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5th Floor - 4 Shake the Room! Games, Moves, and Madness Kids Go Crazy For

Presenter(s): Chadi Dubois

Language: English & Japanese

I’ll share classroom routines, warm-ups, songs, dances, and games children love. Expect movement, laughter, and participation, sitting still won’t last long. Wear comfy clothes, bring your energy, and be ready to move more than usual!

Bio: My journey moved from hospitality and performing for children to education, where I became a teacher and school director. Today I run a café and nonprofit, all driven by helping children, supporting families, and spreading joy.

5th Floor - 3 Don't Leave!

Presenter(s): Adam Kardos

Language: English

In this presentation I will share the results and data from a comprehensive survey of the English education sector on student retention. Find out how your school compares to the industry average and what all the top performers have in common.

Bio: Adam Kardos is the founder of AAS press and author of textbooks and award winning readers. He is also the creator of The Gamerize Dictionary, a gamified learner dictionary app.

4th Floor - 2 Connecting Deeper and Wider With PADLET

Presenter(s): David Juteau

Language: English

Learn three simple ways to expand classroom activities using Padlet, a digital bulletin board for sharing content. You’ll discover how to help students connect with more classmates and communicate more deeply through this interactive, collaborative tool.

Bio: David, founder of Online Teaching Japan, has taught all levels in Japan since 1996. A former school owner for 18 years, he specializes in connecting educators through digital tools.

5th Floor - 4 Step Inside a Story!

Presenter(s): Katie Kato

Language: English

Find out fun ways to use imaginative play to bring new vocabulary, language and stories to life.

Bio: Katie is an English teacher, school owner and independent publisher with over 15 years experience. Her passion for teaching led her to create textbooks that bring English to life through projects, games and stories.

5th Floor - 3 Exploring School Branding Through Story and Communication

Presenter(s): Junpei Tamura

Language: English & Japanese

This interactive session invites participants to work on their own school branding. Through guided exercises, small-group discussion, and examples, attendees examine their school story, brand image, and parent communication, and clarify how these elements are currently expressed and understood.

Bio: Junpei Tamura is a former death metal drummer turned education entrepreneur. Founder of Nico Kids English, he built the brand through hands-on media strategy, storytelling, and parent communication, drawing from real experience creating a school brand.

4th Floor - 2 Creating Connecting Cultures

Presenter(s): Andy Boon

Language: English

This presentation explains the rationale for creating Connecting Cultures and outlines the textbook development process, including topic selection and design. It shows how cultural content and communication skills can be integrated to support meaningful, global classroom interaction learning.

Bio: Andy Boon is a Japan-based ELT author and professor with extensive experience creating textbooks, graded readers, and teacher-training materials.

5th Floor - 4 Practical activities and tips for toddlers

Presenter(s): Kenny King

Language: English

Do you ever wonder why somethings work well with the babies, while other things don’t?

Me too!

Come and explore the topic with me!

Bio: Kenny King has been teaching in Japan for over 26 years. He runs two language schools in Gifu prefecture as well as a small publishing company. He’s also quite active on YouTube.

5th Floor - 3 Leveraging Your Strengths to Grow Your School ~Connecting Experiences and Relationships That Keep Students Choosing You~

Presenter(s): Masaki Homma

Language: English & Japanese

In this session, we examine how school owners can leverage their strengths by learning from proven practices of leading education brands. The session takes a structural view of marketing and operations and focuses on how to design effective connections with students and parents to drive sustainable growth and long-term retention.

Bio: Founder and CEO of M’s Conexion Inc., with experience scaling multiple large education organizations of 50+ schools and 500+ staff, now producing growth through education business development and educational support.

4th Floor - 2 Pronunciation Creates Connection

Presenter(s): Yuko Hamaya (Ayako Nagahara, Asako Koyama)

Language: English & Japanese

I will introduce Hatsuon Phonics®, a patented, one-of-a-kind material for teaching pronunciation. This pronunciation-first method helps Japanese learners build accurate sounds through visual symbols, leading to clearer communication, greater confidence, and stronger connections.

Bio: Lived in the U.S. and Australia for 11 years. Single mom of three. Former CNN Headline anchor. English teacher for 20 years and founder of Hatsuon Phonics®. Content creator.

Lunch Mixer & Mini Pub Quiz

5th Floor - 4 Simple and fun activities with music for little children

Presenter(s): Hiroko Miyata

Language: Japanese

will play the keyboard and demonstrate some activities

Bio: song-arranger at Maple Leaf Learning / owner of an English and music school located in Kazo, Saitama.

5th Floor - 3 なぜ今、アートが必要なのか

Presenter(s): Kaori Kumagai

Language: Japanese

子供や大人の感性を尊重し最大限に引き出し作品として表現することを大切にしています

Bio: 心象風景を描く現代アーティスト熊谷香里

4th Floor - 2 What's InTogether?

Language: English & Japanese

Learn more about InTogether's goals and events for teachers, school owners, independent publishers...and students!

5th Floor - 4 Music and Language: A Connections Quiz

Presenter(s): Eric Kane

Language: English

This interactive session opens with a music-and-language matching quiz, then uses audience-selected songs to uncover language features hidden in music and explore how they can support more natural language learning.

Bio: Eric is a teacher, teacher-trainer, school owner, independent publisher, and educational YouTuber based in Shiga.

5th Floor - 3 Flyer Marketing for the Community (I’ll share how I gained 51 new students in just four months)

Presenter(s): Sarah Takizawa

Language: English

The Flyer Marketing presentation is designed for school owners and individuals aspiring to establish schools. It will address methods for targeting the local community, effective strategies, core principles, and concepts, as well as reasons why your flyers may not yield successful results.

Bio: Sarah Takizawa is an educator by heart, an event planner by passion, and a photographer by nature. Her life as an educator began with teaching underprivileged children on the streets of the Philippines.

4th Floor - 2 Connecting with Parents and the Community

Presenter(s): Cody Strong

Language: English

Strong connections with parents and the local community build trust, ease concerns, and support school growth. This session shares practical ways to improve communication, involvement, and your school’s reputation.

Bio: Cody Strong has run his own schools for eight years. Originally from Texas, he now lives in Chiba, Japan.

5th Floor - 4 Why Children Learn Best From Each Other

Presenter(s): Dale Berry

Language: English & Japanese

This presentation shares what we have found about peer-to-peer learning and how it accelerates language development. It explores how practical language spreads between children, and offers ideas educators can apply within their own environments to strengthen connection and learning.

Bio: Dale Berry is Head of School at Berry English in Kawagoe, Saitama, with nearly twenty years’ experience in early years education, English immersion, EYFS practice, and child-led, play-based learning approaches

5th Floor - 3 Connecting with our Community through CSR & SDGs

Presenter(s): Colin Bethell

Language: English & Japanese

会社 (Company)

社会 (Society)

In Japanese, “Company” and “Society” share the same kanji. Any kind of business activity, large or small, relies on the support of the surrounding community. A discussion of CSR and SDGs activities with examples.

4th Floor - 2 English-Shaped Memories: Connecting Learning, Life, and Language

Presenter(s): Brian Shepherd

Language: English

Learning that hits the heart sticks in the mind. Experiential activities create fun, meaningful moments that boost

confidence, spark motivation, and keep students learning English longer and more deeply. We will discuss several programs as examples.

Bio: Brian has taught English in Japan for over 25 years. He runs a two-branch language school with 300+ students and leads Explorers, an experiential learning program for upper elementary learners.

5th Floor - 3 Extensive Reading? What, Why, and How

Presenter(s): Cory Koby

Language: English

Heard about it? Maybe tried it? But what is it, really? In this session, I will provide a comprehensive overview of ER and argue that building a community of learners engaged in reading for enjoyment can foster connections with English and with one another.

Bio: Cory is an executive board member of the Extensive Reading Foundation with 20 years of experience teaching in Japan at the eikaiwa, secondary, and university levels.

Raffle, Photo, Clean Up

Social at Pivot! - sponsored by JobsinJapan.com