Sessions /
An email magazine for teaching English #38

The presenter writes a daily English email magazine that is freely available for any learner. He will discuss the genesis of the project, the affordances of email as a platform, and reader participation. Since the project began in 2005, the number of subscribers has risen to over 13,500 (as of January 2020). While most of the readers are individual learners, many are teachers in public junior high and senior high schools who use the magazine to supplement the textbooks that they use in their classrooms. The news, stories, and anecdotes in the email magazine provide adolescent and mature learners with topical stories familiar to Japanese learners and with posts that introduce them to other cultures. The readings are short, on average 100 words, which make them accessible even to false beginners. There is a special “Readers’ Corner” every Friday that allows the more ambitious learners to become active participants by sending in their own stories. The presenter will introduce different activities using the email magazine in a variety of teaching settings.