The Language Teacher
SIG News and Contacts

JALT currently has 16 Special Interest Groups (SIGs) available for members to join. This column publishes announcements of SIG events, mini-conferences, publications, or calls for papers and presenters. SIGs wishing to print news or announcements should contact the editor by the 15th of the month, 6 weeks prior to publication.

Please submit news and contact listings to the Editor.

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Recent SIG News

Bilingualism SIG--Our group has two broad aims: to support families who regularly communicate in more than one language and to further research on bilingualism in Japanese contexts. See our website at www.bsig.org for more information. 当研究会は複数言語で生活する家族および日本におけるバイリンガリズム研究の支援を目的としています。どうぞホームページの(www.bsig.org)をご覧下さい。
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College & University Educators (CUE) SIG--CUE�s refereed publication, OnCUE Journal (ISSN: 1882-0220), is published twice a year. In addition, members receive the email newsletter YouCUE three times a year. Check the CUE SIG website (jaltcue-sig.org/) for news and updates about CUE SIG events.
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Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) SIG--The JALT CALL SIG provides support, information, networking, and publishing opportunities for interested persons. If you are interested in serving as an officer and/or member of the 2010 conference team, please don’t hesitate to contact us. We look forward to meeting and hearing from persons interested in the expanding world of CALL. See www.jaltcall.org.
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Extensive Reading (Forming)--The ER SIG exists to help teachers in Japan start and improve Extensive Reading and Extensive Listening programmes. Our newsletter, Extensive Reading in Japan (ERJ), is full of ideas for those new to ER and experienced ER practitioners. It keeps our members up-to-date on ER research and new graded reader releases. Check out our website at www.jaltersig.org.
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Framework & Language Portfolio (forming)--This SIG wants to discuss the CEFR and ELP, and other similar frameworks and their relevance for Japan. There is an emphasis on developing materials to support educators who would like to use these pedagogic tools; the bilingual Language Portfolio for Japanese University is now available online. The SIG holds periodical seminars and is present at many conferences. See (forums.jalt.org/index.php/topic,456.0.html) or contact (flpsig at gmail.com) for more information.
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Gender Awareness in Language Education (GALE) SIG--GALE works towards building a supportive community of educators and researchers interested in raising awareness and researching how gender plays an integral role in education and professional interaction. We also network and collaborate with other JALT groups and the community at large to promote pedagogical and professional practices, language teaching materials, and research inclusive of gender and gender-related topics. Ongoing call for papers for Journal. Visit our website at www.gale-sig.org or contact us for more details.
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Global Issues in Language Education (GILE) SIG--Are you interested in promoting global awareness and international understanding through your teaching? Then join the Global Issues in Language Education SIG. We produce an exciting quarterly newsletter packed with news, articles, and book reviews; organize presentations for local, national, and international conferences; and network with groups such as UNESCO, Amnesty International, and Educators for Social Responsibility. Join us in teaching for a better world! Our website is www.jalt.org/global/sig/. For further information, contact Kip Cates (kcates at fed.tottori-u.ac.jp).
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Japanese as a Second Language--論文・記事大募集：JALT日本語教育論集を2010年に発行。論文、研究報告、評論、小論、手紙など募集。日本語研究者、指導者、学習者の皆様応募お願いします。ホームページをご覧ください：(www.jalt.org/jsl)。 Call for Papers: JALT Journal of Japanese Language Education. Japanese as a second language researchers, teachers, and learners are invited to contribute articles, research reports, essays, and reviews. Publication date is 2010. Visit our website (www.jalt.org/jsl).
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Junior and Senior High School--The JSH SIG is operating at a time of considerable change in secondary EFL education. Therefore, we are concerned with language learning theory, teaching materials, and methods. We are also intensely interested in curriculum innovation. The large-scale employment of native speaker instructors is a recent innovation yet to be thoroughly studied or evaluated. JALT members involved with junior or senior high school EFL are cordially invited to join us for dialogue and professional development opportunities.
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Learner Development (LD) SIG--The Learner Development SIG is a lively group of teachers interested in exploring connections between learning and teaching. Currently members are working on an anthology of papers exploring autonomy in the classroom. To check out our blog and other plans for next year take a look at our SIG homepage ld-sig.org/. You will find contacts for local meetings in Tokyo and some other areas there too.
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Lifelong Language Learning (LLL) SIG--The increasing number of people of retirement age, plus the internationalization of Japanese society, has greatly increased the number of people eager to study English as part of their lifelong learning. The LLL SIG provides resources and information for teachers who teach English to older learners. We run a website, online forum, listserv, and SIG publication (see jalt.org/lifelong/). For more information or to join the mailing list, contact Yoko Wakui (ywakui at bu.iij4u.or.jp) or Eric M. Skier (skier at ps.toyaku.ac.jp). 生涯語学学習研究部会は来る高齢化社会に向けて高齢者を含む成人の英語教育をより充実することを目指し、昨年結成した新しい分科会です。現在、日本では退職や子育て後もこれまでの経験や趣味を生かし積極的に社会に参加したいと望んでいる方が大幅に増えております。中でも外国語学習を始めたい、または継続を考えている多くの学習者に対してわれわれ語学教師が貢献出来る課題は多く、これからの研究や活動が期待されています。LLLでは日本全国の教師が情報交換、勉強会、研究成果の出版を行い共にこの新しい分野を開拓していこうと日々熱心に活動中です。現在オンライン< jalt.org/lifelong/>上でもフォーラムやメールリスト、ニュースレター配信を活発に行っております。高齢者の語学教育に携わっていらっしゃる方はもちろん、将来の英語教育動向に関心のある方まで、興味のある方はどなたでも大歓迎です。日本人教師も数多く参加していますのでどうぞお気軽にご入会ください。お問い合わせは涌井陽子(ywakui at bu.iij4u.or.jp) 。または Eric M. Skier (skier at ps.toyaku.ac.jp)までご連絡ください。
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Materials Writers--The MW SIG shares information on ways to create better language learning materials, covering a wide range of issues from practical advice on style to copyright law and publishing practices, including self-publication. On certain conditions we also provide free ISBNs. Our newsletter Between the Keys is published three to four times a year and we have a discussion forum and mailing list (groups.yahoo.com/group/jaltmwsig/). Our website is (uk.geocities.com/materialwritersig/). To contact us, email (mw at jalt.org).
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Other Language Educators (OLE) SIG--OLE has issued NL 51 and 52 covering the 3 days of JALT2009, with 10 OLE-related events, 30 speakers, and close to 30 presentations — individual presentations on French, Korean, Spanish, and Chinese; the French, German, and Spanish workshops; the Embassy panel; and, including Chinese, the OLE-SIG forum. Long abstracts and summaries are in OLE NL 51 and complete schedule and individual abstracts in OLE NL 52. Both issues are available from the coordinator reinelt at iec.ehime-u.ac.jp.
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Pragmatics SIG--Pragmatics is the study of how people use language. As teachers we help students learn to communicate appropriately, and as researchers we study language in use. This is clearly an area of study to which many JALT members can contribute. If you have a practical classroom technique or a research project related to Pragmatics, please send an article to our newsletter, Pragmatic Matters. Send submissions to sarmstro at kansaigaidai.ac.jp. Also see www.pragsig.org/index.html.
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Professionalism, Administration and Leadership in Education (PALE) SIG--The PALE SIG welcomes new members, officers, volunteers, and submissions of articles for our journal or newsletter. To read current and past issues of our journal, visit www.debito.org/PALE. Also, anyone may join our listserv groups.yahoo.com/group/PALE_Group/. For information on events, visit www.jalt.org/groups/PALE.
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Study Abroad (Forming)--The Study Abroad SIG is a new and upcoming group interested in all that is Study Abroad. We aim to provide a supportive place for discussion of areas of interest, and we hope that our members will collaborate to improve the somewhat sparse research into Study Abroad. We welcome submissions for our newsletter, Ryugaku, and we are still in need of officers. Contact Andrew Atkins or Todd Thorpe "studyabroadsig at gmail.com" for further information.
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Teacher Education--The Teacher Education SIG is a network of foreign language instructors dedicated to becoming better teachers and helping others teach more effectively. Our members teach at universities, schools, and language centres, both in Japan and other countries. We share a wide variety of research interests, and support and organize a number of events throughout Japan every year. We also have an online discussion group. Contact ted at jalt.org or visit our website (jalttesig.terapad.com).
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Teachers Helping Teachers--
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Teaching Children (TC) SIG--The Teaching Children SIG is for all teachers of children. We publish a bilingual newsletter 4 times a year, with columns by leading teachers in our field. There is a mailing list for teachers of children who want to share teaching ideas or questions at (tcsig at yahoogroups.com). We are always looking for new people to keep the SIG dynamic. With our bilingual newsletter, we particularly hope to appeal to Japanese teachers. We hope you can join us for one of our upcoming events. For more information, visit www.tcsig.jalt.org. 児童教育部会は子どもに英語（外国語）を教える全ての教師を対象にした部会です。当部会では、この分野で著名な教師が担当するコラムを含む会報を年４回発行しております。また、子どもに英語を指導するアイデアや疑問を交換する場としてメーリングリスト (tcsig at yahoogroups.com)を運営しています。活発な部会を維持していくためにも新会員を常に募集しております。会報を英語と日本語で提供しており日本人の先生方の参加も大歓迎です。今後開催される部会の催し物へぜひご参加ください。部会に関する詳細はをご覧下さい。
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Testing & Evaluation (TE) SIG--The TEVAL SIG is concerned with language testing and assessment, and welcomes both experienced teachers and those who are new to this area and wish to learn more about it. Our newsletter, published three times a year, contains a variety of testing-related articles, including discussions of the ethical implications of testing, interviews with prominent authors and researchers, book reviews, and reader-friendly explanations of some of the statistical techniques used in test analysis. Visit www.jalt.org/test.
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