April PIGATE meeting: Nicole Gallagher

Hi PIGATE! My name is Nicole Gallagher and I have lived in Kumamoto since 2010 when I joined the JET Programme as an ALT. I spent three great years teaching English at Seiseiko High School, Kumamoto Commercial High School, and Kuroishibaru Special Needs School, and I am now in my second year working at the Kumamoto Prefectural Board of Education as the ALT Prefectural Advisor where I provide work and personal support to the ALTs in Kumamoto. During my time as an ALT, I began and completed a Master’s in TEFL/TESL with the University of Birmingham. My dissertation topic focused on SHS teacher beliefs on conducting classes in English and using communicative language activities in class (the main revisions of the new Course of Study for English in 2013). I am interested in hearing what teachers think about teaching, and I believe that is the first step in understanding how to improve English education. As I continue my journey of teaching in Japan, I look forward to having some great conversations about teaching with all of you! 

Here's what I'll be talking about, I'd love to hear from you before the meeting, so please feel free to add comments below!

Teacher beliefs on conducting classes in English

TEFL trained educators often take it as a given that conducting English classes in English is necessary and appropriate, and indeed, the Senior High School Course of Study for English (MEXT, 2013) has established that English classes be conducted primarily in English. Yet how this mandate is adapted in the classroom is strongly influenced by the beliefs of teachers and their subsequent actions. In this presentation, I would like to have a discussion about your beliefs about conducting classes in English and explore how your beliefs may be shaping how the new Course of Study will be realized in the classroom.

JASELE and JES @ KGU: 4th English Education Seminar, 2015.03.14

The Japan Society of English Language Education (JASELE) and the Japan Association of English Teaching in Elementary Schools (JES) are jointly sponsoring a 4th English Education Seminar at KGU, Saturday, 14 March 2015. Please follow the link above for location, program, and registration details in Japanese.

Study in Ireland!

I just received the following information about four-week scholarships to study in Ireland for English teachers:

The Embassy of Ireland in Japan is pleased to announce the 2015 Ireland Scholarship for teachers of English working in Japan. Please find attached details. Application opening date is Saturday 21st February and the closing date is Friday 20th March.

For more information about this, please look at this and this.

Call for participation: Survey for ALTs and JTEs

Ms. Hiromi Takayama, a native of Oita, is working on a Ph.D at the University of Iowa. She's calling for participation in a research project. She'd like both ALTs and JTEs to complete an online survey about teacher efficacy and identity. 

To find out more about Hiromi and her research project, please see her LinkedIn, English Teachers in Japan (ETJ) group discussion post:

• Survey for ALTs and JTEs (c. Jan. 15, 2015 [JST])

Please allow me to thank you in advance for your consideration. The more responses she is able collect, the more valuable her research findings are likely to be.