Due to the disturbance on public transportation, some presentations might be delayed or cancelled.
Smoking is prohibited on campus.
The 65th JACET International Convention (Osaka, 2026)
Date: August 26 (Wed.) – 28 (Fri.), 2026
Venue: Ritsumeikan University Osaka Ibaraki Campus (OIC)
2-150, Iwakura-cho, Ibaraki, Osaka, 567-8570
Theme: Connecting Worlds Through Applied Linguistics: Shaping the Future of Theory, Assessment, and Practice
大学英語教育学会（JACET）第65回国際大会（大阪、2026）
日程： 2026年8月26日（水）・27日（木）・28日（金）
場所： 立命館大学 大阪いばらきキャンパス
〒567-8570 大阪府茨木市岩倉町2－150
テーマ： 応用言語学が結ぶ国際交流 ― 理論・評価・実践の未来
Plenary Lecturer
Learner Corpus Research in Applied Linguistics:
The Evolution and Future Contributions to L2 English/Japanese Acquisition Studies
Learner corpus research (LCR) has profoundly reshaped the landscape of applied linguistics. By analyzing large-scale digital databases, LCR enables researchers and educators to uncover systemic patterns and challenges faced by L2 learners across diverse variables—including L1 background, regional context, and motivational factors—thereby providing a robust, empirical foundation for pedagogical intervention. While early corpus-based L2 acquisition studies often focused on relatively homogenous learner groups, the field is now moving toward a more holistic and multi-dimensional understanding through the analysis of diverse, large-scale data. This keynote address explores the evolving contributions of LCR to L2 English and Japanese acquisition studies, specifically through the lens of two major international corpora: the International Corpus Network of Asian Learners of English (ICNALE) and the International Corpus of Japanese as a Second Language (I-JAS).
Biodata
Shin’ichiro (Shin) Ishikawa, PhD, is a Professor of Applied Linguistics at the School of Languages and Communication, Kobe University, Japan. His primary research focus lies in corpus linguistics, with interests spanning various domains of applied linguistics, including the development and application of the International Corpus Network of Asian Learners of English (ICNALE). A Past President of the Japan Association of English Corpus Studies (JAECS), he currently holds several leadership positions, including Vice President of the Mathematical Linguistic Society of Japan (MLSJ), President of the JACET Kansai Chapter, and Chair of the MEXT-supported Kinki Japanese Language Teaching Platform (K-JLTP). He also serves as a member of the Council for Cultural Affairs (Japanese Language Division) under the Agency for Cultural Affairs, Japan.
Sevak, Amit (ETS)
The Evolving Role of Assessment in Connecting Learning, Policy, and Practice
The true measure of a nation is not what it possess today, but what its people are able to become, tomorrow.
Across the world, education systems are being asked to prepare learners for a future shaped by artificial intelligence, longer working lives, shifting labor markets, and constant change. That challenge places readiness at the center of the education agenda: readiness for the next grade, for higher education, for work, and for a lifetime of learning and adaptation.
Assessment is essential to that work. It gives educators a clearer view of what learners know and can do. It helps policymakers understand where systems are succeeding, where gaps remain, and which reforms are producing results. It gives institutions and employers trusted evidence of the skills and capabilities people bring to the opportunities ahead.
This plenary address will examine how assessment can create stronger connections among learning, policy, and practice. Drawing on international experience and advances in measurement science, it will explore how evidence can improve instruction, guide public policy, strengthen accountability, and help education systems respond to changing economic and social needs.
The future of assessment lies in helping nations answer their most important question: Are we preparing people to succeed in what comes next?
Biodata
Amit Sevak, CEO of ETS leads one of the world’s leading education and talent solutions organization serving 30 million learners annually. A trusted partner to governments, ministries and institutions, he speaks to how global education systems must evolve measurement practices to build AI-literate populations and skilled workforces, creating pathways that prepare students and workers to be future-ready, to succeed in an AI-driven economy.
JAAL in JACET Special Invited Speakers
Foreign language education in Japan—need to reconsider the UCHI vs. SOTO preconception
Foreign language education in Japan is largely divided into English and languages other than English. Since Japan is basically a monolingual country, aside from Japanese which is the native language (UCHI -inside-language), the only language other than Japanese considered to be of importance has been the language necessary to connect Japan with the rest of the world (SOTO-outside-language). At present that SOTO language happens to be English. However, Japan is not only a member of the GLOBAL community, but also a member of the GLOCAL communities in Asia, Europe, South America, and Africa Furthermore, with the recent need to ‘diversify’ not only the political-diplomatic but also the economic and cultural relationships with countries and peoples around the world, Japan needs to adopt at least a three language-three perspective policy（cf. Faculty of Foreign Studies, Sophia University）for its survival and development. Japanese is essential for the cultivation of identity as a Japanese, English as an International Language is necessary for global and international communication, and a third language is necessary to secure and meet the actual needs of Japan and the Japanese in the GLOCAL environments. Although the three language policy is not new (e.g. EU), the interesting thing is that very often, English is mentioned as an International language, but not as a local language. In Japan this is the case and the Japanese course of study is very vague on the status of English in this respect. In this presentation I will discuss this issue and suggest the need for the Japanese to study three languages–with English included with all other foreign languages as a local language, different from English as an International Language.
Biodata
YOSHIDA, Kensaku is President of the Japan Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (JACTFL), Chairman of the Eiken Foundation of Japan, and professor emeritus of Sophia University. He is also the President of the Aviation English Proficiency Certification Committee in the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.–
