Conference Prep

Perhaps nothing much (apart from new KitKats) is going on in my life. Now, that is worrying.

I am getting ready for a big conference next weekend in Tokyo Bay. It’s an important conference for me in lots of ways, and the first one I have ever been to which is totally dedicated to my field. Usually when I go to conferences, 3 or 4 talks jump out as being relevant, but next weekend ALL of the talks are relevant. It’s going to be really difficult to choose which ones to go to when at times there are 18 concurrent sessions. I have initiated a blog project. Not just me this time; I have roped in a group of people to help be so that we can have a glimpse of the sessions we missed.

We are staying in a fancy hotel for the first time in the Tokyo area. It’s normally the Washington in Shinjuku for us. We wanted to be nearer the conference venue this time.

We just heard last night that one of the keynote speakers has had to cancel which is such a shame. James Lantolf is a bit of a hero of mine. How many days, no weeks did I spend trying to get my head around “Sociocultural theory and second language learning.” (Oxford University Press, 2000) while I was working on my thesis. And how grateful I was when I found the text that saved my (academic) life: “Vygotskian approaches to second language research” (with Gabriela Appel 1994, Ablex).

As far as I know Henri Holec is still coming. He’s often said to have started the (sub)field of learner autonomy in language learning. What on earth will I say to him if I actually meet him?

My own presentation is on Sunday afternoon. I am talking about my students’ blogs and how they promote learner autonomy, in particular critical reflection. Wish me luck.