Venue: Toyo Gakuen University (Hongo Campus), Building 4/5
Location: Near Tokyo Dome (access / map)
1-26-3, Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan
Phone: (+81) 3-3811-1696
GALE Forum: Equality Across Borders/Sat 4:30-6 Rm 4503 (Equality Across Borders)
1Kyoto Institute of Technology, Japan; 2Shonan Institute of Technology; 3Osaka University; 4Kobe City University of Foreign Studies
This forum will examine issues related to gender and identity both within Japan and globally. Eucharia Donnery will compare the experiences of female teachers and students in a computer sciences department at a Japanese university with other departments. She will also suggest ways in which universities can support minority identities. Parisa Mehran and Elisabeth Fernandes will explore the theme of debunking stereotypes of Middle Eastern Women. They will discuss their personal experiences in Iran and Pakistan and their collaboration in their English classrooms on projects to reflect on existing stereotypes and their impact on the identity of these women.
Female Representation in Japanese EFL Textbooks/Sun 11-11:25 Rm 4401
Graduate School of International Cooperation Studies, Kobe University, Japan
English textbooks play an important role in Japanese EFL contexts. This study is a quantitative comparative analysis of female representations in high school textbooks in Japan, with the aim of exploring gender representations therein. 22 textbooks published in the 1990s and in 2017 were analyzed in terms of the number of male and female characters and their social status. The significance of this study is that there have been few comparative historical studies in textbook analysis. The results demonstrate that there still remains a great disparity between male and female characters in EFL textbooks used in Japan.
Data Analysis in Qualitative Research on EFL Teachers/Sun 11:30-11:55 Rm 4401
Temple University, Japan
PhD students will have to make several decisions over the course of the dissertation project. I will use my own case study on female foreign language teachers to highlight suitable ways in which to analyze the qualitative data I will collect in my dissertation project. In this presentation, I will be describing some of the theory and practice associated with qualitative data analysis in order to think through the many possibilities available to researchers who work under the qualitative and mixed-methods paradigms.
Investigating Diversity: An Exploration Of Conference Attendance/Sun 1-1:25 Rm 4401
1Meijo University; 2Shirayuri University
Diversity and inclusion are on the JALT radar with the 2018 National Conference centred on the topics. This presentation will discuss the results of a survey that explores the reasons why people attend, or do not attend, JALT chapter meetings and conferences. This survey was undertaken in response to a finding that some membership demographics are highly underrepresented at JALT chapter meetings. (McCandie, 2017). Analysis will provide insight into the reasons and suggest ways JALT can adapt and develop to become a more diverse and inclusive association. The results have application to improving the diversity of conferences in general.
Sexual Harassment Issues and Language Education in Japan/Sun 1:30-1:55 Rm 4401
Ritsumeikan University, Japan
The recent “Me Too” campaign has raised awareness of sexual harassment as an insidious and prevalent social problem. A recent General Union survey shows that many language educators in Japan have been affected, and many dimensions of the issue are not fully understood. Research indicates that a culture of silence around sexual misconduct impoverishes learning experiences for students in toxic environments, and blights careers for language instructors. This presentation explores these issues, outlines various prevention policies, and reports on a pilot study with university students to raise awareness of the seriousness and the prevalence of sexual harassment.
Living in Liminality: LGBTQIA+ Identity in Japan/Sun 3:30-3:55 Rm 4401
1Kyoto Sangyo University, Japan; 2Utsunomiya University
This presentation discusses how certain cultural dimensions, combined with the importance of marriage and having children in order to have a place in society, have created a unique environment for the LGBTQIA+ community in Japan. Low visibility of LGBTQIA+ communities at university results in students having a liminal sense of belonging, existing simultaneously within and outside of society.
This presentation is informed by a series of in-depth interviews with LGBTQIA+ students in a university where the LGBTQIA+ community is largely invisible, as well as more informal contact with LGBTQIA+ students in a university working hard to make a more visible community.