Events

The ER SIG participates in or holds 2 regular annual events.

• PanSIG Forum

• JALT International ER Forum

Upcoming Events:

We will have a short talk about Extensive Reading from Dr. Shaiful Islam on Sunday 27 September 19:00-20:00. The event will involve a short 20-30 minute casual talk from our PresentER, followed by around 20-30 minutes of questions and discussion. PresentERs takes place on the last Sunday of each month online on Zoom. It is free for anyone to attend.

Abstract:

The presentation explores shifting the primary EFL curriculum from traditional rote memorization to a systematic Extensive Reading (ER) model. While conventional pedagogy relies on intensive study, this approach positions the library as the core of vocabulary development, prioritizing incidental vocabulary acquisition through pleasurable, high-volume reading. The speaker argues that granting learners autonomy in text selection boosts cognitive engagement and lexical retention. Furthermore, evidence suggests that students in ER-immersed programs achieve superior collocational competence and academic writing proficiency compared to those in traditional settings, demonstrating the effectiveness of sustained engagement with diverse, self-selected texts for long-term language mastery.

Bio:

Dr. Md Shaiful Islam is an Assistant Professor at Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB) and Director of the English Language Resource Center. Holding a PhD in TESL from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, he is a widely published scholar in prestigious journals such as Teaching in Higher Education and Applied Linguistics Review. His research expertise includes self-regulated learning, educational assessment, and EFL/ESL pedagogy. A prominent leader in the academic community, Dr. Islam serves as President of the Teachers Association for Studies in Language, Literature, and Culture (TASLLC) and Vice President of the Bangladesh English Language Teachers Association (BELTA).

Zoom link to join the event

YouTube playlist of previous PresentER events

Apply to talk at an upcoming PresentERs event

PresentERs Live

Site proposals

The ER SIG welcomes proposals for hosting future ER Seminars.
In very general terms, we look for the following things in a site. We would like a venue that is available to us on a Sunday or possibly both Saturday and Sunday, and that includes a dozen or more rooms available for presentations and at least one large meeting hall for plenary sessions and one large room or area suitable for materials exhibitors. It would be nice to have easy access by public transportation, hotels in the area, a good location for a reception there or nearby, and internet connectivity for presenters and participants. We need a site chair who is at the hosting institution and if there are two or more other local people willing to take on roles on the seminar committee it may help with smoothly planning and running the event.
If you are potentially interested in hosting the seminar, please contact er(at)jalt(dot)org for more information.