When and where did the conference take place?

The Japan Association for Language Teaching (JALT) CALL Special Interest Group's annual conference—JALTCALL—took place June 6–8, 2014, at Sugiyama Jogakuen University, in Nagoya, Japan. This was the 21st annual JALTCALL Conference where teachers, researchers, and commercial members shared research and practical applications in the field of CALL.

Who/what organizations/people were involved?

Over 100 presentations and workshops were offered by an international array of language teaching professionals. The types of sessions available to the more than 200 attendees included show and tell, poster presentations, workshops, and paper presentations, as well as commercial demonstrations of cutting-edge programs and materials in the field of EFL education. The conference was highlighted by a keynote address by Dr. Regine Hampel, of the Open University, in England, titled "New Horizons for CALL Research." The plenary address by Dr. Glenn Stockwell, of Waseda University's School of Law, in Tokyo, Japan, titled "CALLing Into the Wilderness: Emerging Trends and Challenges in CALL," energized attendees' efforts in technology in language learning. Details about the presentations and presentation slides from the keynote and plenary speeches are available on the conference website.

What were the highlights of the conference?

The highlights of the presentations included 32 paper presentations about the pedagogical implications of using CALL methodologies. Some of the papers presented included “Measurable Gains of Online Post-test Scores With ER and MoodleReader” by Terry Fellner, “Learners' Perceptions of Use of Learning Resources and Technological Devices for Learning Collocations Through the CALL Software” by Chika Fujimoto, and “Learning Global Issues Through a UN Food Force Videogame in a Second Language Classroom” by Claire Hitosugi. Additionally, the conference offered 40 show-and-tell sessions, including “Using e-portfolios With Weebly” by Andrew Imrie and Bob Ashcroft, “Recording and submitting Audio Recordings Using Mobile Phones” by Richard Hawking, and “Intercultural Communications for Students via the Internet: Lessons Learned” by me. The eight workshops included “The Reader Module for Moodle 2.X” by Gordon Bateson, “Building Webquests to Engage Learners” by Thomas Bieri, and “Google Apps and Google+ for Educational Learning Communities” by Rab Patterson. Finally, the 13 poster sessions included “Paperless Extensive Reading and Student Engagement” by Travis Cote and Brett Milliner, “The iPad for Traveling Language Learners” by Michael Johnson, and a review of the CALL SIG-sponsored digital magazineDigital Mobile Language Learning by Kevin Ryan (check out the DMLL here).

One of the biggest events of the year is the JALTCALL Conference Networking Reception. This year's reception was held at the Gusto Saloon in downtown Nagoya. The attendees enjoyed catching up with old friends, sharing thoughts about CALL and technology in language learning, and meeting new colleagues. It is always an exciting event, and this year's reception attendees shared robust interactions with one another with drinks in hand while marveling at the nighttime scene of downtown Nagoya.

What about future JALTCALL Conferences?

The location of JALTCALL 2015 is still being decided, but this annual conference is normally held in late May or early June. Details will be posted on the JALT CALL SIG's website. We hope that more TESOL and CALL-IS members can join us at JALTCALL 2015 to share your experiences and best practices in the field of CALL. Questions about the JALT CALL SIG or JALTCALL Conferences can be directed to me at the email address above.

Edo Forsythe is an English lecturer at Hirosaki Gakuin University and a doctoral candidate at Northcentral University. His specialty is foreign language education with an emphasis on technology in language learning. Most recently, he was the co-chair of the JALTCALL 2014 Conference at Sugiyama Jogakuen University, Nagoya.