JALT2021 National Conference

The 47th Annual International Conference on Language Teaching and Learning & Educational Materials Exhibition

Reflections and New Perspectives

The year of 2020 was epic. A cascading run of events took humanity to a breaking point in so many ways. We had to adjust our lifestyles and behaviors all with the uncertainty of whether we would be able to return the normal we knew, or be forced to embrace a new normal.

Our community of language educators, learners, and administrators met the challenges brought on by the unfortunate circumstances we were living in; professionally and personally we had to adjust. JALT2021 will provide a platform for the stories and voices within our community. What did people go through? How did they persevere? What lessons did they learn? What does the future hold?

Our community created new networks, supported each other, and embraced technology to create transformative new workflows. Learners had to figure out and embrace new ways to learn. Administrators had to find balance between keeping education systems functioning and protecting school communities.

A significant part of our academic lives was spent online, including JALT2020. The vision for the online conference was born out of the reality on the ground. The vision for JALT2021 is for participants, live on-site and virtually, to reflect on their paths, discuss them, and to show the new perspectives they have gained in dealing with all that has been unleashed by COVID19. JALT2021 sees our international conference back at The Granship in Shizuoka from Friday, November 12 to Monday, November 15, but also with an online presence, thus combining our physical and digital states of being.

JALT2021 will be our first international conference and educational materials exhibition with both online and face-to-face sessions, with spaces dedicated to interaction between remote and onsite participants. We look forward to having you share this new journey, and engage with your reflections and new perspectives as we work to forward our overall communities of practice.

Be well and stay safe.

Wayne Malcolm
Director of Program
NPO Japan Association for Language Teaching