This seminar will be conducted by 3-hour online Zoom sessions for four days: Saturday, February 20, Sunday, February 21, Saturday, February 27 and Sunday, February 28 from 14:00 to 17:00 (JST).  Students taking this seminar for credit must attend all four days. Students can add/drop this seminar course by 18:00 on Saturday, February 20.

The pre sign-up (or course registration for those who are taking this seminar for credit) is required for anybody attending the public session on Saturday, February 20 from 14:00 to 17:00. The sign-up process must be completed through the "Distinguished Lecturer Series Seminar Sign-Up Form" that is available on TUJ Grad Ed website. The sign-up deadline is Friday, February 19, at 12:00 p.m. The public session Zoom link will be provided to those people who completed the online sign-up (or course registration) process by 18:00 on Friday, February 19.

How can insights from second language acquisition research be translated into effective classroom practice? This seminar explores this question by examining key principles of language learning and how they can inform the design of meaningful, engaging, and theoretically grounded language lessons.

One important focus will be Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) and its connections with communicative language teaching, task-based language teaching, and Focus on Form. We will explore how language and content can be integrated so that learners use language not simply as an object of study, but as a tool for understanding, thinking, communicating, and learning. Concepts such as the 4Cs of CLIL and the Language Triptych will provide useful frameworks for considering how such integration can be achieved across different educational contexts. The seminar will then turn to the conditions that facilitate language learning. Particular attention will be given to the nature of rich input and teacher talk, the roles of attention, noticing, interaction, and output, and the processes linking input, intake, integration, and output. We will also explore the relationship among form, meaning, and function, examining how attention to language form can be integrated into meaningful communication rather than treated as an isolated activity.

Throughout the seminar, these principles will be connected to concrete classroom practice. Drawing on actual teaching materials and lesson examples, we will explore ways of creating richer learning experiences through effective lesson sequencing, meaningful content, interaction, and purposeful language use. We will also examine how familiar materials, including textbooks, can be adapted and enriched to promote deeper thinking and language learning. Ultimately, the seminar aims to bring theory and practice into dialogue, encouraging participants to think not simply about what to teach, but also how and why particular classroom practices can create better conditions for language learning.

Note to participants: This will be an interactive seminar incorporating occasional small-group discussions and hands-on activities in breakout rooms. Participants are encouraged to take an active part in these activities whenever possible.