JACET ESP Kanto

Dear JACET ESP Kanto members,

I hope this message finds you well. It is my pleasure to announce that our next meeting will be held on January 28, Saturday, 2023, on ZOOM. Please refer to the following for the detailed meeting ZOOM setup, program, title, abstract, and the bio of the speaker.

ESP Kanto January Zoom Meeting

トピック: JACET ESP関東 1月研究会

時間: 2023年1月28日 03:00 PM 大阪、札幌、東京

Zoomミーティングに参加する

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85816572991?pwd=Mm5mTnNneHNKd2pjTDZxekFQUGg4UT09

ミーティングID: 858 1657 2991

パスコード: 868079

Program:

15:00-15:45 Research Presentation & Discussion

15:45-17:00 Business Meeting

Presentation

Presenter: Glen Hill, Associate Professor at Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine

Title:

Pedagogical approaches to teaching second-language students about English scientific journals

Abstract:

Scientific journals regularly publish professional peer-reviewed research around the world. The research results keep the scientific community abreast of cutting-edge knowledge in any given field, as well as serve to meet the academic mantra of “publish or perish”. The level of writing in these journals is very high in any language, but since English is the dominant one for science worldwide, STEM students, science & engineering professors, and corporate or government researchers here in Japan find themselves facing the challenges of English every day. Non-native or second-language users often find it extremely difficult to read or write journal articles, yet they are forced to do so. University students in Japan usually become involved in conducting and explaining undergraduate research through zemi courses in their third year, but their reading and writing fluency at that time is inadequate to handle journal materials. They need training sooner. The presenter will explain how to introduce the language, structure, and content of scientific journals to Japanese undergraduate students. Background on students and teachers from a science university, as well as data from company surveys, will lay the foundation for the lesson plans that the presenter has used over the years and will show in the talk.

Bio:

Glen Hill is a recently retired Associate Professor from the Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine and former full-time English teacher at Ritsumeikan Keisho High School, Sapporo. He has bachelor’s and master’s degrees in biological science fields from universities in the U.S. Prior to coming to Japan to teach English in 1998, he worked on interdisciplinary scientific teams in a government fisheries laboratory, three departments in the University of Minnesota Medical School, an American cell culture instrument manufacturer with a branch office in Japan, and the Bioprocess Department at a leading pharmaceutical company Bristol-Myers Squibb. In the instrument company, he worked as a technical marketing specialist in the U.S. and Japan, trained domestic and foreign staff, troubleshot mechanical, software, and biological problems for customers, conducted R&D testing of new devices, and wrote operator manuals and lab application reports.

His English research interests include technical writing, extensive reading, and business English. A major theme of his work has been to explain to graduate and undergraduate STEM students the relevance of English for their future careers and to introduce to them the materials they may face or methods to read, write, and present them. Together with Joseph Falout and Matthew Apple, he conducted a 3-year (2012-2015) JSPS grant project 理工系を専攻している日本人学生の第二言語自己・動機づけ (The L2 Selves and Motivation of Japanese Science and Engineering Students, Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research C24520691). Their results have been published in several journals and presented at conferences in Japan, Korea, Canada, Australia, and the U.S. They have just written and edited a 16-chapter reference book STEM English in Japan. Education, Innovation, and Motivation (Palgrave, 2022) and are currently surveying Japanese university STEM and non-STEM students for a book chapter on mindsets.

Although retired, Hill is currently working as a part-time English teacher in Sapporo and running an English scientific proofreading business UpHill Proofreading. He has also been the Publications Chair for the JALT CUE SIG for over a decade. Every month, he attends the JALT Zoom for Professional Development (ZPD) meetings to offer advice to English educators on publishing and conducting English research.

Dear JACET ESP Kanto members,

I hope this message finds you well. It is my pleasure to announce that our next meeting will be held on October 29, Saturday, 2022, on ZOOM. Please refer to the following for the detailed meeting ZOOM setup, program, title, abstract, and the bio of the speaker.

ESP Kanto October Zoom Meeting

時間: 2022年10月29日 03:00 PM 大阪、札幌、東京

Zoomミーティングに参加する

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84375474250?pwd=TmoyWEJybUJheUhUMDNwZHd6M0FJQT09

ミーティングID: 843 7547 4250

パスコード: 766250

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Program:

15:00-15:45 Research Presentation & Discussion

15:45-17:00 Business Meeting

Presentation

Title: Lifelong motivation: Small steps for students’ STEM English

Presenter: Joseph Falout, associate professor at College of Science and Technology, Nihon University

Abstract

The path to attaining professional English communication skills is long, especially for students of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). By college, many of them face roadblocks in: (a) motivating themselves to continue learning English, (b) understanding the future realities of professional communication needs, and (c) practicing these productive language skills when course offerings are lacking or class sizes are large. How can language teachers reach out to each student under such constraints and make a difference? Through scaffolded layers of small steps in teacher and student interactions, large strides can be made toward building students’ STEM English. This means envisioning and simulating realistic, professional-based interactions. It includes incorporating into lessons multimodal communicative forms and off-script opportunities to communicate spontaneously and effectively about scientific definitions, descriptions, and relationships. This presentation will highlight concrete examples of small steps the teacher and students can take to increase their confidence in asking, reasoning, teaching, and learning about STEM-related topics using English. These small steps can be adapted for other teaching contexts to build student autonomy, voice, and lifelong motivation.

Bio of the presenter

Joseph Falout, associate professor at College of Science and Technology, Nihon University, has been teaching ESP for over 20 years to graduate and undergraduate students. He authored or co-authored 60-plus academic works on psychology in language learning and teaching, notably on: (1) demotivation-to-remotivation processes, (2) classroom group dynamics with Ideal Classmates Priming, and (3) teaching and researching with Critical Participatory Looping. Recently, along with Glen Hill and Matthew Apple, he has been editing a compilation of chapters for a book on teaching and researching: STEM English in Japan: Education, Innovation, and Motivation (Palgrave Macmillan, in press).

Dear JACET ESP Kanto members,

I hope this message finds you well. It is my pleasure to announce that our next meeting will be held on July 9, Saturday, 2022, on ZOOM. Please refer to the following for the detailed meeting ZOOM setup, program, title, abstract, and the bio of the speaker.

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Program:

10:00-10:45 Research Presentation & Discussion

10:45-12:00 Business Meeting

Presentation

Title: A Mastery Learning and Input Flooding Approach to Vocabulary Assessment under Emergency Remote Teaching

Presenter: Robert B. Gommerman, Chuo University

Abstract

Vocabulary study is an important component of any English language curriculum. In the context of an English for Academic Purposes (EAP) class, it is essential that students understand and use words that are appropriate for writing tasks such as research papers and reports. The Academic Word List (AWL), developed by Coxhead (1998), is a particularly useful tool in this regard as it focuses students’ attention on the keywords of academic English. The challenge for the program designer then, is to create a system that will appropriately evaluate students based on their knowledge, acquisition, and application of the words in the AWL. This task is made more complicated under circumstances of emergency remote learning, brought upon by the ongoing pandemic, wherein traditional methods for testing students cannot be relied on. This presentation will introduce a novel method for teaching and testing vocabulary that combines learning and evaluation through a mastery learning approach in a manner that addresses the difficulty of assessment in a remote classroom.

Bio of the presenter:

Robert Gommerman has been working at universities in the Tokyo area for the last 13 years and currently works as a Specially Appointed Assistant Professor at Chuo University’s newly created Faculty of Global Management, a department that operates as an English Medium Instruction (EMI) program. Robert plays the central role in coordinating curriculum development of the Academic English writing classes and is helping to shape the program to be one based strongly on data science.

Dear JACET ESP Kanto members,

I hope this message finds you well. It is my pleasure to announce that our next meeting will be held on January 22, Saturday, 2022, on ZOOM. Please refer to the following for the detailed meeting ZOOM setup, program, title, abstract, and the bio of the speaker.

• ESP Kanto January Zoom Meeting
• トピック: ESP Kanto meeting
• 時間: 2022年1月22日 03:00 PM 大阪、札幌、東京
  • Zoomミーティングに参加する
  • https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82796361015?pwd=b0o0Mk5KZkozMWM1Nk9GTDFMYUNqdz09
  • ミーティングID: 827 9636 1015
  • パスコード: 926288

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Program:

1. 15:00-16:00 Research Presentation
2. 16:00-17:00 Discussion & Business Meeting

Presentation

• Title: Developing and evaluating a computer-based speaking test for Japanese university admissions
• Presenter: Zhou, Yujia, project lecturer at Tokyo University of Foreign Studies

Abstract

With the internationalization of Japan, developing university students’ speaking skills is becoming vital; however, very few universities in Japan use an originally developed four skills-based entrance test that includes a speaking component. At this meeting, I will introduce a computer-based speaking test that has been developed as a selective assessment for Japanese university admissions. The test, called British Council TUFS-Speaking Test for Japanese Universities (BCT-S), was jointly developed by Tokyo University of Foreign Studies and the British Council. Aptis, an international test developed by the British Council, serves as its platform, whereas the contents and the delivery system have been adapted to meet the specific needs of Japanese university admissions. In the presentation, I will introduce the background of the test development and the challenges the developers encountered. I will also discuss the empirical validity evidence collected during the test development process as well as the plans for future validation studies. This presentation is intended to provide Japanese university teachers an opportunity to consider how they might effectively utilize speaking assessments to promote the teaching of speaking skills in their classroom.

Bio of the presenter

Yujia Zhou is a project lecturer at Tokyo University of Foreign Studies, where she teaches undergraduate courses on English skills and a graduate course in teaching and assessing speaking skills. She graduated from Tokyo University of Foreign Studies with a Ph.D. in language testing and has been involved in the development and validation of a computer-based speaking test for Japanese university admissions since 2017. Her current research interests include the validation of computer-based speaking tests and improving students’ critical thinking skills through group discussions and debates.

Dear JACET ESP Kanto members,

I hope this message finds you well. It is my pleasure to announce that our July meeting will be held on October 30, Saturday, 2021, on ZOOM. Please refer to the following for the detailed meeting ZOOM setup, program, title, abstract, and the bio of the speaker. Please register from the link below by October 20, Wednesday, 2021.

https://forms.gle/qZnDivdiWJaFBRj98

ESP Kanto July Zoom Meeting
Time:: 2021 年 10 月 30 日 03:00 PM 大阪、札幌、東京 Zoom ミーティングに参加する
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86869021104…
Meeting ID: 868 6902 1104
Passcode: 898805

Program:

• 15:00-16:00 Research Presentation
• 16:00-17:00 Discussion & Business Meeting
  Presentation
• Title: Technology-enhanced vocabulary learning: a longitudinal study
  Presenters:
  1. Michael Sharpe, Kochi National University, Kochi Prefecture, Japan
  2. David Grant, National Institute of Technology, Kochi College (Kochi Kosen)
  
• ABSTRACT:
  In this presentation, we will report on a longitudinal study on intentional (direct) and incidental (indirect) vocabulary learning in a technology-enhanced learning context. The study has been conducted over a 31-month period commencing April 2019 with a group (n=160) of EFL learners at a Japanese junior engineering college. In the intentional component of the study, during the study period participants studied vocabulary online using a subscription-based vocabulary learning resource (WordEngine), and for the incidental component read extensively from a library of graded readers, which was monitored through MReader. Results at the intermediate waypoint showed vocabulary increase among participants in the range of 835 – 5973 words with a mean across the group of 2875. From these results, we have concluded that a synthesized, technology-enhanced learner-directed approach to vocabulary learning can be effective for certain learners across a range of abilities and may be applicable to other classroom contexts.
  
  1. BIO of the presenters:
     a. Michael Sharpe has been teaching at the university level in Japan for 18 years and is currently tenured faculty and
     deputy director of the International Education Program at Kochi National University. Research interests include
     EST/EAP, academic literacies, digital text analysis, extensive and intensive reading, global competency education
     and assessment, the origins and evolution of English, English as a Lingua Franca, and Global Englishes.
     b. David Grant has taught English at all levels of the Japanese education system for 25 years. He is an Associate Professor at the National Institute of Technology, Kochi College (Kochi Kosen). His current research interests include vocabulary acquisition, extensive reading, computer-assisted language learning, and English for specific purposes.

Dear all members of JACET ESP Kanto,

I hope this message finds you well.

It is my pleasure to announce that our July meeting will be held on July 17, Saturday, 2021, on ZOOM. Please refer to the following for the detailed meeting ZOOM setup, program, title, abstract, and the bio of the speaker. Please register from the link below by July 14, Thursday, 2021.

https://forms.gle/qZnDivdiWJaFBRj98

ESP Kanto July Zoom Meeting

Time: 2021年7月17日 03:00 PM 大阪、札幌、東京

Meeting URL Zoomミーティングに参加する

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87442668684?pwd=THdCRTVZNWZ4MzJCV25vckwrMU5wZz09

Meeting ID: 874 4266 8684

Passcode: 768634

Program:

1. 15:00-16:00 Research Presentation
2. 16:00-17:00 Discussion & Business Meeting

Presentation
Title: Using automatic speech recognition to develop speaking skills

Presenter: Professor Paul Daniels, Kochi University of Technology, Kochi Prefecture, Japan

ABSTRACT:

Using automatic speech recognition to develop speaking skills can assist Japanese English-language learners who have few opportunities to speak English outside of the classroom. Further, creative solutions need to be explored that maximize speaking opportunities and prepare learners for standardized language tests that contain a speaking component. With the aid of computer-assisted language learning (CALL) technology, in conjunction with automatic speech recognition (ASR) technology, learners can receive additional extensive speaking opportunities which can lead to improved English communication skills. This presentation will introduce how CALL and ASR can be effectively deployed in the language classroom to prepare learners for online speaking exams and to provide additional extensive speaking opportunities. The presenter will outline several online speaking platforms that are designed to automatically score student speech and provide individualized speaking feedback. The presenter will also introduce an open-source speech assessment question-type for Moodle (an open-source content management system) which he has been developing over the past six years. The system employs Google’s speech recognition engine to transcribe student speech into text which is then automatically scored using a phoneme-based algorithm. The speech assessment question-type is freely available via Github.com and is compatible with the latest versions of Moodle.

BIO of the presenter:

Paul Daniels has been using technology in the language classroom for the past 30 years in both the USA and Japan and actively leads international workshops on computer-assisted language learning topics. His current research involves speech recognition and how it can be used to engage learners in speech practice.

Dear all members of JACET ESP Kanto, I hope this message finds you well.

It is my pleasure to announce that our January meeting will be held on Jan. 16, Saturday, 2021, on ZOOM. This meeting features two specially invited talks by Professor Helen Basturkmen of the University of Auckland of New Zealand and Professor DU Jianying, Huazhong University of Science and Technology of China. Both speakers are ESP/EAP specialists and highly regarded in the field of ESP in Asia and the world.

It is a valuable opportunity for us to hear directly their excellent research from the two overseas researchers. I hope you would be able to join this meeting and the voluntary online networking session after the talks. The voluntary online networking session is intended to replace the annual Shinnenkai of our group around this time of the year.

Please refer to the following for the detailed meeting ZOOM setup, program, titles, abstracts and the bios of the two speakers.

ZOOM meeting:
Topic: ESP Kanto January Zoom Meeting
Time: Jan 16, 2021 02:45 PM Osaka, Sapporo, Tokyo
Meeting URL: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87626932312?pwd=UmszTndqMmJCcmlGTEZwNHNEdllEUT09 Meeting ID: 876 2693 2312
Passcode: qtT6ud

Program:

1. 15:00-16:00 Research Presentation 1
   Helen Basturkmen, University of Auckland, New Zealand
2. 16:00-16:30 Research Presentation 2
   DU Jianying, Huazhong University of Science and Engineering, China
3. 16:30-17:00 Discussion & Business Meeting
4. 17:00-18:00 Voluntary online networking

Presentation 1
Title: Developing materials in English for specific purposes

Presenter: Helen Basturkmen, University of Auckland, New Zealand
Abstract:
This presentation discusses ESP teaching methods and materials including why ESP teaching methods and materials may differ from those in general English language teaching. ESP teachers often develop or adapt materials to meet the particular needs of their group of learners, and this involves them in considering the kinds of teaching/learning activities that they will use. It is common for published materials to have only limited relevance to their group of learners and so typically ESP teachers adapt existing materials or develop material ‘in-house.’ In this presentation, I discuss examples of teaching/learning activities drawing on case reports of teaching innovations in local settings, and I show ways that materials can be linked to the needs, methods and learning styles of the learners’ targeted work or study situations.
Keywords: Materials, adapting materials, developing in-house materials, longer tasks and projects Bio of Presenter 1:
Helen Basturkmen teaches courses on discourse analysis and English for Specific Purposes at the University of Auckland, New Zealand. She has written two books on English for Specific Purposes (Lawrence Erlbaum, 2006; Palgrave Macmillan, 2010) and edited English for Academic Purposes in the Critical Concepts in Linguistics Series (Routledge, 2015). Before, coming to New Zealand, she worked as an ESOL teacher and teacher educator in the Middle East for many years.

Presentation 2
Title: Novice EAP learners’ genre play capacity
Presenter: DU Jianying, Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST), China Abstract:
The dual nature of genre as both conventional and innovational encourages the EAP pedagogy to aim at not only genre production but also genre creation. As a relatively recent pedagogical endeavor, genre play serves as a bridge between conventional norms and innovative practices. Drawing on the pedagogical effect of genre play, this article calls for an attention to the novice EAP learners’ personal interest and personified expression as the universal learning need, in addition to target genres as their specific need. In our study, data obtained through textual analysis and discourse-based interview suggests that students are better motivated to push the genre boundaries when they maintain the control over the stylistic form and when their subjective views are valued. For the first-year undergraduate students with very limited experience in producing academic genres, the EAP-specific lexico- grammatical and rhetorical devices remain the shortest board in their genre capacity. The undergraduate EAP pedagogy therefore should encourage explicit discussion and playful manipulation of linguistic patterns and rhetorical effects. Meanwhile, though genre play has the potential to sweeten the undergraduate EAP pedagogy, pertinent learner need analysis is needed for the playful tasks to

lead to an overall increase in the learner’s genre performance.

Bio of Presenter 2:

Dr. Jianying Du is Associate Professor at the School of Foreign Languages, Huazhong University of Science and Technology. Her main research interests include second language acquisition theories and English for Academic Purposes. She is particularly interested in EAP pedagogy, EAP teacher development, and critical thinking. She teaches academic literacy to students on various levels at higher education in China.

We are looking forward to your participation. Sincerely yours,

Shi Jie
Chair, JACET ESP Kanto Contact: shi.jie[a]uec.ac.jp

Dear all members of JACET ESP Kanto,

I would like to provide you with more details of the panel of our July meeting, the Panel on the Challenges of Remote Teaching, as follows. You are cordially invited to join this panel on ZOOM and provide other members with your valuable knowhow in remote teaching.
The program consists of four short presentations of 15 minutes each followed by a half-an-hour Q&A session. We hope that the topics of this panel will interest you and that you will help our chapter circulate this meeting among your colleagues and friends.

We look forward to meeting you at the meeting:

Time: Jul 11, 2020 03:00 PM – 05:00 PM

The Zoom link and password for this session can be found in the JACET ESP Kanto Sig Facebook group and in the latest group email.

Panel: The Challenges of Remote Teaching

Program

Presentation 1:
Title: Peer Review in Online Writing Classes
Patrick Foss, Tokyo Medical and Dental University

Abstract: Conducting peer review activities in the traditional classroom is simple enough, but doing them online can be a logistical challenge. The presenter will discuss how to use Zoom’s shared screen and annotation tools for peer review involving short assignments and how to incorporate WebClass for review activities involving longer pieces of writing.

Bio: Patrick Foss is an associate professor of English in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Tokyo Medical and Dental University. His research interests include vocabulary use and development and curriculum development.

Presentation 2:
Title: Zooming with Students
Tito Akindele, University of Tokyo
Abstract: Effective teaching is best evaluated by productive learning, which in turn is most fruitful when students take ownership of their studies. For students to take ownership of their studies, a teacher has to be competent and more importantly, approachable. Unfortunately, the absence of face to face communication in remote teaching hampers the teacher’s efforts. This presentation will focus on the strategies that were employed while remotely teaching Active Learning of Science for Science Students and Fluency-oriented Workshop, to first-year students at The University of Tokyo. Undoubtedly, the use of Zoom has changed theway education will be delivered for years to come.
Bio: Tito was born in London but grew up in Nigeria. Following undergraduate studies at the University of Leicester and the State University of New York at Buffalo, he obtained a Ph.D. degree in chemistry from the University of Leeds. He is currently an assistant professor at The University of Tokyo and an adjunct lecturer at the Graduate School of the University of Electro-Communications.

Presentation 3:
Title: Difficulties in Remote Teaching
Johnny Chu, University of Electro-Communications
Abstract: Teaching remotely has been an important topic for many teachers these past several months. It has caught many teachers by surprise because some teachers do not have a lot of knowledge about LMS and using video conferencing software to teach. Remote teaching is especially challenging for part-time teachers because they have to deal with many different university standards and LMS. The presenter will discuss some of the challenges they encountered while teaching remotely during the coronavirus pandemic.
Bio: Johnny Chu is a part-time university instructor at multiple universities in Japan. At the moment, he is teaching at UEC Tokyo, Ferris University, and Tokai University. He is originally from San Jose, California and has a BA in Linguistics and a MA in TESOL.

Presentation 4:
Title: Enhancing Teacher-Student Resonance in Remote Teaching and Learning
SHI Jie, University of Electro-Communications
Abstract: Language teaching in the context of remote or online education needs to be especially carefully calibrated in order to achieve the desired learning objectives. A remote classroom is sometimes considered to be undesirable for language learning and inferior to face-to-face context. This paper, however, presents the pedagogical techniques derived from technological manipulations and curricular adjustments that enhance student experiencing and participation in and outside of the class.
Bio: SHI Jie is currently a professor of TESOL at the University of Electro-Communications and devotes most of her research on ESP (EAP) in the domain of English for Science and Technology at both undergraduate and graduate levels. Her other research interests include Cognitive Learning and AI-Assisted Translation.

Thank you very much.

SHI Jie
Chair, JACET ESP Kanto

1. May 23 (Sat) (Business meeting. All members are welcome)
2. Jul 11 (Sat) (Research meeting 1)
3. Oct 31 (Sat) (Research meeting 2)
4. Jan 16 (Sat) or Jan 9 (Sat)* (Research meeting 3 and Shinenkai)

Today the Jacet ESP Kanto SIG had our first meeting of 2020 and the last one for this academic year. Charlie Robertson from The College of Science and Engineering at Aoyama Gakuin University discussed in detail “how the college of science and engineering at his university in Tokyo attempted to incorporate major changes to its English curriculum that had been in place for over 20 years.“

In the near future, we will be announcing more presentations events for the year 2020.

Have a great 2020 and hope to see you at future events.

After the presentation, we all went to Yona Yona Ale for our annual New Year party.

Annual New Years Party at Yona Yona Ale, Omotesando, 2020/01/11