JACET ESP SIG Kanto (June 2015 Meeting)

Co-organized by the Research Station on Innovative Global Tertiary English Education (IGTEE) of UEC Tokyo

Date:　June 27, 2015 (Sat)　15:00 ～17:00  15:00~16:00 Presentation, Q&A  16:10~17:00 Business Meeting

Venue:  University of Electro-Communications (UEC Tokyo), Building East 1, Room 705 (UEC Tokyo, 1-5-1 Chofugaoka, Chofu, Tokyo, 182-8585)

Please find the link for the location:

http://www.uec.ac.jp/eng/about/access/  (in English)

http://www.uec.ac.jp/about/profile/access/ (in Japanese)

Presentation: Developing a Reading Comprehension Course in ICT Using Authentic Materials

by M. Hirai and T. Watanabe

Presentation Abstract:

While content-language integrated learning (CLIL) is drawing growing attention these days, it is still faced with a number of challenges before establishing a solid foothold in college education in Japan, including the lack of suitable teaching materials and the scarcity of teachers qualified both in field knowledge and in language teaching. The authors have developed a new CLIL course in ICT, drawing on their dual experience as computer designers and college teachers. The first author diagnosed typical weaknesses of Japanese students in reading comprehension and wrote a book shedding light on those weaknesses and compiling a number of authentic texts from a variety of publications. The course has then been developed using the book and supplementary materials, so that targeted learners will not only become familiar with current vocabulary and real-life expressions in ICT but also learn how the grammatical rules taught in secondary schools are applied in actual publications. In addition, the use of real-life texts on current issues keeps students interested and motivated. In this regard it is strongly desirable to keep the content of the course up-to-date, and the authors are introducing new materials taken from weekly or monthly publications on an on-going basis.

Profiles of the Presenters:

Michihiro Hirai, certified Professional Engineer in IT, is currently a part-time instructor of English at Kanagawa University, while he also teaches professional English at various companies, drawing on his decades-long experience as a computer engineer. His research interests include material writing, professional communication, testing, and translation.

Tsuyoshi Watanabe is currently a Project Professor at Kanagawa University and a part-time instructor at Open University. He also teaches management of technology at various companies, drawing on his decades-long experience as a computer engineer.  His research interests include learning analytics and management of innovation in science and technology.

Contact: SHI Jie (shi.jie@uec.ac.jp) University of Electro-Communications (UEC Tokyo); Reiko Fujita (reiko-f@tokai-u.jp) Tokai University; Shinichi Hashimoto (shin.hashimoto@uec.ac.jp) University of Electro-Communications (UEC Tokyo)

JACET ESP SIG Kanto (May 2015 Meeting)

Date:　　May 30, 2015 (Sat)　15:00 ～17:00 Business Meeting

Venue:  University of Electro-Communications (UEC Tokyo), Building East 1, Room 602 (UEC Tokyo, 1-5-1 Chofugaoka, Chofu, Tokyo, 182-8585)

Please find the link for the location:

http://www.uec.ac.jp/eng/about/access/  (in English)

http://www.uec.ac.jp/about/profile/access/ (in Japanese)