Following are the lecturers and topics of past seminars of the Distinguished Lecturer Series.
Dr. Nicole Ziegler (University of Hawaii at Manoa, U.S.A.)
Task-based Language Teaching: Applying Research to Practice
Research investigating task-based language teaching (TBLT) has grown during the past few decades, with findings demonstrating the efficacy of this pedagogical framework for second language (L2) learning and development (e.g. see Chong & Reinders, 2020; Keck et al., 2006; Mackey & Goo, 2007 for reviews). Grounded in the interaction approach to SLA (Mackey, 2020), which posits that language learning occurs during conversational interaction through negotiation for meaning, corrective feedback, and opportunities for noticing and modified output production, TBLT can provide learners with an ideal psycholinguistic environment facilitative of L2 learning.
Beginning with an overview of the theoretical foundations of TBLT, this seminar will introduce participants to various practical and empirical issues in task-based learning and teaching, including key components of task-based program design. Research findings on task features, including complexity and sequencing, and how these might be applied to the L2 classroom, will also be discussed. This seminar will then explore the role of technology in task-based contexts, including the affordances offered by different modalities, and the practical classroom considerations associated with the implementation of technology-mediated tasks. Next, participants will be guided through a hands-on workshop to adapt and create task-based materials for teaching or assessing student development and performance. Directions for future research will also be addressed.
Dr. Yo Hamada (Akita University, Japan)
Shadowing: What is it? How to Use and Research it in Class?
It has been more than two decades since shadowing practice has been “imported” into Japanese English education. Especially, the past decade has seen a surge in shadowing in classrooms, on YouTube, and on the Internet. Most English teachers and learners in Japan seem to have heard of shadowing. However, it is also true that shadowing has been often misunderstood; is shadowing a listening practice or is it a speaking practice? Additionally, while shadowing use in classrooms or in independent learning has increased, the number of shadowing studies have not increased, so teachers and learners may know about shadowing, but they are probably not confident about how and why it works.
There are four goals of this seminar: to understand the basic theory of shadowing; to review shadowing variations; to consider how one can use shadowing in the classroom, and to consider how to research shadowing. With these goals in mind, the seminar will be divided into four sessions. In the first session, the theory of shadowing will be briefly presented, and shadowing variations will be demonstrated. Also, the participants will occasionally try the variations and discuss them using Zoom break-out sessions. In the second session, the theory of shadowing will be further discussed, reviewing case studies and related papers. In the third session, how shadowing can be implemented will be discussed. The participants will present ideas of shadowing use in their teaching or learning context. Lastly, in the fourth session, the participants will discuss how to conduct a case study or action research in the classroom.
The course project will involve the participants in reading several related papers and making mini-presentations of their ideas for shadowing use and shadowing research in the classroom (Sessions 3 and 4). Based on these ideas, the final project will ask participants to write a shadowing research proposal.