Welcome to PanSIG2021 happening Friday May 14th, Saturday May 15th, and Sunday May 16, 2021
20th PanSIG2021 Conference on Local and Global Perspectives: Plurilingualism and Multilingualism.
PanSIG is an annual conference usually held in May, and organized by many of the Special Interest Groups (SIGs) of the Japan Association for Language Teaching (JALT). The conference brings together leading scholars and practitioners in language education from Japan, Asia, and throughout the world. It is a smaller, more intimate conference than the annual international JALT conference, which is held each fall, and is a place where SIG members can network with each other.
This year’s PanSIG conference is a date to celebrate: You are kindly invited to take part in the 20th Japan Association for Language Teaching's annual PanSIG Conference, a conference of JALT's Special Interest Groups (SIGs), yes, indeed, the 20th Annual PanSIG Conference!
The first PanSIG conference was held in May 2002 at the Kyoto Institute of Technology with the conference theme "Curriculum Innovation, Testing and Evaluation." (https://pansig.org/archive#2004). And year after year PanSIG conference grew from a mini-conference to a well-established conference each May. The challenges in 2020 shifted PanSIG to an online conference.
Now in 2021 some challenges still loom and we will be online again, although we had planned to hold the conference at Nihon University, College of International Relations, in Mishima, Shizuoka.
The theme for PanSIG2021 is: "Local and Global Perspectives: Plurilingualism and Multilingualism." Foreign language learning goes beyond the first language opening up other cultures with the second and third languages. Reflecting on the importance of developing a plurilingual repertoire, how does language learning connect the inside and the outside of the learner, the classroom, the society? The theme connects well with JALT SIGs, and PanSIG is a place where we can strengthen our professionalism, thinking about how to help students enhance their learning and share, discuss and engage in research and practice in meaningful ways.
PanSIG is bringing together people who have different backgrounds and expertise, and the openness of an ongoing dialogue. Please come and engage, share and enjoy!
Maria Gabriela Schmidt
PanSIG 2021 Conference Chair
About JALT
The Japan Association for Language Teaching (JALT) is a nonprofit organisation dedicated to the improvement of language teaching and learning. JALT promotes excellence in language learning, teaching, and research by providing opportunities for those involved in language education to meet, share, and collaborate.