This year’s annual JALT Conference is going to be in Tokyo at the National Olympic Memorial Youth Center and it promises to be an extravaganza of everything and anything an English language instructor could ask for. It’s the 33rd International Conference and is being held between November 22nd and the 25th and the theme this year is, “Challenging Assumptions: Looking In, Looking Out.”

It seems that every year the JALT Conference theme follows the tenets of what FIA espouses – are they following us or is that just a coincidence? This year’s theme is very much in line with what FIA tries to impart to our members. Whether we’re trying to get members of our OJT programs to take a chance and make some mistakes with the language they have been practicing in class, or imploring Adventure School students to broaden their cultural perspective, we FIA trainers are constantly trying to challenge the assumptions of our members regarding language learning and intercultural communications, and continuing to question and re-evaluate our own ideas of language teaching and being embedded in a particular culture and community that we call FIA.

 As you’ll read on the JALT website for this year, the “Conference goal is to raise questions that challenge our understanding of how learning occurs, how we can plan our learning environment, and why we teach.” Think back to all the times when Mr.Kaneko asked us to think about the very same thing in relation to Japanese learners of English. In fact, this could arguably be FIA’s core theme throughout the years as it’s come up again and again. What FIA has been saying all along is what JALT is saying – don’t rest on your laurels, continue to develop your skills, delve deep into what you’re doing and why you’re doing it. This could easily be the Adventure School credo or the theme of any FIA all trainer meeting.

With this in mind, it might be a good idea to think broadly about JALT when we attend this year. Of course it’s important to find some gems and nuggets that we can use in a practical way in our classrooms. (I mean lesson ideas here and not shiny metal or precious stones). But it’s also important to understand the greater scope of why Mr. Kaneko sponsors us FIA trainers at the annual JALT Conference. In the interview by Yusuke Tanaka in the Nikkei Voice Vol. 21 No. 4 titled A “Monster” Prevents Japan From Advancing In English, Mr. Kaneko is quoted as saying, “A monster called ‘social risk’ is hiding in there and that’s what blocks us from becoming fluent English speakers.” What better venue could we hope for to try and discover ways to tame that “monster?”

With a theme like “Challenging Assumptions: Looking In, Looking Out,” the JALT Conference should provide the resources and ideas needed to look deeply into why this “Monster” exists and how we can go about adapting what we do to better accommodate those who struggle with the beast. Soncho also says in the interview, “…the need of improving adults’ English skills is clear and present, and it’s not impossible.” Nobody expects the impossible – just a wholehearted effort to challenge assumptions.

by Tony

Will. No, not Phil, Will. So, not the guy responsible for Sussidio but the guy who wore a dress at a staff meeting and I believe a bikini at an IEP graduation ceremony. (I think that Sussidio is the greater crime against humanity.) Tony and I got to catch up with Will in Vancouver this August (we also met Rebecca, who will be joining us at FIA come November). Many of us who work at FIA will eventually find our way back to our homelands and so consider this a dispatch from that frontier that looms in our futures – yeah, that sounds a bit dramatic I grant you. But still...

As you likely know by now, we have another New Zealander in our midst -Karen in Haibara! Yes, she is now living among the tea fields out in Haibara next to Andy and Cat, neighbors extraordinaire I am sure. I know that I fixate on those tea fields but, really, I have to fixate on something. Many of us have already met Karen but those who have not will have a chance to do so at the upcoming staff meeting. But before then- the true Karen reveals herself in an interview that was at times gut-wrenchingly honest, chilling and then heartwarmingly sincere – a rollercoaster of ....okay, enough, I agree!! I am no Larry King (thank god).  Here is the FIA Newsletter welcome interview!!

Begin at the beginning, as they say. Karen is from "'Middle Earth,' aka  NZ. As she puts it;" my hometown, Rotorua, is a smallish city in the center region of the North Island.  It's quite a popular place with tourists and is a lot more interesting these days, than when I was growing up!" Karen has been in Japan since last April which is plenty of time to have got into some sticky situations, right? I asked about this;" sometimes seem to get into less-than-ideal situations... like arriving in Osaka late at night after the last bus had left for Okayama; going to the hospital late at night with an injured foot.. Probably my most difficult experience so far was my last job!!  Enough said!! "('All paid jobs absorb and degrade the mind' ...well, not the paid jobs at FIA –this goes without saying!!)

Kamakura, Nikko, Nara and Miyajima come up as worthy places to visit, with Miyajima being reminiscent of NZ. And, you know, if these places were deserted and isolated and if Karen were trapped there she would want to have the following books: 'Emergency sex and other desperate measures' – (sounds intriguing) which is a great story and is nowhere near as dodgy as it sounds (oh); 'Silk Riders' - the story of some intrepid Kiwis motor-biking along the Silk Road and ... something by John Grisham..." But what movies would she want by her side, you ask? "Hero", "Forrest Gump", and "Dances with Wolves". 'Dances with Wolves because it reminds her of being in Japan... (I must hear more about this when we meet!)

Karen can be found navigating through tea fields on her bike these days and enjoys eating out at places that serve spicy food like 'Dada', a 'curry & spice bar’ in Tsuyama or 'Coton' in Okayama which has great organic food!!

And best of all Karen has some wonderful things to say about her new FIA colleagues - she’s met some “cool people who enjoy and have fun teaching!

Helpful people; very helpful people…” - you know who you are !!