2014 May 17 | Cecilia Salzer | Teaching Phonics to English Language Learners

In May of 2014, Nagasaki JALT visited Nagasaki Junior College and were treated to a lecture by Cecilia "Sash" Salzer on the methodology for Teaching Phonics to ELLs (English Language Learners). The talk included extensive background on the presenter as well as some tips and ideas for introducing phonics to children.

2014 May 10~11 | PanSIG Conference | Miyazaki Municipal University

Karen Masatsugu presents a
short study abroad project.

I had the privilege to attend the annual PanSIG (http://pansig.org) conference which was hosted in Miyazaki City at the Miyazaki Municipal University (May 10th and 11th). In recollection, Miyazaki City is a really nice place with wide stretching avenues and palm tree lined streets. Being in southern Japan, the climate is warm as are the people who often greeted me in various ways using English decrying a population unafraid of internationalization.

This year's PanSIG format involved a plethora of poster-style discussion groups and forums. There were also some interesting plenary speaker sessions. Although I didn't participate directly in the conference as a presenter, the close quarters and discussion-centric style made for thought-provoking discourse - I was able to take in quite a lot over a short period of time. Here enclosed are some notes and images from the weekend.