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I am very pleased to present the Japanese Language Teachers’ Association of Victoria Inc. (JLTAV) report for 2022 which is a summary of the activities for the year and an assessment of the current state of the Association.

2022 Memberships

In 2022, we were able to organise many of the events and activities we offered before the global pandemic. The committee continued to meet online once a month to plan events.

Student Events

2022 Events Poster Competition

Students were invited to submit an entry and the winning design was included in the Annual Conference resource book and on the front cover of the Year 12 Morning booklet.

Year 12 Morning

The materials prepared for the Year 12 Morning were again shared to members via Google Drive. The materials included:

Calligraphy Competition

The annual brush and pencil calligraphy competition took place in Term 3. We received a large number of entries, 204 entries for the brush category and 229 entries for the pencil category. Thank you to the teachers who encouraged their students to submit entries.

Junior Speech Competition

Our Junior Speech Competition was held for the first time at the Hawthorn Arts Centre. 45 schools participated in the competition and there were 23 primary students (Years 3 to 6), 48 Year 7 and 8 students, and 67 Year 9 and 10 students. It is very pleasing to see students engaging in their study of Japanese and this event provides an opportunity for students to showcase their Japanese skills.

Model UN Conference in Japanese

On Monday 25 July, the 2022 Model UN Conference (MUNC) in Japanese was run at the Victorian Academy of Teaching and Leadership for senior secondary students studying Japanese. This event was organised by the United Nations Association of Australia (UNAA) (Victorian Division) and supported by the Department of Education and Training and the Japanese Language Teachers’ Association of Victoria Inc. (JLTAV). The Model UN in Japanese provides the perfect opportunity for students to use their Japanese in an authentic context, and to work with students learning Japanese at other schools. In 2022, 10 schools across Victoria were involved in the event. The theme for this year’s event was ‘Quality Education for All’.

Teacher Events

2022 JLTAV Annual Conference

In April, we were able to hold our conference face-to-face for the first time since 2019. The keynote speakers were Dr Jared Cooney-Horvath and Tony Vallance. The program was varied and included sessions focusing on: ICT/innovation, VCE, secondary, primary and curriculum/assessment.

Primary and Middle Years Professional Learning – Face-to-face and Online

In Term 3, we offered an exciting PD in both a face-to-face event and an online live PD the following weekend. The focus of the professional learning was teaching the topic of sustainability through picture storybooks. Through this model of professional learning (online and face-to-face), teachers were able to choose the format that best suits them.

Year 12 Japanese Second Language Practice Exams

To further support VCE teachers we continued to develop practice exams. In 2022, we paid two panels of teachers to create two practice exams. These exams were sold to generate more money for the Association. The exam package included:

Teachers are still able to purchase the exams written in 2020 and 2021, and this provides passive income for the Association.

Other ongoing activities throughout the year have been monthly committee meetings, the maintenance of the JLTAV website and working on a new website, the running of the JLTAV Office, 2 days a week. In 2022, the JLTAV Office continued to operate out of the Japanese Studies Centre at Monash University in Clayton. In 2022, Shu Ohki led the development of a new website for the Association and we thank him very much for all the time spent working on this project.

We recognise the importance of communicating to members about the Association’s activities. The JLTAV website, Japanese Language Teachers of Australia and the JLTAV Facebook pages, as well as the Nihongo Victoria email group were used to advertise all events and competitions. Events information was also shared with the Department of Education and Training Languages Regional Project Officers and uploaded on the Department of Education and Training’s Access, Resource, Collaborate (ARC) website.

We remain thankful for the work and support of the Modern Language Teachers’ Association of Victoria (MLTAV), the Monash Japanese Language Education Centre (MJLEC) and the Japan Foundation, Sydney, as well as the Department of Education and Training (DET), who over the past years have recognised our work and efforts and provided us with a substantial grant to enable us to organise activities for teachers and students.

There have been many participants in the operation of the JLTAV over the year and it is difficult both to single out individuals, but also to name the many who gave up their time and skills to help. However, I wish to thank our hard-working committee, who even though most are full-time teachers, manage to give more of their time to discuss, make decisions and carry out plans. To balance teaching, family and other commitments whilst working on the committee in a volunteer capacity is greatly appreciated. Just as committees have always done, they have made improvements and initiated changes which make it easier for others to follow on. My sincere thanks to:

Vice President: Kathleen Duquemin

Secretary: Nicole Struthers

Treasurer: Katelyn Hurley

Ordinary Committee Members

Permanent Advisers

We extend many thanks to Anne and Hiroshi in their roles as Permanent Advisers on our Committee.

Many thanks to Terue Kato, the JLTAV Office Manager/Bookkeeper, for her amazing support. Terue does significant work ‘behind the scenes’ and manages our office expertly, and ensures the seamless administrative organisation of our events. Terue’s support is greatly appreciated.

Dr Robyn Spence-Brown from the School of Languages, Literatures, Cultures, and Linguistics at Monash University has remained our tertiary liaison and we greatly appreciate her support of the Year 12 Morning and preparing a presentation for Year 12 students on Japanese options post-secondary school.

We thank our colleagues who generously give their time and graciously respond to our calls to present workshops for our members. The Japanese teaching community in Victoria, and indeed Australia, is very fortunate to have such passionate and dedicated professionals willing to give their time to share their knowledge and expertise with their colleagues.

Japanese Language Education in Victoria continues to head into an exciting new era. As individual teachers, as staff groups, as leaders and as Associations, we must continue to raise the profile of Japanese Language Education in Victorian schools and ensure Japanese learning and teaching remains strong in Victoria.

Summary of teacher activities in 2022Summary of student activities in 2022
Professional learning: Annual ConferencePrimary and Middle Years focusing on SustainabilityICT (iDoceo)Japanese Language Immersion SeminarYear 12 Japanese Second Language Practice ExaminationsCompetitions: JLTAV Events PosterCalligraphyJunior Speech   Events: Model UN Conference in JapaneseYear 12 Morning resources available through Google Drive

Nathan Lane

President

JLTAV Inc. (Reg. No. A0024691U)

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