The Language Teacher
December 2003
The Reading Committee?
Gwendolyn Gallagher
JALT2004 Conference Committee
Perspectives
. . . with Joyce Cunningham & Mariko Miyao perspectives@jalt-publications.org
This month, Perspectives takes a peek at how our Reading Committee, ably headed for many years now by Gwendolyn Gallagher, evaluates your proposals for the annual conference. The coeditors invite you to submit 700-word reports of interest to JALT members in English, Japanese, or both.
The Reading Committee?
It sounds like a joke, along the lines of "How many language teachers does it take to change a light bulb?" Banish the image of a parcel of bespectacled pedagogues quibbling over how to conduct this most private and pleasurable activity. What the Reading Committee really does is vet the hundreds of abstracts submitted every year by those hoping to present at the JALT National Conference.
Like most members, I knew nothing about the Reading Committee when I was first asked to serve on it eleven years ago. Now that I have been the committee coordinator for the past eight conferences, I'd like to let you know exactly what it is we do.
After the submission deadline, the first person to tangle with the proposal abstracts is the conference inputter, who prints in quadruplicate the abstracts to be vetted. Some abstracts will not be vetted. Besides addresses by keynote speakers and other such luminaries, there are chapter- and SIG-sponsored presentations, as well as a limited number of unvetted slots for Associate Members. When an Associate Member wants to offer additional presentations, however, these go through the normal vetting process.
This is a blind vetting, so the abstracts sent to the Reading Committee have had their heading of personal information removed. I still have to skim through them all, black marker in hand, to remove any identifying information. Sometimes, authors refer to themselves by name in the body of the text. More frequently, the author's school is named, which within JALT's relatively small pond makes it less anonymous.
I keep one copy of each abstract in case questions come up which make later reference necessary. The remaining three copies are each sent to a different reader. Proposals dealing with children''s education, junior/senior high school, and languages other than English are read by at least one, but usually two or three readers in that field. Each reader gives a numerical score based on several criteria, as well as a holistic score.* No proposal succeeds or fails on the basis of one reader's opinion.
Coming back to that question—how many language teachers/readers does it take to score all those abstracts? Usually 20-25. A strange committee it is, too, in that it never meets. All work is done by post and email.
Readers receive in close succession two or three packets of abstracts, which they read, score, and return. The coordinator sits back and waits for incoming scores and for problems to arise.
Problems are few, and most are clerical. But every once in a while we get something interesting: i.e., an applicant who takes one proposal, reorders the sentences somewhat and sends it in under several different titles in order to better its chances of being accepted. (Warning: I've laid a curse on that one now. The next perpetrator will suffer 17 successive computer viruses, and dandruff so bad that colleagues will hurry home early to put their snow tires on.)
When all the scores are in, I tally, record, and send them to the inputter and conference chair. Many people ask, "What is the cut-off score?" Beats me! In fact, much depends on the size of the conference site. After slots have been allocated to unvetted presentations and various meetings, the conference chair will use the scores to decide which and how many proposals are accepted. Surely, you are now wondering how one becomes a member of this select committee? There are generally two ways: (1) you volunteer, (2) the reading committee coordinator wheedles, flatters, and pleads, and you say, "Yes." The qualifications? Well, saying "yes" is a big one! Readers should be JALT members of good standing with no obvious evidence of unsound mind, and have attended at least one JALT National Conference. Most volunteers are university teachers, so I make an effort to enlist teachers in other areas. Business teachers are particularly scarce, as are abstracts in this area. (Business teachers, please submit a proposal!) And although Japanese nationals make up close to half our membership, few volunteer for this committee. Committee members must be in Japan and near their mailboxes during the vetting period (usually February-March) after which, they are entirely free! The following January they can decide whether to volunteer again.
This is an interesting and convenient way to make an essential contribution to JALT without a year-round commitment. How about you?
Gwendolyn Gallagher
T/F 0166-63-1493
ggallagher@asahi.email.ne.jp
*Score sheet developed by my predecessor, Cynthia Edwards.
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