JALT Tochigi is the newest chapter to join the wider JALT family. We were established as a voting member during the February 2025 Executive Board Meeting in Tokyo, and we are now looking forward to engaging with other chapters and SIGs as a collaborative partner and team-member.
Scope
Tochigi Prefecture sits on the northern edge of the Kanto plain and encompasses everything from the bustle of cities like Utsunomiya and Oyama to the quiet retreats of Nikko and Kinugawa with innovative technical corridors featuring companies like Honda and Toshiba in between. More importantly, Tochigi Prefecture serves as a gateway between the Kanto and Tohoku regions; as the largest prefecture in Kanto (but still smaller than all the Tohoku prefectures), Tochigi provides an ideal place for the central and northern areas to meet and collaborate on big ideas and bigger events.
Yet, for all that, until our chapter was formed, the region was sadly lacking in direct representation in JALT, with many members living in the prefecture joining geographically distant chapters to participate in JALT. With all that in mind, our core group of six officers petitioned to create a new chapter dedicated to being a hub for all to work together through presentations, publications, and general fellowship.
Officers
Joel Neff (President): As the founding president, I hope to lead the chapter the same way I lead my classes: with empathy, deep understanding of teaching and researching methodologies, and more than a few silly dad jokes. I hold a Master of the Arts from Leicester University, and my research is currently focused on ethics, student needs, and assorted grammatical odds and ends.
Josh Kidd (Program Chair) has done a little of everything in his years in Japan. Now, he helps direct the English Program at Utsunomiya University by making sure all the students end up in the right classroom. He holds a Doctor of Philosophy from Macquarie University and is currently researching a dozen different topics.
Rory Banwell (Membership Chair) tried hard to earn a Master of the Arts in All-Black studies but had to settle for a degree in sociology instead. He currently directs the English Program at Utsunomiya University and spends his research time on multimodality, student needs, and the intersection thereof.
Emily Choong (Treasurer) is a familiar face around JALT. She has worked hard to plan and coordinate events for the organization, including last year’s 50th international conference. She is currently the Conference Manager for JALT2025. When not wearing one of her many JALT hats, Emily is working on completing her master’s degree with a specialty in speaking anxiety.
Matthew Quinn (Publicity Chair) spent the pandemic earning his master’s degree from Leicester University, where he researched TOEFL and linguistics while simultaneously running a business and teaching full-time. Now he is taking that same energy and drive and bringing it to our chapter, making sure people know about our chapter and the work we are doing. His current research focuses on language acquisition and pronunciation.
Chris Smith (Publications Chair) puts enormous effort and dedication into producing our newsletter and his daytime job of creating and staffing Dokkyo University’s Self-Access Learning Center. His current research focuses on the role of games in learning and student assessment.
Goals
During our inaugural year, we had our first large event, where we hosted author Diane Nagatomo and added several new members. We also released our first newsletter, which in turn, gave us the impetus for our first event of 2025. Thus, with an auspicious first year (and change) behind us, we have begun looking forward and clarifying what we, as a chapter, hope to achieve:
We are looking for collaborators. We very much enjoyed hosting Diane and plan to have more speakers at more events. However, as all JALT is aware, creating engaging events with high participation can be a challenge. To facilitate our events table, we would like to request and encourage all chapters and SIGs to think of us as ready partners for collaborative events of all stripes.
We are upping our publication game. During our first year, as mentioned, we were able to put out our first newsletter. That newsletter contained interactive content and links to our other media channels, making it a true multimodal publication. That said, we want to increase the amount and level of our content. We hope to give new(er) authors a platform and be a place for more established researchers to publish quality, peer-reviewed articles.
We are providing opportunities for presenting. In addition to hosting established authors and researchers, we intend to use our platform to give under-published researchers a place to present their research and perfect their presentation skills. We’ll be doing this through community and peer-driven events where members (and non-members) can share the work they are doing in a variety of styles.
With luck (and timing and support from the JALT community) we’ll be able to achieve these goals and more in the years to come.
Join Us
As of now, our chapter stands at a whopping 21 members, but I hope that after reading this, any JALT members in and surrounding the Tochigi Prefecture area will join us and work with us to create an incredible hub for JALT here on the border of Kanto and Tohoku. Please feel free to contact us at tochigi@jalt.org.
JALT Notices
2025年総会開催通知
Notice of the 2025 JALT Ordinary General Meeting (OGM)
日時：2025年6月21日(土)
Date: June 21, 2025 (Saturday)
時間：13時 – 14時
Time: 1pm – 2pm
場所：〒910-0004 福井県福井市宝永3-1-1, 福井県国際交流会館（2階 第1・第2会議室）/ オンライン（ハイブリッドミーティング）
Location: 1st & 2nd Conference Room, 2F, Fukui International Activities Plaza (3-1-1, Hoei, Fukui-shi, Fukui 910-0004) (hybrid meeting)
議案 / Agenda:
第1号議案 2024年度事業報告 / Item 1. Business Report (2024/04/01-2025/03/31)
第2号議案 2024年度決算報告 / Item 2. Financial Report (2024/04/01-2025/03/31)
第3号議案 2024年度監査報告 / Item 3. Audit Report (2024/04/01-2025/03/31)
第4号議案 2025年度事業計画 / Item 4. Business Plan (2025/04/01-2026/03/31)
第5号議案 2025年度予算 / Item 5. Budget (2025/04/01-2026/03/31)
第6号議案 監査委員会の承認 / Item 6. Approval of Audit Committee
* 5月下旬に、会員の皆様に議案詳細、各報告書のリンク先、及び個別の不在者投票へのリンク先をEメールでご案内いたします。
* An email containing details of the agenda, including links to the various reports that will be presented, and a link to an individualized ballot will be sent to you at the end of May.
Eメールがお手元に届きましたら、不在投票の方法に従って投票をしてください。
本総会は、特定非営利活動法人（NPO）としての地位を保つ為に必要なもので、1/4 (25%) 以上の会員の皆様による出席（定足数）をもって、正式に開催することができます。
幸い当学会では、会員の皆様に向けて電子投票システムを提供させていただいており、不在投票をしていただくことで、本総会の出席者としてみなすことができます。
お手数をおかけいたしますが、ご支援とご協力のほどよろしくお願いします。
When you receive the email regarding the OGM, please follow the instructions on how to complete the absentee ballot. It is important for us to have a quarter (25%) of JALT members present at the OGM for it to be valid, and holding a valid OGM is necessary for us to maintain our status as a nonprofit organization (NPO). Fortunately, you can vote online by absentee ballot and be counted present for the meeting, as per the JALT Constitution.
Thank you very much for being a member of JALT and for your continued support.
