One suggestion

As we all know, this blog was set up several months ago for some academic information exchange. I understand that the majority of viewers do appreciate this blog. However, looks like this blog has been used only for announcing up-coming events of KLA and all, and there must be a better way to utilise this. So, for all KLAites, I do suggest that each one of us should publish a post that addresses some research topics of our thesis. This might hopefully activate this blog and lead us to a better direction. What do you think?

By Yoichi

P.S. Maybe, some of you might assume that publishing a post in this blog is a big deal. But, we don't see it that way. This blog is an online space where very casual academic communication is encouraged. We are all waiting for your post. KLAites, let's leade the way!

第5回KLA研究会のご案内 The 5th KLA Presentation Meeting

以下の日程で第5回研究発表会が行われます。
今回は金城学院大学准教授の馬場今日子先生をお招きし、第二言語ライティングに関する研究発表をしていただきます。
是非多くの方にご参加いただければと存じます。

日にち：2013年2月9日(土)
時間：午後2時〜4時
場所：東京大学駒場キャンパス 10号館3階 301教室
発表者：金城学院大学文学部英語英米文化学科　馬場今日子准教授
タイトル：
"Phase transitions in development of writing fluency from a complex dynamic systems perspective"
「複雑系理論を用いた第2言語ライティング発達（流暢さ）における相転移の研究」
（発表言語：日本語）

要旨：
　従来のライティングモデルはほとんどが認知的な側面、すなわちライティングプロセスに焦点を当てていた。そのため、未熟な書き手がどのように熟練した書き手へと成長するのかといった、発達過程をモデル化する試みはほとんどない。そこで本研究では、第2言語ライティングの長期的な発達モデルを構築することを目指し、その第一歩として、人間行動学や発達心理学でも観察されている相転移（phase
transition）が第2言語ライティング発達においても観察されるのかを調べる。
　本発表ではまず複雑系理論アプローチと従来の他の（特に還元主義的な）アプローチでは研究の仕方にどのような違いがあるのかを説明する。発達を研究する際、従来型の研究では線形発達を前提とするが、複雑系理論アプローチでは発達は非線形的に起こるとし、特に創発（emergence）に着目する。創発とは、発達のある時点で、それまでとは異なるレベルのパタンが出現することであり、この変化を相転移と言う。相転移は自然科学現象においてのみならず、行動科学や発達心理においても観察されている。例えば、Ruhland
and van Geert (1998)は子供の言語発達においても相転移のような現象を観察している。
　本研究では大学1年生のライティングクラスにおいて時間制限付きライティングを1年間、毎週繰り返し行い、彼らのライティングにおける流暢さの変化に相転移が見られるのかを調査した。分析は2名の学生に対して行った。相転移の同定・判別はカタストロフィー理論などの基準を用いた。その結果、相転移の起きる時期や大きさ、性質は異なったものの、2名ともに相転移のパタンが観察された。この結果に基づき、ライティングモデルに対する提案を行い、また教育的示唆についても議論する。
ご不明な点があれば、komabalanguage@gmail.comへ、またはホームページをご覧ください。(https://sites.google.com/site/komabalanguage/)

-------------------------------------------------------------

Dear All,
We are delighted to announce that the fifth meeting of Komaba Language
Association (KLA) will be held next month.
This time, we will invite Dr. Kyoko Baba, Assistant Professor at Kinjo
Gakuin University.
She will be presenting her study in second language writing.
We hope many people will join us and share your stimulating ideas from
various perspectives with us.
Date: February 9th, 2013
Time: 2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Place: Room 301 on the 3rd floor of Building 10 on Komaba Campus, the
University of Tokyo
Presenter: Dr. Kyoko Baba, Assistant Professor at Kinjo Gakuin University.
Title: "Phase transitions in development of writing fluency from a
complex dynamic systems perspective"
「複雑系理論を用いた第2言語ライティング発達（流暢さ）における相転移の研究」
(The presentation will be held in Japanese. The abstract is also
available in Japanese.)
If you have any questions, please contact us at komabalanguage@gmail.com.
For further information, please see
https://sites.google.com/site/komabalanguage/

ＫＬＡ・ＴＡＬＫ第１１回合同セッション

日時：２０１３年１月２０日（日）　１４：００〜１７：１５
場所：早稲田大学 早稲田キャンパス ２２号館 ２０３教室
詳細：http://www.talk-waseda.net/400-next_talk.html

Lecture by Ryuko Kubota on November 30

Foreign Language Education for Border-Crossing Communication: A Case of Japanese Expatriates in China

Ryuko Kubota, Ph.D.

Professor, Department of Language and Literacy Education, Faculty of Education, University of British Columbia

Globalization has increased interaction among people from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds. In global communication, English has been regarded as the international language par excellence indispensable in the neoliberal knowledge economy. This perception has promoted teaching and learning English for career advancement in many non-English-dominant countries like Japan. This trend, however, poses various paradoxes and contradictions. This talk will conceptually and empirically discuss how the neoliberal notion of acquiring English skills as part of human capital contradicts the multilingual reality in the global society and what communicative competencies might actually be required for transnational workers. Qualitative research conducted on Japanese transnational workers’ language use in the workplace revealed perceived importance of the ability to communicate not only in English but also in other languages as well as communicative dispositions, rather than English skills per se. Implications for language education and a neoliberal paradox will be discussed.

Friday, November 30, 2012
18:00 to 20:00
Collaboration Room 3
Fourth Floor, Building 18, Komaba Campus
The University of Tokyo
Contact: office@cgcs.c.u-tokyo.ac.jp
Cohosted by the Centre for Global Communication Strategies

Poster (PDF)

The 4th KLA Presentation Meeting on Dec. 15

Dear All,

We are delighted to announce that the fourth meeting of Komaba
Language Association (KLA) will be held next month.

Date: December 15, Saturday, 2012
Time: 14:00-16:30
Location: 301 on the third floor of Building 10 (Note this is not the
same place as we had)

This time, we will be holding a workshop where four first-year
master's program students in the Department of Language and
Information Sciences will talk about some tentative plans of their
master's thesis projects, including motives of their studies,
conceptual frameworks, research designs, and methodological issues.

Below are the speakers, the language used in their sessions, and their
general topics (This is not the order of the presentations):

Kimie Yamamura (Japanese) Second language writing
Sayaka Meguro (Japanese) Teaching English to young learners
Masaaki Ogura (Japanese) Lexicography
Yusuke Kaimori (Japanese) Cognitive Linguistics (Cognitive
grammar/Construction grammar)

We are planning to have an end-of-year party (Bonennkai) after the
meeting on the day. Another message will be sent out to you on the party
later.
We are hoping to see many people at the meeting and the party.

If you have any questions, please contact us at
komabalanguage@gmail.com. For further information, please see
https://sites.google.com/site/komabalanguage/


Best regards,

KLA

Lecture by John O'Regan on October 20

English as a world language: some perspectives on teaching and learning in a globalized age

John O’Regan, Ph.D.
Institute of Education, University of London

Since the end of the Second World War the English language has developed into a global language of communication. In this talk Dr. John O’Regan of the Institute of Education, University of London, examines the development of English as an international language in an age of globalization. He considers some of the debates around the global dominance of English and how this affects perceptions of teaching and learning in the classroom. In an era of English as a lingua franca Dr. O’Regan welcomes the views of English language teachers and other interested persons regarding what English as a world language is and what kind of English should be taught in schools and universities.

Saturday, October 20, 2012
14:00 to 16:00
Collaboration Room 3
Fourth Floor, Building 18, Komaba Campus
The University of Tokyo

Open to the public. No reservations required.
Contact: office@cgcs.c.u-tokyo.ac.jp

Cohosted with the Centre for Global Communication Strategies

Lecture by Sandra McKay on October 8

Sandra McKay 教授公開講演会

Special Lecture by Prof. Sandra　McKay
日時：　2012年10月8日（月・祭日）　14:00 - 16:00
Date and Time: Monday (National Holiday), October 8, 2012, 14:00 to 16:00
場所： 東京大学教養学部 駒場Iキャンパス
       １８号館４階コラボレーションルーム１
Place: 　 Collaboration Room 1, Fourth Floor
        Building 18, University of Tokyo Komaba I Campus

演題/Title：　Globalization, Culture, and Language Education
      　 (使用言語：英語/Language: English)
　 　　　　
講演者：　 Dr. Sandra McKay 　(サンフランシスコ州立大学名誉教授)
Speaker: Dr. Sandra McKay,　Professor Emeritus San Francisco State University
Abstract
Globalization is a much used and often loosely-defined term. This paper will begin by considering the various definitions of globalization and examine what these suggest for current language use and language teaching.  The author will argue that while English often serves as a lingua franca in the present-day globalized world, this is not always the case. However, when it is used as a lingua franca, it is typically used in cross-cultural exchanges in which cultural frameworks are complex and negotiable.
Given globalization and the complex linguistic landscape it generates, the author explores what this means for English teaching today.  What should be the cultural basis of English teaching?  What grammatical, pragmatic, and discourse norms should apply?  What should be the cultural basis of classroom materials and methodology?  These questions will be fully explored in the presentation. In closing, the presenter will argue that the goal of culture learning in English as an international language pedagogy should be to promote a sphere of interculturality (Kramsch, 1998) and an awareness of the hybridity of cultural identity today.

参加費： 無料, 事前申込不要
Free admission, no reservation necessary
共催： 科学研究費助成事業（基盤研究C12001418)「日本人にとっての英 語の資本性」
東京大学駒場言葉研究会 (KLA)
言語教育学・言語社会学研究会　(EASOLA)
Event jointly sponsored by
Grants-in-aid for Scientific Research 12001418　English as Capital for the Japanese
Komaba Language Association (KLA)
Education, Anthropology, and Sociology of Language　(EASOLA)

*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*
問合せ： 東京大学　片山晶子　 (研究室 03-5465-7614)
For further information, contact Akiko Katayama, University of Tokyo (03-5465-7614)
E-mail: akatayama@aless.c.u-tokyo.ac.jp
*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*

Prof. McKay Bio

Sandra McKay is Professor Emeritus of San Francisco State University. Her main areas of interest are sociolinguistics, English as an International Language, and second language pedagogy. For most of her career she has been involved in second language teacher education, both in the United States and abroad. She received four Fulbright grants, many U.S Department of State academic specialists awards and distinguished lecturer invitations.  Her books include Principles and Practices for Teaching English as an International Language (edited with L. Alsagoff, G. Hu & W. Renandya, 2012, Routledge), Sociolinguistics and Language Education (edited with N. Hornberger, 2010, Multlingual Matters), International English in its Sociolinguistic Contexts:  Towards a Socially Sensitive Pedagogy (with Wendy Bokhorst-Heng, 2008, Frances Taylor) and Teaching English as an International Language: Rethinking Goals and Approaches (2002, Oxford University Press, Winner of the Ben Warren International Book Award for outstanding teacher education materials).  Her articles appeared in such journals as the Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, Harvard Educational Review, English Language Teaching, International Journal of Applied Linguistics, Journal of Second Language Writing, System, TESOL Quarterly and World Englishes. She has published many chapters in edited books and given plenary talks at various international conferences, including the Asian International TEFL Conference in Korea, the Regional English Language Conference in Singapore and the EFL Asian Conference in Turkey.  She served as TESOL Quarterly editor from 1994 to 1999 and has served on the editorial advisory board for the Journal of Second Language Writing and the TESOL Quarterly.