A Week of TBLT Synchronicity

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It’s been something of a week of TBLT (Task-Based Language Teaching) synchronicity. I’d noted in a previous blog my thoughts on the importance of tasks in my new context; then, a co-worker mentioned his use of TBLT, two related JALT pieces (an exposition by Rod Ellis and an interview with Shoko Sasayama) dropped through my analog mailbox, and I spotted an online seminar hosted by Tokyo JALT by Marcos Benavides of JF Oberlin University.

One of the most interesting things I got from this week’s festival of TBLT goodies was Benavides’s analogy of the artist. Traditional teaching is like a grid: we focus on one tiny square of grammar at a time, hoping the student eventually develops enough squares to produce a whole picture. It’s precise, but often demotivating because the “meaning” is buried. TBLT, by contrast, is more like a holistic sketch. From day one, the student draws the whole picture. It’s messy and imperfect, but it is meaningful from the start. As teachers, our job is to help the students gradually improve the whole image through feedback and repetition.

Although I have used “tasks” in the past to augment structured teaching, this was not pure TBLT, but rather Task-Supported Language Teaching (TSLT). The distinction has finally clicked. In TSLT, we teach the language forms first, which can trap students; they stop trying to communicate and focus too much on producing accurate forms. In “pure” TBLT, we let them use their own resources first. Watching Benavides’s videos of lower-level learners successfully navigating market research reports was fascinating. Whilst not perfect, they were effectively communicating their ideas.

The reality of teaching in a Japanese university means institutional structures and exams are often built on traditional foundations. However, I liked the advice from both Ellis and Benavides to keep the two approaches separate—a “Dual” or “Hybrid” approach. I think that this offers a practical window for my own professional development. By keeping a structural component and a task-based component distinct, I can wait for the right opportunities to experiment with “pure” TBLT when time (and energy) allows. I can see that this could help carve out a space for experimentation without going all out fo TBLT from the get go.

Final thought and key takeaways:

  • A Task must have a “Gap”: If there’s no information or opinion to exchange, it’s just an exercise.
  • Assessment follows Outcome: Did they achieve the goal? Accuracy of language is secondary to the communicative result.
  • Sequence by Complexity: Move from a simple task such as a short “elevator pitch” to a “formal presentation” and build learner confidence and fluency through repetition.
  • TBLT is a work in progress rather than a monolithic theory, requiring us as teacher-researchers to be flexible, experimental, and patient.

Starting a New Role: Early Reflections

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I recently started a new position, and after the first stretch of teaching, I wanted to note a few early thoughts. These are very much initial impressions, and I expect my understanding to develop over time as I settle in.

1. Adjusting to Different Proficiency Levels

One of the most immediate differences has been the overall proficiency level of students. At lower levels in particular, tasks require more careful setup and support. Activities are finished quite quickly, which means lessons need a greater number of shorter activities.

This has all kinds of implications for pacing and teacher energy. Lessons have felt quite intensive, with a need for sustained attention to scaffolding, modelling, and choral drilling. My voice took a bit of a battering during the first week or so and I got a pretty bad sore throat, from which I fortunately recovered fairly quickly.

2. Student Motivation and Classroom Behaviour

Since students are mostly enrolled in compulsory English classes, engagement can vary, and maintaining focus during activities requires consistent monitoring and encouragement. There is also a noticeable emphasis among some students on completing tasks efficiently. This occasionally comes at the expense of actually using English to complete tasks in communicative activities. It is necessary to consistently encourage and support the use of English to ensure students remain on task.

At lower levels, clarity of instruction is especially important. I have found a much greater need for ICQs (Instruction Checking Questions) to make sure the class know what they have to do. Even simple instructions can take time to process, and I have occasionally drawn on (my rather limited) Japanese to support understanding. This has helped maintain lesson flow, although I am aiming to balance this with maximising exposure to English.

3. Homework and Out-of-Class Learning

Students are assigned a substantial amount of homework, including e-learning components and vocabulary study. In practice, completion rates, particularly at lower levels, can be uneven. One approach that has been suggested is to allocate some class time for students to begin homework tasks. Whilst I am sure that this can help ensure engagement, it also raises questions about how best to balance this with time for communicative work during lessons.

4. Materials and Pedagogical Orientation

The course textbooks and materials differ from those I have used previously, and becoming familiar with their structure and sequencing will take some time to adjust to. There is a strong focus on bottom-up listening skills, including suprasegmental features, which play an important role in supporting beginner learners. At the same time, my early experience has highlighted the value of incorporating tasks that create a clearer need to communicate. I am interested in exploring how task-based elements can complement the existing materials and support more meaningful language use in class. This is something I hope to develop further and will return to in a future post.For now, I am working within the materials, experimenting with different activities, and identifying what works best.

5. Institutional Systems and Processes

As expected, institutional systems differ from place to place. While I have prior experience with Moodle, the platform is used more extensively here, with a wider range of functions available to instructors. Becoming familiar with these features has taken some time. Some textbooks have their own LMS for students and (I am pleased to report) that there is an extensive reading element via the online platform XReading. There are also additional internal systems for tasks such as attendance tracking. I am still in the process of learning how all these systems operate, although I expect this will become more straightforward with regular use.

6. Research Directions

This transition has also prompted some reflection on my research interests. Much of my previous work has focused on supporting independent learning outside the classroom including goal-setting approaches such as SMART goals. In the current context, where motivation and proficiency levels vary, I may need to adapt this focus. At the same time, there appear to be clear opportunities to continue developing work in areas such as extensive reading and listening, potentially in ways that fit more closely with students’ immediate needs.

7. Settling In

As with any new role, there is an initial period of adjustment. The range of new variables, from student needs to institutional systems, can feel demanding at first. That said, things are already becoming more familiar, and I am finding a rhythm. For now, the priority is to take the time to understand the context fully, experiment thoughtfully, and avoid rushing to conclusions. There is plenty to learn, and that process is very much underway.

I am very grateful for the Golden Week break in Japan which has given me a few days to unwind!

Using SMART goals with first-year students in Japan

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Last academic year, I introduced a SMART goal-setting project into my first-year English classes at a university in Japan.

Many of the students were highly motivated, with goals to travel, study abroad, and communicate with people from other countries. But when asked how they planned to improve, their answers were often vague: “study vocabulary”, “become fluent”, “practice speaking”.

The aim of the SMART goal-setting project was to give them some structure.

Students set a personal SMART goal (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound), tracked their progress in a shared document, and reflected on their learning at the middle and end of both semesters.

It became clear relatively quickly that motivation did not necessarily translate into action. At the start, most students were positive about setting goals, but maintaining consistent effort was much harder. Some students followed through, but many struggled to build regular study habits. As one student put it: “Actually, I was lazy. I played games instead of studying.”

One of the major issues was time management. As the semester progressed, students were dealing with assignments from other classes, part-time jobs, and extracurricular activities. In that context, independent study was often pushed aside. Goals that worked best tended to be small and flexible. For example, watching short videos or using vocabulary apps during spare moments was more sustainable than larger plans.

Reflection on their achievements was another challenge. Although many students did some kind of English study, they did not always record it. Logs were often left incomplete or written just before deadlines. This suggests that reflective practices do not come naturally to many students and need to be taught and supported more explicitly.

Despite this, there were also some clear positives. When students chose their own activities, they explored a wide range of options: YouTube, podcasts, apps, test preparation materials, and even using English at part-time jobs. Some adjusted their goals during the semester, suggesting a growing awareness of what worked for them. A number of students engaged consistently with the project, logged their activities in detail, and were able to see clear improvement in their language ability.

One clear takeaway is that learner autonomy does not develop on its own. Even setting a useful goal requires support and feedback, as students need help making their goals specific, realistic, and manageable. Ongoing support is also important to help students stay on track.

Despite my initial hopes, the project did not transform students into fully independent learners. However, it did encourage them to identify areas they want to improve and to think more carefully about how they study and what they are trying to achieve. Overall, this feels like a useful starting point.

If I run something similar again, I would:

  • provide more support when students first write their goals
  • show clearer examples of effective reflection
  • encourage smaller goals that fit into daily routines

Even small adjustments like these may help students turn good intentions into more consistent action

Attending the Kyushu ELT Convention 2026 (Fukuoka)

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On Sunday, February 22nd, I attended the Kyushu ELT Convention at Seinan Gakuin University Fukuoka. I attended partly for professional development, but also to establish new connections in the area following my recent move to Fukuoka. This year was particularly notable as Fukuoka JALT hosted a room at the convention for the first time. The JALT team were friendly and professional throughout the day, and as an unexpected bonus, presenters received a refunded entry fee and lunch, which was very much appreciated.

I began the day by kicking off the JALT-hosted sessions with a short talk on educational podcasting. The session focused on practical reasons for starting a podcast and some technical considerations when launching one. There were several questions afterwards, so hopefully a few attendees may feel encouraged to try podcasting themselves.

The following session was delivered by Andrew McMahon (Fukuoka University), who discussed his experiences using the GELT-informed coursebook Global Activator. Drawing primarily on Rose and Galloway’s work (2019), he evaluated how well the textbook aligns with Global Englishes Language Teaching principles. His overall conclusion was positive, although he noted the need for greater representation of lexicogrammatical variation and less emphasis on static cultural groupings.

After lunch, Samuel Taylor (Kyushu Sangyo University) presented research on learner beliefs and classroom practice. His studies suggested that while students value English, many report low confidence—particularly in speaking tasks such as debates and presentations. The findings led him to propose four curriculum design principles, each of which he fleshed out with concrete classroom activity examples. He also outlined several possible future research avenues to investigate whether these design principles are effective in practice.

Next, Ayumi Shindo (ULU International) presented on creating connections beyond the classroom through nature-based learning with young learners. Although my main teaching context is tertiary education, it was interesting to see how she fosters motivation and creativity through non-competitive, outdoor-focused activities. The session prompted lively audience discussion about children’s play and screen use.

Ian Dagnall (Kyushu Sangyo University) then looked at the analysis of an e-learning vocabulary test. He noted that courses are often designed first, with the assessment effectively tacked on at the end and not always revisited. Instead, he argued for a more reflective approach where test data feeds back into needs analysis and course development. Using examples from his institution, he showed how statistical analysis can help evaluate test effectiveness and track student progress. Overall, it was a helpful reminder that assessment should play an ongoing role in course design rather than being a one-and-done component.

Following this, Robinson Fritz explored motivation in the language classroom using the metaphor of crossing a river with shifting currents. He framed motivation as dynamic and emotionally complex, introducing a linguacultural perspective and suggesting the use of a motivation profiler to track learner engagement over time. The session highlighted how learners can experience both positive and negative pulls simultaneously, and it prompted useful reflection on how we interpret changing motivation in our classrooms.

The final presentation, by William Pellowe, introduced ways to create listening materials using AI tools, particularly Typecast.ai. He demonstrated how text-to-speech voices and AI-generated dialogues can support listening materials development, especially for lower-level learners. As someone who has experimented with similar tools such as murf.ai, I found it useful to see an alternative platform in action.

Overall, it was a worthwhile day for connecting with the local ELT community in Fukuoka and hearing a range of perspectives on teaching and learning. Many thanks to the organisers and to Fukuoka JALT for hosting the room.

What happened when my students shared their sources before writing

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One of the main parts of my current job involves teaching academic writing to second-year Japanese students who are studying English. The students are tasked with writing a five-paragraph argumentative position paper on a specified theme, and they have no choice about the topic. The essay involves presenting their argument clearly, while also refuting the arguments of the other side. For example, students might take a position on the use of nuclear power, either for or against, and then present their case, followed by a refutation of the opposing side’s arguments.

As you can imagine, this kind of essay writing is quite a tough ask of young adults working in a foreign language. Whilst over the years I’ve been teaching, there have been clear improvements in some areas of student writing, progress has been uneven. For example, the adoption of Google Suite and Google Docs has largely eliminated many surface-level grammatical errors, but the use of sources to support claims within essays remains a persistent challenge.

It is difficult to put a precise number on what constitutes enough citations, but during the first semester the mean number of references per essay was 3.8. When giving feedback, one of my most common comments related to missing citations. Despite clear instructional focus on the need for references, students often failed to use citations to support their claims or acknowledge the sources of their ideas. Conversations with students revealed that, although they understood why citations were necessary, the time required to research and back up points was, to say the least, somewhat arduous.

Since all students were writing essays on the same theme, I decided to try a different approach at the start of the second semester and asked students to share their sources before writing. As homework at the start of each topic unit, each student researched online sources related to the essay theme. They were required to briefly summarise the information they found in simple English.

In the following class, students discussed what they had found, what kind of information it was, whether general background, pro, or con, and whether they thought it was useful for their essay and why. After these discussions, students pasted their research into a shared class document that everyone could access. They were then free to use any of their classmates’ sources when writing their essays.

The results were quite impressive. All students increased the number of references they used compared to the first semester. By the third essay, the mean number of references had risen to an average of around 6.1 per essay. This was a notable increase. Importantly, this increase was not driven by a small number of students using far more references, but reflected a general rise across the whole class.

At the end of the semester, I asked students to reflect on the usefulness of the sharing exercise by writing a short reflective paragraph during the final class. Students highlighted several benefits. They felt the activity saved time, strengthened their arguments, and gave them access to a broader range of information than they would have found on their own. Many also mentioned that seeing their classmates’ perspectives before writing helped them think more deeply about the topic. The only real drawback noted was that some arguments gleaned from the shared document were repeated frequently in other classes, such as debate class.

I think the combination of quantitative data, specifically the increase in the number of references used, and qualitative student comments makes a fairly strong case for this being a successful intervention. That said, there are some limitations worth acknowledging. This was a small-scale action research project involving just 30 students, and other factors may have contributed to the improvement. These include conceptually easier topics or students gradually becoming more aware of academic writing requirements. It is also possible that my repeated reminders about reference numbers simply took until the second semester to sink in. Overall, though, I consider this a success.

As a final addendum, it is difficult to write about academic writing, or writing done outside the classroom, without mentioning the massive game changer that is AI. Last year, I felt fairly confident in spotting fabricated AI-generated references. However, recent iterations of ChatGPT have become increasingly sophisticated at producing accurate reference lists and in-text citations. I also noticed that some students were using AI to summarise articles for them, which was not quite what I had hoped for. Still, technology moves on, and this is clearly something I will need to think about more carefully in future iterations of the course.

Six Years of Podcasting: What I Learned From Creating a Student‑Focused Show

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When I made my first recording with a student about her study abroad experiences, I had no idea that it would grow into a six-year project involving more than 170 episodes. What started as a small experiment eventually developed into one of the most rewarding parts of my teaching life.

What the Podcast Is

The podcast is aimed at the university-aged students in my department. It includes a mixture of short monologues, conversations between two people, interviews with students and staff, and occasional videocasts recorded by students. Topics cover culture, language tips, study abroad, and university life. We now have twelve seasons, with around 180 publised episodes available on Spotify.

Why I Started

When I launched the podcast in 2019, I felt our curriculum was heavily focused on reading and writing, but offered limited listening practice. Although we had intensive listening tasks in class, I wanted something that students could listen to extensively and informally outside class.

The timing also played a role. The podcast began at the start of the coronavirus pandemic, which removed many opportunities for casual interaction. It offered students a way to hear teachers and classmates speak naturally at a time when we couldn’t have classes together. Students returning from study abroad had stories worth sharing, and this gave them a voice.

There was also a professional development aspect for me. Learning how to create and distribute a podcast felt valuable and directly relevant to teaching in the digital age.

What I Learned

Starting a podcast is far simpler than many people imagine. I used Anchor (now Spotify for Creators), and it handled hosting and distribution for free. For a small, niche podcast like ours, it worked perfectly.

The equipment does not need to be sophisticated. Although I bought a condenser microphone, pop-shield and audio interface, I ended up recording most episodes using the microphone on my iPad or iPhone. Editing was typically limited to trimming the beginning and end of the audio in GarageBand.

Production gets faster with experience. Once I had a system, I could record a five‑minute episode in under twenty minutes. I wrote rough scripts early on, but AI has made drafting much quicker in recent years.

Topic choice matters. Popular themes included pop culture, British culture, language tests, brand histories, and language tips. The most listened‑to episodes by far were interviews with students about their study abroad experiences. Over time, these have been integrated into our study abroad preparation courses, helping students learn from real voices and real situations..

Student involvement is powerful, even if difficult to coordinate. Students rarely volunteered, but almost all who participated felt proud afterwards. I would have liked more student‑generated content, although managing this takes more time.

The Future

Recently I experimented with videocasts since Spotify now supports video. I expected this to be more appealing since many students are heavy YouTube users. Surprisingly to me, the listener numbers did not change. It may be that Spotify may not be the best place for video. Perhaps if the videocasts were uploaded to YouTube, they might attract more engagement. In addition, video production takes significantly longer than producing audio‑only episodes. Even short clips require much more editing time, and this extra workload is difficult to justify for a small, niche project.

Looking ahead, I am aware that AI-generated podcasts are becoming more common. High‑quality automated content will likely fill podcast platforms in the near future. Even so, I believe there will always be a place for authentic student voices. Real experiences and real conversations have a value that AI cannot replace. Whatever direction the project takes, it has been a meaningful part of my work, and I hope it continues to provide students with something useful.

Link the podcast is here:

https://open.spotify.com/show/04UyCI0pyvJi6LBVr1QBRo


Jigsaw Listening: Listen, Share, Decide.

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I was really pleased to be able to talk about jigsaw listening at the recent JALT International Conference in Tokyo. I’ve been increasing the use of these tasks in my classes, and it was a great opportunity to share my experiences with an audience of peers at the joint Listening SIG and Materials Writers SIG Forum.

Jigsaw listening is an information gap activity where students listen to different audio clips related to a topic, then share what they’ve learned in order to complete a task. I shared an example I’ve used in class where students listen to audio about four different extinct animals, exchange information, and then decide which of the four should be reintroduced.

I highlighted the benefits of jigsaw listening, especially how it promotes active listening. Rather than just listening passively, learners have to do something with the information they gather. First, they share it with their peers, then they examine it critically to reach a decision. It encourages peer-to-peer interaction, note-taking skills, and collaboration. I’ve found these activities to be engaging for students, and I’ve also noticed that they can almost teach themselves. Once the task is set up, it’s nice to be able to step back and watch the process unfold.

Jigsaw listening isn’t without its challenges, though. Because it’s a multi-stage procedure, it takes up considerably more class time than traditional listening exercises. Students are often not used to being this active during listening tasks, and it takes time for them to adjust to the format. Background noise can also be an issue, especially when multiple audio files are being listened to at the same time, although this can be mitigated with headphones. Using AI to write scripts and generate audio has helped reduce preparation time, but creating materials still requires care and thorough checking. Making sure the materials are level-appropriate is also a challenge, though tools like VocabKitchen can help with vocabulary checking.

My overall message was that if you’re willing to put in some effort up front, the rewards are worth it. You get an engaging, interactive lesson with lots of opportunities for collaboration and communication.

JALT 2025 Study Abroad Conference Reflection

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The JALT Study Abroad SIG conference was held at Kinjo Gakuin University on October 18th, 2025. Although study abroad (SA) is not my main research focus, I decided to attend for several reasons. Firstly, I teach an intensive SA preparation course for students heading to Australia for a month in spring, and I was hoping to learn something new to support them. Secondly, along with my colleague Tom (who was also in attendance), I often interview students who have returned from SA so they can share their experiences via our departmental podcast. Thirdly, the conference was conveniently held in Nagoya, where I’m based, so travel was easy. And finally, for someone without a research budget, the fee of just 2,500 yen represented excellent value compared to other conferences (I’m looking at you, JALT International Conference).

As hoped, I came away with several new ideas for my preparation course. Gregory Minehan’s presentation encouraged me to think about how students could get more out of their homestay experiences. He shared feedback from host families about what makes a good homestay student. Following his talk, I began to consider ways to support students in their interactions with host families, perhaps through small-talk dialogues or roleplays to build confidence.

Similarly, Morgen Livingston’s presentation inspired an activity idea: giving students practice in explaining unique aspects of Japanese culture to others. He pointed out that topics like anime and sushi are already familiar to most people, so encouraging students to introduce something less well-known could make for more engaging cultural exchanges.

Although not her main focus, part of Yukie Saito’s presentation addressed the financial realities of studying abroad. With the weak yen and rising prices, even basic items can be surprisingly expensive abroad (for example, 300 yen for a bottle of water compared to 100 yen in Japan). I thought it might be helpful to highlight this before departure and have students brainstorm cost-saving strategies such as packing lunches or shopping at supermarkets.

Throughout the day, several speakers also highlighted how the experiences of returning students can support those preparing for study abroad. I was espcecially pleased to hear that because it confirmed the value of the recordings I’ve made for our departmental podcast, where returnees share their stories and advice. I also came to realise that these conversations are valuable not only for students preparing to go abroad but also for those who have already returned. They provide an opportunity for reflection and help students continue their English learning journey, something I hadn’t previously considered. It made me even more motivated to keep producing podcast episodes featuring our students’ voices.

As a relative newcomer to study abroad, I also learned about funding opportunities. Firstly, I learned about support available through JASSO. It seems that for faculty members willing to do the paperwork (or collaborate with administrative staff), there may be opportunities to secure funding for study abroad programs. In addtion, I also heard discussions about Tobitate scholarships available for individual students. Many of our students are eager to go abroad but struggle with funding, so these could be promising options to explore..

One presentation also introduced the newly established Study Abroad Research Group (SARG), an initiative aimed at encouraging collaboration between researchers to share resources, broaden datasets, and mentor members with less research experience. Although this is not an area I plan to get involved in personally, it struck me as an excellent idea and a valuable way to strengthen research networks within the study abroad community. I hope it proves to be a great success.

The poster sessions offered opportunities for informal conversations with presenters, which I really enjoyed. It was great to chat with students who had returned from study abroad and hear how the experience had changed them. It also looks like we’ve lined up some future podcast guests, thanks, Tom!

All in all, it was a great conference, and I’m really glad I went. A big thank-you to the organisers for putting together such an engaging and informative event.

Why Write Conference Reflections?

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Starting this blog has made me think more carefully about my professional writing. As part of setting up this WordPress site, I gathered a list of my publications to show what I’ve worked on so far. It seemed useful to have everything in one place and easy to update.

As I went through the list, I noticed something interesting: quite a few of my publications were conference reviews or reflections. I think there are five so far, and there may well be more to come.

That got me thinking. Is that too many? Is it worth writing up your thoughts on conferences? After some reflection, I believe there are several good reasons to do so:

1) Publications

“Publish or die” is a familiar saying in academia. Writing a conference review can be a relatively straightforward way for early-career or novice writers (a group I still consider myself part of) to gain experience with academic publishing and build up a CV.

Some outlets, such as the JALT Teacher Development SIG’s Explorations in Teacher Development, go through a peer-review process. If you choose your target publication carefully, your reflection can even count as a peer-reviewed piece, adding genuine value to your academic record.

2) Money

For teachers without access to institutional research budgets, writing a conference review can also open doors to small grants or travel support. Some JALT SIGs, such as CUE (College and University Educators), offer financial assistance in exchange for a review. Similarly, some conferences, like PANSIG, have funding available for participants who are willing to write about their experiences.

3) Reflection

Many people attend conferences to give a presentation, meet colleagues, or fulfil professional obligations. Writing a review encourages a different kind of engagement. It pushes you to think carefully about what you’ve seen, reflect on key ideas, and consider how they might connect to your own teaching or research. That process of reflection can sometimes lead to unexpected insights that benefit both you and your learners.

Writing a review also takes real effort. Staying focused throughout a full day, or even several days, of presentations is not easy. It demands concentration, strong note-taking skills, and good organisation to make sense of multiple topics and speakers. It can be hard work, but the discipline it requires often makes the experience more rewarding.

4) Connection (Networking)

Writing a review can be a good way to strengthen professional connections. You might contact someone whose presentation you mentioned, share your write-up with them, or tag them in a LinkedIn post. It’s a genuine and positive way to build relationships, and most presenters appreciate hearing how their ideas were received.

5) Promoting Local / Smaller Conferences

Across Japan, there are conferences happening almost every week, and smaller or more specialised events can sometimes be overlooked. Organising a conference takes a huge amount of time and commitment. While most people know the larger gatherings, such as JALT National or PANSIG, smaller events also deserve recognition.

One of my recent pieces was about the FSIJ (Film Studies In Japan) conference, and the organiser was genuinely pleased that I had taken the time to write about it. It was clear that the event had taken a great deal of effort to organise, and I was happy to help highlight that work.

Other reasons?

You could also add that writing conference reflections helps consolidate learning, contribute to the professional community, and build your online presence. But I think my list of five is enough for now.

Final thoughts

Conference reflections may not be the most glamorous form of academic writing, but they combine many valuable skills: critical thinking, synthesis, communication, and reflection. They also give back to the professional community by sharing ideas and highlighting others’ work.

I plan to continue reflecting on my conference experiences here on the blog, though perhaps it’s time to encourage others to share their own perspectives as well. After all, the more voices we have reflecting on professional learning, the richer our community becomes.

Reflections on Teaching English in Japan

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Hello, and welcome.

After many years of teaching English, most of them in Japan, I decided to start this site as a place connected to my work and interests.

I also want this site to act as a record of the things I am doing. Teaching, mentoring, podcasts, projects, events, and extracurricular activities often pass quickly, and I think it is useful to capture them in one place. In the same way, brief notes here may grow into something more substantial later, such as a book review, article, or even a future publication.

My hope is that, over time, this space will not only help me to develop but also provide something of interest to colleagues, prospective employers, or anyone curious about the teaching of English in Japan.

Thank you for visiting, and I hope you find something here worth reading.