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The Study Abroad SIG Forum will be held at the JALT 2021 Conference online. Here are the details.
New Perspectives of Study Abroad Date: Sunday, November 14, 2021 Time: 14:45-16:15 (Japan Time) https://jalt2021.edzil.la/session/2322 According to the description, it said “participants can watch the virtual presentations uploaded on the SIG website (https://sa-sig.weebly.com/) in early October.” However, we decided to organize a live forum where participants listen to the presentations and ask questions at the time of forum. Below is a list of presentations and their abstracts: A New Perspective on SA: The Encounter with Difference Stephen M. Ryan (Sanyo Gakuen University) The encounter with difference is the quintessence of the Study Abroad experience. We travel because we expect the destination to be different. We expect students to learn from SA by engaging with that difference. This presentation offers a perspective on the encounter with difference from a brain science perspective. The encounter undermines our ability to make accurate predictions about our environment, predictions the survival of our bodies depends on. This is why we talk in terms of a “shock.” A shock often entails an emotional reaction, the kind that fixes the details of our encounter in long term memory. The encounter leads to a rearrangement of our understanding of the world, which is why we say that travel broadens the mind. It also gives us an opportunity to re-examine our assumptions about the world, which is why we often see Study Abroad as an opportunity for personal development. Web Based International Programmes: A Potential Model Saul Takahashi & Richard Miller (Osaka Jogakuin University) During the 2020 academic year, OJU used freely available web-based platforms to hold international programmes (aimed at both academic studies and cultural exchange) with partner universities in Burundi and Palestine. These programmes were very successful, with overwhelmingly positive feedback from the participants. The students were able to have a rich experience, even without physically traveling abroad. Coincidentally, both of the countries were destinations OJU students would not easily be able to travel to in any case, making the programmes even more valuable – they were possible precisely because they were web-based. While certainly in person travel is irreplaceable, the presenters believe that OJU’s programmes may provide one model for the future. Possibilities and Challenges of E-Tandem Learning Project as an Alternative Approach for the Study Abroad Masaki Seo (Ibaraki University) The spread of COVID-19 has made it difficult for students to study abroad and has brought major changes into universities’ international exchanges. In response to these exchanges, the presenter organized an e-tandem learning project that 72 Japanese students paired up with 97 students from the overseas partner institutions. In this presentation, the presenter will share its possibilities and challenges by analyzing survey and interview data and how this type of project can become an alternative for the study abroad program. We look forward to seeing you at the forum! Comments are closed.
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