Japan's First Hosting of The International Listening Association Conference

David A. Prucha

Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology


On August 3rd, 2000, approximately 50 participants from Japan, the United States, Scotland, and Sweden gathered at Aomori University of Health and Welfare in Aomori Prefecture for the first hosting of the International Listening Association's Regional Conference to be held outside the United States in the 20-year history of the ILA. While the ILA is a professional organization dedicated to studying the impact that listening has on all human activity, this year's conference theme was "Improving Global Communication through Listening." Participants in the two-day conference listened to speeches and presentations, asked questions, got involved in discussions, and forged new ties with one another in a remarkably friendly and well-organized atmosphere. Presentations and workshops addressed issues on various topics, relating the role of listening to recent advances of global communications. Presenters shared lesson plans connecting listening exercises with listener-learning theories being used primarily at the university level in different countries.


The general session began with a speech by Dr. Richard Halley, the ILA President-Elect, which focused on recent definitions of active listening and the context of the listening situation as a major determiner of the most effective active listening strategies. This was followed by concurrent sessions, including a presentation workshop by university lecturer David Prucha, who demonstrated classroom listening activities for introducing global dialects of English in the Japanese university EFL classroom. The atmosphere was further enhanced by a dinner, and a visit by conference participants to the famous Aomori Nebuta Festival on the evening of August 3rd. On August 4th, a general session was given by Dr. Michael Purdy of Governors State University, which focused on the different ways that people communicate and listen in Japan and the United States. This was followed by more concurrent sessions, and ended with a symposium on the importance of listening, given in Japanese.


The main purpose of the conference was to provide professionals with a chance to meet, share ideas and techniques, learn more about global communication issues and trends, and to bring the ILA to Japan for the first time. All of these goals were achieved, and conference participants came away with fresh impressions and new ideas, inspired by the interesting presentations and workshops, and made memorable by the hospitality and efforts of the AUHW teaching staff and the conference co-chair, Professor Kazuo Akasaka, who was responsible for bringing the conference to Japan. Participants networked and exchanged business cards and email addresses.
The conference also attracted the attention of the local papers in Aomori City, which wrote brief summaries of the conference theme and described the efforts of participants to raise awareness of the importance of listening in global communications. Because the conference was timed to coincide with the Nebuta Festival, conference participants from outside Japan had a wonderful opportunity to experience one of Japan's largest and most famous festivals, with some participants joining directly in the huge float parade.


Papers and presentations from this first conference held in Japan can be obtained by contacting the conference chair, Professor Kazuo Akasaka, at Aomori University of Health and Welfare, Mase 58-1, Hamadte, Aomori, 030-2023, or by emailing the writer: David A. Prucha <m432bcr7@ca.mbn.or.jp>. Further information about the International Listening Association can be found at <www.listen.org>.


The International Listening Association's International Regional Conference in Amori appears to have been a success, and participants and new members are looking forward to the next annual conference in Chicago, Illinois, March 21-24, 2001. Details can be found at the above website.