Welcome to Term 4 and the JLTAV Spring Newsletter. I hope everyone had a relaxing holiday break and you are refreshed and re-energised for Term 4. Term 3 was a busy term for the JLTAV as we organised different events for teachers and students. Reports from these events are below.
2025 Model UN Conference in Japanese
Our 2025 Model UN Conference in Japanese was held over two days on Tuesday 22 and Wednesday 30 July at the Victorian Academy of Teaching and Leadership in North Melbourne. This year we had 217 students participating over the two days from 17 schools, supported by 23 teachers, 4 language assistants on each day and 3 staff on each day from the United Nations Association of Australia (Victorian Division).
Many thanks to the teachers for preparing their students for the event. Many thanks also to Mr Satoshi Sanada for his amazing support as the Secretary General. We very much appreciate all the preparation Satoshi did leading up to and throughout the two days. Thank you also to Dr Sally Northfield, the Executive Manager from United Nations Association of Australia (Victorian Division) for all her organisation. We look forward to next year’s Model UN in Japanese.
Year 12 Morning – Online
On Sunday 27 July, Julie Devine presented a two and a half-hour online session focusing on preparing for the oral and written exams for Japanese Second Language. Thank you to the 529 students and teachers from 69 schools who registered for this session. Many thanks to Julie for preparing the materials for the Year 12 Morning and for presenting the online session. We sincerely appreciate Julie’s support and the wealth of knowledge and VCE experience she brings to our Year 12 Morning each year. Schools who registered for this year’s Year 12 Morning received access to a Google Drive folder of resources to use with their students as they prepare them for the end of year oral and written exams for Japanese Second Language.
2025 JLTAV Practice Exams
To support teachers of VCE Japanese Second Language in 2025, the JLTAV has produced two practice exams. Please click on the link below for information on how to purchase these resources.
https://forms.gle/63q5tUGR8jRupHk67
Practice exams from 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024 are still available for purchase. Please go to https://jltav.org.au/services/ for information on how to purchase these resources.
We extend our best wishes to all the students who will complete their oral and written exams for Japanese Second Language and Japanese First Language in Term 4.
2025 JLTAV Immersion Professional Learning Day
On Saturday 16 August, the 2025 JLTAV immersion professional learning day was held at the Rendezvous Hotel in the city. We thank our 18 colleagues who participated in this event.
The aim of the day was to improve the language skills of non-native Japanese language teachers. The participants were divided into two groups, one for primary and the other for VCE/senior secondary.
We extend our sincere thanks to our presenters on the day: Yuichi Deguchi and Masae Uekusa who led the primary group, and Shingo Gibson-Suzuki and Hana Ueda who led the VCE/senior secondary group.
2025 Junior Speech Competition
On Sunday 31 August, we held the Junior Speech Competition at the Hawthorn Arts Centre. Congratulations to all the participants and winners of each division. This year we had 45 schools participate in the competition. Below is the data outlining the number of participants in each division. It is pleasing to see such strong numbers of students participating in the competition.
| Division | Number of participants |
| Primary – Foundation to Year 2 (group) | 16 |
| Primary – Year 3 and Year 4 (group) | 0 |
| Primary – Year 3 and Year 4 (individual) | 2 |
| Primary – Open | 2 |
| Primary – Year 5 and Year 6 (individual) | 12 |
| Primary – Year 5 and Year 6 (pair) | 22 |
| Secondary – Year 7 and Year 8 (individual) | 17 |
| Secondary – Year 7 and Year 8 (pair) | 30 |
| Secondary – Year 9 and Year 10 (individual) | 16 |
| Secondary – Year 9 and Year 10 (pair) | 26 |
| Secondary – Open | 1 |
Many thanks to the teachers who supported their students to prepare for the competition, and to the families who came along on the day to watch their child present in Japanese. The competition is a great way for students to engage in their Japanese studies. The list of prize winners has been included in this newsletter.
2026 JLTAV Annual Conference
Our 2026 JLTAV Annual Conference will be held on Friday 27 and Saturday 28 March at a new venue, the Catholic Leadership Centre in East Melbourne.
We are pleased to launch the expression of interest form for presenters at the 2026 JLTAV Annual Conference. We invite all colleagues with an interest to present, and encourage those who have never presented before to consider taking up this opportunity. There are so many inspirational teachers within our community with something to share and this is your chance. The link to complete the expression of interest form is below. Please complete this form by Friday 5 December.
https://forms.gle/vrFXFREU6ysa1vbE6
Thank you to the JLTAV Committee
The JLTAV Committee continue to work hard to organise events throughout the year and I thank them for all their hard work, generosity and commitment to the Association. Contact details of the 2025 committee have been included in this newsletter.
Our events for the JLTAV will be advertised through the following channels:
- The JLTAV website
- The JLTAV Facebook page
- The Japanese Language Teachers of Australia Facebook page
- The Victorian Department of Education Access, Resource, Collaborate (ARC) website
I wish everyone a successful Term 4 and thank you for your support of the JLTAV Inc. Take care and stay safe.
Nathan Lane
President, JLTAV Inc. (Reg. No. A0024691U)