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.
Primary and Secondary Professional Learning Day
On Saturday 9 September, 24 teachers from primary and secondary schools participated in a professional learning day at The Tudor in Box Hill. The day was led by Jan Chalmer who shared a wealth of strategies and ideas to teach primary and secondary Japanese. We extend our grateful thanks to Jan for her engaging and informative presentations throughout the day. Participants who attended provided the following comments:
- Very practical and useful as always! Thank you for organising this PD!
- Absolutely loved learning from Jan Chalmer, and sharing our ideas. Came away feeling inspired with new games, new techniques and renewed energy. It was great to meet other teachers and feel the passion we all have for what we do.
- I have come away with so many fantastic ideas and new resources, it was wonderful to meet Jan and network with other Japanese teachers.
- It was my honour to attend what may be one of the last PD sessions run by the iconic Jan Chalmer. Ironically, this was the first time I have attended one of her PDs, and I was left wondering why that was and whether I could travel back in time and rectify that. I gained so many practical activity ideas in the company of supportive and dedicated colleagues. Arigatoo to JLTAV for being proactive and organising such amazing opportunities.
At the conclusion of Saturday’s professional learning, a group of colleagues gathered at Okami Japanese Restaurant in Camberwell to celebrate Jan’s retirement. On behalf of the JLTAV we sincerely thank Jan for her amazing support of the JLTAV over many years. Jan has presented at many of our annual conferences and professional learning days. The Japanese community in Australia has certainly benefitted from Jan’s expertise and passion for teaching. We wish Jan all the very best as she moves into retirement.
2023 Model UN Conference in Japanese
Our 2023 Model UN Conference in Japanese was held over two days on Thursday 27 and Friday 28 July at the Victorian Academy of Teaching and Leadership in North Melbourne. This year we had 168 students participating over the two days from 18 schools, supported by 22 teachers and 3 language assistants.
Many thanks to the teachers for preparing their students for the event. Many thanks 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 for the excellent support from our Language Assistants – Kari Fujita, Kaori Teramoto and Natsuki Wada, and to Dr Sally Northfield, the Executive Manager from United Nations Association of Australia (Victorian Division). We look forward to next year’s Model UN in Japanese.
Year 12 Morning – Online Resources
Thank you to the schools who registered to access this year’s materials. The materials included:
- Videos explaining the oral and written exams for Japanese Second Language
- Good and bad mock oral example videos
- A booklet outlining information about the oral and written exams
- A university presentation prepared by Dr Robyn Spence-Brown, the JLTAV Tertiary Liaison from Monash University
We asked teachers to indicate on the registration form the number of students they have in their Year 12 class this year, and it is pleasing to note that these resources will be accessed by 707 students. In using these materials, we ask teachers to note the following:
- The option to download the video files has been disabled. This is because the material may change next year, and we do not want to confuse anyone when changes might be made to the exam specifications.
- Teachers are able to download the Year 12 Morning booklet and tertiary presentation, and share these files with their students.
- We ask students not to send requests for the Google Drive folder to be shared with them. Access to the shared Google Drive folder will only be available to teachers. Please download the Year 12 Morning booklet and tertiary presentation files and share them with your students.
Access to all the files will remain available throughout Term 4 to enable teachers to show the videos to their students, and to ensure students are well supported as they prepare for the external exams for Japanese Second Language.
If you are yet to register to access these resources, please email nlane@mackillopsh.vic.edu.au and I will add you to the shared Google Drive folder of resources.
Please register your school once only. Materials will be made available to JLTAV members only.
This year Julie Devine presented a one hour online session focusing on preparing for the oral and written exams for Japanese Second Language. Thank you to 620 students from 89 schools who registered for this session. Many thanks to Julie for preparing the online 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.
Year 12 Morning Survey
Teachers may remember in the past we used to run the Year 12 Morning face-to-face in Ballarat and Melbourne. We would like to survey our members and find out their preferred format for the Year 12 Morning. We ask our colleagues to spend a few minutes competing the survey in the link below.
https://forms.gle/kd8qEwgZTjtuj5T68
2023 JLTAV Practice Exams
To further support VCE teachers we have created two practice exams. Please click on the link below for information on how to purchase these resources.
https://forms.gle/tfJycR8BboxEwMQP7
Practice exams from 2020, 2021 and 2022 are still available for purchase. Please email jltav@jltav.org.au 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.
JLTAV Practice Exam Survey
As an Association we are committed to creating high quality resources to support students and teachers. We would like some feedback on our practice exam resources, and ask those who have and have not purchased the resources over the past few years to spend a few minutes competing the short survey in the link below.
https://forms.gle/AMNuJywDDs7iYwvF9
2023 Junior Speech Competition
On Sunday 27 August, we held the Junior Speech Competition at the Hawthorn Arts Centre. Congratulations to all the participants and winners of each division. Many thanks to the teachers who supported their students to prepare for the competition, and to the parents 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.
3-Day Japanese Language Immersion Seminar
We are pleased to launch our 2024 3 Day Japanese Language Immersion Seminar. The seminar will be held from Monday 22 to Wednesday 24 January at the Foothills Conference Centre in Mooroolbark, a short distance from Melbourne. Please click on the link below for further information and to register. Colleagues from interstate are welcome to attend. The seminar caters for all language levels.
https://forms.gle/DYEzZKqn2KVNUcKA9
2024 JLTAV Annual Conference
We are pleased to launch the expression of interest form for presenters at the 2024 JLTAV Annual Conference. This event will be held on Friday 15 and Saturday 16 March at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre. 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 1 December.
https://forms.gle/dMgds7Gu2npBKMDm7
Vale Nathan Harvey
Our thoughts are with our Japanese teaching colleagues in Western Australia as they grieve the loss of their colleague and friend, Nathan Harvey. Nathan made significant contributions to Japanese Language Education in Western Australia, and to languages education across the country and internationally. Nathan was a past president of the Australian Federation of Modern Language Teachers Associations (AFMLTA). Our thoughts are with Nathan’s family, friends and school community at this very sad time.
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 2023 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)