LD SIG GRANT AWARDEE REPORTS

LD SIG Grant Awardee Reports-%4*(溿狒Ⲃ䡗ꄋ⹨

Reflections of JALT 2022: The Case of a Deer in a Village
A Post-Conference Report for Learner Development (LD) SIG

Emily Choong
LD SIG Conference Grant Recipientemmchoong@gmail.com“Bagai rusa masuk kampung”1 is a Malay proverb which translates to “Like a deer entering avillage.” The proverb is used in my country, Malaysia, to describe the feeling of being surprisedor amazed when you enter a new place, as deer are almost never seen in residential areas. One
can only imagine how it feels to walk into an unfamiliar environment until they actually experienceit. For example, moving to a new country or joining an event for the first time where you know noone. I was like that deer at my first and last in-person JALT International Conference in Nagoya
2019 before the pandemic hit. At that time, I was a new Assistant Language Teacher (ALT) who
knew little about what such a language teaching conference would entail. I remember being mostly
alone, struggling to make decisions on which sessions to attend, wondering what all the academic
jargon meant, and deciphering the abbreviations of the JALT SIGs’ names (I still do not know morethan half of them).
Not long after the 2019 conference, news of a highly infectious virus sparked the pandemic. You
may remember that many institutions scrambled to move their curriculum online. The following
two JALT international conferences (2020 and 2021) had the same fate. During that virtual period,
I volunteered as a Zoom room host and plenary team member. This was where I got to know
more JALT members and had opportunities to present and attend events from the comfort of myworkspace. Although it was not all a bed of roses because of the inevitable technical difficulties,
I gained a wealth of knowledge from the JALT community and the different practices in language
teaching. Then, I got to know about the LD SIG and became a member.
Fast forward to November 2022 when I attended the 2022 conference at the Fukuoka
International Congress Center. Thanks to the financial support provided by the LD SIG and the
grants committee, this trip marked my second time visiting Fukuoka. I was thrilled to be backknowing that the bustling port city is also home to Dazaifu Tenmangu—the shrine of learning,
culture, and the arts. It is an especially fitting location for a language teaching conference. Meetingpeople whom I have collaborated with online but have not met face-to-face yet was quite anexperience—one that established a unique way of networking given that we have gone past thebarriers of being strangers beforehand virtually. Upon reflecting on the conference, referring to
the Malay proverb, I am relieved to say that I am no longer as lost as that poor deer in the village.
Instead, it is thrilling to be in a community where I am continuously learning new things while
sharpening the skills that I possess.
Among the sessions that I attended, Karen Hill Anton’s plenary truly struck a chord. When the LD
SIG editors first briefed me about this conference report, I was not sure where to begin writing,despite having read some of the previous reports in their publication, Learning Learning. However,Karen’s storytelling skills about her cross-cultural personal journey not only stimulated writing
ideas, but also moved many in the room with her authenticity, and received a standing ovation at
the end. The following day, she told us at her memoir writing workshop that even the little details
1

Pronunciation: /bɑgaɪ ruːsə mɑsəʊk kʌmpɒŋ/ or バガイ・ルーサ・マソック・カンポング.

15

LEARNING LEARNING『学習の学習』30(1)have the ability to bring a story to life, and identity is what makes someone’s story a story. She
reminded me of Elaine Horwitz2, a researcher in language anxiety who “wanted to encourageteachers to be their authentic selves in the classroom” (Gregerson & MacIntyre, 2022). Even
though Karen is not a language teacher herself, there were a great deal of takeaways from her life’s
journey as a writer and coach which can be applied to language learning. For example, the powerof storytelling and utilizing aspects of memoir writing in developing writing skills like structure,
themes, giving your story authority through your voice, and sharing meaningful experiences. These
are the essential ingredients that I would love to use to guide my students in writing not to passtheir exams, but to write for themselves.
If you know anything about my country Malaysia, you should expect food references to be brought
up at some point in this report. This year’s conference theme “Learning from Students, Educating
Teachers—Research and Practice” reminds me so much about food. This reminiscence camefrom Dr. Jim McKinley’s plenary session on supporting the teaching-research nexus, highlighting
the growing divide between researchers and teachers. The light that shines upon real classroom
learning is being dimmed by present innovations and the enterprise, amplified by emergency
remote teaching solutions from the pandemic. Another example is how journal reports written byresearchers are not an entire reflection of the real classroom. My interpretation of his session isabout two different kinds of cooks. Firstly, researchers are like people who cook from recipes—
following specific techniques written by various sources. These days, there are online recipes inwhich there are people who have tried the recipes and alternatives they have found. One can gain
an abundance of knowledge from this interaction and scanning through multiple recipes before
actually making the dish. This sounds strangely like literature reviews and methodology, does it
not? On the other hand, teachers are similar to mothers and grandmothers who cook according
to how they feel. Instead of relying on measuring cups and weighing scales, they are aware of theprocess of cooking itself—the experience, the aroma-filled kitchen, and the ability to adjust flavors
as they go. It is from the heart and instincts in the moment. That is how the classroom is. Teachers
listen to their students and adjust lessons according to their goals. It is not to say that one is better
than the other, but rather that they are complementary if their roles could inform each other andcreate meaningful relationships.
Other than ensuring their students’ success, teachers also strive to establish their own paths in
education. Like the harmony of spices in a pot of curry, it is important to engage in discussion withother teachers, even ones who do not teach the same level of students. That is what I received
when I visited the LD SIG forum. There were many presentations with posters, various teachingcontexts, and new ideas shared. I particularly remember Katherine Song’s presentation on using
Scrabble Go with her students. Scrabble is a game that you can play with your family and friends
to pass the time. How Katherine turned it into a classroom activity involving teamwork to support
autonomy was intriguing. This is not only a meaningful way to involve learners through simple
games, but also to allow them to engage with the language that they are learning. Teachers, as
Katherine shared, can guide students in the game and apply the words learned in another activity
such as making sentences. It is also possible to add additional rules such as only playing words thatyou know the meaning of. I thought this was a good opportunity to introduce pronunciation to add
another layer of speaking skill development. During the reflection before the end of the session,
my group discussed other games that we can bring to the classroom such as Boggle, a word gamewith lettered dice. It brought back a lot of memories from my school days, making me realize that
it is essential that we remember the basics and where we started. Now, with fun board games, we
can involve our learners and support them in paving their own language learning journey.
Besides plenary sessions, forums and official JALT meetings, I also attended some regularpresentation sessions. One of them was Aaron Chao’s who shared about Foreign Language

16

LD SIG GRANT AWARDEE REPORTS

Anxiety (FLA) and online learning. Coincidentally, this is what my Master’s research is on, although
speaking anxiety is my focus. Given that the pandemic put face-to-face learning on hold forsome time, institutions like Aaron’s took their exchange programs online. It was interesting to see
how his participants felt in terms of their anxiety levels after they had experienced the program
considering FLA has been widely researched in in-person classrooms and its online sector isstill limited (Resnik, Dewaele, & Knechtelsdorfer, 2022). There were other factors to consider
as sources of anxiety such as being in a cross-cultural environment and the variances between
the class structures. To measure the participants’ anxiety levels, he used the Foreign Language
Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) developed by Horwitz, Horwitz, and Cope (1986), which has
been modified for his research context. In FLA, this scale is popularly used among other language
anxiety researchers and has been modified and translated into more languages over the years(Russell, 2020). At the end of the session, I had a short discussion with those in the room about
how the scale needs to be modified to fit more current teaching contexts. Teachers move with thetimes, and even faster when the obstacle comes in the form of a global pandemic. It is through this
discussion that I realize that we are not alone in our fields and that we have support for not only
our students, but ourselves as educators.
After the 2022 conference, I felt a certain fullness that I had been looking forward to since the endof 2019. With that, I would like to thank the LD SIG grants team again for the financial support thatallowed me to attend the conference in-person in Fukuoka. The grant also allowed me to prepare
myself for the conference by purchasing two books that I will forever treasure: The View from
Breast Pocket Mountain by Karen Hill Anton, and Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design by John
W. Creswell and Cheryl N. Poth. My heartfelt appreciation also goes to Ken Ikeda and Hugh Nicoll
from the LD editorial team for their guidance in writing this report. I would like to acknowledge
Gretchen Clark, Namiko Tsuruta and Robert Dykes for providing their valued feedback during
the report writing process. Finally, a big thank you to the conference committee and all theother attendees I have had the pleasure of becoming acquainted with for your enthusiasm,
likemindedness, and friendship. I conclude with two quotes from Karen’s book, which perfectly sum
up the whole experience.
Gatherings of friends and family around the table are my happiest and most satisfying
moments. Good appetites enhance the experience. (Anton, 2020, p. 282)
At some point in my journey, on a day I never noticed, I found a golden thread, athing of beauty that, though it cannot be seen, connects us all. (Anton, 2020, p. 283).

REFERENCES

Anton, K. H. (2020). The View from Breast Pocket Mountain. Senyume Press.
Gregerson, T. & MacIntyre, P. (2022). Elaine K. Horwitz (1950-2022) In Memoriam. The Modern
Language Journal, 106(3). 651-652.
Horwitz, E. K., Horwitz, M. B., & Cope, J. (1986). Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety. The Modern
Language Journal, 70(2). 125-132.
Resnik, P., Dewaele, J. M., & Knechtelsdorfer, E. (2022). Differences in the Intensity and the Natureof Foreign Language Anxiety in In-person and Online EFL Classes during the Pandemic: A MixedMethods Study. TESOL Quarterly. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.3177
Russell, V. (2020). Language anxiety and the online learner. Foreign Language Annals, 53(2),338-352.

17

LEARNING LEARNING『学習の学習』30(1)Reflecting on PanSIG 2022

James Underwood
Chuo University
jamesmichaelunderwood@gmail.com
During the train ride to Nagano after work, where PanSIG 2022 was to be held, I started to think
about the conference theme - “Reimagining Language Education.” Looking at the conference
introduction in the handbook and on the conference website, I saw that the words “eco-(friendly),”“inclusivity/diversity,” and “ mindset” appeared alongside “hybrid,” which made me think that this“reimagining” would be multi-faceted and went beyond the new way of delivering conferences
and lessons. Extending education to include awareness of how our actions impacted theenvironment was necessary because of climate change. Inclusivity while recognising diversity
was also essential, I thought, in light of the tensions of the last few years. Lastly, I thought teachinglearners to persevere is needed to ensure their success. With these things in mind, I attended theconference, interested in learning more. Looking back at my notes from the conference, three
sessions on Saturday and the LDSIG forum on Sunday stood out.
The first was “Building an EMI Course: strategies for Critical Thinking and Student Efficacy” by
Adrienne Johnson and Cecilia Smith. In this, they explained how to create a positive learning
community, which they thought was essential in fostering group work. One of the ways they did so
was to ask questions such as “What are you looking forward to this year?” and “What is something
you want to challenge?” which their students first shared, then compared the similarities anddifferences between their answers and the groups as a whole. Cecilia and Andrienne also useddialogic feedback, which took the form of validation, encouragement and advice, which was agood model for the students to follow. I learnt a lot from this presentation and was reminded tospend some time creating a learning community from the start instead of rushing into the content.
The second presentation I chose was “Teacher Reflections on a Student-led Group Seminar
Project” by Anna Belobrovy, Ian Hurrell and Travis West. In this presentation, they described how
their students worked autonomously in small groups to create a seminar that presented the for andagainst arguments for a world issue. After the seminar, leaders will gather the participants’ opinions inthe small group discussion, summarising them in a report. What interested me about the course wasthat after they had conducted the seminar in class, the students could participate in an online miniconference that was open to 3 classes in different departments. Although I had had success with thestudents presenting in class, I had not ever had them do so outside, so it was refreshing to see.
The third presentation was “Reframing Mindsets/Attitudes to English Use in Japan” by Ann
Mayeda, which argued that an “English-user” identity could be encouraged in Japan if there was ashift in perspectives. In her talk, she shared contrasts between Nepalese and Japanese children in
their willingness to communicate in English. She observed that while children in Nepal and Bhutan
often came to her to ask questions to practice their English, this was rare in Japan. She thoughtthat perhaps this was because the Japanese children did not identify as English users and, as aresult, were worried too much about making mistakes. She felt it important that English learners inJapan become more involved in their learning, shift their perspectives of their identity from English
learners to English users, and use English to share Japanese culture and values and collaborate
with all English speakers, not just native speakers of English. It was interesting to see the contrasts
between Nepal, Bhutan and Japan in her pictures of the educational environments. Althoughclassrooms in both Bhutan and Nepal were quite resource poor when compared to Japan, thestudents made up for this with their enthusiasm to communicate in English. She argued that one of18

LD SIG GRANT AWARDEE REPORTS

the reasons for these countries’ passion for English was its connections to upward mobility, which
led to its use being normalised. In Japan, in contrast, English ability did not guarantee progression,
and English learners found it hard to develop a clear identity as English users.
The main focus on the next day was the LDSIG forum “Challenging Conventions: Opening up New
Spaces in Learner Development. The forum had a simultaneous in-person and online element.
Unfortunately, as I was attending in person, my attention was drawn naturally to the presentersin the room, and I missed all the online presentations. As I was presenting in the second round,I, unfortunately, also missed Gretchen Clark’s and Greg Roualt’s presentations, which were
happening simultaneously.
Dominique Vola Ambinintsoa Razafindratsimba, with the help of Fanaperana Haingo Rajaonaritiana
and Volatiana Olivia Rasoanindrina via video recording, started the first round of presentations withan enlightening report on how they, as student teachers, sought to overcome the challenges they
faced as they extended their English studies outside their classroom in Madagascar. Jenny Morgan
followed this with her session on “Co-Creating Inclusive Classroom Spaces to Help Students
Envision Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the Communities They Belong to.” In this presentation,
she showed how she created inclusivity in her classrooms by first recognising how diverse her
students could be due to their differing funds of knowledge (Gonzales, Moll, et al., 2006), which
she then used as a resource in various sharing activities. As a summation activity, the students
presented how they could take action and encourage diversity and quality in the contexts andcommunities they belonged. Through this presentation, I saw how important it was to respect
the identit(ies) each student brought to the classroom and encourage them to think about how
they could each take action to promote inclusivity in their communities; it was then time for mycontribution to the forum, which focused on one of the courses I taught.
My presentation described how I used the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) as the focusof an intermediate-level academic Listening and Speaking course. In this listening and speaking
class, 24 intermediate-level students worked to improve academic and language skills throughnotetaking, sharing research and combined presentation and discussions. Over two seven-weekcycles, my students would each choose an SDG to research. When they decided which SDG toinvestigate, I encouraged them to choose one that they felt was relevant to their studies and local
communities. During each seven-week cycle, the students would first build their backgroundknowledge, then research the SDG in their local area, interview two people they knew, and thenfinally investigate how local actors were helping to realise the SDG.
To build their background knowledge, I would have the students brainstorm about what they knew
about the SDG. After this, they would use combinations of the words from their brainstorm as
search terms in Google images; and then make a slideshow. In the next class, they would share
this slideshow in pairs, which helped them to build fluency and confidence. After this, I would holda tutorial session on notetaking skills and show the students various examples of notetaking which
they would then assess and comment on in groups. Finally, I would gather feedback from theclass about what they had noticed and comment with the help of a projected image of the shared
example of notes. The students would then make notes on the background information from the“Why it Matters” and “Infographics” available on the United Nations website, which they would thenshare in the next class. After making notes, I encouraged them to write short reflections about what
they had read and then think about what they would research next.
In the next class, I sat the students in groups of four which I engineered to ensure that eachmember researched a different SDG. In two pair-sharing rounds, they would share their notes
to build fluency, confidence and ownership of their SDG as the “expert” on the table. After the
sharing, I would teach the students about collocations and have them select three unknown
words from their notes which they would then make collocation maps with the help of an online

19

LEARNING LEARNING『学習の学習』30(1)collocation dictionary. At the end of class, I had the students think about their local area concerning
their chosen SDG and brainstorm a list of questions they had. They would then use their questions
to research and make notes for homework, which they would again share in the next class.
In the fifth week, I would hold a tutorial on interview skills, where I would get the students tothink about the objective of their interview, the types of questions they could ask, who they could
interview, and how they would record the information. After brainstorming a list of questions, theywould practice in pairs in English in the classroom and then reflect on improving the interview
process. They would then be ready to interview people for homework. For this, I asked them tointerview two people from different backgrounds, to get a variety of perspectives. I recommend
that, for example, they could ask their mother or father and also one of their part-time job
colleagues. I also stressed that even if they interviewed in Japanese, they must write an English
interview summary.
Over the next week, the students would research what action in their local area was being take. In
the final week, the students got ready for their presentation. I would hold a tutorial on presentation
skills, slide design and referencing to aid this. The students would brainstorm in small groups about
what makes a “good” presentation regarding performance, content and slide design. They could
then see examples of previous students’ slides and work together to note down the good points
in terms of design and how they would improve them. They would then select the information
they would include on their slides. As I wanted the presentation to be interactive, I would require
the students to think of five discussion questions they would ask their small group. In the final
week of the cycle, the students would work in small groups to present their findings and thenlead a discussion on their topic. Each round of presentation and meeting would last 15 to 20
minutes, after which they would complete google forms to give peer feedback on each other’s
presentations.
When designing the poster for the LDSIG forum, I found it hard to design one that maintained abalance between telling my story and learning and sharing it with others. In the end, rather than asingle sheet, I used a set of posters that explored different course elements, which I would thenuse as a launching pad to learn from others. The poster can be found here.
During the forum, people came up to comment and share what they had done with similar contentbased courses. Many of us were working with students on global issues and thought it importantfor students to use English to learn about the issues in society and create a space for them toshare their perspectives, which they would not normally do. We also thought it important for the
students to think about what they could do to improve the situation rather than only find out about
the various actors involved.
Although I had participated in online conferences during the pandemic, it did not compare to being
able to participate in person. There is certainly a different kind of energy given off by many face-toface conference attendees. And it was great to catch up with colleagues and other members of the
LDSIG. As a part-time lecturer without institutional funding, the downside to attending a conferenceis the costs involved, which soon mount up. I thank the LD SIG and the Grants team for funding myparticipation.

REFERENCES

Gonzalez, N., Moll, L. C., & Amanti, C. (2006). Funds of Knowledge: Theorizing Practices inHouseholds, Communities, and Classrooms. Routledge.
United Nations (n.d). Take Action for the Sustainable Development Goals - United Nations
Sustainable Development. United Nations Sustainable Development. https://www.un.org/
sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/

20