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JALTCALL Newletter
Welcome to the December edition of JALTCALL News!

As 2025 winds down, we’d like to take a moment to reflect on what has been a vibrant and productive year for the JALTCALL community. From the success of our annual conference at Tokyo University of Science, to the publication of JALTCALL Trends, and the continued growth of our podcast, journal, and social media presence, this year has been packed with energy, innovation, and meaningful connections.

While we missed sending an update last month due to other commitments, we’re excited to bring you this year-end roundup, a snapshot of what we’ve accomplished together in 2025 and what exciting developments lie ahead.

We're always open to feedback and suggestions, so please don't hesitate to get in touch. We're also happy to include member contributions to the newsletter. If you have anything you'd like to share, get in touch with Bradley Irwin (Publicity Chair) at publicity@jaltcall.org.
In this edition of JALTCALL News:
  1. Year-end Roundup
  2. JALTCALL Spring Symposium 2026
  3. JALTCALL 2026 Conference News
  4. Latest JALTCALL Podcast
  5. Inaugural issue of JALTCALL Trends
1. Year-end Roundup

2025 was a year of growth, innovation, and community for the JALTCALL SIG. Here are just a few of the highlights:
 
JALTCALL 2025 at Tokyo University of Science
  •  Held from July 18–20 at the Katsushika Campus
  •  Welcomed 250+ attendees and featured over 150 presentations
  •  Keynotes from Glenn Stockwell and Mathias Schulze on AI in language education
  •  A fantastic Saturday networking event, walking tours, and even a Sunday morning run
  •  Tremendous support from our student volunteers and local team
  •  Post-conference feedback praised the event—thanks to all who participated!
Publications Milestones
  • Published the new peer-reviewed journal JALTCALL Trends with its inaugural issue now live—details below!
  • Continued strong output from The JALT CALL Journal, including cutting-edge research on GenAI, digital tools, and teacher development
Podcast, YouTube & Outreach
  • Released new episodes of the JALTCALL Podcast. Latest episodes can be found here.
  • Keynote videos, including one from Mathias Schulze, available now on our YouTube channel 
  • Shared open-access articles from keynote speakers to support ongoing professional development
New Officers & Ongoing Leadership
  • Welcomed Brian Gallagher as President and Kevin Wrobetz as Membership Chair 
  • Continuing leadership:
    • Bradley Irwin (Publicity)
    • Michael Hofmeyr (Publications)
    • Geoff Carr (Program)
    • Michael Phillips (Treasurer)

  • Full team can be found here!

    ***Thanks to all for your service and support!*** 
Looking Ahead
  • JALTCALL Symposium coming March 7, 2026 at Kyoritsu Women’s University—focused on teacher development and edtech
  • Exciting plans in motion for JALTCALL 2026—details below!
2. JALTCALL Spring Symposium 2026

Save the Date: Teacher Development Symposium on EdTech

March 7, 2026 (Saturday) @ Kyoritsu Women’s University, Tokyo

After the resounding success of our collaborative online spring symposium with EUROCALL in early 2025, we’re excited to announce an in-person installment of this dynamic and engaging event. The JALTCALL Spring Symposium in 2026 will focus on teacher development with educational technology and will be held in collaboration with several other JALT SIGs. This one-day event will focus on exploring educational technology for professional growth—designed for educators who want to expand their knowledge, share ideas, and gain hands-on experience with tools that can transform teaching and learning.

Whether you're curious about the latest in edtech or looking to deepen your skills, this symposium offers something for everyone.

We plan to announce speakers, workshops, and the schedule in January and registration for this event will open soon after. A special announcement will go out when details have been confirmed.

In the meantime, mark your calendars for Saturday, March 7 (2026) at Kyoritsu Women’s University in Tokyo!

3. JALTCALL 2026 Conference News

JALTCALL 2026 lands at Konan University (Nishinomiya Campus), June 12–14, 2026. 

Our call for proposals opened on November 1, and we've already received dozens of exciting, high-quality submissions from around the world. The schedule is filling up quickly, spaces are limited, and this is shaping up to be one of our most dynamic conferences yet. If you’ve been thinking about presenting, now is the time to submit your proposal. Share your ideas, showcase your work, and connect with the CALL community.

Under the theme “Prevail or Fail?”, JALTCALL 2026 invites educators, researchers, and technologists to explore how digital tools, pedagogical innovations, and AI are reshaping language teaching and learning in an age of rapid change and uncertainty. 

We welcome presentations that critically examine both successes and setbacks in technology-enhanced language education: projects that worked, those that didn’t, and lessons learned in between. Topics may include experimental classroom applications, data-driven research, AI and VR integration, assessment and feedback innovations, teacher training, learner autonomy, or institutional implementation. 

Whether your project prevailed, failed, or continues to evolve, we encourage honest reflection, rigorous analysis, and forward-looking discussion on what “success” really means in the CALL field today.

Call For Proposals opened Nov 1st, 2025 and closes Jan 31st, 2026. (details below)


CONFERENCE WEBSITE


Venue Details

Dates: Friday, June 12 – Sunday, June 14, 2026
Theme: Prevail or Fail?
Venue: Konan University, Hirao School of Management “CUBE” (Nishinomiya Campus) — a 5-minute walk from Hankyu Nishinomiya-Kitaguchi Station (HK08), right between Osaka and Kobe. 

*Accommodation near the campus is limited, so staying around Osaka or Kobe Station is recommended for easy Hankyu access.


Call for Proposals

Opens: November 1, 2025
Deadline: January 31, 2026
Notifications + early-bird registration: March 1, 2026
Presenter registration deadline: April 31, 2026
*All presenters must register during the early-bird period.

What to submit:
  • Proposal length: up to 200 words in English or 300 Japanese characters. Clearly state your topic, goals, method, findings or outcomes, and implications for CALL.
  • Session types: 25-minute presentation, 60-minute poster, workshop, panel, or forum. New presenters are encouraged to choose poster for a high-interaction format.
  • Thematic streams: Machine Learning in CALL, DGBLLT, Classroom Applications, Ethics and Policy, XR, Motivation, SLA and CALL, Virtual Exchange/COIL, MALL, Technology-mediated feedback, Social Media, Software Development, or General CALL. If your work uses AI, choose the stream that best matches your application.
  • Review process: double-blind review with clear guidance on minor or major revisions when applicable.
More details on the submission process here. 

Fee waivers:
We especially welcome teachers of young learners and colleagues without research budgets. A limited number of partial or full conference fee waivers are available. Please note your eligibility when submitting your proposal.

Post-conference publication opportunity

Presenters will have the opportunity to develop their presentations into short papers for the JALTCALL Trends Journal (a refereed, open-access Castledown publication associated with the JALTCALL SIG and a sister venue to The JALT CALL Journal). Submission and author guidelines are publicly available. 

Ready to submit?

Click the conference website link below for full venue, key dates, the submission portal, and guidelines.


CONFERENCE WEBSITE


We look forward to welcoming you to JALTCALL 2026 in Nishinomiya, Japan.
4. Latest Podcast

New Episode: Year-end roundup

This year, the JALTCALL Podcast released 25 episodes filled with insightful interviews, studio talks, and cutting-edge edtech topics. From collaborations with EUROCALL AI SIG and PanSIG, to coverage of JALTCALL2025 and JALT International, it’s been a year of connection, innovation, and inspiration.

In the latest episode, we reflected on trends like virtual exchanges and looked ahead to 2026 with excitement for events like Moodle Moot Japan and beyond.

Got a favorite moment or topic suggestion for 2026? Let us know—and thank you for listening!

Latest episode here!

5. Inaugural issue of JALTCALL Trends

The first volume of our new peer-reviewed journal, JALTCALL Trends, is now available for download. The inaugural issue contains 30 conference papers from JALTCALL 2024 (Meijo University, Nagano) on a wide range of CALL topics. 

Progress with the next issue, which will feature conference papers from JALTCALL 2025 (Tokyo University of Science), is also well underway. Stay tuned for further updates and exciting new opportunities to publish your research!

https://www.castledown.com/journals/jct
JALTCALL Website
JALTCALL Trends
JALT CALL Journal
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