Bono is a four-letter word. 4It’s a bit like when... It’s a bit like when people put their King Charles spaniels in little tartan sweats 6I think it was...and hats.1...and they were here with me I think it was seven years ago.2...and on a memorable night in the late seventies, I think it was Newton’s lawof motion sickness.3. ... he was saying to me in Amharic, I think it was, I said I can’t understandwhat he’s saying;...all I can think about... Doctor of Law, all I can think about is the laws I’ve broken. 15They were like, “...”It’s like, “hey...”1. The Clash were like, “This is a public service announcement - with guitars.”2. It’s like hey, look there’s the moon up there, let’s take a walk on it27By the way... (*)I would suggest1. By the way I felt like that myself until recently.2. If anyone here doesn’t know what a mullet is, by the way, your education’scertainly not complete.3. (they are debts, by the way, that keep Africans poor)4. ...this is the metaphor part of the speech by the way.For a lead singer like me, a mullet is, I would suggest, arguably more dangerousthan a...Because if you don’t mind me saying so, this is a strange ending to an Ivy Leagueeducation.Because if you don’t46mind me saying....I just want you to I just want you to know, I think this is obvious... 144know...I guess it was... I guess it was at that point when your Trustees decided... 13As I said...(*) 1. As I said yesterday I made my pilgrimage...1642. It’s a proving ground, as I said earlier, for the idea of equality.189As I say...The debt burden, as I say, unfair trade, as I say, sharing our knowledge... 122But as I say I come from punk rock...199You know... You know, I used to think the future was solid or fixed... 193...truth be told. Not very big in Europe, truth be told 157Now if I were... Now if I were a folksinger I’d immediately launch into... 198...in my opinion... Franklin had a few, so did Justice Brennen and in my opinion so does Judith 57Rodin....I would argue... And cheaper I would argue than fighting wave after wave of terrorism’s new 134recruits....at least what I say... Africa makes a mockery of what we say, at least what I say, about equality. 84...but I’ll tell you I’ve tried them all out but I’ll tell you this, outside this campus, and even inside 149this...it, idealism is under siege......I don’t know. Notism, Graduationism, Chismism; I don’t know. 15091690169323910619641THE LANGUAGE TEACHER 31.6 • June 2007

18 Miyazato Readers’ Forum次 に、 日 本 人 の 抱 くNS 信 仰 に 関 してだが、 鈴 木 (1999,2001) の 示 す 通 り、 西 洋 並 びに 英 語 やNSに 対 する 憧 れはエリート 的 イメージとして 広 く 受 け 入 れられており、この 問 題 を 解 決 するのは 容 易 ではない。 特 に、バトラー(2005) も 述 べているように、 日 本 のようなEFL 環 境 においては、 主 要 英 語 国 出 身 のNSによる「 本 物 」の 英 語 に 学習 者 をできるだけ 多 く 触 れさせるほうが 効 果 的 とするのが、 現 在 の 日 本 英 語 教 育 界 の 大 勢 の 見 方 であろう。しかし、Takada (2000, p. 23) によると、 学 習 者 やその 親 に 強く 見 られるNS 教 師 崇 拝 により、 第 二 言 語 取 得 の 理 論 や 最先 端 の 教 授 法 を 熟 知 している 熱 心 で 経 験 豊 富 なJTEでさえ、NS 英 語 教 師 の 前 では 見 劣 りしてしまうなど、 英 語教 育 の 現 場 でもこの 問 題 は 大 きな 影 響 を 及 ぼしている。そこで 重 要 になってくるのは、NNS 英 語 教 師 としての 適切 なアイデンティティー 確 立 であると 考 える。やみくもにNSと 競 合 したり、NSを 最 終 目 標 とするのではなく、NNS 英 語 教 師 としての 長 所 を 認 識 し、それを 授 業 に 活 用していくことである。 具 体 的 には、 英 語 のインプットを増 やすことは 重 要 だが、 最 近 の 傾 向 として 見 られる 完 全な 英 語 オンリーの 授 業 を 強 行 するより、 状 況 に 応 じて 母語 をうまく 取 り 入 れながら 授 業 を 行 うことも 大 切 なのではないか。 前 述 の 通 り、 学 生 の 心 理 やバックグラウンドなどの 学 習 者 の 心 理 面 ・ 学 習 面 や、 入 試 や 学 校 制 度 ・ 社会 規 範 などの 社 会 面 にも 精 通 し、 自 身 も 英 語 学 習 者 としての 経 験 を 持 つJTEは、 目 的 言 語 ・ 文 化 と 母 語 ・ 母 語 の文 化 をつなぐ 大 切 な 役 割 を 担 っている。NNSとしての 英語 力 やアイデンティティーを 卑 下 することなく、JTEだからこそできうることにも 目 を 向 け、 教 師 としての 指 導力 を 向 上 させていく 姿 勢 を 持 つことが 望 まれる。こうしたJTEの 取 り 組 みは、 学 習 者 や 社 会 のNS 信 仰を 軽 減 する 努 力 と 平 行 して 行 っていく 必 要 がある。そのために、 世 界 言 語 としての 英 語 教 育 を 示 していくのも、JTEの 役 目 であろう。 急 増 する 英 語 人 口 の 中 、これからは 英 語 を 母 語 としない 人 同 士 の 英 語 でのコミュニケーションが 益 々 増 えていくこと、そしてそれにより、イギリスやアメリカの 英 語 のみならず 多 様 な 英 語に 触 れていくであろう 事 を 踏 まえ、Takada (2000, p.23)も 指 摘 しているように、 特 有 のアクセントのある 外 国語 や 第 二 言 語 として 話 される 英 語 も 国 際 社 会 においては 十 分 通 用 することを 紹 介 することは、 学 習 者 に 現 実に 見 合 う 学 習 目 標 を 促 し、 結 果 として 彼 らの 自 信 を 高めることに 繋 がるであろう。また、NS-NNS 間 のコミュニケーションや 異 文 化 理解 にも 対 処 するべく、 日 本 の 教 室 内 に 多 少 なりとも多 文 化 学 習 環 境 を 作 り 出 すことも 一 案 であろう。まずは、 英 語 主 要 国 からだけでなく、Kachru (1992) の言 う、インドやシンガポールなど 植 民 地 化 により 第二 言 語 ・ 公 用 語 として 英 語 を 使 用 している 外 円 (OuterCircle) や 韓 国 、 中 国 などの 外 国 語 として 英 語 が 話 されている 拡 大 円 (Expanding Circle) の 国 々からも 有 能 な英 語 教 師 を 雇 用 し、 学 習 者 が 様 々な 英 語 や 文 化 に 触 れながら 学 習 していくことが 望 まれる。それにより、 教師 自 身 も 多 種 多 様 な 教 え 方 や 価 値 観 に 出 会 い、それが更 なる 教 師 としての 成 長 につながると 共 に、「JTEのNNS 英 語 」「ALTの 本 物 英 語 」というNS-NNS 間 の 二 極分 化 志 向 に 歯 止 めをかけ、 日 本 人 が 抱 くNS 信 仰 を 軽 減させることにも 貢 献 すると 推 察 する。終 わりにGraddol (1999) によると、もはや 外 国 語 として 英 語を 使 用 している 人 の 数 は、 英 語 を 母 語 や 公 用 語 として使 用 している 人 を、はるかに 上 回 っているという。また、Strevens (1992) は、 英 語 のNSは 世 界 の 英 語 人 口 のたった1/5と 見 積 もっており、Crystal (1997) に 至 っては、90 年 代 後 半 においてNSが3.7 億 人 、 英 語 を 第 二 言語 として 話 す 人 が3.7 億 人 、 英 語 を 外 国 語 として 話 す 人が7.5 億 人 という 具 体 的 数 値 を 提 示 している。 更 に、Canagarajah (1999) は、この 膨 大 な 英 語 人 口 を 支 える英 語 教 師 の80%がNNS 教 師 であると 述 べている。つまり、NNS 教 師 によってほとんどの 英 語 の 授 業 が 教 えられているのが 現 実 なのである。これに 鑑 み、OCを 含 めた 英 語 の 指 導 において、バトラー (2005) も 指 摘 する 通り、NS 教 師 だけに 頼 らずに 指 導 できる 体 制 作 りを 目 指すことが 肝 要 であり、 現 在 のようなJTEがNS 教 師 の 補佐 的 存 在 で 居 続 けることは、 急 速 に 変 化 している 英 語をとりまく 状 況 から 見 ても、 改 善 していかなくてはならないと 考 える。そのためにも、 英 語 を 特 定 の 国 民 が 所 有 する 言 語 としてではなく 世 界 言 語 としてみなすという 概 念 をJTE 自身 が 理 解 し、 積 極 的 に 学 習 者 に 教 育 していく 姿 勢 がわれわれJTEに 必 要 であろう。そしてNS 教 師 と 競 合 するのではなく、 互 いの 長 所 を 尊 重 し 短 所 を 補 い 合 いながら 共 生 ・ 協 力 を 目 指 すことが、この 莫 大 な 英 語 人 口 を支 えていく 上 で 重 要 であると 感 じている。 本 論 において 一 人 のJTEとして 日 本 社 会 にはびこるNS 信 仰 に 敢 えて 異 論 を 唱 えたが、これにより 日 本 における 英 語 教 育を 支 えているJTEの 意 識 や 在 り 方 が 再 考 され、よりよい学 習 ・ 教 育 環 境 になることを 期 待 してやまない。追 記 本 論 は、2006 年 8 月 7 日 開 催 の 第 14 回 関 東 地区 高 等 学 校 英 語 教 育 研 究 協 議 会 ワークショップにおいて、 筆 者 により 口 頭 発 表 された「 日 本 人 英 語 教 師Speakingにおける 役 割 と 展 望 」に 加 筆 および 修 正 したものである。参 考 文 献英 語 文 献Amin, N. (1999). Minority women teachers of ESL: Negotiatingwhite English. In G. Braine (Ed.), Non-nativeeducators in English language teaching (pp. 93-104).Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.Braine, G. (1999). From the periphery to the center:One teacher’s journey. In G. Braine (Ed.), Non-nativeeducators in English language teaching (pp. 15-28).Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.Canagarajah, A. S. (1999). Interrogating the “nativespeaker fallacy”: Non-linguistic roots, non-pedagogicalresults. In G. Braine (Ed.), Non-native educators inEnglish language teaching (pp. 77-92). Mahwah, NJ:Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.CLAIR. (The Council of Local Authorities for InternationalRelations) (2003). The JET Programme 2003-2004. Tokyo: CLAIR.Cook, V. (1999). Going beyond the native speaker inlanguage teaching. TESOL Quarterly, 33, 185-209.Crystal, D. (1997). English as a global language. Cambridge:Cambridge University Press.Ferguson, C. A. (1992). Foreword. In B. B. Kachru (Ed.),The other tongue: English across cultures (pp. xiii-xvii).Urbana: University of Illinois Press.THE LANGUAGE TEACHER 31.6 • June 2007

Readers’ Forum Miyazato 19Gorsuch, G. J. (1999). Exploring the relationship betweeneducational policy and instruction in Japanese high schoolEFL classrooms. Unpublished doctoral dissertation.Temple University.Gorsuch, G. J. (2002). Assistant foreign language teachersin Japanese high schools: Focus on the hosting ofJapanese teachers. JALT Journal, 24, 5-32.Graddol, D. (1999). The decline of the native speaker.In D. Graddol & U.H. Meinhog (Eds.), English in achanging world. AILA Review 13 (pp. 57-68). The AssociationInternationale de linguistique Appliquée.Henrichsen, L. E. (1989). Diffusion of innovations inEnglish language teaching: The ELEC effort in Japan,1956-1968. NY: Greenwood Press.Kachru, B. B. (1992). The other tongue: English across cultures(2 nd ed.). Urbana: University of Illinois Press.Kamhi-Stein, L. D. (1999). Preparing non-native professionalsin TESOL: Implications for teacher educationprograms. In G. Braine (Ed.), Non-native educators inEnglish language teaching (pp. 145-158). Mahwah, NJ:Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.Kubota, R. (1998). Ideologies of English in Japan. WorldEnglishes, 17, 295-306.Li, G. (2006). Navigating multiple roles and multiplediscourses. In G. Li & G. Beckett (Eds.), “Strangers” ofthe academy: Asian women scholars in higher education(pp. 118-133). Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing, LLC.Mahoney, S. (2004). Role controversy among teamteachers in the JET Programme. JALT Journal, 26,223-244.McConnell, D. (2000). Importing diversity: Inside Japan’sJET Program. Berkeley: University of California Press.Medgyes, P. (1992). Native or non-native: Who’s worthmore? ELT Journal, 46, 340-349.Medgyes, P. (1994). The non-native teacher. London:Macmillan.Miyazato, K. (2003). Japanese EFL learners’ anxiety innative speaker teachers’ classes. JALT Conference ‘02Proceedings, 1-8. Tokyo: JALT.Miyazato, K. (2006). Role and Power Sharing betweenNative and Non-Native EFL Teachers: Three Cases ofTeam Teaching in Japanese High Schools. Unpublisheddoctoral dissertation. Temple University.Phillipson, R. (1992). Linguistic imperialism. Oxford:Oxford University Press.Samimy, K. K., & Kobayashi, C. (2004). Toward thedevelopment of intercultural communicative competence:Theoretical and pedagogical implications forJapanese English teachers. JALT Journal, 26, 245-261.Skutnabb-Kangas, T. (2000). Linguistic human rightsand teachers of English. In J. K. Hall & W. G. Eggington(Eds.), The sociopolitics of English language teaching(pp. 22-44). Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.Skutnabb-Kangas, T.,& Phillipson, R. (in collaborationwith Rannut, M.) (1995). Linguistic human rights--Overcoming linguistic discrimination. Berlin: Moutonde Gruyter.Strevens, P. (1992). English as an international language:Directions in the 1990s. In B. B. Kachru (Ed.),The other tongue (pp. 27-47). Urbana: University ofIllinois Press.Sturman, P. (1992). Team teaching: A case study fromJapan. In D. Nunan (Ed.), Collaborative language learningand teaching (pp. 141-161). New York: CambridgeUniversity Press.Tajino, A., & Walker, L. (1998). Perspectives on teamteaching by students and teachers: Exploring foundationsfor team learning. Language, Culture, and Curriculum,11, 113-131.Takada, T. (2000). The social status of L1 Japanese EFLteachers. TESOL Matters, 10 (3), 23.Tang, C. (1997). On the power and status of nonnativeESL teachers. TESOL Quarterly, 31, 577-580.Tollefson, J. (2002). Conclusion: Looking outward. In J.Tollefson (Ed.), Language policies in education (pp. 327-337). Marwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.Wada, M. (1994). Team teaching and the revised courseof study. In M. Wada & A. Cominos (Eds.), Studies inteam teaching (pp. 7-16). Tokyo: Kenkyusha.Widdowson, H. G. (1994). The ownership of English.TESOL Quarterly, 28, 377-381.日 本 語 文 献 (50 音 順 )菅 正 隆 (2002). 「ALTが 増 えるのはいいけれど… 声 に 出 して 読んではいけないALT 問 題 」『 英 語 教 育 』11, 16-17.杉 野 俊 子 (2002). 「アジア 英 語 と 学 生 の 意 識 」『 防 衛 大 学 校 紀要 ( 人 文 科 学 篇 ) 』85, 11-31.鈴 木 孝 夫 (1999). 『 日 本 人 はなぜ 英 語 ができないか』 岩 波 書 店 .鈴 木 孝 夫 (2001). 『 英 語 はいらない?』 PHP.「 先 生 が 力 不 足 じゃ・・・ 公 立 中 「 英 語 で 授 業 」は4%だけ--文 科 省 目 標 に 遠 く」(2005, July 18). 『 読 売 新 聞 』 p. 31バトラー 後 藤 裕 子 . (2005). 『 日 本 の 小 学 校 英 語 を 考 える—アジアの 視 点 からの 検 証 と 提 言 』 三 省 堂 .文 部 科 学 省 . (2003). 『 英 語 が 使 える 日 本 人 の 育 成 のための 行動 計 画 』 文 部 科 学 省 .和 田 稔 (1996). 「AET 導 入 と 日 本 の 英 語 教 育 」『 現 代 英 語 教育 』9, 6-8.Kyoko Miyazato is an associate professor ofTESOL and EFL at Hakuoh University and holdsan EdD from Temple University.THE LANGUAGE TEACHER 31.6 • June 2007

Advert: CUP

Resources • my share 21…with Jerry TalandisWe welcome submissions for theMy Share column. Submissionsshould be up to 1000 words describinga successful technique or lessonplan you have used which can bereplicated by readers, and shouldconform to the My Share format(see any edition of The LanguageTeacher). Please send submissions to.MY SHARE ONLINEA linked index of My Share articles can be found at:Richard Hodson provides our first activitythis month, one that makes use of businesscards to practice giving and exchangingpersonal information. Next, Bob Jones offersup a reading and speaking exercise that allowsstudents to create conversations based on shortreading texts.My meishi: Usingbusiness cards toreview personalinformationRichard HodsonNagasaki College of ForeignLanguagesQuick guideKey words: Personal information, prepositions ofplace, clarification language, etiquette, roleplayLearner English level: False beginnerLearner maturity level: Final year of high school,college, or adultPreparation time: 30 minutes for the creation of aworksheetActivity time: 60 to 90 minutes depending onlearner level and time spent on optional activitiesMaterials: Real business cards, sample andblank business cards, or a worksheet featuringrepresentations of themGiving and asking for basic personal information(such as name and occupation) is one of the earliesttasks that many learners of English encounter.Similarly, spellings, numbers, and prepositions ofplace are fundamentals that appear right at thebeginning of many language courses. Mastery ofthese skills is essential for many practical tasksoutside the classroom, but their basic nature maylead teachers to assume that older students havealready acquired them. In addition, some studentsmay feel that they are being patronized byan overt focus on something so simple.The creation of business cards provides a compact,practical, and mature medium for reviewingthese skills and vocabulary. A simple communicativetask gives students speaking and listeningpractice, with an opportunity to use clarificationlanguage realistically.PreparationThis activity can be carried out using eithersample and blank business cards, or a worksheetfeaturing representations of them. Use of theworksheet requires more preparation time, but allowsspace for note-taking and can be set up withspaces for labels for a more structured lesson.Sample cards are more realistic and available forfollow-up speaking activities, but their small sizemakes them less practical and easier to lose.To add authenticity, I use a worksheet showinga scanned image of my own business card, onethat contains English information on one sideand Japanese on the other. Teachers reluctant todisclose personal information to a class in printedform might want to create a business card of afictional character or famous person as a model.ProcedureStep 1: Show a business card to the students andelicit the English word for it.Step 2: Ask your students to demonstrate andexplain to you the procedures involved in givingand receiving a business card in their homecountry.Step 3: Distribute worksheets of sample andblank business cards to the class.Step 4: As a whole class or in small groups,THE LANGUAGE TEACHER 31.6 • June 2007

22 Hodson / Jones Resources • My shareask your students to identify and appropriatelylabel the different kinds of information given onthe sample business card. Typical labels mightinclude title, name, job title/occupation, placeof work, address, telephone number, and emailaddress. The labeling may first be done in the students’L1, with a parallel business card providedfor L2 labeling. You may wish more confidentstudents to stick to L2 throughout.Step 5: Have students fill in their own personalinformation on the first blank business card. Atthis stage, the handout follows a standard format,requiring all students to enter the same informationin the same location on the card.Step 6: Once the first blank card has been filledout, students imagine that 10 years have passed.They are now doing their dream job, living perhapsin another city or country. Some studentsmay have acquired a professional title such asprofessor or doctor, while others may have marriedand possibly changed their names.Step 7: Students enter this new personal informationinto another blank business card. At thisstage, they are free to change the format or locationof the items, and add additional informationsuch as a homepage URL, logo, or picture.Step 8: Divide students into pairs and demonstratea simple roleplay activity with a pair ofvolunteers. One student plays his or her futureself, making a telephone call to a business cardprinting company to order copies of the card sheor he has designed. The other student is a representativeof the company, asking questions toelicit and confirm details of the information to beprinted, as well as the chosen design. Studentsshould not show their card designs to each otheruntil the end of the activity.Step 10: If necessary, review the vocabulary andlanguage forms that students may need to completethe task. These might include prepositionsof place (such as at the top, in the middle, on theright, or below) to describe the business card, clarificationlanguage (How do you spell that? Could yousay that again?), and for very low level students,simple questions about personal information.Step 11: While in pairs, the students can sit backto back and simulate a telephone conversation. Asthey ask and answer questions about the informationand design contained on their partner’s card,the printing company student fills in the informationon a blank card or appropriate space on theworksheet.Step 12: Students reverse roles and repeat thetask.Step 13: On completion of the task, students comparethe finished cards or worksheets, checkingthe printing company version against the originalstudent design for accuracy of information andcloseness of design.Step 14: As a follow-up activity, to provide usefuladded value for college students with an eyeon the job market, the completed business cardscan be used as props in meet and greet speakingpractice or as the basis for a mini-cultural lessonon the etiquette of giving and receiving businesscards. (Step 2 could be repeated here).From newspaperaccount toconversationalstoryBob JonesREJ English HouseQuick GuideKey Words: Conversational storytelling, spokenvs. written languageLearner English Level: Intermediate and aboveLearner Maturity: High school and aboveActivity Time: One 90-minute lesson or two 50-minute lessons.Preparation Time: Minimal, though you mayneed to spend some time looking for suitablenewspaper stories for the second part of the lessonMaterials: Story handout, worksheet, copies ofselected newspaper storiesThe lesson described in this article is based on aWorld Cup story taken from an English languagenewspaper. The lesson is designed to raise students’awareness of some of the techniques theycan use when they retell such stories in conversation.The story (Walker, 1998) appeared in the DailyYomiuri during the 1998 World Cup, and tells howa language barrier problem that occurred in anTHE LANGUAGE TEACHER 31.6 • June 2007

Resources • my share Jones 23earlier World Cup tournament inspired a Britishreferee to devise the red and yellow card systemto indicate foul play. The story provides a goodexample of a complication-resolution narrative asdescribed by Eggins and Slade (1997).ProcedureStep 1: Tell your students the story of how redand yellow cards came into being. The transcriptin Appendix A is the author’s own version. Usethis version or make up your own.Step 2: Write the following story structure on theboard and use it to elicit the main details of thestory:•••Which teams? Where? When?What happened?Why was it a problem?How did they solve it?•Step 3: Hand out the story text (Appendix A) andread it through with your students. This transcriptcontains the spoken version of the storyand the original newspaper account.Step 4: In groups, the students discuss whatdifferences there are between the two versions.To encourage discussion, suggest the followingquestions:••Which version has more dialogue?Which version gives us the name of the Argentinianplayer?Find the sentence beginning: The game wasmarred by… How is this sentence expressed inthe spoken version?•Step 5: Give out the worksheet (Appendix B) tohelp the students take a closer look at some of thedifferences. Students can work either individuallyor in pairs while doing this exercise.Step 6: Lead a whole-class discussion about whatdifferences were found and what conclusions canbe drawn about the art of telling stories in conversation.Points that could be brought up include:1. When telling a conversational story, it is notalways necessary to include facts like namesof characters and exact numbers (e.g., the factthat it was in the 36th minute).2. Use of dialogue can make the story morevivid and entertaining.3. Words and phrases like apparently and theyreckon are useful when recounting somethingyou’ve heard from another source.Step 7: Distribute newspaper accounts of otherinteresting news stories. Stories should be en-tertaining and focused on a single incident. Anexample, taken from the world of sport (the SydneyOlympics), is provided in Appendix C. Asstudents prepare their stories, remind them thatit is not essential to remember names—a womanjudo player will suffice—and that the inclusion ofsome dialogue may help to embellish the story.ConclusionConsciousness-raising activities such as the onedescribed in this article can help students increaseawareness of the typical features of conversationalstorytelling. Further practice can be givenby providing similar news stories for students toturn into conversational stories. Stories should bechosen for their entertainment value and for theirsimplicity (i.e., they should focus on one simpleincident or event without too many twists andturns). Many stories will follow the complicationresolutionstructure described above, but othersmay follow what Eggins and Slade refer to as ananecdote structure of orientation, remarkable event,reaction. As storytelling is a developmental skillthat improves with practice, it is recommendedthat students be given regular practice with thisskill throughout their course.Such stories may often be found in the insidepages of newspapers and magazines, especiallyin sections with titles such as Strange but true. Onesource I have found particularly useful is RogerBarnard’s Good News, Bad News (1998). For a moredetailed account of the structure of conversationalstories, I recommend Eggins and Slade (1997:236-272).ReferencesBarnard, R. (1998). Good news, bad news: News storiesfor listening and discussion. Oxford University Press:Oxford.Eggins, S. and Slade, D. (1997). Analysing casual conversation.London: Cassell.False Start. (2000, September 18). The Guardian.Available: Walker, J. (1998, July 2). Red card origin. The DailyYomiuri.AppendicesThe appendices can be viewed at THE LANGUAGE TEACHER 31.6 • June 2007

Advert: EFL Press

Resources • book reviews 25…with Robert TafernerIf you are interested in writing abook review, please consult the listof materials available for review inthe Recently Received column, orconsider suggesting an alternativebook that would be helpful to ourmembership.BOOK REVIEWS ONLINEA linked index of Book Reviews can be found at:This month’s column begins with a reviewof Beginners Preparing for the TOEIC Test, byCatlin Hanna. Salem Hicks then providesa thorough evaluation of Discussion Process andPrinciples, an EFL skills-based textbook with anemphasis on oral communication.TOEIC Test forBeginners[Frank Graziani. Tokyo: Hokuseido, 2005.pp. 217. ¥2,000. ISBN: 4-590-01183-2.]Reviewed by Catlin Hanna, IwatePrefectural University/MoriokaJr. CollegeWith TOEIC Test for Beginners instructors nowhave another choice of textbook aimed at lowlevelstudents with little or no experience withthe TOEIC test. The text follows the same styleand format as the TOEIC, but with simplifiedvocabulary and structure. This sounded ideal formy class of 10 second-year junior college studentsjust starting to look for jobs or prepare for universitytransfer exams.The book begins with an overview of the TOE-IC test with tips and tricks for each section. Theremainder of the book is organized into twelveunits titled mini practice tests. Each unit focuseson one grammar point, such as pronoun agreement,infinitives, and gerunds. The units consistof five questions for each of the three types ofTOEIC Listening Comprehension questions followedby fifteen incomplete sentence questionsand fifteen error recognition questions. These arefollowed by four short reading passages withthree questions accompanying each passage. Atthe end of the book is one full-length practice testwith questions testing all of the grammar pointsthat have been covered. Since the text is organizedby grammar point, a pre-test that identifiedthe grammar point tested in each question andallowed students to identify their weak areas inadvance would have been a nice addition, as wellas a Japanese translation of the unit titles.What this textbook has that many others donot have is a separate Japanese supplement thatintroduces the TOEIC test and gives hints foreach section, a concise translation and explanationof every question, and complete transcriptsof the listeningsection. Even thereading passagesare translated,assuringthat studentscan thoroughlyunderstand theirmistakes, ratherthan simplycheck whetheror not they havechosen the correctanswer. I believethis supplementis essential forstudents at the beginner level, and because it isa separate book, instructors can easily control itsuse in the classroom.Unfortunately, the book makes no mention ofthe changes to the TOEIC implemented in May2006. These changes include, among others,elimination of the error recognition questionsthat feature prominently in this textbook and therequirement for test-takers to answer questionsby reading two interrelated passages instead of asingle passage. TOEIC Test for Beginners containsonly questions based on single reading passages.In an effort to make the test more closely resemblereal-world situations, the creators of the TOE-IC exam have also modified the listening sectionto include a variety of English accents instead ofonly American English (Ewing, 2006).As this is a textbook for beginners, the limitationsI have pointed out do not significantlylessen its usefulness. The students that I used thetextbook with found the book quite helpful. A fewstudents said it was a bit too easy for them, butTHE LANGUAGE TEACHER 31.6 • June 2007

26 Hanna / Hicks Resources • book reviewsmost found the review and focus on one grammarpoint at a time very effective. We devotedone 60-minute class period to each chapter ofthe book, doing one half of the exercises in classand the other half as homework. This was ratherawkward because if the students were confusedabout a question, it was much easier for them toread the Japanese explanation in the supplementthan listen to my English explanation. I decidedto have the students refrain from looking atthe Japanese explanation in class and insteadfocus on my explanation in English, lettingthem consult the supplement outside of class forfurther study. This strategy worked fairly well,but in the end I felt that the book is really moresuited to self-study than classroom use especiallyif the medium of class instruction is English. Thisview is supported by Robb and Ercanbrack's(1999) study of the effect of test preparationon the TOEIC scores of Japanese universitystudents. They found that TOEIC preparatorymaterials are of little benefit to students enrolledin a comprehensive program of English studybut may boost the scores of students enrolled inuniversity-level general English courses.In light of this research, I think TOEIC Test forBeginners would be a good choice for a universityself-access study center or for students doingindependent test preparation. It provides goodsupplementary material for high beginning levelstudents with no TOEIC experience who arestarting to prepare for the exam and any studentneeding basic grammar review with Japanesesupport.ReferencesEwing, T. (2006). New TOEIC® test premieres in Japanand Korea. Retrieved October 10, 2006 from .Robb, T., & Ercanbrack, J. (1999). A study of the effectof direct test preparation on the TOEIC scores ofJapanese university students. TESL-EJ 3(4).Is your membership due forrenewal?Check the label on the envelope this TLTcame in for your renewal date, then go to and followthe easy instructions to register. Help us tohelp you! Renew early!Discussion Processand Principles[Charles LeBeau & David Harrington.Eugene, Oregon: Language Solutions,2006. pp. vi + 126. ¥2,180. ISBN: 1-929274-77-7; CD ¥3,480. ISBN:9781929274796; Teacher’s Book ¥5,040.ISBN:9781929274802]Reviewed by Salem K. Hicks,Kyoto Sangyo University, GALE-SIGAlthough the concept is still somewhat controversial,several prominent researchers since the 1970shave advocated the benefits of helping learnersdevelop an awareness of the learning process andstrategies to help them learn. Recent studies haveshown that students are positively influenced bystrategy training in oral communication (Nakatani,2005; Naughton, 2006). Many EFL studentsin Japan often struggle to understand how toengage in a Western-style discussion and thuswould most likely benefit from a step-by-stepunderstanding of the process and principles ofdiscussion.Discussion Processand Principles is aninteresting EFL skillsbasedtextbook whichattempts to makediscussion strategiesmore explicit tostudents. This bookis aimed at studentswho need to learnhow to understandand construct a discussionin English. Itprovides some verynecessary skills forstudents to improve their metacognitive abilitiesin oral communication and addresses many of thecommon problems that Japanese students face.The textbook is divided into three distinctDiscussion Stages: sharing, exploring, and decisionmaking. The authors have identified sevendiscussion techniques which they call loops: sharingexperiences; sharing ideas; exploring positions;searching for the best position; identifyingcriteria; listing the options; and choosing the bestTHE LANGUAGE TEACHER 31.6 • June 2007

Resources • book reviews Hicks 27solution. Each loop is ruled by a different discussionprinciple such as respecting every voice,celebrating all ideas, and looking to your values.Discussion labs introduce and practice the mainpoints of the unit. A short scenario introduceseach discussion topic followed by backgroundinformation. Students are not overwhelmed byinput information and so are allowed to focusmore on the discussion techniques. They areencouraged to share the results of their discussionwith other classmates through various extensionactivities.Although the accompanying CD contains severallistening activities that tend to be somewhatover-dramatised, they illustrate the aims of theactivities and are easy for students to understand.In each loop there is a listening activity illustratingthe discussion principle. The first listeninggives an example of a poor or failed discussionfollowed by some comprehension as well asreflective questions. Then a second listening isgiven in which the participants utilize the targetprinciple, suggesting a more desirable outcome.These listening activates are very effective inexposing dysfunctional tactics and illustratingsuperior discussion examples.The teacher's manual helped me to betterunderstand the intentions of the authors. Theirapproach is thoughtful and deserves attentionto fully appreciate and effectively utilize thesematerials. I tested activities in the textbook withhigh beginner to low intermediate non-Englishmajors. The students enjoyed many of the playfulillustrations, which often illustrate the pointof each activity. The first discussion stage focuseson sharing personal experiences, where studentsfound being a good listener and being an activeand supportive participant to be particularlyinsightful and enlightening. The activity on beinga good listener identifies many of the classicbehaviours that present obstacles to a functionaldiscussion group. As the book is illustrated welland has an accompanying audio track, studentscould recognize their behaviour in a discussiongroup and examine attitudes and actions that aremore appropriate. After I tested this activity withstudents, many of them reported in their learningjournals that they are now conscious of thepositive and negative affects of their behaviourduring their group discussions. This has subsequentlylead to more effective and meaningfulinteractions for many students.In attempting to approach discussion in aunique way, the textbook does incur some weaknesses.The book includes activities to encouragereflective learning such as answering self-assessmentquestions at the end of a group discussion.Students are also asked to reflect on their performanceand to consider how they can improvetheir discussion. One glaring omission is thatstudents are not asked to reflect on whether ornot they spoke English in their discussions. Also,the text does not include any vocabulary, pronunciation,or grammar building exercises. It does,however, provide a useful phrase bank just beforeeach model discussion, and students are encouragedto check which phrases they have used intheir discussions.Overall, Discussion Process and Principles is wellthought out and is a valuable resource for decodingdiscussion techniques for lower to mid-levelJapanese students. Its most important contributionto EFL pedagogy perhaps is that it makessalient many of the techniques that native Englishspeakers utilize so naturally during a discussion.It is a wonderful alternative to the multitude oftextbooks which offer stimulating discussion possibilitiesbut which fail to equip students with thenecessary discussion skills and strategies.ReferencesNakatani, Y. (2005). The effects of awareness-raisingtraining on oral communication strategy use. TheModern Language Journal, 89(1), 76-91.Naughton, D. (2006). Cooperative strategy training andoral interaction: Enhancing small group communicationin the language classroom. The Modern LanguageJournal, 90(2), 169-184.CHALLENGINGLOOKING INLOOKING OUTASSUMPTIONSJALT200722–25 Nov 2007National OlympicsMemorial YouthCenter, TokyoTHE LANGUAGE TEACHER 31.6 • June 2007

28 Resources • Recently Received…with Scott GardnerA list of textbooks and resource books for languageteachers available for review in TLT and JALT Journal.RECENTLY RECEIVED ONLINEAn index of books available for review can be found at:* = first notice; ! = final notice. Final notice itemswill be removed June 30. For queries please writeto the appropriate email address below.Books for Students (reviewed in TLT)Contact: Scott Gardner* 日 本 人 が 知 らない 英 語 の 必 須 フレーズ150 [150Essential English Idiomatic Expressions (ThatJapanese Don’t Know)]. Bintliff, J., & Morita, H.Tokyo: Kenkyusha, 2007.* The Active Learner: Communication Strategies forthe Real World, Book 1. Maybin, D. W., & Maher,J. J. Tokyo: Macmillan Languagehouse, 2007.[Incl. class CD, teacher’s manual].* Adventures Abroad: English for Successful Travel.Fuller, D., & Cleary, K. Tokyo: MacmillanLanguagehouse, 2007. [Incl. class CD, teacher’smanual].! Countries of the World (elementary/intermediatereader series of 24 books, including Canada,Kenya, Vietnam, etc.). Dahl, M., et al. Mankato,MN: Bridgestone, 1999.* Encounters Abroad. Critchley, M. P. Tokyo:Nan’un-do, 2007. [Incl. two editions, with orwithout Japanese rubrics and support; studentCDs; mini-workbooks; teacher’s edition; onlinesupport].Language and Our World. Clankie, S., & Kobayashi,T. Tokyo: Sanshusha, 2007. [Incl. CD, teacher’smanual].! Lecture Ready: Strategies for Academic Listening,Note-taking, and Discussion (levels 1, 2, 3). Sarosy,P., et al. Oxford: Oxford University Press,2007. [Incl. DVDs].* Making Friends 1: Social English for Adult Learners.Williamson, D., & Williamson, M. Tokyo:Macmillan Languagehouse, 2006. [Incl. classCD, teacher’s manual].* Tactics for TOEIC Speaking and Writing Tests.Trew, G. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006.[Incl. CDs, answer key, tapescript].Books for Teachers(reviewed in JALT Journal)Contact: Yuriko Kite* The Art of Teaching Spanish: Second LanguageAcquisition from Research to Praxis. Salaberry, R.,& Lafford, B. A. Washington, D.C.: GeorgetownUniversity Press, 2006.The Experience of Language Teaching (CambridgeLanguage Teaching Library series). Senior, R.Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006.A Friendly Approach to English for Academic Purposes.Strain, S. S. Tokyo: Shohakusha, 2006.THE LANGUAGE TEACHER 31.6 • June 2007

Resources • TLT Wired 29THE LANGUAGE TEACHER…with Paul Daniels& Malcolm SwansonIn this column, we explore the issue ofteachers and technology—not just as itrelates to CALL solutions, but also toInternet, software, and hardware concernsthat all teachers face.TLT WIRED ONLINEAs well as our feature columns, wewould also like to answer readerqueries. If you have a question,problem, or idea you’d like discussedin this column, please emailus or visit our website at:The next net:Digital broadcastingPaul DanielsKochi University of TechnologyWith the success of sites such as YouTube,iTunes, and Blip.tv, video over theInternet has finally hit the mainstream.It is an exciting chapter in the history of languageteaching, given the fact that a wealth of authenticvideo content can be uncovered with a few clicksof your mouse. While finding video on the Internetis rather straightforward, competing mediaplayers, incompatible video formats, and missingcodecs make for treacherous waters as we developand deliver video content for classroom use.This month’s Wired column focuses on familiarizingreaders with the basic concepts of digitalvideo formats and recommends software andsites for searching, recording, and streaming digitalvideo content.Let’s start with a basic overview of the commonvideo formats used to broadcast video over theInternet. There certainly are many more videoformats than listed below, but the listed formatsare the most popular. A helpful comparison ofdigital video formats is located at: .Basic video formats• (mpeg) Mpeg-2 is most commonly associatedwith DVDs. DVDs consist of VOB files whichare essentially mpeg-2 files. High-definitionDVD and High-definition TV can also usempeg-2 video compression. Mpeg-2 is finefor shorter video clips, but because of its highvideo bit rate, it is not recommended for distributionof full length movies over the Internet.• (mp4) Mpeg-4 evolved from the QuickTime fileformat. It has a considerable lower video bitrate than its predecessor (mpeg-2) and thereforeit consumes much less digital bandwidth.Video files downloaded from the Apple Storeare in the mpeg-4 format. In addition, the videoyour students shoot with their mobile phoneswith the .3gp file extension is based on mpeg-4.Since mpeg-4 is scalable, it can be used to sendand receive video on devices ranging from cellphones to satellite TVs. Mpegs can be viewedusing QuickTime or VLC player. WindowsMedia Player will most likely need additionalcodecs installed to view mpeg video.• (flv) Flash video or FLV is a format developedby Adobe Systems (originally Macromedia).If you are an avid YouTube addict, you canappreciate Flash video. Because of its lowbandwidth consumption, it is ideal for deployinge-Learning content as well. Although Flashvideo is a proprietary format, the flash mediaplayer is available for free for both Macintoshand Windows platforms.• (rm) RealMedia is another variable videobitrate format like mpeg-4 but is even morecompact; it only consumes 2-5 megabytes perminute of video. It is ideal for streaming videoover the Internet but requires users to downloadand install the Real Player which is availablein both Macintosh and Windows versions.• (wmv) Windows Media Video is a popularformat for delivering video over the Internetbut can also be used for distributing highdefinition video. Unsurprisingly, WMV filesTHE LANGUAGE TEACHER 31.6 • June 2007

30 Daniels Resources • TLT Wiredplay best if using Windows Media Player on aWindows computer but can also be opened usingQuickTime if you install a helper applicationcalled Flip4Mac. Windows Media Player 9is available for Macintosh but the audio codecsupport is weak.• (divx) DivX is a compressed digital videoformat or codec that was originally developedto deliver movies over the Internet. It startedout as free software, but it is now proprietaryand is based on the mpeg-4 video format so thevideo quality and compression is fairly good.Note that DivX encoded video files can havean .avi file extension. DivX players are readilyavailable for both Mac and Windows users.• (xvid) Xvid is an open source video codecdesigned to run on most computer platforms.It is also based on the mpeg-4 format so it hasgood video compression without much loss ofpicture quality.Downloading and recording from thewebOnce you have installed your basic media players,such as Flash player, QuickTime, WindowsMedia player, and Real player, watching video onyour PC is as easy as pointing and clicking. Butonce you get hooked on watching the latest onlinevideos, you may want to learn to record andsave video from the web to use in the classroom.Unfortunately, depending on the type of mediayou wish to download, you need to downloadand install separate applications.One of the easiest methods to download flv,mov, avi or mp4 files from the web is to use afree Firefox extension called VideoDownloader. After downloading, for example,a video from YouTube, you must change thefile extension to .flv since YouTube videos aredelivered in the Flash format. Finally, to play thevideo, download the popular VLC media playeravailable for Windows, Macintosh, and Linuxfrom .To download streaming video such as WindowsMedia, try an application called SDP or theStreaming Download Project .Downloading a video is not a simple one-clickprocess like it is with VideoDownloader. First youmust copy the URL media target, which wouldbe an .asx file for Windows media, and then pastethe URL into the SDP application before downloadingit. The SDP website offers a nice tutorialon how to use their software, but the applicationis only available for Windows.Replay A/V is a Windows shareware applicationthat claims to be able to capture video streamsfrom Windows Media, Real Media, streamingMP3, Flash animations, and Flash video. It can bedownloaded from .Converting filesWith all of the competing video formats, compressionrates, and codecs available, matchinga video file with the appropriate player can bedownright frustrating, particularly when thecodec is designed for a specific platform, typicallyeither for a Macintosh or for Windows. There willundoubtedly be occasions when you need to convertvideo files to be able to play them with yourmedia player or times when you want to compressa video file for web distribution. One of themore likely scenarios film enthusiasts face is theprogression from mpeg2 to mpeg4. Most movies,for example, are stored on DVDs, which arein mpeg-2 format. If you wish to create a digitallibrary and stream media using, for example, thepopular Apple TV console, or if you want to playyour DVD movies on your iPod, you will needto convert your media to mpeg-4. To distributevideo files to a larger audience of students, convertingyour files to Flash is recommended.Here are some freeware or shareware videoconversion tools:• CinemaForge A free application for Windows thatallows you to convert between mpg-4, Flash,AVI, Windows Media video, Real Video.• SUPER orthe Simplified Universal Player Encoder & Rendereris just that: an application that both convertsand plays almost any type of multimedia file. Itis freeware for Windows.• Riva FLV Encoder < rivavx.com/?encoder> is asimple Windows application that encodes yourvideo files to Flash video format.• Handbrake has developeda free application called MediaFork forWindows, Macintosh and Linux users thatcan convert DVDs to mpeg-4 for your iPod orApple TV.• MP4 Converter offers Apple users several shareware videoconversion tools on their website.• MyCometG3 is a site in Japan that offers severalQuickTime video conversion tools for Macintoshusers.THE LANGUAGE TEACHER 31.6 • June 2007

Resources • TLT Wired Daniels 31• VisualHub claims “Fast conversion from nearlyevery video format to iPod, PSP, DV, DVD,Tivo, AVI, MP4, WMV, MPEG and Flash,”although the speed will really depend on yourhardware.Video download locationsNow that you have the video codecs and conversionsworked out, it’s time to discover somevideo content. While YouTube seems to bedominating the video sharing market, several lessknown sites are striving to catch up. Here are afew up and coming sites:• Veoh is a promising videosharing site similar to YouTube. Its vision is tobecome a virtual television network, distributingfull screen TV quality video. It’s P2P (peerto-peer)network and unlimited file space foruploading video makes it a popular video site.• TV-Links is a simple videosharing startup site with a good selection ofpopular TV shows and some movies with apreference towards UK shows, although deadlinks and lack of full screen video can be frustratingfor users.• TVARK offers viewers a televisionmuseum. Historical television programsare being archived and can be viewed in realvideo format to bring back memories. Most ofthe content on the site is delivered using RealVideo.• TIOTI could be thenext great startup but it hasn’t really gotten offthe ground yet. Their website claims to indexmore than 2,000 TV shows and 90,000 episodes.Currently they are only accepting beta users. Iregistered for an account a few weeks ago buthave not yet heard anything.• Joost , a startup from the sameinnovators of Skype and Kazaa, fuses televisionwith the Internet, allowing users to searchvideo content from websites as well as flipthrough hundreds of TV channels. Currently ithas over 80 TV channels listed to offer contentover the Internet. You can even create yourvery own TV channel.• SuTree is another beta site that allowsusers to search video lessons, for example,on how to play classical guitar or on howto how to introduce yourself in French. Sutteeis a video search engine and doesn’t host anyvideo content; it simply links to video contenton other websites.Be aware of adult content, pop-ups and malicioussoftware, and copyright laws when visitingvideo sites.Streaming videoIf you have a large video collection that you wishto stream to a number of users, for example, tostudents in a CALL environment, you can convertthe media to Flash and use Flash Media Server,especially if multiple users will be accessing thesame content concurrently. For video contentthat will not be accessed concurrently, try eithermpeg-4 with QuickTime or .wmv with WindowsMedia Player.To stream video content to a TV, give Apple TVa try. I recently purchased one and was pleasantlysurprised with its wireless streaming capabilities.Note that you need a newer HDTV or at least aTV with an RGB component jack. Out of the box,Apple TV only streams mpeg-4 files; the type ofvideo files downloaded from iTunes. If you areinterested in using an Apple TV to play other fileformats, there is an excellent article on hackingyour Apple TV at .JALT Journalis a refereed researchjournal of the JapanAssociation forLanguage Teaching( 全 国 語 学 教 育 学 会 ).It invites practical andtheoretical articlesand research reportson second/foreignlanguage teaching andlearning in Japaneseand Asian contexts.For more informationand submissionguidelines see THE LANGUAGE TEACHER 31.6 • June 2007

Advert: Nellie’s

JALT Focus • JALT Notices 33…with Joseph SheehanJALT Focus contributors arerequested by the column editor tosubmit articles of up to 750 wordswritten in paragraph format andnot in abbreviated or outline form.Announcements for JALT Noticesshould not exceed 150 words. Allsubmissions should be made by the15th of the month, one and a halfmonths prior to publication.JALT FOCUS ONLINEA listing of notices and news can be found at:JALT CalendarListings of major upcoming events in the organisation.For more information, visit JALT’s website , orsee the SIG and chapter event columns later in this issue.}}}}1-3 Jun 2007: JALTCALL 2007 “CALL: Integrationor Disintegration” at Waseda University, Tokyo. See for more information.16-17 Jun 2007: National Executive Board Meeting(EBM); Tokyo Medical and Dental University inOchanomizu (same as January meeting)24 Jun 2007: TOL/Pragmatics SIG Mini-Conference“Authentic English and Elderly Learners: A Day of SharingTheory and Practice” at Temple University, Tokyo22-25 Nov 2007: JALT2007 “Challenging Assumptions:Looking In, Looking Out” at the National OlympicsMemorial Youth Center, Tokyo.JALT WatchJALT National news and announcements in brief.} If you need to contact JALT Central Office, note that theemail address is now .JALT NoticesJALT CalendarAn oft-overlooked feature of the JALT Calendaris its keitai phone capabilities. You can look upJALT events by month, by prefecture, or by group(chapter or SIG) through your phone. Visit on your mobile phone, or usethe QR code printed in each month’s TLT on thechapter events page.JALT2007 Job Information CenterJob adverts are now being accepted for the JobInformation Center at the next JALT conference.The Center provides employers an opportunityto advertise for staff at no cost. Interview facilitiesare also available. If you would like to place anotice, contact Kent Hill .Best of JALTBest of JALT is a 10-year-old program to honorthe speakers who make JALT’s local and regionalmeetings such valuable experiences. Everychapter and SIG in JALT has the opportunity toname the person who gave the best presentationin the 2006 calendar year. Nominations should besubmitted to Margaret Orleans by September 15th. Certificates will bepresented at the JALT2007 conference OrdinaryGeneral Meeting.Margaret OrleansBest of JALT CoordinatorPublications positions availableThe Language Teacher and JALT Journal. . . are looking for people to fill the positionsof English language proofreaders and Japaneselanguage proofreaders.JALT2007 Conference Proceedings. . . is seeking qualified candidates for the positionof Co-Editor for the 2007 volume.Publications website editorThe JALT Publications Board invites applicationsfor the position of Web Editor for the JALT Publicationswebsite.More informationJob descriptions and details on applying for thesepositions are posted on our website .THE LANGUAGE TEACHER 31.6 • JUNE 2007

34 JALT Focus • Showcase…with Theron MullerMember’s Profile is a columnwhere members are invited tointroduce themselves to TLT’sreadership in 750 words or less.Research interests, professionalaffiliations, current projects, andpersonal professional developmentare all appropriate content.Please address inquiries to theeditor.This month in Showcase Paul Moritoshi,author of Basic Parts of Speech (ThomsonLearning Japan, 2007), shares his textbookwriting experience. Have your own story toshare? I look forward to hearing from you.SHOWCASEPaul MoritoshiDuring a JALT presentation I gave on writingpublishing proposals, it was suggested that fearof rejection is one reason people don’t submitproposals for textbook ideas. In this column I aimto persuade you to overcome such worries andmake your idea a reality.First, writing a publishing proposal is not theoverwhelming task publisher websites mightmake it seem. It takes time, thought, and work,but can be broken into smaller, manageable tasks.Prioritise these tasks then deal with each in turn.Remember, if a publisher rejects your idea, it’stheir loss not yours: submitto other publishers.Writing a textbook isdefinitely not a solitaryactivity. Feedback and suggestionsfrom friends andcolleagues are invaluable.Also, once your proposal isaccepted, your editor willoffer advice to help completethe book. Publishingbrings various rewards,including a healthier bankbalance, an enhanced résumé, and presentationopportunities. I have also learnt much about thepublishing industry that will be useful in futureventures and have enhanced my project managementskills. Perhaps I have also won somemeasure of respect and admiration from mypeers. However, the most valuable benefit is areinforced belief in my own potential. So, if I cando it, what’s stopping you?34 JALT Focus • Grassroots…with Joyce Cunningham &Mariko MiyaoThe co-editorswarmly invite 750-word reports onevents, groups, orresources withinJALT in English,Japanese, or acombination ofboth.In our first report, Kevin Ryan believes thatmoney is the plasma in the lifeblood of JALT’svolunteers. In the second report, Rie Shoji,one of our precious volunteers at JALT2006,shares her experiences and insights with us all.Incoming! Treasurer!Watch out!As I get older, I find myself gravitating to activitiesthat require greater and greater attention todetail. I would guess that money might be theholy grail for JALT volunteersin that arena. What is it like tobe JALT’s incoming NationalTreasurer? As I’m writing thisarticle for a purely selfish reason(I’m looking for a replacement),I figure that giving a littleinsight into the job will make itless foreboding, especially withesoterics like balance sheets,liabilities, and cash flow. At thispoint, I have been treasurer for a mere 2 weeks,so you are all getting the bright, doe-eyed versionTHE LANGUAGE TEACHER 31.6 • JUNE 2007

JALT Focus • Grassroots 35of events, with a tinge of experience beginningto show through the shadow of the capable pasttreasurer, Peter Wanner.I’ve been able to continue, for the last 23 years,working with JALT through a regimen of volunteeringfor a position, then stepping back for ayear, then returning to a different position. First Iwas in the Tokyo chapter during the roaring 90s,supporting president Don Modesto and a crackteam organizing the first JALT mini-conferences(annual chapter conferences before SIGs existed)with some 400 people attending over a weekend.We would use the phone and fax and were discoveringthis thing called email. We had face-tofacemeetings and learned the ropes of conferenceorganizing together: little details like “Why don’twe put signs over the doors to change the confusingnumber system (Room 2L3D6) to one thateveryone can understand (Room 206)?”After acting as VP, secretary, and newslettereditor for the Tokyo chapter, it was on to the newthing—SIGs. A founding member of CALL, Ihelped Kazunori Nozawa and David Kluge getthings rolling. I later became secretary, then presidentof the SIG, and finally became editor of theSIG’s newsletter, C@lling Japan. I’m still on theperiphery of the CALL SIG.About 4 years ago, there was a change of guardat JALT, and Alan MacKenzie got me involvedat the national level assisting business managerMark Zeid set up the publishers’ area at theconference (aka EME). After a couple of yearsdoing the EME in Shizuoka, I took a year off andthen succeeded Mark as the business manager for2 years. Steve Brown convinced me that it wasPeter Wanner who needed a break more than me,so here I am, heading up a team of more than 60money-handlers.Building a team is the best part of JALT. I’velucked out again by being on a new crack team,the board of directors. It sounds intimidating, butwith guidance from past officers, the tasks aremerely a challenge. With regular effort, it doesn’tovertake my life, my wife, my daughters, mypaying hobby (work), or my bicycling.Now I am looking forward to building thefinancial team to serve JALT through belt tightening.I’ve got wonderful support from all sides.Outgoing treasurer Peter Wanner has set up a solidprocess that I hope to streamline and automatewith my computer skills. Since I have almost noaccounting skills, I am glad to report that I amable to count on the support of the office staff andvolunteers like Robert Swanson, Kevin Cleary,and Barry Mateer, who all bring continuity andexpertise. I’m most happy when working withpeople, and the financial team is big—comprisingover 60 people. A million details can seem dauntingat first, but if broken down and reassembled,the manual becomes a Wiki, an FAQ, and spreadsheetsget pop-up definitions. It all becomes moremanageable.So if this appears enticing, sign up to become achapter or SIG treasurer, or ask someone in thisposition to show you what they do. It may seemdry at first, but when you consider that money isthe plasma in the lifeblood of volunteers in an organizationlike JALT, it gains a whole new frisson.If you look at money as bottled up time, it alsobecomes a tool to help make JALT work better.As I carry on a small part of the work JALTdoes, I look forward to having fun building adynamic team. I’ve already spent 2 days at thecentral office, 2 weekends at meetings, and hoursand hours learning spreadsheets. The interactionsare invigorating. Can’t beat that.Kevin RyanShowa Women’s UniversityStudent volunteer:Out of the classroomFor 3 days last November, I took part in theJALT2006 conference in Kitakyushu as a volunteer.Later, my teacher, Andrew Zitzmann,encouraged me to write about and share myexperiences. I was exposed to a lot of wonderfulthings there, which I would never have knownhad I only been in the classroom. In addition, volunteeringhelped me practice my English. Therewere so many foreigners that I wondered sometimeswhether I was really in Japan or not. SinceI've never been abroad, this experience was reallycool. First of all, I was surprised by the generalmood, since I had imagined the conference wouldbe silent and formal. However, I realized I wascompletely wrong. It was like a party. WheneverI had free time, I could take a break, look aroundthe EME, and get some sample textbooks.What pleased me most was that I made friendsand talked with them in English. They wereuniversity students, too, and were majoring inEnglish. In my case, I am not majoring in English,and I hardly ever study it in my college, so it wasinstructive for me to talk to my new-found friendsand to know how they study English in university.THE LANGUAGE TEACHER 31.6 • JUNE 2007

36 JALT Focus • GrassrootsEach day, my job involved setting up the projectorsbefore speeches as well as helping presentersconnect their laptops to the equipment. Almostnone of the presenters could speak Japanese.Others did not speak it even though they wereJapanese. In addition to having to communicatein English, five or six times I had to answer questionsalone, without any help. Of course, I didn'tspeak beautiful English nor could I listen to orunderstand all the words, so I was really tired bythe end of the first day. However, on the secondand third day, my ears gradually got used tospoken English and I also got into the rhythm ofconversation. After that, I enjoyed short dialoguesthat had nothing to do with my job. Little by little,I realized that we can continue a conversationin English if we don’t give up and say, “I’m sorry.I can’t speak English.” In my opinion, if Japanesestudents are to study English communicationat schools, MEXT should offer more opportunitieslike I had at the conference. Each day, therewere words I didn’t know and other situationsin which I had to explain my feelings or ideas. Irealized I needed to study, and this inspired me tostudy more.Since my job was to set up projectors and helppresenters with equipment, I couldn't listen toany speeches, but fortunately, I was able to listento one discussion. The presentation was aboutthe best time for students to go abroad and study.I was really interested in this topic because I amgoing to England to study English this April.According to the discussion, they recommendedstudying abroad from high school on. Therewere several reasons given for doing this. First,if young people go during their childhood, theyrisk not being educated by their parents aboutthe rules of their society. Second, it may be moredifficult for them to understand a foreign culture.Finally, children may forget their valuable experiencesand lose the English skills they learnedwhile abroad. I couldn't catch many of the details,but the presenters first explained their ideasclearly and then repeated them a couple of timeswith some illustrations, which I appreciated.Sometimes they made jokes and laughed. Had Ibeen able to understand the presentation better, Iwould have enjoyed it even more.Anyway, I was glad to be able to communicatewith others in English. This conference influencedme deeply and I love English more than before.Rie ShojiNishinippon Institute of Technology (NIT)Kitakyushu, Fukuoka36 Column • SIG News…with James HobbsJALT currently has 16 SpecialInterest Groups (SIGs) availablefor members to join. This columnpublishes announcements ofSIG events, mini-conferences,publications, or calls for papers andpresenters. SIGs wishing to printnews or announcements shouldcontact the editor by the 15thof the month, 6 weeks prior topublication.SIGs at a glanceKey: [ = keywords ] [ & = publications ] [ ó =other activities ] [ ô = email list] [ ^ = online forum]Note: For contacts & URLs, please see the Contacts page.Bilingualism[ bilingualism, biculturality, international families, childraising,identity ] [ & Bilingual Japan—4x year ] [ ómonographs, forums ] [ ô ]Our group has two broad aims: to support familieswho regularly communicate in more than onelanguage and to further research on bilingualismin Japanese contexts. See our website at for more information.当 研 究 会 は 複 数 言 語 で 生 活 する 家 族 および 日 本 におけるバイリンガリズム 研 究 の 支 援 を 目 的 としています。どうぞホームページのをご 覧 下 さい。Computer Assisted Language Learning[ technology, computer-assisted, wireless, online learning,self-access ] [ & JALT CALL Journal Newsletter—3xyear ] [ ó Annual SIG conference, national conference,regional workshops, publications ] [ ô ] [ ^ ]The JALTCALL Conference 2007 CALL: Integrationor Disintegration? is scheduled for 1-3 Junand will offer the opportunity to attend severalTHE LANGUAGE TEACHER 31.6 • JUNE 2007

Column • SIG News 37excellent, exciting, and innovative presentations.The featured speaker is Mike Levy from GriffithUniversity; our plenary speaker is YasunariHarada, Professor of Law at Waseda University,Director of the Institute for Digital Enhancementand Cognitive Development, and member of theResearch and Development Team of the JapanesePhonePass® Automated Speaking Test. More at.College and University Educators[ tertiary education, interdisciplinary collaboration, professionaldevelopment, classroom research, innovative teaching] [ & On CUE —3x year ] [ ó Annual SIG conference,national conference, regional workshops, publications ]Information about what is going on in CUE canbe found at .Check for regular updates on the 15th of each month.Gender Awareness in LanguageEducationThe GALE SIG, in collaboration with other JALTSIGs and the Osaka Chapter, will hold a 2-dayconference 6-7 Oct. The plenary lecture is Genderand Leadership: Some Socio-Pragmatic Considerations,by Janet Holmes, Victoria Universityof Wellington, followed by a discussion on 6 Oct18:00-20:00 at TUJ-Osaka campus. On 7 Oct thereare paper presentations 10:00-17:00 at KansaiUniversity and a panel presentation with JanetHolmes as the discussant. More information at.Global Issues in Language Education[ global issues, global education, content-based languageteaching, international understanding, world citizenship] [ & Global Issues in Language Education Newsletter—4xyear ] [ ó Sponsor of Peace as a Global Language(PGL) conference ] [ ô ] [ ^ ]Are you interested in promoting global awarenessand international understanding throughyour teaching? Then join the Global Issues inLanguage Education SIG. We produce an excitingquarterly newsletter packed with news, articles,and book reviews; organize presentations for local,national, and international conferences; andnetwork with groups such as UNESCO, AmnestyInternational, and Educators for Social Responsibility.Join us in teaching for a better world!Our website is . Forfurther information, contact Kip Cates .Japanese as a Second Language[ Japanese as a second language ] [ & 日 本 語 教 育ニュースレター Japanese as a Second Language Newsletter—4xyear ] [ ó Annual general meeting at the JALTconference ] [ ô ]2007 年 4 月 2 日 にニュースレター6 号 を 発 行 しました。 会 員 でないかたで、サンプルを 希 望 の 方 はお 送 りしますので、イーメールで 連 絡 ください。We published our bilingual newsletter #6 on 2Apr 2007. The newsletter is sent to all JSL SIGmembers. Sample copies are available to nonmemberson request.Junior and Senior High School[ curriculum, native speaker, JET programme, JTE, ALT, internationalization] [ & The School House—3-4x year ] [ ó teacherdevelopment workshops & seminars, networking, open mics ][ ô ]The JSH SIG is operating at a time of considerablechange in secondary EFL education. Therefore,we are concerned with language learning theory,teaching materials, and methods. We are also intenselyinterested in curriculum innovation. Thelarge-scale employment of native speaker instructorsis a recent innovation yet to be thoroughlystudied or evaluated. JALT members involvedwith junior or senior high school EFL are cordiallyinvited to join us for dialogue and professionaldevelopment opportunities.Learner Development[ autonomy, learning, reflections, collaboration, development] [ & Learning Learning, 2x year; LD-Wired, quarterlyelectronic newsletter ] [ ó Forum at the JALT national conference,annual mini-conference/retreat, printed anthologyof Japan-based action research projects ] [ ô ]Materials Writers[ materials development, textbook writing, publishersand publishing, self-publication, technology ] [ & Betweenthe Keys—3x year ] [ ó JALT national conference events ][ ô ] [ ^ ]The MW SIG shares information on ways to createbetter language learning materials, coveringa wide range of issues from practical advice onstyle to copyright law and publishing practices,including self-publication. On certain conditionswe also provide free ISBNs. Our newsletterBetween the Keys is published three to four times ayear and we have a discussion forum and mailinglist at .THE LANGUAGE TEACHER 31.6 • JUNE 2007

38 Column • SIG NewsOur website is at .To contact us, email .Other Language Educators[ FLL beyond mother tongue, L3, multilingualism, secondforeign language ] [ & OLE Newsletter—4-5x year ][ ó Network with other FL groups, presence at conventions,provide information to companies, support jobsearches and research ]OLE has issued Newsletter 42, containing aJALT2007 OLE-related events overview; French,Spanish, German, Japanese, and English conferenceannouncements; the concluding second partof Alexander Imig’s European Language Portfoliopaper; ample information about submissions forJALT2007; and a PanSIG 2007 update. OLE washonorably requested to include information aboutthe extremely high profile Goethe Institute/DAAD event Learn European!—Monolingualism’sMisery (30 Mar).Pragmatics[ appropriate communication, co-construction of meaning,interaction, pragmatic strategies, social context ] [ &Pragmatic Matters ( 語 用 論 事 情 ) —3x year ] [ ó Pan-SIGand JALT conferences, Temple University Applied LinguisticsColloquium, seminars on pragmatics-related topics,other publications ] [ ô ]Be sure to read Pragmatics Matters, the PragmaticsSIG newsletter. There should be reports onpragmatics-related presentations from the TESOLConvention in Seattle (21-24 Mar 2007) and fromthe Pragmatics and Language Learning Conferencein Honolulu (26-28 March 2007). It is clearfrom just these two conferences that researchand interest in the area of pragmatics is growingworldwide. If you have a contribution for thenewsletter, contact the editor .See also .Professionalism, Administration, andLeadership in EducationThe PALE SIG welcomes new members, officers,volunteers, and submissions of articles for ourjournal or newsletter. To read current and past issuesof our journal, visit .Also, anyone may join our listserv . For information onevents, visit .Teacher Education[ action research, peer support, reflection andteacher development ] [ & Explorations in TeacherEducation—4x year ] [ ó library, annual retreator mini-conference, Pan-SIG sponsorship, sponsorshipof speaker at JALT’s national conference][ ô ] [ ^ ]Teaching Children[ children, elementary school, kindergarten, earlychildhood, play ] [ & Teachers Learning with Children,bilingual—4x year ] [ ó JALT Junior at nationalconference, regional bilingual 1-day conferences ][ ô ] [ ^ ]The Teaching Children SIG is for all teachers ofchildren. We publish a bilingual newsletter fourtimes a year, with columns by leading teachersin our field. There is a mailing list for teachersof children who want to share teaching ideas orquestions at .We are always looking for new people to keep theSIG dynamic. With our bilingual newsletter, weparticularly hope to appeal to Japanese teachers.We hope you can join us for one of our upcomingevents. For more information, visit .児 童 教 育 部 会 は 子 どもに 英 語 ( 外 国 語 )を 教 える全 ての 教 師 を 対 象 にした 部 会 です。 当 部 会 では、この分 野 で 著 名 な 教 師 が 担 当 するコラムを 含 む 会 報 を 年 4回 発 行 しております。また、 子 どもに 英 語 を 指 導 するアイデアや 疑 問 を 交 換 する 場 としてメーリングリストを 運 営 しています。 活発 な 部 会 を 維 持 していくためにも 新 会 員 を 常 に 募 集 しております。 会 報 を 英 語 と 日 本 語 で 提 供 しており 日 本人 の 先 生 方 の 参 加 も 大 歓 迎 です。 今 後 開 催 される 部 会の 催 し 物 へぜひご 参 加 ください。 部 会 に 関 する 詳 細 はをご 覧 下 さい。Teaching Older Learners[ lifelong learning, older adult learners, fulfillment] [ & Told You So!—3x year (online) ] [ ó Pan-SIG, teaching contest, national & mini-conferences ][ ô ] [ ^ ]The increasing number of people of retirementage, plus the internationalization of Japanese society,has greatly increased the number of peopleeager to study English as part of their lifelonglearning. The TOL SIG provides resources andinformation for teachers who teach English toolder learners. We run a website, online forum,listserv, and SIG publication (see ).For more information orto join the mailing list, contact Amanda HarlowTHE LANGUAGE TEACHER 31.6 • JUNE 2007

Column • SIG News 39 or Eric M. Skier.成 人 英 語 教 育 研 究 部 会 は 来 る 高 齢 化 社 会 に 向 けて高 齢 者 を 含 む 成 人 の 英 語 教 育 をより 充 実 することを 目指 し、 昨 年 結 成 した 新 しい 分 科 会 です。 現 在 、 日 本 では 退 職 や 子 育 て 後 もこれまでの 経 験 や 趣 味 を 生 かし 積極 的 に 社 会 に 参 加 したいと 望 んでいる 方 が 大 幅 に 増 えております。 中 でも 外 国 語 学 習 を 始 めたい、または 継続 を 考 えている 多 くの 学 習 者 に 対 してわれわれ 語 学 教師 が 貢 献 出 来 る 課 題 は 多 く、これからの 研 究 や 活 動 が期 待 されています。TOLでは 日 本 全 国 の 教 師 が 情 報 交換 、 勉 強 会 、 研 究 成 果 の 出 版 を 行 い 共 にこの 新 しい 分野 を 開 拓 していこうと 日 々 熱 心 に 活 動 中 です。 現 在 オンライン 上 でもフォーラムやメールリスト、ニュースレター 配 信 を 活 発 に 行 っております。 高 齢 者 の 語 学 教 育 に 携 わっていらっしゃる 方 はもちろん、 将 来 の 英 語 教 育 動 向 に 関 心 のある 方まで、 興 味 のある 方 はどなたでも 大 歓 迎 です。 日 本 人教 師 も 数 多 く 参 加 していますのでどうぞお 気 軽 にご 入会 ください。お 問 い 合 わせは Amanda Harlow 。または Eric M. Skier までご 連 絡 ください。Testing & Evaluation[ research, information, database on testing ][ & Shiken—3x year ] [ ó Pan-SIG, JALT National ][ ô ] [ ^ ]Nearly 100 different articles, interviews, bookreviews, and opinion pieces are now online at. The websitefeatures convenient keyword, topic, title, author,and chronological search engines. The Apr 2006issue of SHIKEN was recently placed online. Thatissue features an interview with Barry Sullivanabout testing business English and a review ofone of his recent books as well as articles aboutstandardized testing and theoretical perspectivesin SLA assessment.Column • Chapter Events 39…with Aleda KrauseEach of JALT’s 36 active chapterssponsors from 5 to 12 events everyyear. All JALT members may attendevents at any chapter at memberrates—usually free. Chapters, don’tforget to add your event to the JALTcalendar or send the details to theeditor by email or t/f: 048-787-3342.CHAPTER EVENTS ONLINEYou can access all of JALT’sevents online at:.If you have a QRcode-capablemobile phone, use the imageon the left.June is a month of mini-conferences. Lookfor one at a chapter near you. If your localchapter isn’t listed, or for further details, go tothe online calendar. There may be newly addedevents and updates.Gifu—Promoting Lifelong Learning by DerynVerity, Osaka Jogakuin, and Heidi Nachi Evans,Ritsumeikan University, plus others. Co-sponsoredby JALT CUE SIG and JALT Nagoya andToyohashi chapters. Join us for this 2-day miniconferencein Nagoya. Verity will do a featuredworkshop on Neo-Vygotskian Psycholinguisticsand Evans will do one titled Self-Assessment andLearner Development: Instrument Design and Implementation.There will be a full schedule of presentationson both days plus various social activities.Workshops and papers will be on motivation,lifelong learning curricula, self-assessment, andcritical thinking. Visit .Pre-register online before 8 Jun and get Saturdaylunch included. Sat 23 Jun 09:00-17:00 and Sun24 Jun 9:00-14:00; Sugiyama Jogakuen University,Hoshigaoka, Nagoya; one-day members ¥6000 for 2days, ¥3500 for 1 day.Gunma—Teaching Liaison (Blends) to EnhanceListening Skills and Responsive Skills by AshaVan Nimmen. By learning liaison and blendingsounds, students are able to understand and processmore naturally spoken English. Van Nimmenwill discuss ways to teach these skills, suggestways students can practice, and provide examplesentences. Van Nimmen has been analyzing datafrom classes and private students and developingthis method for 6 years. Sun 24 June 14:00-THE LANGUAGE TEACHER 31.6 • JUNE 2007

40 Column • Chapter Events16:30; Maebashi Institute of Technology (MaebashiKoka Daigaku), 460-1 Kamisadori, Maebashi; one-daymembers ¥1000.Hamamatsu—Upcoming by Kip Cates. Cates isa wonderful speaker as well as being a highlycredentialed Japan veteran. He is well known forhis work in Global Issues in Education. Be sure tokeep 17 Jun open on your calendar. More detailsto follow. Sun 17 June 10:00-12:00; ZAZA City Palette,5F; one-day members ¥1000; free for first-timers.Hokkaido—Ancient Cobblestone Stained WithLifeblood and Other Speech Contest Titles toAvoid by Joe Booth. In the conception and developmentphase, Booth will discuss what kinds ofspeech topics are appropriate and how to guidestudents through the process of putting their ideasinto a coherent and meaningful speech. In thepreparation and delivery stage, he will focus on arange of communication skills, including pronunciationand body language, that are inherent togiving speeches, as well as how to direct studentsultimately to a successfully delivered speech. Sun24 Jun 13:30-16:00; Hokkai Gakuen University, SubwayBuilding 6, 3F; one-day members ¥500.Ibaraki—Annual Mini-Conference. 10:00-noon:Teaching Techniques for an Oral Class by JonathanOwens; Vocabulary Training With the Computer andWith the iPod by Markus Rude; Cultural LearningThrough Online Writing by Joyce Cunningham;“Phrase Method”—A Spice for Your Students byTomoko Yamaguchi; Teaching Text Patterns byJohn Racine. 13:30: Culture and Affect in Vaultingthe Rubicon: Stories of Highly Proficient EnglishLanguage Learners by James Elwood, University ofTsukuba. Updates . Sat23 Jun (registration starting 9:30); Ibaraki UniversityMito Campus (directions at the main gate); one-daymembers ¥500.Kagoshima—Ten Fun and Effective Ways to UtilizeEnglish Newspapers in English Classrooms.by Mayuka Habbick and Naoko McLellan. Childrenlearn through experience. In this workshop,the presenters will share fun ideas using Englishnewspapers. Newspapers are handy, inexpensive,and most of all FUN! With the learning processof children in mind, we will share a selection ofactivities for all ages ranging from traditional tosensuous! Sat 23 Jun 14:00-16:00; In Sendai—PlaceTBA; one-day members ¥1000.Kagoshima—Teaching Children Conference inKagoshima: Meeting the Goals of the ElementarySchool Curriculum. Co-sponsored by the TeachingChildren SIG. For more information please godirectly to our conference website .Sun24 Jun 9:00-17:00; Kagoshima University, KorimotoCampus, Sogo Kyoiku Kenkyu Tou; one-day members¥2000.Kitakyushu—Searching for Authentic Materialsby Daniel Droukis. Taking a trip to anothercountry offers an excellent opportunity to collectauthentic materials. The result of a little effortcan be a thick folder full of materials that can beused many times. Using them encourages quiet,passive JHS students to ask questions, and ESPstudents to create conversations. The materialsmake classes much livelier. What can be foundand where? What to do with the materials? Findout. Sat 9 Jun 19:00-21:00; Kitakyushu InternationalConference Center, Room 31 (a 5-minute walk fromthe Kokura train station); one-day members ¥1000.Kobe—Managing and Teaching in CoordinatedEnglish Language Programs by Heidi Evans andJuanita Heigham. In many universities, newdepartments and existing programs are movingtowards coordination, meaning teachers use commonsyllabi and materials to reach shared goalsand objectives across course sections. This presentationwill focus on how coordination benefits aninstitution, teachers, and students. The facilitatorswill begin with a short overview of their contexts,followed by a discussion of the rewards and challengesof coordinated programs. Sat 30 Jun 16:00-18:00; Kobe YMCA (2-7-15 Kano-cho, Chuo-ku, Kobe(t: 078-241-7204); one-day members ¥1000.Kyoto—Pedagogical Issues Relating to theStudy Abroad Experiences of Japanese UniversityStudents by Michael Furmanovsky. The surveyresults of 25 students studying at a languagecenter in Melbourne, Australia, will be presented.Then the speaker will focus on the pedagogicalimplications of the qualitative data and discusstwo single-semester classes that he created athis university. Sat 23 Jun 2007 18:30-20:30; KyotoKyoiku Bunka Center, Room 204; see for directions; one-day members ¥1000.Matsuyama—Prepare Your Students for AcademicStudies by Kayo Taguchi, Oxford UniversityPress. Students need preparation to enable themTHE LANGUAGE TEACHER 31.6 • JUNE 2007

Column • Chapter Events 41to enter a college or university armed with thestrategies they need to listen, take notes, and discussideas independently and confidently. LectureReady is the only video-based series that trainsstudents in the listening and language skills theyneed to understand and excel during lectures intheir future studies. Sun 10 Jun 14:15-16:20; ShinonomeHigh School Kinenkan 4F; free for all.Miyazaki—The Center Shiken: A New Perspectiveby Mike Guest, Miyazaki University. Guestanalyzed the 2004 and 2006 versions of the CenterShiken and compared them to a 1981 version.He will give an overview of the role and functionof the exam. He will then offer interestingexamples from his comparative research, sheddingsome light on recent positive qualities of theexam, and will also demonstrate how these couldhave a positive backwash on high school Englishpedagogy. For information, contact Steve Davies. Sat 23 Jun 15:00-17:00; Miyazaki Municipal University, Room 310,Funatsuka 1-1-2, Miyazaki (t: 0985-20-2000); free forall.Nagasaki—Experiences With Action Research:Seeking Effective Ways to do Japanese Writingand English Grammar Lessons by HowardDoyle, Kochi University, and Fumiko Ishinuki,Sasebo National College of Technology. Doylewill present the inspiration and dynamic of aproject focusing on the evolution of a holisticapproach to grammar in the language classroom.Ishinuki will present a study of the Year 8 classat the Sydney Saturday School of Japanese thatinvestigated the strengths and weaknesses of agenre-based approach to Dokushokansobun (literally,post-reading reflective essays) for improvingstudents’ writing. Sat 30 Jun 14:00-16:00; DejimaKoryu Kaikan, 4F; one-day members ¥1000.Nagoya—Mini-Conference on Promoting LifelongLearning. See Gifu announcement for details.Okayama—Zen and the Art of Statistics by GregorySholdt. Within the community of languageinstructors and researchers, a division emergeswhen considering the wide range of proficienciesin statistics. The result is a communication gapthat prevents quantitative researchers from fullyreaching their intended audience and restricts theavailability of valuable information for many ofthose who want it. The purpose of this workshopis to equip participants with multiple techniquesand resources that encourage deeper understanding,decrease anxiety, and facilitate independentstudy. Sat 9 Jun 15:00-17:00; Sankaku A Bldg., 2F(near Omotecho in Okayama City); one-day members¥500.Omiya—My Share. Ricardo Kuma will examinecreating customized activities. Creativity can bebroken down to 8 steps: connect; relate; experience;analyze; transform; and explore. MasaTsuneyasu will demonstrate practical techniquesfor improving student listening. ChikahikoOkada will show how to make use of good picturesin books, newspapers, magazines, catalogs,and brochures for learning foreign languages.Abdel Ibrahim will use translations of popularchildren’s songs and TPR to help young learnersunderstand stress timing in spoken English.The meeting will be preceded by the JALT OmiyaAGM with officer elections. Sun 10 Jun 14:00-17:00; Sakuragi Kominkan 5F (near Omiya Station,west exit); one-day members ¥1000.Shinshu—Discussion and Debate Made Easyby Charles LeBeau. High schools and universitiesare including discussion and debate in theircurricula. But many students and teachers areunfamiliar with the techniques of discussion andthe basics of debate. LeBeau will focus on the basicsof debate: how to build a case, present a case,and attack a case. He will look at seven principlesof discussion, then suggest ways for combiningdiscussion and debate activities. Activities fromDiscussion Process and Principles and DiscoverDebate will be used. Sun 17 Jun 14:00-16:45; IrufuPlaza (ILF), Okaya, 3F, Room 1 (Dai-ichi Kenshushitsu);one-day members ¥1000.Toyohashi—Bring the World Into Your ClassroomThrough Video by Kip Cates. Learn howto internationalize your English language classroomwith innovative video activities that dealwith world peoples, foreign cultures, and worldproblems. Find out how videos designed aroundglobal issues can stimulate your students’ senseof world citizenship while developing their Englishlanguage skills. This workshop will introducea number of videos from the field of globaleducation that can be used to promote globalawareness and international understanding inEnglish language classes. Sun 17 Jun 13:30-16:00;Aichi University, Bldg. 5, Room 543; one-day members¥1000.THE LANGUAGE TEACHER 31.6 • JUNE 2007

42 Column • Chapter EventsYamagata—Vancouver, Canada in Terms of itsHistory, Culture, Education, and Language byRyan Odamura, Yamagata City InternationalRelations Center. The topic will be presented interms of English as a means of global communicationin the 21st century. Sat 2 Jun 13:30-15:30;Yamagata Kajo Kominkan Sogo Gakushu Center,Shironishi-machi 2-chome, 2-15 (t: 0236-45-6163);one-day members ¥800.Yokohama—Dynamite Debates: A Case Studyby Tom Anderson, Aoyama Gakuin University,Tokai University. Every autumn, Anderson teachesa debate class in an interdepartmental program.He will discuss ways in which he has madethis class a learning environment. He will look atteam formation, learning contracts, team memberroles, learning about debate elements, thedebate itself, and evaluation. He will also presentstudent feedback and examine how debate couldbe adapted for lower level students. Sun 10 Jun14:00-16:30; Ginou Bunka Kaikan (Skills & CultureCenter) near JR Kannai & Yokohama subway Isezakichojamachi);one-day members ¥1000, students ¥500.42 Column • Chapter Reports…with Heather SparrowThe Chapter Reports column is aforum for sharing with the TLT readershipsynopses of presentationsheld at JALT chapters around Japan.For more information on thesespeakers, please contact the chapterofficers in the JALT Contacts sectionof this issue. For guidelines on contributions,see the Submissions pageat the back of each issue.Gifu: March—Multi-Sensory Teaching by KimHorne. Multi-sensory teaching means using morethan one of the senses at a time to convey lessonmaterial. Multi-sensory techniques are useful forall students, especially those with visual-perceptualproblems, fine motor problems, and the memoryproblems often associated with learning disabilities.The audience were given a practical demonstrationon how to utilize all senses as teachingtools. From touching activities that can often calmdown the students to guided imagery that canevoke strong sense events, multi-sensory teachingcan help to alleviate student anxiety. Horne’sidea is that each sense is a like a plug and teachershave to find the right plug for lesson material tobe connected. It is generally believed there are fivesenses, but Horne’s presentation ended with thediscovery that there can be anywhere up to 27 ofthem. The 27 plugs available should be useful as itis believed people remember 50% of what is heardand seen at the same time, compared to 90% ofwhat is heard, seen, said, and done.Reported by Buzz GreenHokkaido: March—The Perfect TOEIC Courseby Grant Trew. Trew's presentation focused onthe new TOEIC test. Trew has been an item writerfor ELT, the company that developed the TOEICtest, and has written a book called Oxford Tacticsfor the TOEIC test. Trew’s presentation consistedof going over each part of the test and discussingthe strategies that would best suit a student tryingto do well on the test. Trew is a great speaker,and using personal experience and professionalknowledge he was able to break down the test toallow us to see how it works and how best to prepareour students for this test. He discussed whathe called the perfect TOEIC course and pointedout that teachers need to construct their lessons tocover both test-taking skills and test-taking strategies.Although he did his best not to sound likehe was pushing his own writing on this topic, itwas easy to see that he has a firm understandingof TOEIC and that his book might be a good placefor the teacher to find valuable resources.Reported by Bricklin ZeffKitakyushu: March—My Share: 1) First Day IceBreakers by Daniel Droukis. Droukis explainedhow to help students relax and be less intimidatedfrom the first day of classes, while offering theinstructor an opportunity to check out their individualability levels by getting them to stand andshout out questions to shouted answers. 2) UsingMovies by Dave Pite with Dennis Woolbright.Pite demonstrated how to exploit movies in theclassroom with "dictation questions" marked forwritten and comprehension accuracy and showedice-breakers for learning names, practicingcasual introductions, and fluency practice whichWoolbright elaborated on. 3) Rhythmic FluencyTHE LANGUAGE TEACHER 31.6 • JUNE 2007

Column • Chapter Reports 43Practice by Lynda Batty. Batty demonstratedrhythmic fluency practice involving hands,knees, and snapping of fingers. 4) LearningAbout Others in English by Bill Pellowe. Pelloweshowed an exercise to help students get to knoweach other in English while learning others'names with alternating group and pair-workusing name badges. 5) Scavenger Hunt by MargaretOrleans. Students find answers to Englishquestions that are somewhere in her classroom.6) Fluency Training by Ken Gibson. Gibson's firstclass starts with fluency training, having studentsstand and question each other with stock phrasesabout names, hobbies, favorites, etc.Reported by Dave PiteOmiya: March—Getting to Know STEP andthe EIKEN Test by Michael Todd Fouts. EIKEN(Test in Practical English Proficiency) has been theleading English language assessment in Japan formore than 40 years. The annual number of examineesis 2.5 million, and the test is administered at15,000 test sites in Japan. Fouts, a representativeof the STEP organization, overviewed the historyand purpose of STEP (a nonprofit organization)and outlined its two aims: 1) to advance Englisheducation in Japan, and 2) to encourage the studyof practical English. He outlined the test contentsand design of EIKEN—a comprehensive assessmentof the four skills. As an open test, EIKENasserts that it is more accountable to the publicthan similar English proficiency tests. Questionsare not reused and the papers are released forstudy material. Peer review is integral to maintainingquality standards.The test is increasingly being accepted for admissionsto schools in North America and Australiabecause: 1) EIKEN is more accessible, affordable,and familiar than other tests in Japan; 2) withEIKEN, Japanese students can qualify for admissionwithout taking other tests, thereby removinga potential barrier to study abroad; and 3) EIKENhas a strong correlation with TOEFL.Reported by Masa TsuneyasuSendai: January—Teaching Debate and StructuredDiscussions in EFL Classes by Mark Neufeld.Neufeld reviewed the format and structureof debates and talked about his experiences teachingdebate at the senior high school level in Japan,concluding that teaching debate in its traditionalform is time consuming, difficult for weakerstudents, involves archaic or specialized vocabularyand forms, and can be extremely stressful forstudents due to the public performance element.This led Neufeld to search for a way to allow hisstudents to practice the same critical thinking anddiscussion skills in a more accessible way.Neufeld introduced an alternative to traditionaldebate that he calls structured discussions, whichborrow extensively from process writing andinvolve students brainstorming, outlining, andpracticing conversation management skills.Eventually even weaker students are able to hold15-minute discussions on topics, having practicedplanning, turn taking, and conversational strategies.A handout was provided showing how tostructure and conduct a short (15-hour) course,currently used at a junior college. Participantspracticed using the techniques in pairs.Reported by Ben ShearonYokohama: April—Teaching Micro-Skills forthe TOEFL iBT Speaking Tasks and IntegratedWriting Task by Terry Yearley. Yearley suggestedstudents need a balance of English languagestudy and test technique to succeed at TOEFL,gaining useful skills such as note taking, skimming,and scanning for academic study. Varioussources include: , the Fridayedition of The Daily Yomiuri, the ETJ discussionlist, and JALT. YoJALTers trialed speaking tasks 1and 2, discussing problems students might face.One member felt the speaking involves recordinga monologue rather than negotiating a conversation;another suggested students train initiallyin Japanese to get a feel for the task. Yearleynavigated task 1 with a five-second topic sentencerepeating question vocabulary, followed bythree ideas each expanded to 10 or 15 seconds.To negotiate the time constraints of the secondtask, he suggested choosing one option and againthinking of two or three supporting ideas. Forboth tasks, clear structure positively signals to theexaminer that the question is being addressed.For the integrated writing task, clarifying thethree main points of each passage/lecture is vitalfor comparison purposes. Finally, NPR, BBC, andCBC Quirks and Quarks podcasts were suggested as tools to trainstudents in listening and note-taking skills.Reported by Renata Suzuki.THE LANGUAGE TEACHER 31.6 • JUNE 2007

44 Column • JALT ContactsFor changes and additions, please contact the editor. More extensive listingscan be found in the annual JALT Information & Directory.National Officers}}}}}}}}President—Steve Brown; Vice President—Cynthia Keith; Director of Treasury—Kevin Ryan;Director of Membership—Ann Mayeda;Director of Programs—Philip McCasland;Director of Public Relations—SayokoYamashita; Director of Records—Donna Tatsuki;Auditor—Tadashi Ishida; Appointed Officers}}}}}}}Business Manager—Andrew Zitzmann;Central Office Supervisor—Junko Fujio;Chapter Representative Liaison—SteveQuasha; SIG Representative Liaison—Megumi Kawate-Mierzejewska; JALT2007 Conference Chair—Yuriko Kite;JALT2007 Programme Chair—Aleda Krause;JET Liaison—Marcos Benevides; Publications Officers}}}}Publications Board Chair—Kim Bradford-Watts; JALT Journal Editor—Steve Cornwell;TLT Staff—See the back of this issueConference Proceedings Editor—KimBradford-Watts;Chapter Contacts}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}Akita—Takeshi Suzuki; t: 018-422-1562;;Chiba—Fiona MacGregor; t: 047-555-8827;;East Shikoku—Lawrie Hunter;;Fukui—Takako Watanabe; t/f: 0776-34-8334;;Fukuoka—Jack Brajcich;;Gifu—Steve Quasha; t: 052-781-4734;; Gunma—Michele Steele; ; Hamamatsu—Greg O’Dowd; ; Gregg McNabb; ;Himeji—William Balsamo;t: 0792-54-5711; ;Hiroshima—Caroline Lloyd; t: 082-228-2269;; Hokkaido—Ken Hartmann; t/f: 011-584-7588;;Ibaraki—Martin Pauly; t: 0298-58-9523;f: 0298-58-9529; ;Iwate—Mary Burkitt; t/f: 019-663-3132;;Kagoshima—Sue Kawahara; t: 099-216-8800;f: 099-216-8801; ;Kitakyushu—L. Dennis Woolbrightt: 093-583-9997 (h); t/f: 093-583-5526(w);;Kobe—David Heywood;heywood@smile.ocn.ne.jp;kobejalt.bravehost.com/Kyoto—Heidi Evans; ; THE LANGUAGE TEACHER 31.6 • JUNE 2007

Column • JALT Contacts 45}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}Matsuyama—Kiyoshi Shioiri;;Miyazaki—Etsuko Shimo; 0985-20-4825 (w);;Nagasaki—Michele Ruhl; ;Nagoya—Katsumi Ito; t: 070-5642-3339;f: 0569-34-2489; ;Nara—Steven Nishida;; t/f 0742-51-1702;Okayama—Gavin Thomas; ; t: 086-277-2995;Okinawa—Caroline Latham;t: 090-1945-5224 ;Omiya—Roberto Rabbini; < rob@saitama.email.ne.jp>; Osaka—Robert Sanderson; ; Sendai—Thomas Warren-Price;;Shinshu—Fred Carruth; t: 0263-36-3356;; Mary Aruga;t: 0266-27-3894; ; Shizuoka—Masahiko Goshi; ; Tokyo—Stan Pederson; ;Toyohashi—Laura Kusaka; t: 0532-47-4111;;West Tokyo—Alan Stoke; ;Yamagata—Fumio Sugawara; t/f: 0238-85-2468;;Yokohama—Renata Suzuki; t: 045-759-4136;;SIG Contacts}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}Bilingualism—Bernadette Luyckx;t: 046-872-3416; ;College and University Educators—PhilipMcCasland (Coordinator); t: 024-548-8384 (w);024-522-3121(h); ; Computer-Assisted Language Learning—Paul Daniels (Coordinator); ; Journal editorial team ;Gender Awareness in Language Education—Salem Hicks; ;Global Issues in Language Education—Kip Cates; t/f: 0857-31-5148 (w);;Japanese as a Second Language—Hiroko Sato;t: 0475-23-8501; ;Junior and Senior High School—WilliamMatheny; t: 052-624-3493; ; Learner Development—Hugh Nicoll;; Materials Writers—Jim Smiley;t. 022-233-3268; ;Other Language Educators—Rudolf Reinelt;t/f: 089-927-6293(h); t/f: 089-927-9359(w);PALE—Robert Aspinall; ; Pragmatics—Megumi Kawate-Mierzejewska;;Teacher Education—Paul Beaufait;Teaching Children—Naoko McLellan;;Teaching Older Learners—Eric Skier;;Testing and Evaluation—Jeff Hubbell;;THE LANGUAGE TEACHER 31.6 • JUNE 2007

46 Column • Job Information Center…with Derek DiMatteoTo list a position in The LanguageTeacher, please submit online ator email Derek DiMatteo, JobInformation Center Editor, .Online submission is preferred.Please place your ad in the bodyof the email. The notice shouldbe received before the 15th ofthe month, 2 months beforepublication, and should contain thefollowing information: location, name of institution, title ofposition, whether full- or part-time, qualifications, duties, salaryand benefits, application materials, deadline, and contactinformation. Be sure to refer to TLT’s policy on discrimination.Any job advertisement that discriminates on the basis ofgender, race, age, or nationality must be modified or will notbe included in the JIC column. All advertisements may beedited for length or content.Job Information Center OnlineRecent job listings and links to other job-related websites canbe viewed at The ResumeMark ZeidCentral Texas CollegeAlmost every businesswritingtextbook haschapters on how towrite a resume, yet the lasttime I reviewed resumes fora hiring committee, I wasamazed at how many teacherssubmitted poorly-craftedresumes. For example, 20%of the resumes we receiveddidn’t include personal informationsuch as phone numbers or email addresses.We also received some resumes that were fiveto seven pages long. While these are some waysto get your resume noticed, the idea is to make agood impression. Here are some suggestions forwriting and sending resumes.Resumes should be limited to two pages, andsince most employers only quickly glance at theresume, make sure all of the essential informationis easily visible. Include all of your personal information,especially your phone number and emailaddress, along with your full name, nationality,and street address. Be sure to also include whichjob you are applying for, since many schools havemore than one position to fill.The most important criteria for most jobs areeducation, certifications, and qualifications. Listyour latest certification or degree first and workbackwards. Please note that more schools arerequiring proof of the degrees and certificationsearned. Many of them require applicants to submitofficial transcripts along with copies of theirdegrees. While the submission of official recordswill take place at a later time, it is important toremember that you will have to prove everythingyou claim on your resume.When listing job experience, list only the jobsfor the past 10 to 15 years—the exception beinga job you held in the distant past that directlyapplies to the job you are seeking. For example,including the part-time job you had in college 25years ago as a technician at a medical laboratoryis only relevant if you are applying for a positionat a medical school. Employers are mainlyinterested in what you are doing now, not whatyou did 20 years ago (this advice also applies topublications).When examining your work history, most employersare looking to see what your job responsibilitieswere in order to ensure that you have thenecessary job experience. However, employersare also looking at your accomplishments to seewhat you did that goes beyond your job description.In today’s work force, many organizationshave to do more with fewer people, and they arelooking for individuals who see job descriptionsas starting points and not limitations.Community and professional activities outsideof work are also important, for example, professionalmemberships and positions held in organizationssuch as JALT. Other memberships andactivities (e.g., church positions, sports teams) canalso be included. At the end of the resume youcan also list miscellaneous hobbies, past clubs,and interests. (This can be good in Japan, whereschools hire the whole person—those who areinteresting and well qualified.)If you apply for jobs in a non-English speakingcountry and submit only an English versionof your resume, be aware that it will probablybe translated by someone for hiring committeemembers who don’t read English. Keep your languagesimple to avoid translation-related confu-THE LANGUAGE TEACHER 31.6 • JUNE 2007

Column • Job Information CentEr 47sion and misunderstandings. For example, manypeople do not understand the military or militaryjargon, so explain your role and accomplishmentsin the military using simple language.Layout, paper choice, and formatting matter.Make sure your resume is considered by usinglots of white space so committee members canimmediately see that you meet the minimumqualifications. Using different colors, a uniquetype of paper, fancy type faces, or fancy borders(e.g., flowers) is distracting and can work againstyou. Remember that the resume gets you the jobinterview, so create a professional image from thebeginning.Finally, three tips for sending a resume byemail. First, include a cover letter and keep it professional.Second, include your resume in the textof the email message as well as sending it as anattachment (sometimes the unexpected happens).Third, include your name in the document’sfilename (don’t name it resume.doc unless youwant it to get lost).Job OpeningsThe Job Information Center lists only brief summariesof open positions in TLT. Full details ofeach position are available on the JALT website.Please visit to view the full listings.Location: Hawaii, USASchool: University of Hawaii-ManoaPosition: Assistant/Associate professors (two,tenure-track)Start Date: 1 Aug 2008Deadline: 15 Sep 2007Location: Kanagawa-ken, Fujisawa-shiSchool: Keio Shonan-Fujisawa Junior & SeniorHigh SchoolPosition: English teacher (fulltime)Start Date: 1 Apr 2008Deadline: 12 Jul 2007Location: Niigata-kenSchool: International University of JapanPosition: English language instructors, summerStart Date: Jul 2007Deadline: Ongoing until filledLocation: Saitama-kenCompany: Shumei GakuenPosition: Teacher of English (fulltime)Start Date: 1 Sep 2007Deadline: Ongoing until filledColumn • Conference Calendar 47…with Alan StokeNew listings are welcome. Pleaseemail information to the columneditor by the 15th of the month,at least 3 months before a conferencein Japan, or 4 months beforean overseas conference. Thus, 15June is the deadline for a Septemberconference in Japan or an Octoberconference overseas. Feedback orsuggestions on the usefulness of this column are alsomost welcome.Upcoming Conferences1-3 Jun 2007—JALT CALL SIG Annual Conference2007: CALL: Integration or Disintegration?at Waseda U., Tokyo. To address the currentfragmentation of CALL and its reintegration intomore traditional disciplines and the wideningscope of CALL, e.g., into wireless learning andelectronic dictionaries. The featured speaker willbe Mike Levy from Griffith U., Australia. Contact:23-24 Jun 2007—JALT CUE SIG Mini-Conference2007: Promoting Lifelong Learning, at SugiyamaJogakuen U., Nagoya. To discuss studentand teacher motivation; curricula that promotelifelong learning; student self-assessment; andcritical thinking in the university classroom.Contact: 24 Jun 2007—First Teaching Older Learners/Pragmatics SIG Mini-Conference: AuthenticEnglish and Elderly Learners: A Day of SharingTheory and Practice, at Temple U., Tokyo. Pre-THE LANGUAGE TEACHER 31.6 • JUNE 2007

48 Column • Conference Calendarsenters include Curtis Kelly, Rieko Matsuoka, EricSkier, Julia Harper-Tanaka, Naoko Yamaga, andSayoko Yamashita. Contact: 1-3 Jul 2007—32nd Annual Congress of the AppliedLinguistics Association of Australia: Makinga Difference: Challenges for Applied Linguistics,at U. of Wollongong. Contact: 2-3 Jul 2007—BAAL Language Learning andTeaching SIG Third Annual Conference: TowardsA Researched Pedagogy, at Lancaster U.,UK. Contact: 5 Jul 2007—Second Lancaster University PostgraduateConference in Linguistics and LanguageTeaching, UK. Contact: 7-8 Jul 2007—Japanese Society for Language SciencesNinth Annual International Conference,in Sendai. Contact: 8-13 Jul 2007—10th International PragmaticsConference: Language Data, Corpora, andComputational Pragmatics, in Göteborg, Sweden.Contact: 27-30 Jul 2007—Third Corpus LinguisticsConference, at the U. of Birmingham, UK. Contact:1-3 Aug 2007—ICTATLL Workshop 2007: Informationand Communications Technology inAnalysis, Teaching and Learning of Languages, atInternational Education Center, Hiroshima InternationalU. Contact: 3-5 Sep 2007—Fifth International Conference onThird Language Acquisition and Multilingualism,at U. of Stirling, Scotland. Contact: 6-8 Sep 2007—40th British Association for AppliedLinguistics Annual Conference: Technology,Ideology and Practice in Applied Linguistics,at U. of Edinburgh. Contact: 11-14 Sep 2007—17th Annual Conference of theEuropean Second Language Association: Interfacesin Second Language Acquisition Research,at Newcastle U., UK. Contact: 15-17 Sep 2007—Sixth Symposium on SecondLanguage Writing: Second Language Writing inthe Pacific Rim, at Nagoya Gakuin U. To providean international forum for the discussionof various issues of interest to L2 writing teachersand researchers. Contact: 20-22 Sep 2007—Second International Conferenceon Task-Based Language Teaching: TBLT:Putting Principles to Work, at U. of Hawai'i.Contact: 5-8 Oct 2007—Third International Conferenceof the Independent Learning Association: ExploringTheory, Enhancing Practice: AutonomyAcross the Disciplines, at Kanda U. of InternationalStudies, Chiba. Leading scholars willpresent, including Henri Holec, James Lantolf,Klaus Schwienhorst, and Kathleen Graves. Contact:11-14 Oct 2007—30th Annual Second LanguageResearch Forum: Second Language Acquisitionand Research: Focus on Form and Function, at U.of Illinois. Contact: 13-14 Oct 2007—First Annual Japan WritersConference, at Ochanomizu U., Tokyo. Contact:27-28 Oct 2007—15th Korea TESOL InternationalConference: Energizing ELT: ChallengingOurselves, Motivating Our Students, at SookmyungWomen’s University, Seoul. Contact: THE LANGUAGE TEACHER 31.6 • JUNE 2007

Column • Conference Calendar 4921-24 Nov 2007—Second International Conferenceon Language, Education and Diversity,at U. of Waikato, NZ. Keynote speakers fromCanada, Israel, South Africa and USA. Contact:CHALLENGINGLOOKING INLOOKING OUTASSUMPTIONS22-25 Nov 2007—JALT2007 International Conference:Challenging Assumptions: Looking In,Looking Out, at National Olympics MemorialYouth Center, Tokyo. Contact: 21-26 Jul 2008—18th International Congress ofLinguists, at Korea U., Seoul. Contact: 24-29 Aug 2008—15th World Congress of AppliedLinguistics: Multilingualism: Challengesand Opportunities, in Essen, Germany. Contact:Calls for Papers or PostersJALT200722–25 Nov 2007National OlympicsMemorial YouthCenter, TokyoDeadline: 15 Jun 2007 (for 6-7 Oct 2007)—A2-day conference sponsored by the GenderAwareness in Language Education (GALE) SIGwith other JALT SIGs and the Osaka Chapter, atTemple U., Osaka (6 Oct, 18:00-20:00) and KansaiU. (7 Oct, 10:00-18:00). Janet Holmes (VictoriaU. of Wellington, NZ) will present the openinglecture, Gender and Leadership: Some Socio-PragmaticConsiderations, and will also lead a closingpanel discussion. Contact: , Deadline: 1 Jul 2007 (for 2-7 Nov 2007)—GLo-CALL 2007: Globalization and Localization inCALL, at Hanoi U. (2-4 Nov) and Ho Chi MinhCity (5-7 Nov). Contact: Deadline: 13 Jul 2007 (for 23 Sep 2007)—FourthJALT Hokkaido Language Conference, atHokkai Gakuen University, Sapporo. Presentations,in English or Japanese, are invited on anyaspect of teaching. Time slots are 45 minutes;however, where justified, presenters may requesta double (90-minute) session. All submissions ofabstracts will be vetted; notifications of acceptancewill be sent out in the first week of August.To facilitate planning, please submit your abstract,in English or Japanese, as early as possible.Contact: for online submission: ;Conference Program Chair, MichaelMielke: Deadline: 31 Jul 2007 (for 12-14 Dec 2007)—12thEnglish in South-East Asia Conference: Trendsand Directions, at King Mongkut’s U. of Technology,Bangkok. Contact: Deadline: 20 Aug 2007 (for 1-3 Nov 2007)—Language Planning: The Need or the Desire toStandardize? at Agder U. College, Kristiansand,Norway. Contact: Deadline: 30 Nov 2007 (for 26-29 Jun 2008)—Ninth International Conference of the Associationfor Language Awareness: Engaging withLanguage, at U. of Hong Kong. To address languageawareness in the learning and teaching oflanguages and, more generally, in literature andeducation. Contact: THE JICThe primary goal of the Job InformationCenter at JALT2007 is to bring employers andpotential applicants together. For employers,the JIC provides the facilities to post jobs, reviewresumes, and interview applicants on site.The result is one of the most efficient methodsof finding teachers for any position. For theapplicants, the JIC offers job listings from all overJapan, a chance to network with other teachersand learn about the job market, and participatein a resume workshop. Furthermore, since thepeople running the JIC have several yearsexperience, they can offer valuable insights intothe job market and how to get the kind of jobyou are looking for. The best part is all of this isfree and open to all conference participants.Mark Zeid & Ken Hill—JIC Co-coordinatorsTHE LANGUAGE TEACHER 31.6 • JUNE 2007

50 The Language Teacher • SubmissionsThe editors welcome submissions of materials concerned with all aspects of language education, particularly withrelevance to Japan. If accepted, the editors reserve the right to edit all copy for length, style, and clarity, withoutprior notification to authors. Materials in English should be sent in Rich Text Format by either email (preferred) orpost. Postal submissions must include a clearly labeled floppy disk or CD-ROM and one printed copy. Manuscriptsshould follow the American Psychological Association (APA) style as it appears in The Language Teacher. Pleasesubmit materials to the contact editor indicated for each column. Deadlines are indicated below.日 本 国 内 での 語 学 教 育 に 関 わる 投 稿 をお 待 ちしています。できるだけ 電 子 メールにリッチ・テキスト・フォーマットの 添 付 ファイルでお 送り 下 さい。 郵 送 の 場 合 には、フロッピーディスクかCD-ROMにラベルを 張 り、プリントアウトしたものと 一 緒 にお 送 り 下 さい。 書 式 はアメリカ心 理 学 協 会 (APA)スタイルに 基 づき、スタッフリストページにある 各 コラムの 編 集 者 まで 締 め 切 りに 留 意 して、 提 出 してください。 提 出 されたものにつきましては 編 集 者 に 一 任 していただくことになります。Feature ArticlesEnglish Features. Submissions should be well-written,well-documented, and researched articles. Analysisand data can be quantitative or qualitative (or both).Manuscripts are typically screened and evaluatedanonymously by members of The Language Teacher EditorialAdvisory Board. They are evaluated for degreeof scholarly research, relevance, originality of conclusions,etc. Submissions should:• be up to 3,000 words (not including appendices)• have pages numbered, paragraphs separated bydouble carriage returns (not tabbed), and subheadings(boldfaced or italic) used throughoutfor the convenience of readers• have the article’s title, the author’s name, affiliation,contact details, and word count at the topof the first page• be accompanied by an English abstract of up to150 words (translated into Japanese, if possible,and submitted as a separate file)• be accompanied by a 100-word biographicalbackground• include a list of up to 8 keywords for indexing• have tables, figures, appendices, etc. attached asseparate files.Send as an email attachment to the co-editors.日 本 語 論 文 : 実 証 性 のある 研 究 論 文 を 求 めます。 質 的 か、 計 量 的 か(あるいは 両 方 )で 追 究 された 分 析 やデータを 求 めます。 原 稿 は、 匿名 のTLTの 査 読 委 員 により、 研 究 水 準 、 関 連 性 、 結 論 などの 独 創 性で 評 価 されます。8,000 語 ( 資 料 は 除 く) 以 内 で、ページ 番 号 を 入 れ、段 落 ごとに2 行 あけ、 副 見 出 し( 太 文 字 かイタリック 体 )を 付 けて 下 さい。 最 初 のページの 一 番 上 に 題 名 、 著 者 名 、 所 属 、 連 絡 先 および 語彙 数 をお 書 き 下 さい。 英 文 、 和 文 で400 語 の 要 旨 、300 語 の 著 者 略 歴もご 提 出 下 さい。 表 、 図 、 付 録 も 可 能 です。 共 同 編 集 者 まで 電 子 メールの 添 付 ファイルでお 送 り 下 さい。Readers’ Forum articles are thoughtful essays on topicsrelated to language teaching and learning in Japan.Submissions should:• be of relevance to language teachers in Japan• contain up to 2,500 words• include English and Japanese abstracts, as perFeatures above• include a list of up to 8 keywords for indexing• include a short bio and a Japanese title.Send as an email attachment to the co-editors.読 者 フォーラム: 日 本 での 言 語 教 育 、 及 び 言 語 学 習 に 関 する 思 慮的 なエッセイを 募 集 しています。 日 本 での 語 学 教 師 に 関 連 していて、6,000 字 以 内 で、 英 文 ・ 和 文 の 要 旨 、 短 い 略 歴 および 日 本 語 のタイトルを 添 えて 下 さい。 共 同 編 集 者 まで 電 子 メールの 添 付 ファイルでお 送 り 下 さい。Interviews. If you are interested in interviewing a wellknownprofessional in the field of language teachingin and around Japan, please consult the editors first.Lengths range from 1,500-2,500 words. Send as anemail attachment to the co-editors.インタビュー: 日 本 国 内 外 で 言 語 教 育 の 分 野 での「 有 名 な」 専 門 家にインタビューしたい 場 合 は、 編 集 者 に 最 初 に 意 見 をお 尋 ね 下 さい。3,600 語 から6,000 語 の 長 さです。 共 同 編 集 者 まで 電 子 メールの添 付 ファイルでお 送 り 下 さい。Conference Reports. If you have attended a conferenceon a topic of interest to language teachers in Asia, writea 1,500-word report summarizing the main events.Send as an email attachment to the co-editors.学 会 報 告 : 語 学 教 師 に 関 心 のあるトピックの 大 会 に 出 席 された 場合 は、4000 語 程 度 に 要 約 して、 報 告 書 を 書 いてください。 共 同 編 集者 まで 電 子 メールの 添 付 ファイルでお 送 り 下 さい。DepartmentsMy Share. Submissions should be original teachingtechniques or a lesson plan you have used. Readersshould be able to replicate your technique or lessonplan. Submissions should:• be up to 1,000 words• have the article title, the author name, affiliation,email address, and word count at the top of thefirst page• include a Quick Guide to the lesson plan orteaching technique• follow My Share formatting• have tables, figures, appendices, etc. attached asseparate files• include copyright warnings, if appropriate.Send as an email attachment to the My Share editor.マイシェア: 学 習 活 動 に 関 する 実 践 的 なアイデアについて、テクニックや 教 案 を 読 者 が 再 利 用 できるように 紹 介 するものです。1,600 字 以 内 で 最 初 のページにタイトル、 著 者 名 、 所 属 、 電 子 メールアドレスと 文 字 数 をお 書 き 下 さい。 表 、 図 、 付 録 なども 含 めることができますが、 著 作 権 にはお 気 をつけ 下 さい。My Share 担 当 編 集者 に 電 子 メールの 添 付 ファイルでお 送 り 下 さい。Book Reviews. We invite reviews of books and othereducational materials. Contact the Publishers’ ReviewCopies Liaison formaterial listed in the Recently Received column, andthe Book Reviews editor if you wish to review unlistedmaterial, including websites or other online resources.Review articles treating several related titles are particularlywelcome. Submissions should:• show a thorough understanding of the materialreviewed in under 750 words• reflect actual classroom usage in the case ofclassroom materials• be thoroughly checked and proofread beforesubmission.Send as an email attachment to the Book Reviews editor.書 評 : 本 や 教 材 の 書 評 です。 書 評 編 集 者 に問 い 合 わせ、 最 近 出 版 されたリストからお 選 びいただくか、もしwebサイトなどのリストにない 場 合 には 書 評 編 集 者 と連 絡 をとってください。 複 数 の 関 連 するタイトルを 扱 うものを 特 に 歓迎 します。 書 評 は、 本 の 内 容 紹 介 、 教 室 活 動 や 教 材 としての 使 用 法 に触 れ、 書 評 編 集 者 まで 電 子 メールの 添 付 ファイルでお 送 り 下 さい。JALT Focus. Submissions should be directly related to recentor upcoming developments within JALT, preferablyon an organization-wide scale. Submissions should:• be no more than 750 words• be relevant to the JALT membership as whole• encourage readers to participate more activelyin JALT on both a micro and macro level.Deadline: 15 th of the month, 1 1 / 2months prior to publication.Send as an email attachment to the JALT Focuseditor.JALTフォーカス:JALT 内 の 進 展 を 会 員 の 皆 様 にお 伝 えするものです。どのJALT 会 員 にもふさわしい 内 容 で、JALTに、より 活 動 的に 参 加 するように 働 きかけるものです。1,600 字 程 度 で、 毎 月 15 日までにお 送 り 下 さい。 掲 載 は1 月 半 後 になります。JALTフォーカス編 集 者 まで 電 子 メールの 添 付 ファイルでお 送 り 下 さい。JALT Notices. Submissions should be of general relevanceto language learners and teachers in Japan. JALTNotices can be accessed at . Calls for papers or research projectswill be accepted; however, announcements of conferences,colloquia, or seminars should be submitted tothe Conference Calendar. Submissions:• should be no more than 150 words• should be submitted as far in advance as is possible• will be removed from the website when the announcementbecomes outdated.Submissions can be sent through the JALT Notices onlinesubmissions form.掲 示 板 : 日 本 での 論 文 募 集 や 研 究 計 画 は、オンラインで見 ることができます。できるだけ 前 もって 掲 載 いたしますが、 終 了 次 第 、 消 去 いたします。 掲 示 板 オンライン・サブミッション 形 式 に 従 い、400 字 以 内 で 投 稿 して 下 さい。なお、会 議 、セミナーは Conference Calendar で 扱 います。SIG News. JALT’s Special Interest Groups may use thiscolumn to report on news or events happening withintheir group. This might include mini-conferences, presentations,publications, calls for papers or presenters,or general SIG information. Deadline: 15 th of month, 6weeks prior to publication. Send as an email attachmentto the SIG News editor.SIGニュース:SIGはニュースやイベントの 報 告 にこのカラムを 使 用できます。 会 議 、プレゼンテーション、 出 版 物 、 論 文 募 集 、 連 絡 代表 者 などの 情 報 を 記 入 下 さい。 締 め 切 りは 出 版 の2か 月 前 の15 日 までに、SIG 委 員 長 に 電 子 メールの 添 付 ファイルで 送 ってください。Chapter Events. Chapters are invited to submit upcomingevents. Submissions should follow the preciseformat used in every issue of TLT (topic, speaker, date,time, place, fee, and other information in order, followedby a 60-word description of the event).Meetings scheduled for early in the month should bepublished in the previous month’s issue. Maps of newlocations can be printed upon consultation with thecolumn editor. Deadline: 15 th of the month, 2 monthsprior to publication. Send as an email attachment to theChapter Events editor.支 部 イベント: 近 づいている 支 部 のイベントの 案 内 情 報 です。トピック、 発 表 者 、 日 時 、 時 間 、 場 所 、 料 金 をこの 順 序 で 掲 載 いたします。 締 め 切 りは、 毎 月 15 日 で、2ヵ 月 前 までに、 支 部 イベント 編 集 者に 電 子 メールの 添 付 ファイルでお 送 り 下 さい。Chapter Reports. This column is a forum for sharing synopsesof presentations given at JALT chapters around Japan.Submissions must therefore reflect the nature of thecolumn and be written clearly and concisely. Chapters arelimited to one report per month. Submissions should:• be interesting and not contain extraneous information• be in well-written, concise, informative prose• be made by email only – faxed and/or postalsubmissions are not acceptable• be approximately 200 words in order to explorethe content in sufficient detail• be structured as follows: Chapter name; Eventdate; Event title; Name of presenter(s); Synopsis;Reporter’s name.Send as an email attachment to the Chapter Reports editor.支 部 会 報 告 :JALT 地 域 支 部 会 の 研 究 会 報 告 です。 有 益 な 情 報 をご提 供 下 さい。600 文 字 程 度 で 簡 潔 にお 書 き 下 さい。 支 部 名 、 日 時 、イベント 名 、 発 表 者 名 、 要 旨 、 報 告 者 名 を、この 順 序 でお 書 き 下 さい。支 部 会 報 告 編 集 者 まで 電 子 メールの 添 付 ファイルでお 送 り 下 さい。ファックスや 郵 便 は 受 理 いたしませんので、ご 注 意 下 さい。Job Information Center. TLT encourages all prospectiveemployers to use this free service to locate the most qualifiedlanguage teachers in Japan. The notice should:• contain the following information:City and prefecture, Name of institution, Title ofposition, Whether full- or part-time, Qualifications,Duties, Salary & benefits, Applicationmaterials, Deadline, Contact information• not be positions wanted. (It is JALT policy thatthey will not be printed.)Deadline: 15th of month, 2 months prior to publication.Send as an email attachment to the JIC editor.求 人 欄 : 語 学 教 育 の 求 人 募 集 を 無 料 でサービス 提 供 します。 県 と都 市 名 、 機 関 名 、 職 名 、 専 任 か 非 常 勤 かの 区 別 、 資 格 、 仕 事 内 容 、給 料 、 締 め 切 りや 連 絡 先 を 発 行 2ヶ 月 前 の15 日 までにお 知 らせ 下さい。 特 別 の 書 式 はありません。JIC 担 当 編 集 者 に 電 子 メールの 添付 ファイルでお 送 り 下 さい。Conference Calendar. Announcements of conferencesand their calls for papers as well as for colloquia,symposiums, and seminars may be posted in this column.The announcement should be up to 150 words.Deadline: 15th of month, at least 3 months prior to theconference date for conferences in Japan and 4 monthsprior for overseas conferences. Send within an emailmessage to the Conference Calendar editor.催 し:コロキウム、シンポジウム、セミナー、 会 議 のお 知 らせと、 論文 募 集 の 案 内 です。Conference Calendar 編 集 者 に400 語 程 度 で 電子 メールの 添 付 ファイルでお 送 り 下 さい。 締 め 切 りは 毎 月 15 日 で、日 本 、および 海 外 の 会 議 で3ヶ 月 前 までの 情 報 を 掲 載 します。THE LANGUAGE TEACHER 31.6 • JUNE 2007

The Language Teacher • Staff 51Editorial Staff}}}}}}}}JALT Publications Board ChairKim Bradford-Wattspubchair@jalt-publications.orgEditorsJacqui Norris-Holttlt-editor@jalt-publications.orgTed O’Neilltlt-editor@jalt-publications.orgAssociate EditorTBAtlt-editor2@jalt-publications.orgJapanese-Language Editor高 橋 幸 子 (Sachiko Takahashi)tlt-editorj@jalt-publications.orgJapanese-Language Assoc. Editor稲 森 美 穂 子 (Mihoko Inamori)tlt-editorj2@jalt-publications.orgAssistant EditorsAleda KrausePaul Lewistlt-assist@jalt-publications.orgTLT Online EditorMalcolm Swansonwebadmin@jalt-publications.orgContributing EditorsRobert LongAmanda O’BrienScott GardnerResources Editors}}}}My ShareLorraine SorrellJerry Talandismy-share@jalt-publications.orgBook ReviewsRobert Tafernerreviews@jalt-publications.orgPublishers’ Review Copies LiaisonScott Gardnerpub-review@jalt-publications.orgOkayama University, Faculty of Education,3-1-1 Tsushima-naka, Okayama 700-8530TLT WiredPaul Daniels & Malcolm Swansontlt-wired@jalt-publications.orgJALT Focus Editors}}JALT Focus EditorJoseph Sheehanjalt-focus@jalt-publications.orgJALT News LiaisonDonna Tatsukijalt-news@jalt-publications.org}}}Member's Profile & ShowcaseTheron Mullermemprofile@jalt-publications.orgGrassrootsJoyce CunninghamMariko Miyaograssroots@jalt-publications.orgt: 029-228-8455; f: 029-228-8199OutreachDavid McMurrayoutreach@jalt-publications.orgRegular ColumnEditors}}}}}}SIG NewsJames Hobbssig-news@jalt-publications.orgChapter EventsAleda Krausechap-events@jalt-publications.orgChapter ReportsHeather Sparrowchap-reports@jalt-publications.orgJob Information CenterDerek DiMatteojob-info@jalt-publications.orgConference CalendarAlan Stokeconferences@jalt-publications.orgOld GrammariansScott Gardnerold-grammarians@jalt-publications.orgProduction}}}}}Proofreading Team LeaderPaul Lewis (see Assistant Editor)ProofreadersAleda Krause, James McCrostie,David Stephan, Ben Shearon,Junko Izawa, Damian Rivers,Greg Rouault, Shari Young, JosephSheehan, Alan Stoke, Hiroko Lewis,Torkil Christensen, Myles Grogan,David Ockert和 文 要 旨 作 成 協 力 者(Japanese abstracts)阿 部 恵 美 佳 (Emika Abe)伊 藤 勝 己 (Katsumi Ito)迫 和 子 (Kazuko Sako)Design & LayoutPukeko Graphicsgraphics@pukeko.ws; www.pukeko.wst/f: 093-962-8430PrintingKoshinsha Co., Ltd., Osaka}}Editorial Advisory BoardMichael Carroll – Momoyama GakuinUniversityTorkil Christensen – HokuseiUniversity Junior CollegeSteve Cornwell – Osaka JogakuinCollegeMichael Furmanovsky – RyukokuUniversityScott Gardner – Okayama UniversityChiaki Iwai – Hiroshima CityUniversityMasataka Kizuka – HokkaidoUniversity of EducationMasaki Kobayashi – Kanda Universityof International StudiesRobert Long – Kyushu Institute ofTechnologyLaura MacGregor – GakushuinUniversityDaniel J. McIntyre – CreativeCommunicationsChieko Miyanaga – Osaka PrefectureUniversityBern Mulvey – Fukui NationalUniversityTim Murphey – Dokkyo UniversityYoko Nakano – University of KochiJonathan D. Picken – Tsuda CollegeStephen M. Ryan – Eichi – SapientiaUniversityLorraine Sorrell – MacquarieUniversityDeryn Verity – Osaka Jogakuin CollegeChristopher Weaver – Tokyo Universityof Agriculture & TechnologyFukiko Yoshida – Rikkyo UniversityAdditional ReadersLyle Allison, Wade Carlton, DavidDycus, Heidi Evans Nachi, TimothyGutierrez, Kent Hill, James Hobbs, DavidHufford, Yoko Ichiyama, Aleda Krause,Wilma Luth, Steve McGuire, TheronMuller, Andrew Obermeier, AndreaSimon-Maeda, Eric SkierPeer Support Group} CoordinatorTorkil Christensenpeergroup@jalt-publications.org} MembersPaul Beaufait, Torkil Christensen, LoranEdwards, Mark Hamilton, Katsumi Ito,Wilma Luth, Steve McGuire, TheronMullerJALT Central OfficeUrban Edge Bldg. 5F, 1-37-9 Taito,Taito-ku, Tokyo 110-0016t: 03-3837-1630; f: 03-3837-1631jco@jalt.orgTHE LANGUAGE TEACHER 31.6 • JUNE 2007

52 JALT • Membership InformationThe Japan Association for LanguageTeaching (JALT)• a professional organization formed in 1976-1976 年 に 設 立 された 学 術 学 会• working to improve language learning andteaching, particularly in a Japanese context- 語 学 の 学 習 と 教 育 の 向 上 を 図 ることを 目 的 としています• over 3,000 members in Japan and overseas- 国 内 外 で 約 3,000 名 の 会 員 がいますAnnual international conference 年 次 国 際 大 会• 1,500 to 2,000 participants- 毎 年 1,500 名 から2,000 名 が 参 加 します• hundreds of workshops and presentations- 多 数 のワークショップや 発 表 があります• publishers’ exhibition- 出 版 社 による 教 材 展 があります• Job Information Centre- 就 職 情 報 センターが 設 けられますJALT publications include:• The Language Teacher—our monthly publication- を 毎 月 発 行 します• JALT Journal—biannual research journal- を 年 2 回 発 行 します• Annual Conference Proceedings- 年 次 国 際 大 会 の 研 究 発 表 記 録 集 を 発 行 します• SIG and chapter newsletters, anthologies,and conference proceedings- 分 野 別 研 究 部 会 や 支 部 も 会 報 、アンソロジー、研 究 会 発 表 記 録 集 を 発 行 しますMeetings and conferences sponsored by localchapters and special interest groups (SIGs)are held throughout Japan. Presentation andresearch areas include:•••••••••••••BilingualismCALLCollege and university educationCooperative learningGender awareness in language educationGlobal issues in language educationJapanese as a second languageLearner autonomyPragmatics, pronunciation, second languageacquisitionTeaching childrenTeaching older learnersTesting and evaluationMaterials development支 部 及 び 分 野 別 研 究 部 会 による 例 会 や 研 究 会 は 日 本各 地 で 開 催 され、 以 下 の 分 野 での 発 表 や 研 究 報 告 が行 われます。バイリンガリズム、CALL、 大 学 外 国 語教 育 、 共 同 学 習 、ジェンダーと 語 学 学 習 、グローバル 問 題 、 日 本 語 教 育 、 自 主 的 学 習 、 語 用 論 ・ 発 音 ・第 二 言 語 習 得 、 児 童 語 学 教 育 、 生 涯 語 学 教 育 研 究 部会 、 試 験 と 評 価 、 教 材 開 発 。JALT cooperates with domestic and internationalpartners, including [JALTは 以 下 の 国 内 外 の学 会 と 提 携 しています]:•IATEFL—International Association of Teachersof English as a Foreign LanguageJACET—the Japan Association for Teachersof EnglishPAC—the Pan Asian Conference consortiumTESOL—Teaching of English to Speakers ofOther Languages•••Membership Categories 会 員 と 会 費All members receive annual subscriptions toThe Language Teacher and JALT Journal, andmember discounts for meetings and conferences.会 員 はThe Language TeacherやJALT Journal 等の 出 版 物 を 購 読 出 来 、 又 例 会 や 大 会 にも 割 引 価 格 で参 加 出 来 ます。••Regular 一 般 会 員 : ¥10,000Student rate (undergraduate/graduate inJapan) 学 生 会 員 ( 日 本 にある 大 学 、 大 学 院 の 学生 ): ¥6,000Joint—for two persons sharing a mailingaddress, one set of publications ジョイント会 員 ( 同 じ 住 所 で 登 録 する 個 人 2 名 を 対 象 とし、JALT 出 版 物 は2 名 に1 部 ): ¥17,000Group (5 or more) ¥6,500/person—one set ofpublications for each five members 団 体 会 員(5 名 以 上 を 対 象 とし、JALT 出 版 物 は5 名 につき1 部 ):1 名 6,500 円••For more information please consult our website, ask an officer at any JALT event,or contact JALT Central Office.JALT Central OfficeUrban Edge Building, 5th Floor, 1-37-9 Taito,Taito- ku, Tokyo 110-0016 JAPANJALT 事 務 局 :〒110-0016 東 京 都 台 東 区 台 東 1-37-9アーバンエッジビル5Ft: 03-3837-1630; f: 03-3837-1631; THE LANGUAGE TEACHER 31.6 • JUNE 2007

Humor • Old Grammarians 53Old Grammarians......by Scott Gardner Who said it first?I shall return. This is attributed to the Americanmilitary general Douglas MacArthur as he leftthe Philippines in the wake of a Japanese invasionduring WWII. In fact it was AustralianPrime Minister John Curtin who said it first, toMacArthur, while stepping away briefly fromthe Scrabble table one night in Adelaide in 1942,ostensibly to use the restroom. Certain historicalrevisionists believe that Curtin actually left in orderto peek at a dictionary in the drawing room.Veni, vidi, vici. Literally “I came, I saw, I conquered.”Thought to have been said by JuliusCaesar in a message to the Roman Senate afterwinning a battle in Turkey. It was actually Caesar’sfriend, Marcus Licinius Crassus, who firstused the phrase, in a blunt, cheeky boast abouthis victory at a truffle eating contest. Marcusand his eating habits, incidentally, are how weget the word crass.Hasta la vista, baby. A Spanish/English phrase.“Hasta la vista [until I see you]” was a catchphraseoft repeated by an enigmatic Austrian-American politician who claimed to have comefrom the future for two important purposes: todestroy the human race, and to govern the Stateof California. Unfortunately he was mangling abattle cry from 19th century Mexico, “Hasta vistela baby,” which roughly means “Until I dress thebaby.” Baby refers pejoratively to the renegadeMexican province of Texas, which had secededfrom Mexico to become a US state, therebysparking the Mexican-American War. (Note tolinguists and historians: This explanation, likethe others herein, has no truth to it whatsoever.)The play’s the thing. Most of us would owe thisto Shakespeare’s most famous and tormentedcharacter Hamlet, but it was actually Sir FrancisBacon who coined it first. Bacon was explainingthe rules of soccer to poor William after he hadtried to score a goal during halftime, while allthe other players were in the locker room gettingrubbed down. (His shot went wide to the right.)Bacon was simply stating in cryptic (and thuspoetic) terms the fact that goals must be scoredduring regulation play in order to count for anything.Shakespeare was so humiliated by his flubthat he scratched the entire soccer scene from thelast act of his tragedy and chose instead to “catchthe conscience of the king” by thespian deceit.When the question is sand in a bowl of boiled rice, theanswer is a stick in the soft mud. There may be littledebate over authorship of this dusty old Zen saying,since few people have any idea at all who saidit. It is attributed to the Chinese monk Wumen.The reason I add it to this list is that it is in factincorrect. Wumen may have spent dozens of yearssilently contemplating this equation, but when hegot to writing it out he forgot to carry the 2, andamazingly no one in the last seven centuries hashad the “sand” to call him out on it. When solvedcorrectly, the answer to the question is not a stick inthe soft mud, but rather a partridge in a pear tree.Na, na, na, na na na na, na na na na, hey Jude. No,the Beatles didn’t just make this up out of nowhere(and neither did the 37 other people singing itduring the recording session). The first part is atranscription of the morning song of the greenbilledmalkoha, a bluish Indian bird that the bandoften encountered nibbling at stray “crumbs”in their rucksacks while they studied with theMaharishi in 1968. The “hey Jude” part was PaulMcCartney’s reply to Brian Wilson’s encoded criesfor help in the Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds album. It’sactually a Liverpudlian take on the “Hey, dude”of California surfer slang. Whatever Wilson mayhave found comforting in this mantric repetition ofmeaningless monosyllables is still a mystery.Boys, be ambitious. Any Japanese person will tellyou this was William Smith Clark, and they’ll beabsolutely right. But ask them who first said it onAmerican soil, and they won’t have a clue. (Whywould they?) Actually, I was the first to say it, tomy teammates in the defensive huddle duringan elementary school flag football game in 1974.With all our helmets on, though, nobody couldhear what I said, and following the play (a touchdownfor the other team) somebody went back tothe coach and said I told them all to be imbeciles.I was benched for life, or until our team scored apoint, whichever came first.THE LANGUAGE TEACHER 31.6 • JUNE 2007

What would Picasso say….Picasso: That is quite an impressive image. What’s it all about?Eric: The image goes very nicely with our conference theme Challenging Assumptions:Looking In, Looking Out, wouldn’t you agree?Picasso: Yes, it is quite “eye-catching!” What goes on at such a conference?Eric: Actually there is something for everyone interested in language education. We havesome great plenary and featured speakers: true experts in their fields. Then there is theDomestic Forum, a panel discussion, chaired by Kensaku Yoshida, which will focus onSELHi – specially designated high schools with specialized English curricula.Picasso: That sounds fascinating, but what if I am interested in materials and teachingyounger children?Eric: Well, there is always the Materials Expo, the largest in Asia! There will be publishinghouses, materials producers, and even several universities (in case you want to brush upon your teaching qualifications). As for children, we have JALT Junior, an entire two-dayprogram for those who teach younger learners.Picasso: How about if I am a job-hunter and want to touch up my resume?Eric: Not only do we have the Job Information Center, with tips on resume writing and howto be a successful interviewee, but don’t forget this is the place to meet new faces andold friends—doing that all-important networking.Picasso: True, indeed—when great minds meet, one never knows what to expect.Reminds me of the time I was in my Blue Period in Paris. Those were the days!Eric: Well, there's still more. Skill-up Workshops, Meet the Experts, Story Space….Picasso: I always felt that one is never too old to learn!Eric: …and of course all kinds of social events.Be sure to circle these dates: November 22, 23,24, and 25 on your calendar!Picasso: Actually, I prefer cubes to circles. Sorry,but I couldn’t help myself!—Eric M. Skier, Conference Publicity ChairFor more information

1 My Share • ResourcesFrom newspaper account toconversational storyBob JonesREJ English HouseAppendix A: Origin story of the red and yellow card system(From J. Walking, The Daily Yomiuri July 2, 1998)A: Do you know the origin of the red and yellow card system in soccer matches?B: No idea.A: Well… I read about it in the paper this morning. Apparently, it started during the World Cup in1966. There was a game between England and Argentina and there were quite a lot of fouls fromboth sides. Anyway, it seems that one of the Argentinean players committed a serious foul againstone of the England players and the referee said, (hand gesture) "Right! You – off!" and the Argentinianplayer said, "Sorry. No speak English. No speak English." So, the referee said to him again,"You – off!" and again the Argentinean said, "Sorry. No speak English. No speak English," andthey reckon it took about 8 minutes before this guy finally left the pitch. So, anyway, that eveningone of the referees was driving home and he was thinking, "What can we do about this languageproblem in football?" and he was coming up to some traffic lights and they changed from yellowto red and he suddenly thought, "Hey – that’s it! Red card, yellow card!"B: Aaah!A: And that was it – they started using red and yellow cards in football.B: That’s interesting. Is it true?A: I don’t know. I only read it in the paper this morning but I’ve got the article here if you’d like tosee it.Red card origin: The idea for yellow and red cards, used by soccer referees throughout the worldto issue a warning or expulsion, originated from a bitterly disputed quarter final match betweenArgentina and England in the 1966 World Cup, FIFA spokesman Keith Cooper said Tuesday.That game was marred by numerous fouls on both sides.The referee ejected Argentine captain Antonio Rattin in the 36th minute. But Rattin refused toleave because he didn’t understand the referee. He finally walked off the field after eight minutes.Cooper said that after driving home from the match, English referee Ken Aston thought about away to show more graphically what a referee is trying to convey to the players. When he stoppedhis car for a traffic light and saw it change between red and yellow, Aston came up with the idea forred and yellow cards.THE LANGUAGE TEACHER 31.3 • June 2007

Jones My Share: ResourcesAppendix B: Worksheet templateLook at the extracts from the newspaper account in the chart. What are the corresponding expressionsin the conversational story?Newspaper AccountConversational StoryThe game was marred by numerous fouls onboth sides.The referee ejected Argentine captain AntonioRattin in the 36th minute.Rattin refused to leave because he didn’t understandthe referee.He finally walked off the field after eight minutesWhen he stopped his car for a traffic light andsaw it change between red and yellow, Astoncame up with the idea for red and yellow cards.The newspaper account contains some pieces of information that are missing from the conversationalversion. What examples can you find?••Do you think the speaker has seen the 1966 England-Argentina match?How do you know?**Note: The most obvious indication of the fact that the speaker hasn’t seen the match is the comment,"Well…I read about it in the paper this morning." Less obvious indications are his use of the expressions,apparently and they reckon.Appendix C: Sample storyDebbie Allan, Britain's medal hope on the judo mat, was forced to pull out of the Games yesterdaywhen she failed to make the weight. The 25-year-old fighter had an agonizing 3 hours to lose 400g.and, in the desperate last minutes, even cut off her hair. But in the end it made no difference: when thedeadline came she was 50g. over the 52 kg. limit, about the same as a tablespoon of flour.(Guardian, September 18, 2000)Available THE LANGUAGE TEACHER 31.6 • June 2007