[5] The first beginnings of the association began with a casual get-together (based on an interest in the Silent Way teaching method) organised in 1975 by Sharon Bode, then Chief Instructor at the Kyoto YMCA.
School in Osaka in spring 1976, where it was agreed to call the "organization" KALT (Kansai Association of Language Teachers) and the group grew to around 60 members.
[6] KALT as a broader organisation came into existence when the Tokai Chapter (representing Tokyo) was formed in 1977, followed in the late 1970s by Chugoku (Hiroshima), Takamatsu (Shikoku), and Nishi-Nippon (Fukuoka).
[6] In 1977 KALT became JALT, and in September that year it became the Official Japan Affiliate of TESOL, and by the end of 1978, membership was around 800, alongside 30 commercial members.
Originally released monthly, in 2009, a decision was made to begin publishing bimonthly in order to concentrate on offering more content online.
[12] It is a refereed publication, meaning that articles are subject to peer review, and is distributed in both paper and electronic (online) form.