Independent Publishers’ & Materials Creators’ Fair – Workshop Videos Available

FRESH PERSPECTIVES!

March 13, 10:15 – 15:15 on ZOOM

Free event!

Featured Workshops (10:15 – 12:15):

• 10:15 – John Carle: How to publish EFL materials independently (video available)
• 11:15 – Bruno Vannieu & Stephen Richmond: Intercultural Communication Basics in Language Classes

Open Breakout Rooms (13:15 – 15:15):

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10:15 – How to Publish EFL Materials Independently

John Carle

Kindai University

In this talk, the presenter will take participants through the many steps of creating, producing, selling, and distributing their independently created textbooks. Participants will learn how to produce traditional printed textbooks as well as how to create marketable online materials. The presentation will end with a Q&A session about the independent publishing industry.

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11:15 – Intercultural Communication Basics in Language Classes

Bruno Vannieu

President, Alma Publishing / Former Kobe University Professor

Stephen Richmond

Kyoto University of Advanced Science

It feels that fostering some kind of intercultural awareness should be one of the goals of foreign language courses, at least from the intermediate level. Unfortunately, in reality it’s rarely the case. Why is that? It could be because most teaching materials dealing with intercultural issues are overly abstract. These require a lot of commitment and rather advanced language skills on the part of the learner, both in comprehension and expression. 

In this interactive presentation, we will show, step-by-step, some practical ways in which intercultural issues can be brought to the center of an EFL class. We do this not through abstract concepts but rather through topics of everyday life, such as the way we sleep and rest, the places we socialize, and how we interact with strangers. 

We will suggest an approach  in which students first reflect on their own cultural habits, before looking at those from foreign cultures. We will then introduce practical strategies to get them to read actively, and to express themselves in nuanced and meaningful ways, even at the intermediate or even low-intermediate level.

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13:15 – 15:15: Open Breakout Rooms

Jeff Morrow: Teaching the Environment in EFL

Fiona Wall Minami: Escape the Classroom

Andy Boon: Halico Readers and Textbooks

John Carle: The English Gym Series

Bruno Vannieu & Stephen Richmond: Intercultural Awareness and Teaching English in Japan: Quick Tips and Questions

Suzanne Kameta: Books and Educational Resources

Suzanne Kamata, an award-winning Tokushima-based author and educator, will introduce books that she has written for EFL learners, such as A Girls’ Guide to the Islands (Gemma Open Door, 201 ) and The Spy (Gemma Open Door, 2020) as well as books related to Japan which would be appropriate for EFL learners and international students in Japan, such as Indigo Girl (GemmaMedia, 2019) and Pop Flies, Robo-pets and Other Disasters (One Elm Books, 2020). She will also share information about additional resources for these books such as links to audio versions, teaching guides, and lesson plans.

Paul Mathieson: Facilitating English academic vocabulary learning using fictional graded readers

Given the importance of learning L2 vocabulary in context (Webb, 2008), academic texts would seem to be one of the most useful ways to support learners’ academic vocabulary learning. However, for teachers using word lists such as Coxhead’s (2000) academic word list (AWL), finding authentic materials with sufficient academic vocabulary range and frequency to support course-related academic vocabulary learning can be a challenge. Against this background, the presenter wrote a fictional graded reader series (‘The AWL Readers’) in an attempt to make English academic vocabulary learning more comprehensible, stimulating, and (hopefully) more effective for his students.

The AWL Readers follow the adventures (and misadventures) of a fictional university student and her unusual friend, and include all 570 AWL words (with spaced repetition). The AWL Readers will be available on xreading.com later in 2022.

This presentation will discuss: (1) how and why the AWL Readers were created; (2) how they will be used at the presenter’s institution; and (3) their possible usefulness in other teaching and learning contexts.

Paul Leeming: On Task-A TBLT textbook

Daniel Mills & Steve Quasha: Think Big for Business

In this presentation, Steve and Daniel will showcase a textbook series they have created that introduces entrepreneurship to students through the lens of a strong female character. The presenters will demonstrate how to utilize these materials and show how perceptions of entrepreneurship, gender equality, and digital transformation in business are crucial for students in the 21st Century.