News & Events

NaraJALT2025

NaraJALT2025 will be held onsite and in person at the Nara Women’s University on December 7th. We have another great lineup of speakers for you this year. The program has four presentations throughout the day with plenty of time during and after for networking.

NaraJALT2025 once again celebrates the creativity and expertise of its members. This year, three of the four presenters are proud NaraJALT members, continuing our tradition of sharing fresh ideas and fostering collaboration within our teaching community. Furthermore, we are excited to introduce this year's invited speaker: Paul Raine.

Speakers: Paul Raine, Melissa Meishang Chung, Shizuka Itagaki, and Benjamin Robertson.
Date: Sunday, December 7th, 2025, 10:00am-17:00pm
Location: Nara Women’s University. Lecture Hall S235 on the 2nd floor of the S building.
Cost: ¥1,000 (Free for JALT members)

Paul Raine is an English language teacher and web developer with 20 years of experience teaching English in Japan and developing online tools for English language teachers and learners. He has a Master's degree in TESOL (University of Birmingham, 2012) and a Masters degree in Technology Enhanced Learning (University of Lancaster, 2024). He is the founder of ZenGengo.com, Eigo.AI and LingoLesson.com. He currently teaches at Ritsumeikan University, Osaka Ibaraki Campus.

NaraJALT2025 Program:

Opening
10:00-10:15
Presentation 1
10:15–11:00: Mellssa Meishang Chung
Play, Engage, Learn: Adopting digital gamification for the EFL classroom
Presentation 2
11:15-12:00: Shizuka Itagaki
English learning through digital teaching materials: toward the promotion of inclusive and accessible education
Group photo
12:00-12:15

Lunch Break
12:15-13:15
Presentation 3
13:30-14:15: Benjamin Robertson
Whose English? Expanding Voices in Japanese ELT Materials
Presentation 4: Invited Speaker
14:30-15:30: Paul Raine
The shifting landscape of English language ed-tech in the age of AI
Closing
15:30-15:45
Social hour
16:00-17:00

Invited Speaker Presentation
Paul Raine
Presentation title:
The shifting landscape of English language
ed-tech in the age of AI
Abstract:

Since the seminal launch of ChatGPT in November 2022, the English language edtech landscape seems to have been shifting daily under our feet. With OpenAI's latest launch of its agentic chatbot in July 2025, there has been another seismic shift that English language teachers need to understand. In this presentation, the speaker will discuss some of the latest breakthroughs in AI, including agentic AI, which can browse and interact with the Internet on the user's behalf. Questions posed will include how we ensure that students are engaging with online activities in an authentic and meaningful way, how to avoid a situation in which AI is responding to tasks (on the learner's behalf) that have been devised by AI (on the teacher's behalf), and what theories and frameworks might help us understand and leverage the affordances of AI for English teaching and learning while avoiding its pitfalls.

Presentation 1
Mellssa Meishang Chung
Presentation title:
Play, Engage, Learn: Adopting digital gamification for the EFL classroom
Abstract:

The presentation will offer some practical first principles that EFL teachers might use as a framework when considering digital gamification for their classes. We will consider how we can possibly enhance our lessons by focusing on interactivity. Rather than utilizing digital tools for passive learning, we will consider learning modes that students with the shortest attention span can still partake in classroom activities regardless of their English language skill.

Presentation 2
Shizuka Itagaki
Presentation title:
English learning through digital teaching materials: toward the promotion of inclusive and accessible education
Abstract:

In recent years, awareness of dyslexia and learning disabilities has been increasing in Japanese society. It has also been recognized that while some students are able to read and write in Japanese without difficulty, their dyslexia becomes evident when learning English. For students who face such learning challenges, digital teaching materials can often provide various support. Through the use of personalized learning approaches such as digital resources, it is expected that inclusive education in Japan will be further promoted, enabling students with and without disabilities to learn together.

Presentation 3
Benjamin Robertson
Presentation title:
Whose English? Expanding Voices in Japanese ELT Materials
Abstract:

In many junior high school classrooms, English materials emphasise a narrow range of language models, often under representing the diversity of English use worldwide. This presentation, grounded in the Global Englishes framework, explores the rationale for supplementing such materials to better reflect global communication. It will outline examples, discuss implementation challenges in the Japanese context, and suggest ways to include more representative voices to support learners’ intercultural competence.

NaraJALT MyShare 2025

Nara JALT would like to say a huge thank you to everyone that made it out to Nara for out annual MyShare event. The NaraJALT MyShare is all about bringing likeminded people together to share their practical ideas in a fast and simple manner. This year was no different and we were lucky enough to have eight fantastic MySharers. We loved hearing your teaching ideas and I'm sure all the attendees found something they could use in their classroom this year.

The mysharers have kindly given us permission to share their teaching ideas with you. We hope you find them useful and seeing this encourages you to participate in future Nara JALT events. Please check out the materials and more pictures from the event on the MyShare page.

Lunch & Hike on Mount Ikoma

This spring, join NaraJALT for a fun day out on Mount Ikoma, featuring the best stone-oven pizza in Nara, easy-grade mountain hike, and exceptional spring views.

Date: Sunday, April 6th

Times, Locations and Links:

11:36 Ikoma Cable-car Tori-mae Station

12:00 Kumotei Stone-Oven Mountain Pizza Restaurant

14:00 Ikoma-sanroku Park

Lunch

Following the annual NaraJALT MyShare event, participants will walk to the Ikoma Cable-car Tori-mae Station, and catch the 11:36 cable-car to the Hozan-ji Station. From Hozan-ji, it’s a short walk to the secluded Kumotei restaurant, where participants will enjoy the most delicious pizza set-lunch.

Cost: ¥3,630

Hike

After lunch, participants will set off on a 30-min easy-grade hike to the Ikoma-sanroku Park, where they can enjoy afternoon tea among the cherry blossoms with spectacular views. For the return journey, participants can take a bus to Ikoma Station, or opt to hike the more challenging 60-min return-leg down the mountain.

You will not want to miss this unique opportunity to savour, stroll, and soak in the views of the beautiful Mount Ikoma in spring. Lunch reservation is limited and registration is essential, so be sure to fill in the form to reserve your spot.

NaraJALT MyShare

NaraJALT 2025 MyShare Event:

Sharing Practical Teaching Ideas

Date: Sunday, April 6th 2025

Time: 9:30am - 11:00am

Venue: Room 401 (4th Floor)

Ikoma Seisei Building

1-chōme-6-12 Motomachi,

Ikoma, Nara 630-0257
Venue Link

Cost: 500 yen (free for JALT members)

MyShare Background:

Originally a column in The Language Teacher for exchanging practical teaching ideas, the MyShare event gives participants a chance to share their most effective teaching Practices.

This open forum invites participants to present one tried-and-tested

language-learning activity in a round-table discussion. The room will be arranged in a circle to encourage interaction.

Guidelines for MySharers:

● Prepare a five-minute explanation of your activity.

● Bring a handout in the style of MyShare from JALT’s The Language Teacher.

● No slides or elaborate presentations required.

NaraJALT2024

NaraJALT2024 will be held onsite and in person at the Nara Women’s University on December 1st. We have another great lineup of speakers for you this year. The program has five presentations throughout the day with plenty of time during and after for networking. Furthermore, we are proud to introduce our first invited speaker: Ben Tanaka from Retire Japan

Speakers: Ben Tanaka, Erin Noxon, David Eckford, Olga Li and Akiko Mokhtari, and Eric Martin
Date: Sunday, December 1st, 2024, 9:00am-17:00pm
Location: Nara Women’s University. Lecture Hall N202 on the 2nd floor of the N building.
Cost: ¥1,000 (Free for JALT members)

Ben Tanaka (also Shearon) was born in Germany, grew up in northern Spain, yet claims to be British. He retired from formal work in 2022. He has been running RetireJapan since 2013 to help people living in Japan learn more about personal finance, investing, retirement, and life in Japan. He also helps his wife run a medium-sized English school and writes various things.

We would like to thank JALT CALL SIG for helping us bring Ben Tanaka to Nara.

NaraJALT2024 Program:
9:00–9:15: Opening
Presentation 1
9:15–10:00: Erin Noxon
Thirty Essential Google Tricks Every Educator Should Know
Presentation 2
10:15–11:00: David Eckford
The Benefits and Challenges of Teaching Traditional Japanese Arts in a Study Abroad Program
Presentation 3
11:15–12:00: Olga Li and Akiko Mokhtari
Enhancing Inductive Learning through AI-Assisted Paraphrasing and Prompt Engineering

12:00–13:30: Lunch
Presentation 4
13:45–14:45: Eric Martin
High-frequency Vocabulary: Understanding the Words that Our Learners are Likely to Know (and Those They Don’t)
Invited Speaker Presentation
15:00–16:00: Ben Tanaka
Ten Easy Steps to Sort Your Finances Out in 2025
16:00–16:15: Closing
16:15–17:00: OUP Social Hour

Invited Speaker Presentation
Ben Tanaka
Presentation Title:
Ten Easy Steps to Sort Your Finances Out in 2025 (Language Teacher Edition)
Abstract:

Personal finance is a lot like health: if you have good habits and a decent routine, staying healthy is fairly easy and you don’t need to think about it very much. If you don’t, it can seem almost impossible to even get started. If you are living in Japan there may also be a language barrier (even if your Japanese is good, the concepts and vocabulary of finance may be too much).
Luckily personal finance is pretty straightforward, and with a few key concepts and habits you can set up a financial foundation for your life that will allow you to have fun now and also ensure that your future self is not miserable.
This simple presentation will go over ten things you should probably be doing with your money in Japan, including saving, investing, financial planning, retirement planning, and more. We will cover NISA and iDeCo (including the very welcome changes for teachers), and there will be time to ask questions.

Erin Noxon
Presentation Title:
Thirty Essential Google Tricks Every Educator Should Know

Abstract:

This session will cover essential Google tools, tricks, and automation specifically designed for educators. For 30 minutes I will go over 30 different tricks and then answer any questions and we can share other good ideas together. It doesn’t matter if you are a newbie or a Google Certified Innovator; if your school is a Microsoft or Google School. Learn how to leverage Google’s free powerful features to save time, enhance productivity, and create a more interactive classroom environment. We’ll explore practical tips and you’ll leave with actionable strategies (and my slides so you don’t forget and can teach others).

David Eckford
Presentation Title:
The Benefits and Challenges of Teaching Traditional Japanese Arts in a Study Abroad Program
Abstract:

This presentation looks at introducing traditional Japanese arts as a formal part of the international student curriculum. The presenter draws on his experience of coordinating such a program for inbound students at a university in Osaka. Cultural exchange in authentic environments is the core component of the program, and the benefits and challenges of facilitating such courses are discussed.

Olga Li and Akiko Mokhtari
Presentation Title:
Enhancing Inductive Learning through AI-Assisted Paraphrasing and Prompt Engineering

Abstract:

This presentation introduces an initiative to integrate ChatGPT into summary writing classes for engineering graduate students. It will explore how ChatGPT is used to complete summary tasks, with a focus on the design of prompts and individual learning outcomes in English. We explore a pedagogical example where learners use ChatGPT to refine summaries they initially created without the aid of generative AI or machine translation tools. This method focuses on the challenging task of paraphrasing and demonstrates how AI can support inductive learning in prompt engineering. Actual data will be presented to illustrate the effectiveness and impact of this approach.

Eric Martin
Presentation Title:
High-frequency Vocabulary: Understanding the Words that Our Learners are Likely to Know (and Those They Don’t)
Abstract:

The highest frequency English words are arguably the most important words for EFL learners to know, precisely because they are used so often. However, upon entering university, to what degree can teachers assume that learners already know these words? I present the results of a recent study that I conducted, which suggests that word frequency rankings are far from perfect predictors of Japanese university EFL learners’ word knowledge, even among the highest frequency 100-word groups. I discuss how other word variables (e.g. word length), as well as teacher intuition, can aid teachers in making reasonable assumptions of their students’ abilities.

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