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.