Welcome to the NanKyu Chapter of the Japan Association for Language Teaching! Our chapter incorporates the areas of Nagasaki, Kumamoto, Miyazaki, and Kagoshima. We promote and sponsor events in all four prefectures, and aim to bring together language teachers from all levels and fields. Have a look around!
Upcoming Events
Your Next Event!
Do you have an idea for an event? Fill out the form here or contact us directly at president@nankyujalt.org.
Past Events
25 April 2020
Discussion: Blended Learning in Practice
In this online meeting, Huy Tran (owner, The Language Kitchen) discussed strategies for implementing online instruction. He demonstrated several tools for managing and delivering content.
Presenter: Huy Tran, Owner, The Language Kitchen
When: 25 April 2020, 16:00 - 17:30
Where: Zoom
Event Cost: ¥0 for everybody!
Contact: program@nankyujalt.org
27 March 2020
Sponsored Event: KumaReads
KumaReads is a community-based organization dedicated to promoting English literacy in Kumamoto. Still in the formative stages, KumaReads is seeking volunteers to form a board of directors. In this meeting, interested individuals can learn more about KumaReads and what needs to be done in the near future to achieve stated goals. For more information, please contact Branden Kirchmeyer (branden@kumareads.org).
Presenter: Branden Kirchmeyer, Founder, KumaReads
When: 27 April 2020, 16:00 - 18:00
Where: Online (Zoom)
Event Cost: Free for everyone
Contact: program@nankyujalt.org
Online
Due to the current COVID-19 pandemic, this meeting took place online via Zoom.
14 March 2020
PIGATE's monthly meeting, co-sponsored by NanKyu JALT.
When: 14 March 2020, 13:00 - 16:30
Where: Online (via Zoom)
Event Cost: ¥0
Promoting English literacy with graded readers: A community project proposal (Branden Kirchmeyer, Sojo University) Based on a survey of several public libraries in Kumamoto, the only English-language books seemingly available to children are picture books published in predominantly English-speaking countries. In this presentation, Branden will propose the establishment of a community-based organization of volunteers to facilitate English literacy by getting, sharing, and promoting graded readers in publicly accessible locations such as libraries and community centers. He will present the project’s mission, objectives, and functions, before opening the floor for discussion of the project challenges, possible directions, and timelines.
More Elementary School English Activities (Rob Hirschel, Sojo University) This short presentation is a follow-on to a workshop for PIGATE last November. In this session, Rob will present English activities from his own elementary school English classes years ago. The materials for all activities are available either from this website: https://stellafinkle.wordpress.com/ or by request from the presenter (rob.hirschel@gmail.com). Rob will begin the session with simple vocabulary recollection activities, then share exercises that lead into student recitation of full, yet contrived sentences. He will finish with activities where students produce more authentic original sentences.
PIGATE Event 3-14-2020.pdf26 - 28 February 2020
MoodleMoot Japan is the annual conference of the Moodle Association of Japan. If you are a teacher, educational administrator, software developer, materials developer, or IT manager then this conference will be of interest to you. If you are already using Moodle, then you can pick up ideas on how to use it more effectively as a teaching and research tool. If you are new to Moodle, then you can learn a lot from the hands-on workshops, and from talking to experienced users and suppliers of Moodle related services, such as hosting a Moodle site and creating e-learning materials.
When: 26 - 28 February
Where: TBA
Schedule:
26 February - workshops, Welcome Reception
27 February - presentations, Networking Dinner
28 February - presentations, Moodle Awards
Event Cost: ¥10,000
Online
The event venue has been changed. Stay tuned for more information.
25 January 2020
Informal Panel Discussion & Shinnenkai
Please join us for a panel discussion regarding new innovations and challenges in language teaching and learning in Kumamoto. Moderated by NanKyu President Branden Kirchmeyer, the panelists will discuss current trends in their own contexts and what unique challenges they are anticipating. Guests will be welcome to add to the discussion. Discussions will move to a shinnenkai nearby in downtown Kumamoto.
Panelists:
Jon Rowberry, Director, Sojo International Learning Center
Huy Tran, Owner, The Language Kitchen
Misato Takata, Teacher, Elementary School Attached to the Faculty of Education, Kumamoto University
When: 25 January, 17:30 - 18:00
Where: Mirai Kaigishitsu
Schedule:
Welcome & Introduction
Panel Discussion
Q & A
Brief Officer Reports
Shinnenkai (from 18:30)
Event Cost: ¥0 for JALT members / ¥500 for non-members
Shinnenkai Cost: ¥3,000 ~ ¥4,500, location TBD
Contact: program@nankyujalt.org
14 December 2019
PIGATE's December Gathering
9 November 2019
PIGATE's November Gathering
The November PIGATE gathering will [take] place at the Prefectural University of Kumamoto, in room 10 of the Administrative Studies faculty building.
On Nov. 9th, Rob Hirschel of Sojo University will lead a workshop on:
Elementary School Classroom English Activities.
This workshop will provide elementary school teachers, teachers-in-training, and other educators with ideas and activities that they can use in their own classrooms. The instructor will lead participants in games and other activities that have been trialed in elementary school classrooms in Toyama.
The purposes of the English language activities will be for young students to:
Increase their basic English vocabulary (e.g.: animals, sports, foods, school objects, & days of the week),
Develop their abilities to construct and understand simple sentences (e.g: I like apples; I don’t like green peppers), and
Build confidence in listening to and speaking simple English.
Feel free to preview materials Rob may use for the workshop.
Hoping or planning to attend? Please let us know by filling out this form.
Please note that the PUK will holding a university festival this weekend, so motor vehicle access will be one-way and parking spaces will be hard to get. Please plan to use public transportation, [bike or walk,] or carpool and come early.
3 November 2019
NanKyu Annual General Meeting (AGM)
We will hold our AGM at JALT2019 on Sunday morning. An agenda will be posted soon. If you'd like to comment on, make requests for discussion items, or would like to join the meeting, please contact Branden Kirchmyer, Chapter President, at president@nankyujalt.org.
Time: 9:50 AM - 10:35 AM (45 minutes)
Room: 906
15 July 2019
A New Hiragana / English Chart
This event focuses on the first vocabulary we learn as SLLs.
Event Speaker: Marcus Theobald
Contact (for queries): marcustheobald@hotmail.com
Date/Time: 15 July, 18:00-19:30
Cost: JALT members free
Non-JALT members 500 yen
Venue: AEON building 7th floor, 教室１, opposite Kagoshima chuo station
29 June 2019
Officers Meeting
Directly following the conference on 29 June, our officers will be meeting to discuss policy and future programming for our Chapter. An agenda will be posted soon. If you'd like to comment on, make requests for discussion items, or would like to join the meeting, please contact Branden Kirchmyer, Chapter President, at president@nankyujalt.org.
28-30 June 2019
The sixth annual Sojo University Teaching & Learning Forum will be held in partnership with the Teacher Development SIG on 29 June, 2019, with a Welcome Party on Friday the 28th and a castle tour on Sunday the 30th.
15-16 June 2019
JALT Executive Board Meeting (EBM)
The second Executive Board Meeting of 2019 will be held in Nagoya, where Chapter Presidents and SIG Coordinators will assemble with the National Officers (Board of Directors) and various appointed officers to discuss and decide on JALT policy. For this EBM, Branden Kirchmeyer represented the NanKyu Chapter as Chapter President.
9 May 2019
Guest Speakers: Marcus Theobald and Will Hall
When: Sat, May 4, 2:00pm – 4:00pm
Where: AEON building 7th floor, 教室第1, Kagoshima
Cost: 500
Marcus Theobald, Shigakukan University, Kagoshima: Japanese university students’ ability to recognize the (ɔ:) phoneme
Will Hall, Miyazaki International College: Engaging with language through visual art
9 March 2019
PIGATE Monthly meeting (co-sponsored by NanKyu JALT)
When: Sat, March 9, 1:30pm – 4:45pm
Where: Prefectural University of Kumamoto, 3 Chome-1-100 Tsukide, Higashi-ku, Kumamoto-shi, Kumamoto-ken 862-8502, Japan (map)
Cost: Free!
For more details, please visit the PIGATE Blog.
Also, check out our PIGATE page!
PIGATE Event 3-2019.pdf23 February 2019
Integration of Content and Language 2 of 2: The Reactive Approach
(organized by the Prefectural University of Kumamoto)
When: Sat, February 23, 10:00pm – 3:00pm
Where: CPD Center, Prefectural University of Kumamoto, 3 Chome-1-100 Tsukide, Higashi-ku, Kumamoto-shi, Kumamoto-ken 862-8502, Japan (map)
Who: Roy Lyster, Professor Emeritus, McGill University
Cost: Free for everybody!
NOTE: People are welcome to turn up on the day, but we would like to get some idea of numbers, so notifying Rick Lavin (rlavin@pu-kumamoto.ac.jp) in advance of your intention to attend would be greatly appreciated. Queries also welcome at the same address.
22 February 2019
Integration of Content and Language 1 of 2: The Proactive Approach
(organized by the Prefectural University of Kumamoto)
When: Sat, February 22, 9:30pm – 12:30pm
Where: Room 204, Glocal Center, Prefectural University of Kumamoto, 3 Chome-1-100 Tsukide, Higashi-ku, Kumamoto-shi, Kumamoto-ken 862-8502, Japan (map)
Who: Roy Lyster, Professor Emeritus, McGill University
Cost: Free for everybody!
NOTE: People are welcome to turn up on the day, but we would like to get some idea of numbers, so notifying Rick Lavin (rlavin@pu-kumamoto.ac.jp) in advance of your intention to attend would be greatly appreciated. Queries also welcome at the same address.
9 February 2019
PIGATE Monthly meeting (co-sponsored by NanKyu JALT)
When: Sat, February 9, 1:30pm – 4:30pm
Where: Prefectural University of Kumamoto, 3 Chome-1-100 Tsukide, Higashi-ku, Kumamoto-shi, Kumamoto-ken 862-8502, Japan (map)
Cost: Free!
For more details, please visit the PIGATE Blog.
Also, check out our PIGATE page!
15 December 2018
The fifth annual Sojo University Teaching & Learning Forum will be held in partnership with the Japan Association for Self-Access Learning (JASAL) on 15 December, 2018.
13 December 2018
23-26 November 2018
The 44th Annual International Conference on Language Teaching and Learning & Educational Materials Exhibition will be held at the Shizuoka Convention & Arts Center (Granship) Shizuoka City, Shizuoka, Japan on Friday, November 23, to Monday, November, 26, 2018
Call for presentation proposals: https://jalt.org/conference/call-proposals
Deadline: Monday, February 12, 2018 11:59 pm, JST
Shout out to Greg Rammit (Kumamoto Gakuen University) who won the Best Poster Competition at the conference!
15-16 November 2018
11th International Symposium of America-Japan Societies in Kumamoto
(not a JALT-sponsored event)
When: Friday & Saturday, 15-16 November
Where: Hotel Castle BF Crystal Hall 〒860-8565 Kumamoto Prefecture, Kumamoto, Chuo Ward, Jyoto-machi 4-2
Cost: ¥20,000 for both days, ¥12,000 for Saturday only
This event is not sponsored by JALT, but is a good opportunity for those who have an interest in Japan-America relations. Our chapter president will be attending, so if you'd like more information please contact Branden Kirchmeyer at president@nankyujalt.org, or visit the Japan-American Societies of Kumamoto website.
2018.11.15-17-11th-International-Symposium.pdf10 November 2018
PIGATE Monthly meeting (co-sponsored by NanKyu JALT)
When: Sat, November 10, 1:30pm – 4:30pm
Where: Prefectural University of Kumamoto, 3 Chome-1-100 Tsukide, Higashi-ku, Kumamoto-shi, Kumamoto-ken 862-8502, Japan (map)
Cost: Free
For more details, please visit the PIGATE Blog.
Also, check out our PIGATE page!
PIGATE EVENT (co-sponsored by NanKyu JALT)
Creating and Implementing Interactive Tasks based on Self-Determination Theory - for young learners and the young at heart!
David Ockert's teaching interests are in critical thinking, reading comprehension, and academic writing. He does research on the influence of technology on affective variables (motivation, confidence, anxiety, and willingness to communicate). For this presentation, he will focus on self-determination theory-based EFL motives, as they are interrelated.
David also enjoys creative lesson planning for communicative purposes, using a task-based language teaching (TBLT) approach via the three pillars of self-determination theory: competence (mastery), relatedness, and autonomy. He will show how all three can be easily incorporated into any level of pedagogy, with a focus on the junior high school level in Japan.
When: Sept. 15, 2018, 1:00pm-4:30pm
Where: The Prefectural University of Kumamoto - Administrative Studies faculty building, 5th floor, Seminar room 10
For more information/updates, please visit the PIGATE Blog.
Video Exchange Project: Presentation by Andrew Meyerhoff (Nagasaki)
The project involves video exchange between fourteen first year Japanese University students and a Japanese-Canadian living within the former internment camp, now-turned incorporated town. This town is known mostly as a hotbed for agriculture. The Canadian-based correspondent is an avid horticulturalist, growing self-sustaining fruit and vegetable crops, as well as herbs. Close to half the students in the Japanese student group are Agriculture majors and introduce Japanese crops to the Canadian correspondent and two of her sons through video. In addition, the students learn about internment camp life and a local roadside signage project. The goals of the project are four-fold: raising awareness and motivation for students; fostering linkage between cultures (Canadian, Japanese, Nikkei); cross-cultural content-based learning; empowerment and preservation for Nikkei community through cultural bridges. The platform and other features will be discussed. Come attend this event and learn results to date.
Bio: Andrew Meyerhoff is a native of Vancouver, British Columbia. He has a lived in Japan for 29 years. He has completed TESOL training from Langara College and UBC, along with practicum from the Vancouver School Board, in addition to holding an MEd from Acadia University in Curriculum Studies. He has been an Associate Professor at Saga University for 12 years.
Cost: JALT Members: free
Non-members: 1000 (students free)
Venue: Dejima Koryu Kaikan, 2-11 Dejima machi, Nagasaki City (map)
Feel free to RSVP or drop comments/questions on our Facebook event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/188287081846736/
PIGATE Monthly Meeting (co-sponsored by NanKyu JALT)
When: Sat, July 14, 1:30pm – 4:30pm
Where: Prefectural University of Kumamoto, 3 Chome-1-100 Tsukide, Higashi-ku, Kumamoto-shi, Kumamoto-ken 862-8502, Japan (map)
Cost: Free
For more details, please visit the PIGATE Blog.
Also, check out our PIGATE page!
2nd 2018 JALT Executive Board Meeting
Held at the International Congress Center in Tsukuba, JALT leaders from around the country assembled for the 2nd annual Executive Board Meeting (EBM) to report on the state of JALT and discuss future changes and projections. NanKyu Chapter was represented by our President, Branden Kirchmeyer. Of note, a new SIG was voted into existence: Intercultural Communication. Potential collaborations with other chapters and SIGs were discussed, and strategies for improving members experiences were learned and are currently being implemented.
If you are a NanKyu member and would like more information about this or future EBMs, or are interested in attending an EBM, please contact one of the officers listed here.
Our friendly neighbors in Oita JALT have invited us out to their 'pechakucha' event! The deadline for registering is March 19th. Click on the title for more information including location and contact details.
SUTLF 2018: English Beyond the Classroom
The fourth annual Sojo University Teaching & Learning Forum was a big success. ¥65000 was raised for Randall's charity.
My Share & New Year's Party
Members met in Nagasaki for a My Share followed by a New Year party.