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.
Term 3 Online Professional Learning
In Term 3 we offered two, one hour online professional learning sessions. On Thursday 22 August, Jan Chalmer presented a session on how to create a PINPONBU guessing game in PowerPoint, and on Wednesday 4 September, Shingo Gibson-Suzuki presented a session on super teacher tools. Many thanks to Jan and Shingo for their generosity in sharing their wealth of knowledge with us.
We welcome colleagues with an interest in presenting an online session in the future to contact me at nlane@mackillopsh.vic.edu.au with details of the session you would like to present.
Term 4 Online Professional Learning
On Thursday 24 October, Monique Francis will present, ‘Boost Engagement with the Special Person Interview’.
Session outline:
Join us for an interactive professional development session to explore how the Special Person Interview can transform your language classroom. Learn how to use this Comprehensible Input strategy to build community, encourage natural conversation, and help students acquire language effortlessly. Perfect for teachers of all levels!
The session will be held via Zoom from 7.00pm to 8.00pm and the link will be sent on the day of the session.
Please click on the link below to register:
https://forms.gle/4NXoSWAiBZRRkVNJ7
The session will be recorded. Colleagues who pay the registration fee will receive a link to the recording.
2024 Model UN Conference in Japanese
Our 2024 Model UN Conference in Japanese was held over two days on Monday 22 and Tuesday 23 July at the Victorian Academy of Teaching and Leadership in North Melbourne. This year we had 182 students participating over the two days from 15 schools, supported by 20 teachers, 7 language assistants and 3 staff 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 28 July, Julie Devine presented a two-hour online session focusing on preparing for the oral and written exams for Japanese Second Language. Thank you to the 744 students and teachers from 102 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.
2024 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/haLxatL5RUni4pKZ9
Practice exams from 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 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.
2024 Junior Speech Competition
On Sunday 11 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 36 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) | 5 |
| Primary – Year 3 and Year 4 (group) | 6 |
| Primary – Year 3 and Year 4 (individual) | 1 |
| Primary – Open | 3 |
| Primary – Year 5 and Year 6 (individual) | 14 |
| Primary – Year 5 and Year 6 (pair) | 24 |
| Secondary – Year 7 and Year 8 (individual) | 16 |
| Secondary – Year 7 and Year 8 (pair) | 26 |
| Secondary – Year 9 and Year 10 (individual) | 10 |
| Secondary – Year 9 and Year 10 (pair) | 22 |
| Secondary – Open | 4 |
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 the Spring newsletter, and can also be accessed HERE.
2025 Japanese Language Immersion Seminar
We would like to organise our highly successful Japanese language immersion seminar in 2025. We are looking for native speaker mentor teachers to assist in the delivery of the sessions at the seminar. If you are interested in this, please contact me at nlane@mackillopsh.vic.edu.au.
2025 JLTAV Annual Conference
Our 2025 JLTAV Annual Conference will be held on Friday 21 and Saturday 22 March at a new venue, the Jasper Hotel in Elizabeth Street, Melbourne.
We are pleased to launch the expression of interest form for presenters at the 2025 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 29 November.
https://forms.gle/SHFh9hPPcQBfHvjf9
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 2024 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)