Speaker
Description
Navigating complex discussions around Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) can be daunting for university EFL learners due to language barriers and cultural contexts. To address this challenge, this poster presentation explores a novel instructional approach that employs acronym pedagogy as a cognitive and motivational anchor to promote an inclusive classroom culture.
Initially, the instructor introduced baseline guidelines like S-M-A-R-T and R-E-I to lower students' affective filters and model respectful interaction. The core of this initiative, however, centers on a student-driven, tech-integrated activity. Through online submission forms, students contributed individual keywords that represented their ideal learning environment. Generative AI was subsequently employed to weave these student-generated concepts into unique, memorable acronyms.
This process successfully democratizes classroom rule-making, shifting students from passive recipients of DEI concepts to active architects of their own learning community. The presentation will provide language educators with a replicable blueprint for leveraging AI to facilitate collaborative reflection, successfully blending intentional identity-building with interactive English communication.
Biography
Manami Sato currently serves as a university lecturer at Kyoto University of Advanced Science (KUAS). She earned her M.S.Ed. in TESOL from Temple University Graduate School. Prior to her career in higher education, which includes teaching positions at Kwansei Gakuin University and Doshisha University as a part-time lecturer, she dedicated approximately 30 years to the ECC Foreign Language Institute. There, she worked as an educator, teacher trainer, and instructional materials developer.
Her academic and research interests center on critical pedagogy, specifically the integration of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into the EFL environment. She is dedicated to designing democratic learning spaces through innovative methodologies, such as acronym pedagogy and AI-assisted task design, to foster student agency and cross-cultural communication. As an active researcher and conference presenter, she is committed to developing creative instructional blueprints that empower second language learners to navigate complex socio-cultural concepts while building authentic communication skills. Her work aims to provide language educators with practical insights into leveraging emerging technologies for collaborative identity-building in the classroom.
| Affiliate type | University |
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