jalt

JALT 2025 Study Abroad Conference Reflection

/ Richard Ingham / Leave a comment

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?

/ Richard Ingham / 2 Comments

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.