Grant Osterman
Family English School International Co., Ltd.
About
Dr. Osterman has been teaching in Japan since 1993. Originally from a small Midwestern town in the United States, he earned his bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s degree in education from the University of Maryland. After a short hiatus, he completed his doctorate degree from Northcentral University in educational leadership. Over his career, he has taught at elementary schools, junior high schools, universities, and is an administrator at a private international school in Okinawa. His volunteer works includes being the coordinator for JALT’s Teaching Younger Learners Special Interest Group, Okinawa Chapter Membership Chair, and the SIG Representative Liaison for JALT.Sessions
Intercultural Communication in Language Education TYL & ICLE SIG Forum: Intercultural understanding in Japanese schools more
Sun, Jul 10, 11:45-13:15 Asia/Tokyo
This forum is a collaboration between the Teaching Young Learners (TYL) SIG and the Intercultural Communication in Language Education (ICLE) SIG. Its aim is to showcase how intercultural communication is approached in primary and secondary schools from a variety of perspectives. Some of our invited presenters will share their research based on descriptors from the Framework of Reference for Pluralistic Approaches to Languages and Cultures (FREPA) as to what degree intercultural communicative competence is promoted in the new elementary school English textbooks. Presenters will also discuss the difficulties of teaching aspects of an L2 that are not a common feature in the L1 sociocultural environment, engaging ways in which a teacher can introduce their own country and culture to a class, how the School Lunches Project promoted the development of an investigative stance towards plurality, and how intercultural understanding is incorporated in pre-service teacher education.
Networking PanSIG Meeting more
Mon, Jul 4, 20:00-22:00 Asia/Tokyo
Final committee meeting to prepare for PanSIG2022
Teaching Younger Learners Bridging Compulsory English Classes from Elementary to Junior High in Japan more
Sat, Jul 9, 11:45-12:10 Asia/Tokyo
In this presentation, we will report on research in 2021 with 99 5th grade elementary students from three different elementary schools and 242 7th grade students from one junior high school in southern Japan. We will look at some ideas on how to help bridge the gap between Eigo Katsudo and regular compulsory English classes. Although our pilot research showed higher student motivation in junior high school, most research has shown that students like elementary school English lessons but do not prefer junior high English lessons. Ideas as to why there is a gap will be explored. Furthermore, the results from this initial pilot study showed that 77% of JHS students feel learning English in elementary school is useful in junior high. Our study also showed that 70% of junior high students reported that their English lessons progressively got harder. Reasons why this might be true and ways to help smooth the transition from elementary school Eigo Katsudo to junior high school compulsory English classes will be explored.
Networking JALT Officer Support Meeting more
Sun, Jul 10, 15:05-16:05 Asia/Tokyo
JALT's Officer Support Committee (OSC) was created to help orient new officers and support current officers in JALT’s SIGs, chapters, and committees. This session will be partially an introduction to the resources available to JALT officers, and partially a Q&A / troubleshooting session. If you're a JALT officer (or curious about becoming one), you are welcome to this meeting.
Teacher Development Conference proposal writing and reviewing: Constructive feedback more
Sun, Jul 10, 10:00-10:25 Asia/Tokyo
Presenting ideas to fellow teachers and researchers is an essential part of professional development. Concisely describing a presentation in one or two hundred words of text is a challenge. Conference organisers must also put together teams of reviewers to assess the quality of each submission, and ideally write feedback that will be useful for authors to revise their submissions, whether to raise the standards of the current conference or to help authors when they apply to a later conference. This session is intended for anyone thinking about writing a presentation abstract, joining a reviewing team for a conference, or continuing to review and give feedback on submissions. This presentation will first consider the essential form and component of a presentation submission: who it relates to, what it is about, when and where it takes place, and why it is important. Then we will look at how reviewers can write feedback in a tone that is helpful without being patronising, and critical without being offensive. What are the rules concerning abstract writing and when do rules become guidelines? Do abstracts need references (Gough & Taylor, 2018)? Should abstracts include questions? (194 words including these ones!)
Networking SIG Coordinators Meeting more
Sat, Jul 9, 12:55-13:55 Asia/Tokyo
This is a meeting for SIG coordinators and representatives. Here we will talk about the status of your SIG and the SRL will give information from the Board of Directors. We will meet f2f and the SRL will stream the meeting via Zoom for the coordinators who cannot make it. All current or future SIG coordinators are welcome as well as SIG designated representatives.
Closing Ceremony and PanSIG 2023 Introduction Meeting more
Sun, Jul 10, 16:10-17:30 Asia/Tokyo
Find out what to look forward to in 2023!
