JALT Conference 2005

JALT2005 October 7th – 10th, Shizuoka Granship
Conference Theme: "Sharing Our Stories"

Life is stories. The things our students learn, and the things we learn become stories we build on and use to grow as teachers. That's why Sharing Our Stories is the theme of the 31st annual JALT International Conference. Stories can be the content learners think about as they, for example, read books or do listening tasks. Or they can be the conversations students have with each other. Or the ideas they write. At the conference, we teachers will share our experience, ideas, research, successes, and challenges. All of these are types of stories. And, of course, the sharing is the key.

The PALE special interest group will hold a special round table presentation, in which participants will share their own experience with a variety of issues facing language teachers across Japan. The topics will include presenters’ experiences with the bureaucratic process governing workplace transitions to stories about evaluation systems, fairness standards, and the power of unions to negotiate difficult contractual dilemmas.

A second workshop will be held to highlight Japan’s Labor Law. This workshop will feature discussions on historical background, the role of unions, and current trends in legal and cultural factors affecting the Japanese academic workplace.Both presentations will feature question and answer sessions, and we are proud to invite anyone interested in the educational community to attend and learn about the issues shaping the educational environment in Japan. Please see the details below:
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THE ROUND TABLE - 60 minutes
Day: Saturday, October 8th
Time: 13:05 - 14:05 Room: 903 (Shizuoka Granship)

Jonathan Britten - moderator
Martin Pauly - speaker (story on employment at a national-turned-indy institution and the bureaucratic process)

Patrick O'Brien - speaker (story on university evaluation systems and fairness standards)

Rube Redfield - speaker (story on contract system battle won by union negotiations)

Plus, questions and answers.
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JAPAN'S LABOR LAW: Historical Development and Current Applications - 85 min.
Day: Sunday, October 9th
Time: 9:40 - 11:15 Room: 903 (Shizuoka Granship)

Jonathan Britten - moderator (+ John Dower historical background)

Robert Aspinall - speaker (The current state of teacher’s unions in Japan)

Evan Heimlich - speaker (Current Trends and the self-contradictory system of contract employment)

Stephanie Houghton - speaker (Current trends and issues)

Debito Arudou - Q&A representative/general commentary
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