Proceedings

It was our great pleasure to host The 24th Conference of the Japanese Language Teachers’ Association of the Northeast Region of the United States (JLTANE) on June 19 and 20, 2010 at Williams College.

The theme of the JLTANE 2010 was “Raising the Next Generation – Teacher Training in Asian Language Pedagogy.”  Professor Patricia Wetzel of Portland State University delivered the keynote speech entitled “What Do Grammar and Technology Have in Common.”  Observing the parallel development or evolution of grammar and technology, Professor Wetzel addressed the essentials of how we teach foreign languages and how we train personnel who want to be teachers.  Following the keynote speech, Professors Wako Tawa, Amherst College, Emiko Konomi, Portland State (then Williams College) and Cecilia Chang, Williams College discussed teacher training in Asian languages at a special round table discussion.  Professor Tawa stressed the importance of grammar instruction in language education sharing her vision in workshops that had been led by her at Amherst College for the high school Japanese teachers.  Professor Konomi raised questions on what we really mean by teaching authentic spoken language and examined how properly trained teachers can achieve greater authenticity in Japanese language instructions.  Professor Chang detailed how Chinese language teacher training has been evolving in response to the urgent increase of the Chinese language student population based on her teacher training experience in Middlebury College.

We would like to extend our appreciation to those who put their presentations together for the proceedings.  Our special appreciation goes to Professor Tamae Prindle, the President of JLTANE, who composed the history of JLTANE from the inception of this association for this edition of the proceedings.

Kasumi Yamamoto, Conference Chair, JLTANE 2010
Associate Professor of Japanese
Department of Asian Studies
Williams College

President’s Address
Tamae Prindle, Colby College
History of JLTANE (Japanese Language Teachers’ Association of the Northeast)

Keynote Speech
Patricia Wetzel, Portland State University
What Do Grammar and Technology Have in Common?

Papers from Special Roundtable Discussion: Teacher Training in Asian Language Pedagogy
Emiko Konomi, Portland State University
Pedagogy of Authentic Spoken Language

Wako Tawa, Amherst College
Teacher Training for High School Teachers: Grammar Instruction

Papers from Panel: Creative Approaches for Teaching Intermediate Japanese
Mariko Henstock, Boston University
中級日本語に関する問題点の提起と解決策 (The Challenges of Teaching Intermediate Japanese and Possible Solutions)

Etsuko Takahashi, Wesleyan University
会話プロジェクト:日本語三年生の応用力を促すための足がかり (Conversation Project: an Approach to Helping Third Year Japanese Learners Improve Their Application Skills)

Kazuko Ozawa, Wellesley College
TVのCMを中級日本語に取り入れる一案 (Effective Use of TV Commercial in Intermediate Level Japanese)

Individual Papers

Hisae Kobayashi, Connecticut College
日本語学習者の教室外言語活動の実践例 (An Application Exercise for Japanese Learners beyond the Classroom — Conducting Surveys in Japanese with Native Speakers in Tokyo –)

Yoshimi Nagaya, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
読解アシスタントー上級学習者教材作成ツール (Dokkai Assistant: A New Tool for Learning and Teaching Advanced Reading Materials)

Hiroyo Nishimura, Yale University
Mari Stever, Yale University
リスニング・スピーキング能力練習の為の一案−オンライン録音プログラム導入の試み− (An Attempt to Improve Listening and Speaking Skills- Use of Online Recording Programs in Curriculum -)

Fumi Yamakawa, Waseda University
教室の枠を超えた文章表現活動の試み —POP作成の実践報告—(Creative Writing Beyond the Classroom: a Report on the POP Project)

Ikuko Yoshida, Bennington College
Teacher vs. Student: The Perspectives on Cognitive Skills in Foreign Language Learning

Erica Zimmerman, United States Naval Academy
“You are not lucky:” Identity Constructions in Stories by a Korean Learner of Japanese