M. Zaim, the Vice President of TEFLIN, was honored to be invited by the Japan Association of Language Teaching (JALT) to present a paper at the JALT 2023 Conference. This prestigious event, themed “Growth Mindset in Language Education,” unfolded from November 24 to 27, 2023, in Tsukuba City. Attended by educators, teachers, non-formal education instructors, book authors, and researchers from various countries worldwide, the conference provided a platform for knowledge exchange and collaboration.
Among the distinguished speakers at the JALT 2023 Conference were Prof. Gary Barkhuizen from the University of Auckland, New Zealand, who explored “Teacher Mindset Stories: What Happens When Teacher Identity and Teacher Mindsets Meet?”; Prof. Judy Noguchi from Kobe Gakuin University, whose presentation delved into “Learning: The Never-Ending Life Adventure”; and Kathleen Kampa, who discussed “Planting the Seeds of a Growth Mindset.” Notably, Prof. M. Zaim from TEFLIN addressed the critical topic of “Promoting Growth Mindset in Professional Teacher Education in Indonesia.” He outlined the implementation of the MERDEKA learning steps, emphasizing self-reflection, concept exploration, collaborative problem-solving, demonstration of acquired knowledge and skills, integration of learning material with other knowledge, reflection on experienced changes, and action-taking in the classroom.
In addition to TEFLIN, JALT invited representatives from various JALT Affiliates to share their insights. These included the English Teachers’ Association of the Republic of China (ETA-ROC), Korea Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (KOTESOL), Malaysian English Language Teaching Association (MELTA), Nepal English Language Teachers’ Association (NELTA), Thailand TESOL (ThaiTESOL), and The Philippine Association for Language Teaching (PALT). The conference marked a significant milestone by initiating the formation of the Pan-Asian Consortium Forum, serving as a collaborative platform for PAC members to exchange ideas and explore ways to enhance language education in Asia.
The participation of TEFLIN representatives at this conference significantly contributed to the discourse on growth mindset in the context of language learning in Indonesia. Additionally, TEFLIN representatives showcased the organization’s efforts to enhance teacher competency in Indonesia and foster collaborations with similar organizations worldwide, particularly in Asia.
