Events http://conf.posterous.com Conferences, Seminars, Webinars on education, linguistics, language learning/teaching, e-learning, m-learning posterous.com Mon, 31 Oct 2011 12:34:00 -0700 JALT2011| 37th Annual International Conference on Language Teaching and Learning & Educational Materials Exhibition 18 – 21 November, 2011, National Olympics Memorial Center, Yoyogi, Tokyo. http://conf.posterous.com/jalt2011-37th-annual-international-conference http://conf.posterous.com/jalt2011-37th-annual-international-conference
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Jalt CALL Forum at JALT 2011

The forum is titled, "Students utilize technology every day. . .Do your classes?" We will hope to bring the concept of CALL to a wider audience by featuring speakers who understand that students' lives are infused with technology and have decided to leverage that fact to improve their teaching.

TIME: Saturday Nov. 19, 12:40 - 1:40 pm.

PLACE: Main Hall

 

☆Our presentation

Title: Learning and growing with blogs in EFL contexts

Presentation category: Paper Presentation (Short Paper)

Summary (75)
Integrating web-based resources for communication in EFL classes helps provide a communicative environment where students can use English to interact with people beyond the classroom walls. This paper will discuss how language teachers can overcome challenges of students with limited computer experience and lack of motivation for learning by integrating a class blog with Web 2.0 tools (such as Twitter) to promote collaborative activities between classes in Japan and those overseas.

Abstract (150-250)
If teaching, learning, and growing are indeed a single, social process (Pederson, 2011), then integrating web-based resources for communication in EFL classes makes sense. These tools provide a communicative environment where students can use English to interact with people beyond the classroom walls. However, the potential benefits may not be reaped unless due consideration is given to students with limited computer experience (vis-à-vis cellphones), and those with negative feelings toward using or learning English. This paper will discuss how language teachers can overcome these challenges by utilizing a class blog for maximizing the advantages of technology integration. Keys to effective implementation of online activities include ease of accessibility and use, meaningful links between in- and out-of class activities, and face-to-face or online activities for focus-on-form. Two implementations of a class blog will be examined to compare different blogging platforms (Blogger vs. Posterous) and classroom settings (computer lab vs. regular classroom). The presenters will also show how Web 2.0 tools (such as Twitter) were used in combination with a class blog to further promote collaborative activities between classes in Japan and those overseas.

Reference:
Pederson, S. (2011). Scattered leaves. JALT 2011- 37th Annual International Conference on Language Teaching and Learning & Educational Materials. Retrieved from http://jalt.org/conference

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Sun, 12 Jun 2011 15:10:00 -0700 The Asian Conference on Language Learning - June 10-12 2011, Osaka Japan http://conf.posterous.com/the-asian-conference-on-language-learning-jun http://conf.posterous.com/the-asian-conference-on-language-learning-jun
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CONFERENCE THEME: "Connecting Theory and Practice"

Call For Papers: The abstract submissions deadline is April 1, 2011

The Asian Conference on Language Learning 2011 will be held alongside the Asian Conference on Technology in the Classroom. Registrants for either conference will allow attendees the option of attending sessions in the other.

(Originally Posted on February 03, 2011 at 11:00 AM)

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Abstract 

Detecting the influence of L1 syntactic patterns on Japanese EFL learners’ Interlanguage grammar

Yamauchi, Uchida & Kojima

In this presentation, the authors discuss findings from their ongoing study (2010-2013, supported by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research: 22520573) that aims to (i) identify and describe major features of Japanese EFL learners’ interlanguage grammar at an earlier stage in development, focusing primarily on errors possibly influenced by the L1 syntax, and (ii) develop a practicable way for language teachers to progressively build learner corpora using data from their own classes.

During the 2010 fall semester, the authors set up several writing tasks for their classes using Moodle forums, which provided a secure environment within which students could experiment with online interactive English activities. The students’ forum posts were assembled into a learner corpus, for which purpose a tool is currently being developed to convert a Moodle xml file into a standard spreadsheet format.

The focus of this presentation is on common errors that have been identified so far in the students’ writing that strongly suggest the influence of Japanese syntactic patterns, including: (a) mapping a topic-comment construction in Japanese to a subject-predicate construction, as in the use of a be-verb in place of the Japanese topic marker wa; (b) omission of reference to known information, where no anaphora are normally used in Japanese; and (c) confusion of predicate-argument relations, especially with psychological predicates.

The observation and analysis of the initial set of learners’ writing data suggest that seemingly different grammatical errors may be derived from a common feature of interlanguage grammar. A further elaborated short list of such interlanguage features will be developed for teachers to help learners to notice problems and to restructure their interlanguage grammars.

 

Presentation Slides

20110612_osaka_ACLL_Yamauchi_Uchida_Kojima.pdf Download this file

 

Updated on June 13, 2011

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Sun, 12 Jun 2011 15:00:00 -0700 JALT CALL 2011, June 3 - 5 at Kurume University http://conf.posterous.com/jalt-call-2011 http://conf.posterous.com/jalt-call-2011
Jaltcall2011
Check out this website I found at jaltcall.org

The 2011 JALT CALL SIG Conference will be held on June 3 - 5 at Kurume University, Mii Campus, in Fukuoka.

The theme will be Building Learning Environments

Proposal submission : February 15

 

Proposal Abstract 

(Yamauchi & Uchida) 

Overcoming Barriers to Student Engagement in Using English Online

Japanese university students not majoring in English have few opportunities to use English outside of the classroom. In this study, online learning environments have been used to compensate for this disadvantage of EFL contexts. The authors chose Moodle forums, which provided a secure platform for students to experiment with online interactive English activities, such as discussions, sharing work, and posting comments. Also, one of the authors connected one of the classes to the Moodle network, which allowed students to roam into associated classes. These scenarios will be described in more detail in the presentation.

 

Before commencing our pilot studies, it was anticipated from a literature review and previous university classroom observations (Yamauchi 2009; Stout 2010; Kikuchi & Otsuka 2008; Kiyota 2008; and Maeda 2009) that most students had limited computer experience (vis-à-vis cellphones), some had negative feelings about learning or using English, some were reluctant to engage in dialogue, and classrooms provided limited access to ICT. These observed attributes were thought to inhibit participation in online activities outside of the classroom.


This presentation summarizes three case studies using Moodle for out-of-class activities, and presents student performance data and feedback to discuss the relationship between the above limitations and the motivation of students to participate. In brief, features of learning technology, characteristics of instructional settings, appropriateness of student skill sets, attitudes toward language, and dispositions toward dialogic interaction may be implicated in student behavior. Based on these findings, suggestions will be made to overcome the above limitations and increase student engagement.  (249)

 

(Posted on January 29, 2011)

 

Presentation Slides

20110605_kurume_JALTCALL_Yamauchi_Uchida.pdf Download this file

(Updated on June 13, 2011)

 

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Tue, 08 Mar 2011 20:31:00 -0800 The Asian Conference on Education - October 27-30 2011, Osaka http://conf.posterous.com/the-asian-conference-on-education-october-27 http://conf.posterous.com/the-asian-conference-on-education-october-27
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Conference Theme: Learning and Teaching in a Globalised World

As the 2009 and 2010 Asian Conferences on Education showed, education and lifelong learning have been seen as a solution to a host of local and global problems whilst globalized education systems are becoming increasing socially, ethnically and culturally diverse. The Third Asian Conference on Education extends these discussions to consider learning and teaching in a globalized world. The conference organizers encourage submissions that consider learning and teaching through one of the following sub-themes, although submission of other topics for consideration is also welcome:

- Challenges, resistances and negotiations in learning and teaching
- Community, culture and globalization
- Diversities, belonging and un/belonging
- Equity, social justice and social change
- Learning and teaching in a global knowledge economy
- Learning and teaching in glocal spaces

Call for Papers Deadline: July 15 2011

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Mon, 28 Feb 2011 13:11:00 -0800 The Asian Conference on Technology in the Classroom June 10-12 2011 http://conf.posterous.com/the-asian-conference-on-technology-in-the-cla http://conf.posterous.com/the-asian-conference-on-technology-in-the-cla
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Technology and Education

C4P: Proposal Submission due on April 1

e-learning and collaborative learning
Interactive Whiteboard technologies (Blackboard, WebCT, etc.)
Integrating e-learning in classroom based language teaching
Social networking
Mobile technologies
Web 2.0 technologies in the classroom
Beyond Web 2.0
Digital literacy
Multimedia
Mobile learning
Teaching online
Open and distance learning technologies
Education in a virtual world
Virtual and personal learning environments
Human Computer interaction
Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL)
Computer Adaptive Testing
Web-based Writing Education
Web-based learning
Wikis, Blogs and Online Journals
Language Labs
Instructional Technology
Telecollaboration
Virtual Communities
New Technologies
Video Podcasting
Moodle and Classroom Teaching
Learning Systems Platforms
e-Assessment and new Assessment Theories and Methodologies
Future Classrooms
Support Centers

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Mon, 14 Feb 2011 22:16:00 -0800 Moodle Moot Japan 2011 - 2月22日~23日 http://conf.posterous.com/moodle-moot-japan-2011 http://conf.posterous.com/moodle-moot-japan-2011
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via moodlejapan.org
第3回 Moodleの教育者と開発者による研修会
2011年 2月22日(09:30-17:30)~23日(09:00-16:00)
高知工科大学
発表:英語を「使いながら学ぶ」ためのForum活用 
非英語専攻の日本人大学生の多くは授業外で英語を使う機会をほとんどもたない。週1回、授業で英語を勉強するだけでは、英語力向上だけでなく、英語を「伝達手段」として認識することも難しい。この状況を改善するために、MoodleのForum を含めオンラインでの英語使用機会の提供は非常に有望である。また、発表で取り上げるように、Forum の利用により、間違いを恐れて中間言語使用をためらう学生たちに、個々の間違いを訂正することなくFocus on Form を促すフィードバックが容易になる。
Forum 中心のMoodleコースの作成自体は容易であるが、普通教室での授業における課外活動にForumを利用する場合には、Moodle利用法の周知とForum活動の設計の面などで工夫が必要である。本発表では、これらの工夫の実践例として、Forum を利用した英語活動を充実させるためのスキル(オンライン辞書・ハイパーリンク・画像などの利用も含む)の段階的な導入、授業と連携させたForum活動例(授業前の協同予習・授業後の発展学習)、Moodle Networkを利用した学校間交流プロジェクトについて報告する。
Moodle Forums for helping students learn English by using it
Many non-English majors in Japanese universities have few opportunities to use English outside of the classroom. It is difficult for those who only study English once a week in class to improve their English, or even to recognize it as a means of communication. To make up for this disadvantage in the EFL environment, it can be quite helpful to provide opportunities to use English online, including discussions using Moodle forums. Using discussion forums also allows the teacher to easily give focus-on-form oriented feedback without correcting every error they make.
Although it's fairly easy to set up a Moodle course to mainly provide forum activities, if the F2F class meets in a traditional classroom and not all students regularly use a computer at home, some considerations are necessary regarding how to familiarize students with using Moodle and how to design forum activities. This presentation reports some of the author’s attempts to facilitate and encourage students to use Moodle forums outside of the class, including a step-by-step introduction to skills that will help them communicate in English online, forum activities directly related to in-class activities, and an intercollege project using Moodle Network.

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