This hybrid mini conference co-sponsored by JALT’s Mind, Brain, and Education SIG along the Lifelong Language Learning SIG will bring you 6 distinguished speakers for a full day of engaging content, community-building, and constructive collaboration around the topic of how the neurosciences can inform language teaching and learning throughout the lifespan.
Date & Time: July 18, 2026 (Saturday); 9:30 AM – 5 PM
Location: Room 15-306 (3rd Floor of Goucher Building [#15] on the Aoyama Gakuin University Campus.
Participation through Zoom is also possible if you RSVP through this form: https://forms.gle/7SAa7mVNWsBDibtHA
The presenters will include:
10:00–10:45 — Talk 1: Amanda Gillis-Furutaka: Aging Body and Brain Connections: What Do We Know and What Can We Do Better in Old Age?
10:55–12:25 — Plenary: Curtis Kelly: Why Adults Must Be Taught Differently
13:20–14:05 — Talk 3: Chiyuki Yanase: Breathe, Move, Thrive: Using Yoga-Based Mindfulness Activities to Foster Emotional Regulation and Resilience in Young Learners
14:15–15:00 — Talk 4: Mariana Oana Senda: Speaking Beyond the Lesson: Using Small-Group Video Projects to Support Lifefong Language Learning
15:10–15:55 — Talk 5: Colin Thompson: The Brain and Language
16:05–16:50 — Talk 6: Peggy Thoma: Building a C.A.S.T.L.E: Connections and Safety in Teaching and Learning Environments
View Conference Program at: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1olVZnZfDunFYm4LSvw0A5psunYx4JFbf/view?usp=sharing .
These maps show how to access the campus–from either Omotesando Station (on the Ginza, Chiyoda, and Hanzomon Lines) or from JR Shibuya Station (from the Yamanote Line, Fukutoshin Line, and many others)–and how to find Building 15 (AKA Goucher Memorial Hall) after you enter the campus through the Main Gate.
10 minutes’ walk from Shibuya Station on the JR Yamanote Line, JR Saikyo Line, Tokyu Line, Keio Inokashira Line, Tokyo Metro Fukutoshin Line, and other lines.
5 minutes’ walk from Omotesando Station on the Tokyo Metro (Ginza Line, Chiyoda Line, and Hanzomon Line)
The map below shows the layout of the campus. The event will take place on the 3rd floor of Building 15 (Goucher Memorial Hall). Enter the building, not through the ground floor chapel, but through the automatically opening glass doors located on the left side of the building (as you’re facing it). There’s a long escalator that will take participants from the ground floor directly to the 3rd floor, bypassing the 2nd floor.
