Welcome to the Web Site of the Materials Writers (MW) Special Interest Group (SIG) of the Japan Association for Language Teaching (JALT).
教材開発研究部会 (MW) のウェブサイトへようこそ。教材開発研究部会は全国語学教育学会 (JALT) の分野別研究部会 (SIG)の一つです。

SIG Statement of Purpose
教材開発研究部会の基本理念

The Materials Writers SIG (MW SIG) was established for the purpose of helping members to turn fresh teaching ideas into useful classroom materials. We try to be a mutual assistance network, offering information regarding copyright law, sharing practical advice on publishing practices, including self-publication, and suggesting ways to create better language learning materials for general consumption or for individual classroom use.
教材開発研究部会 (MW SIG) は、メンバーが日々の教育の場で得た新しいアイディアを教材にしていく助けとなることを目的に設立されました。著作権に関すること、自費出版を含めた出版に関する実践的なアドバイス、広く一般学習者または特定の授業のためにどうしたらより良い語学教材が作れるか、といったことに関するアイディアを共有しお互いを高め合える部会であることが願いです。教材開発についてもっと知りたい、自分のアイディアを形にしたいという方、入会大歓迎です。一緒に活動しませんか。

Materials Writers SIG Constitution
SIG 教材開発研究部会会則

Our constitution was ratified at our AGM at the 2011 JALT International Conference.
本部会の会則は、2011年JALT国際大会総会で承認されました。

Message from the Coordinator (October 2020)

Dear MW SIG members,

The autumn semester has been flying by and the JALT International Conference will soon be here. I’m sure that it will be a great conference for professional development. Hope to see you online! In the meantime, here’s what has been happening in your SIG.

Best,

Adam Murray

SIG Coordinator

1. Officers for 2020-2021

Are you interested in becoming more active in YOUR SIG? The SIG needs your help. All JALT SIGs have five “core” officers: coordinator, treasurer, program chair, publication chair, and membership chair. In addition, the MW SIG has other officer positions such as publicity, Japanese language coordinator, website editor, and member-at-large. If you would like to read a basic overview of this positions, please check out the officers’ page on the website: http://materialswriters.org/joomla/index.php/officers

To express your interest in stepping forward and running for one of these positions, please contact me < murray @ gec. lab. u-ryukyu .ac .jp > (Spaces have been added to avoid the spam-bots) by November 9, 2020.

2. MW SIG Annual General Meeting (AGM)

MW SIG Annual General Meeting
Wednesday, November 18, 8:45 PM – 9:30 PM

At this meeting, we will elect new officers, report on our activities over the previous year, and discuss ongoing SIG matters. Please plan to attend the AGM – we need your support! If you are considering becoming more active in your SIG, this is the perfect opportunity!

3. Between the Keys

Got something to share with your colleagues in Japan and around the world? We publish a wide range of articles including reviews, and “My Share”-style articles. For more details (and the style guide) take a look at http://materialswriters.org/joomla/index.php/publications

4. MW SIG Forum

Bringing the Coursebook to Life (Brian Tomlinson, Anaheim University)
Wednesday, November 18, 7:00 PM – 8:30 PM

Coursebooks consist of lifeless words and illustrations on pieces of paper. Some of them are visually appealing, some of them are interesting but all of them (including ones I’ve written myself) need bringing to life. For coursebooks to facilitate language acquisition they need to interact with the minds of their learners and to help their learners to interact with others. In order to do this they need to be humanised and to be energised into life.

In my presentation I’m going to discuss and exemplify how teachers and learners can bring their coursebooks to life in ways which are principled and which have the potential to facilitate eventual acquisition. In doing so I’ll be focusing on applications of the following research-informed principles of language acquisition which are typically neglected in many coursebooks. These principles are:

rich, meaningful, comprehensible, embodied and recycled exposure to language in use;
potential for affective and cognitive engagement;
opportunities to use the language for purposeful communication.

In my exemplified applications of these principles I’ll be focusing on ways of performing the coursebook, on ways of subverting the coursebook, on ways of supplementing the coursebook and on ways of making small but effective modifications to the coursebook.

The presentation will be interactive in that I’ll be inviting participation in the exemplified activities as well as interruptions to ask questions or make relevant points.

SIG Statement of Purpose教材開発研究部会の基本理念

Materials Writers SIG ConstitutionSIG 教材開発研究部会 会則