JALT Conference Proceedings - JALT1999


Volume: 1999
Date of publication: October 2000

On JALT99 Conference Proceedings

Teacher Belief, Teacher Action: Connecting Research and the Classroom

The JALT99 Conference marked the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Japan Association for Language Teaching. Like all the conferences in its quarter century of existence, it was not only a time to share professional wisdom and research about the teaching and learning of languages, but was equally important as an opportunity to reminisce with colleagues, plan future projects, and make new professional acquaintances. Probably little of its lively ambience can be depicted through the following pages. Yet, we do hope that the articles, carefully selected with the help of the largest peer advisory board in our history, will reflect the ideas that were shared between the participants at this celebratory educational experience.

As we look back over what has occurred on the global landscape since JALT's formation in the early 70s, we are thrilled by these recollections and become even more inspired with the prospects that lie ahead here at the verge of the new millennium. This period of accelerating change has seen the emergence of new technological innovations and new ways of thinking about the world, education, and communication that have changed each of us and deeply affected Japan and the field of language teaching. The fact that this year's Conference Proceedings are published for the first time in CD-ROM format is testimony to that evolution.

One of the most pervasive effects of the events and achievements of the past 25 years has been the large step toward globalization of world societies. JALT experienced unparalleled growth during the period Japan's phenomenal industrial and financial expansion and its rise as a global economic leader. The need for international communication that transcends intercultural barriers has played a central role in the strategy to build this strong position. JALT has been vital in supporting the learning and professional development of thousands of language teachers. Introduced for the first time at JALT99 was a new content area, culture, for which the wealth of submissions, along with those of global issues and gender awareness, dramatically reflects the importance to JALT of making our teaching culturally sensitive, globally aware, and empowering for learners as world citizens.

The association through the actions of its diversified set of talented, committed members continues to play an important role in advising, supporting, teaching, and leading in the globalization of Japan's educational institutions. JALT members serve as instructors and partners in language teaching, as models and coaches of global thinking and international communication, and as participants the great cross-cultural experience of language acquisition, shaping the landscape of its learning environments by the force their beliefs. It is highly appropriate then that the conference theme, Teacher Belief, Teacher Action: Connecting Research and the Classroom provided an overall framework for the hundreds of presentations at the JALT99 conference. We are proud to present to you a representative sample of these, which mirror JALT99 participants' hard work, dedication to teaching, and commitment to excellence in quality language education and research.

David Brooks
Jill Robbins
Robert Long
JALT99 Proceedings Co-Editors


Copyright

Copyright ©1999 by the Japan Association for Language Teaching. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be used or reproduced in any form without written permission from JALT, except in cases of brief quotations embodied in scholarly articles and reviews.