Applied Linguistics and TESOL in Japan

Phil Chappell (Linguistics) and Lorraine Whybrow (Faculty of Human Sciences Student Office) travelled to Tokyo and Nagoya between October 30 and November 5, 2019, to visit key educational agents, a high school, and to join in the Japan Association of Language Teachers (JALT) annual international conference. This is an annual trip when Linguistics at Macquarie supports and holds several key events.

In Tokyo, Phil and Lorraine visited a high school to talk about the new Bachelor of Linguistics and Language Sciences course, as well as several key educational agents to showcase our Applied Linguistics and TESOL and Translation and Interpreting courses. They then took the 320 kph bullet train to Nagoya to arrive just in time to set up the exhibition booth at the JALT conference.

Phil and Lorraine at the exhibition booth at JALT

The following day, Phil Chappell chaired the Macquarie Linguistics Graduate Student Showcase. Eight current and former research students presented their work over 2.5 hours to an open audience of conference attendees. These were:

• Hai Yen Vu: The making of an effective English teacher
• Mayumi Kashiwa: Teacher cognition of language learning environments beyond the classroom
• Lauren Landsberry: An Older Bilingual Sibling's Influence
• Hamish Gillies: English-through-drama to explore L2 Identity & Motivation
• Khedir Almoayidi: Phonetics and phonology between Theory and Practice
• Leigh McDowell: What can we still learn from errors?
• Colum Ruane: A Korean perspective on Global English & Global Identities
• Joel Rian: Humour in Low-proficiency Japanese university EFL classes

Participants and observers at the Graduate Student Showcase

Following this, alumni Simon Humphries and Phil Chappell co-chaired the Macquarie Linguistics Research Students Roundtable, where around a dozen alumni and current students met to informally discuss issues that HDR students were having with their research study.

Later that Saturday, Phil presented his research paper “Researching Classroom Talk: Toward Inquiry Dialogue” as a Featured Speaker. Then Lorraine and Phil hosted 35 alumni and current students at the local Il Bamboccio Restaurant for drinks and an Italian feast.

Macquarie Linguistics Alumni Social Function

The following day, Phil conducted his Featured Speaker workshop “Discussion and Inquiry Dialogue for the Language Classroom” for around 60 participants.

Throughout the duration of the conference, Lorraine Whybrow was advising future coursework and research students at Macquarie’s Linguistics exhibition booth in the Exhibition Hall of the conference. Lorraine met with other 55 potential students to advise them on a variety of study options. This is testament to the essential support the Faculty Student Services team provides Linguistics.

Macquarie’s participation in the annual JALT conference is just one of several ways it connects with its current students throughout Asia as well as alumni going back at least three decades. JALT and Macquarie are key to the continued international successes of the Linguistics Department at Macquarie.