The School House Volume 33 Issue 2
Welcome to the Winter 2026 issue of The School House. This issue is a rich one. Erin Noxon opens with warm words from the president's desk. We are also pleased to introduce Chris Mack, one of our wonderful new SIG officers. Robert Chartrand offers a thorough and engaging recap of the 2025 JALT TYL SIG Secondary School English Education Conference held in Tokyo. Marge Joseph C. Sardo shares the SKETCH framework from her "Doodles to Definitions" workshop a beautifully practical approach to visual vocabulary instruction. Ivan Botev reminds us of the quiet power of picturebooks as multimodal texts for exploring global issues in CLIL classrooms, and Connor Baron rounds things out with a highly relatable piece on managing classroom energy through the strategic use of stirrers and settlers. I hope you find as much to enjoy
and take away as I have.
This issue marks a personal milestone for me, as it will be my last as Publication Chair. Since taking on this role in 2020, I have had the privilege of working alongside some of the most thoughtful and generous people in language education. To every contributor who trusted us with their ideas, research, and classroom stories thank you. This journal exists because of you.
To the officers of the TYL SIG, past and present your energy, creativity, and care for this community have been a constant source of inspiration. It has been an honour to serve alongside you.
A very special thank you goes to Gaby Benthien, who has been my right-hand person throughout my time as editor. From the very beginning, Gaby brought not only skill and professionalism but also warmth and steadiness to everything we worked on together. The School
House would not be what it is today without her, and I am deeply grateful.
I am not going far — I will continue as a reviewer and remain a committed member of this community. But as I step back from the editorial chair, I do so with a full heart and great confidence
in the wonderful team who will carry this publication forward.
With warmth and gratitude,
All the best,
Kate Sato
The School House Editor
Articles:
The 2025 JALT TYL SIG Secondary School English Education Conference: Bridging English Language Education at Secondary Schools in Japan — New Methods and Approaches - Robert Chartrand, Kurume University
Doodles to Definitions: A Visual Scaffolding Strategy for Vocabulary Development in Secondary English Classrooms - Marge Joseph C. Sardo, Tokyo Metropolitan Chihaya High School
Teaching Global Issues Through Picturebooks: Multimodal Literacy in CLIL Classrooms - Ivan Botev, Toita Women's College
Stirrers, Settlers, and Constraints: Adapting Young Learner Materials in Japanese EFL Classrooms - Connor Baron, ALTIA Central / Public Elementary School, Aichi, Japan
Navigate to the other pages to see the archive of all our former issues.