Conference organising and programme committee
The Committee consists of 10 scholars representing three universities: University of York (UK), Monash University (Australia), and Soka University (Japan).
Chairs
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Associate Professor Andy Cirocki, University of York, UK
Andrzej (Andy) Cirocki is Associate Professor of English Language Education and Director of Taught Masters Programmes in the Department of Education at the University of York, UK. He is a teacher educator, CELTA teacher trainer and materials developer, with research interests relating to EFL/ESL teacher education and professional development, TEFL, classroom-based research and developing learner autonomy. In addition to being author of numerous publications, and being involved in international research projects and delivering CPD courses for EFL/ESL teachers worldwide, he is also Editor of The European Journal of Applied Linguistics and TEFL. |
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Dr. Dat Bao, Monash University, Australia
Dat Bao is Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Education at Monash University, Australia; and is Editor of the Journal of Silence Studies in Education (JSSE). He has worked with Leeds Beckett University in the UK, Cornell University in the US, the National University of Singapore, the Assumption University of Thailand and presently Monash University. His research interests include silence studies, materials development in ELT, intercultural education, and creative pedagogy in language education. Notable works include Silence in English Language Pedagogy: From Research to Practice (CUP, 2023), Creativity and innovations in ELT materials: Looking beyond the current design (Multilingual Matters, 2018) Poetry for education: Classroom ideas that inspire creative thinking (Xlibris, 2017), and Understanding silence and reticence: Ways of participating in SLA (Bloomsbury, 2014). |
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Dr. Jennifer Yphantides, Soka University, Japan
Dr. Jennifer Yphantides has been teaching English since 1993 and has worked in her native country of Canada, as well as in Greece, the UK, Korea, Israel, and Japan. She has taught at the tertiary level in the Japanese context for more than a decade and has lectured at Kanda University of International Studies, International Christian University, and Soka University. She served as the Chief Editor of The Language Teacher from 2009-2012, a journal published by the Japanese Association of Language Teachers, and currently serves as a regular reviewer. Her research focuses primarily on neurodiversity in the English foreign language classroom. |
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Dr. Richmond Stroupe, Soka University, Japan
Richmond Stroupe is the current Chair of the International Language Education: Masters in TESOL Graduate Program and an advisor of doctoral students in English Language Teaching Pedagogy in the Graduate School of Letters at Soka University in Tokyo, Japan. Richmond is the former President of the Japan Association for Language Teaching (JALT), and is active with other teaching associations in Asia, North America and Europe. He has worked with university and professional language-learners from Asia since 1989. Richmond is a frequent presenter at national, regional, and international conferences in areas of his academic interests, including curriculum development, teacher education and professional development, and enhancing learners' critical thinking skills. |
Members
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Dr. Gary Bonar, Monash University, Australia
Gary Bonar is a Senior Lecturer in the Master of TESOL, Languages and Humanities specialisation courses at the Faculty of Education, Monash University, Australia. Prior to commencing his lecturing position, he worked in the secondary education sector in Victoria, most recently in the role of curriculum coordinator responsible for literacy, languages and social sciences. He has also taught Japanese and Italian, and English as an additional language in secondary schools. He has over ten years’ experience teaching English in diverse sectors in Asia and Europe. Gary’s research interests focus on two areas: Asia-related teaching in Australian schools and English-language related learning in the Asia region. |
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Associate Professor Heather Buchanan, University of York, UK
Heather Buchanan, an experienced English language teacher and teacher trainer, has worked in the UK Higher Education sector for the last twenty-five years, leading Master’s courses and training both novice and experienced teachers. Her teacher training experience has included training up and accompanying student volunteers to teach English in Thailand, as well as training more than two hundred practising teachers from Panama to deliver bilingual programmes. Heather’s main research interests concern materials development and teacher education. She is also a published coursebook writer for Oxford University Press and is currently co-editing the Routledge Handbook of Materials Development for Language Teaching, which is due to be published in 2020. |
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Mr. Koki Tomita, Soka University, Japan
Koki Tomita is a Lecturer at Soka University, Japan, and was the former Conference Chair of JALT PanSIG 2022. He is a dedicated educator and is currently undertaking his Ph.D. at Soka University. With a focus on learner autonomy and curriculum evaluation in his research field, he strives to understand and improve the ways in which students navigate their own learning journey. Apart from his teaching duties, he has contributed to a number of research projects and has shared his knowledge and expertise at various international conferences and seminars. His passion for teaching and research continues to drive his work, fostering a positive and impactful learning environment for his students. |
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Assistant Professor David O’Reilly, University of York, UK
David O’Reilly is Lecturer in Education at the University of York, where he lectures on a range of TESOL and education-related modules. His research interests are second language metaphoric competence in relation to vocabulary knowledge, language testing and development, and general language proficiency. David also supervises undergraduate and postgraduate students and is the Academic E-Learning Coordinator in his department. In addition, he has written summaries and delivered workshops for OASIS, a database of accessible, one-page summaries of second language research studies, supported by journal editors and professional associations. |
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Dr. Jessica Premier, Monash University, Australia Jessica Premier is Lecturer in the Faculty of Education at Monash University. She teaches units in the Master of Teaching, Master of TESOL and Bachelor of Education courses. Prior to working at Monash University, Jessica held classroom teaching and leadership positions in primary and secondary schools, and tertiary English language centres. Her research areas of interest include TESOL/EAL, teacher education (for pre-service and experienced teachers), professional learning, language and literacy.
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Mr. Forrest Nelson, Soka University, Japan
Forrest Nelson has taught part-time and full-time at many universities and private companies since 1996. His current position is Academic English Coordinator of the World Language Center, Soka University. In his free time he enjoys composing or performing music. In August of 2005, he was given the chance to travel and perform with an NPO group. He performed in Tucson, Arizona USA, Nagoya, Japan at the World Expo (愛知万博) and several performances in Bangkok and Phuket. In 2015, a band he played with was filmed for a documentary which is now being streamed on Amazon Prime. His most current academic projects are looking at creating software tools for generating student feedback and a CEFR database tool that helps instructors match can-do statements to lesson material. |
