Thanks for coming to the Pearson Kirihara Workshop!!
Pearson Kirihara Teacher's Conference 2010
New Waves of Learning
Date: October 11th, 2010 (Monday, National Holiday)
Time: 11:00 - 16:50 (Doors open 10:30)
Venue: Toyo Gakuen University
Nearest Station: JR Suidobashi
Program
Room 4: Teaching Young Learners
11:00–12:00
It was fun. So what? Critical Analysis and Selection of Effective Activities
Presenter: John Wiltshier (Miyagi Gakuin Women's University)
Fun must be the most overused and misused term in Children's ELT. Nothing is inherently 'fun', just like nothing is inherently motivating. Fun can produce chaotic classes and is a poor substitute for actual learning and student success.
This presentation will introduce START analysis: a simple tool that teachers can use to quickly assess TEYL classroom activities beyond simply; is this fun or not? The presenter will demonstrate and analyse 8 classroom activities using START and participants will be encouraged to think critically about the value of each activity. Interaction will be encouraged and the best of these 8 will be combined with recommended activities from participants to produce a list of the most highly effective activities for our classes.
13:00–14:00 Adding Extensive Reading to Your Curriculum
Presenter: Eunice Izumi Miyashita (Eunice English Tutorial)
Picture books and readers are effective not only for language acquisition, but also for developing learners' understanding of different cultures. Ms. Miyashita will demonstrate some practical ways of incorporating picture books and readers into your teaching and learning. Let's take a look at the power of reading.
14:20–15:20 Early Literacy Teaching at Japanese Elementary Schools
Presenter: Mayumi Tabuchi (Ritsumeikan Primary School)
Teaching letters and reading at elementary schools is a sensitive issue due to the fear that the complexity of sounds and corresponding letters may de-motivate Japanese students; therefore, there has been little discussion as to how to implement literacy teaching into classroom curricula. The presenter will introduce how both "Top down" and "Bottom up" approaches can be effectively applied through storytelling and cumulative phonemic awareness to help encourage and foster independent reading.
Featured Presentation
15:40 – 16:50
Current Computer Intelligence in Teaching and Assessment
Presenter: Jared Bernstein, PhD. (Pearson Knowledge Technologies)
Technology can automate instruction in academic performance tasks. This gives teachers time for the kinds of instruction that only a teacher can provide. Instructional and assessment systems developed at Pearson show the use of computer intelligence to teach and measure basic skills in math, reading, writing, speaking and listening in either a first or a second language. This presentation will also offer participants a hands-on opportunity to experience automated speaking and listening assessment with VERSANT™.
Presentations in other rooms
Room 1: Four Skills
11:00–12:00 English Firsthand User's Session
Presenter: Marc Helgesen (Miyagi Gakuin Women's University)
13:00–14:00 Effective Classroom Management, Firsthand
Presenter: John Wiltshier (Miyagi Gakuin Women's University)
14:20–15:20 Task-Based Assessment of Oral Proficiency
Presenter: Marcos Benevides (Oberlin University)
Room 2: E-Learning / Presentation
11:00–12:00 Blended Learning: a Sea Change in the Ways We Teach and Learn
Presenter: Roger Palmer (Konan University)
13:00–14:00 Insights, Comparisons and Results from an LEI Course Pilot Study
Presenter: Anne Braiser (Kagoshima University)
14:20–15:20 Teaching English Through English: A Presentation-Based Approach
Presenter: Tokuo Yazawa (Nagano-ken Ueda Someya-oka High School)
Room 3: Testing / Extensive Reading
11:00–12:00 Use of Versant at Waseda University
Presenter: Yasunari Harada (Waseda University)
13:00–14:00 Teaching TOEIC More Effectively
Presenter: Koji Hayakawa (Meikai University)
14:20–15:20 ER; Extensive Reading / Effective Reading
Presenter: Marc Helgesen (Miyagi Gakuin Women's University)
