NSJLE 2016 Proceedings: Visible and Valuable

Introduction
The papers in this volume were originally presented at the third National Symposium forJapanese Language Education 2016, held in Melbourne, Australia.1 They represent a selectionof the most interesting presentations, re-worked for publication, and submitted to peer review.
The Symposium is a unique opportunity to bring together teachers, researchers and policy
makers involved in Japanese Language Education nationally, and even internationally, fromall levels of education. The theme of the Symposium was ‘Making Japanese Visible andValuable’, with an emphasis on both increasing the value and effectiveness of what is done in
the classroom, and also promoting the value of learning Japanese to students, schoolcommunities and society more broadly by making it more visible. The volume commenceswith a paper addressing the theme directly, and is followed by five papers relating toinnovations in primary and lower secondary level programs, four relating to secondary
programs and a final paper addressing a key theme of the conference on the importance ofcollaboration for advocacy. Also included are abstracts from the much wider range of papers
that were presented orally at the Symposium.
The first paper is based on a Keynote paper for the Symposium Addressing the challenge oflanguages education in Australian Schools: using promotion and popular culture to makeJapanese visible and valuable by Professor John Hajek. He points out that many of thedifficulties for language education have their origin in views of language that are shaped bythe ‘Anglobubble’ and the associated ‘monolingual mindset’ of those who live in Englishspeaking societies like Australia. His suggestions for breaking through this mindset include
finding and promoting ‘local heroes’ who use Japanese to do interesting things, as well as using
Japanese popular culture, food and other engaging features of Japanese society and culture topromote the value of learning Japanese to students, parents, and school authorities.
All of the papers focussing on primary level programs acknowledge the challenges ofdelivering meaningful programs in limited time, and most also explicitly respond to thechallenges and opportunities inherent in the Australian Curriculum Languages (ACL), which
was newly released at the time of the Symposium. They provide practical and detailed advice,firmly based on both current theories of language learning and extensive classroom experience.
Two papers examine the use of stories and literature as a foundation for achieving a new andengaging curriculum. In her paper Using picture story books to enact the AustralianCurriculum Languages, Andrea Truckenbrodt first discusses the ACL framework and thetheory of language education on which it is based – intercultural language teaching. She thenargues that the use of picture storybooks provides an ideal frame for enacting the ACL becauseof the opportunities they provide for linguistic, literacy and (inter)cultural learning. Picture
books are also an accessible, much-loved text type for both learners and teachers, which makes
them relatively easy for teachers to use. Natalie Pearce’s paper entitled Using creative andimaginative texts to teach Japanese was also inspired by the inclusion of the Creating
substrand in the ACL. She describes how she re-developed her curriculum using a variety ofcreative and imaginative texts as the basis, giving detailed examples which should provide
inspiration for other teachers.

Susan Palmer’s paper, then titled ‘Achieving Success in the Primary Classroom’, was presented at the 2014
Symposium.
1NSJLE 2016 Proceedings: Visible and Valuable

In her paper 45 minutes per week: how the Australian Curriculum is working in agovernment primary school, Kathleen Duquemin elaborates a program that acknowledges
the realities of programming constraints by using a combination of long and short units of work,to vary content and to tailor modules to the available time at different points in the academicyear. The Scope and Sequence which she outlines is firmly based in the ACL and includes amix of both authentic Japanese texts and synthetic texts to achieve a curriculum which is bothambitious and practical. Susan Palmer’s paper Integrating the learning of language andculture across the primary curriculum shares her experiences based on a philosophy which
she summarises under the four key elements: Communication, Connection, Purpose andExperience. Her approach values experiences that connect and integrate learning across thecurriculum, as well as a flexible and collaborative approach to program design andimplementation, working closely with students, parents and classroom teachers to ensure thelearning has purpose, is relevant, and is meaningful and fun.
The following two papers move beyond standard language programs to embrace approaches inwhich other elements of the curriculum are taught through Japanese. Taku Hashimoto andJohn Webster discuss an innovative bilingual program at the Primary level in their paper
ウェラーズヒル小学校における日本語バイリンガルプログラム実施とその成果について (The Wellers Hill
State School Japanese Bilingual Program: implementation and results). The program
includes extensive attention to Japanese culture, and adopts a whole school approach, that also
involves parents and the wider community. In a second paper reporting on a content andlanguage integrated approach, this time at secondary level, Kelly Harrison describes her
experiences in a paper entitled Japanese media studies: a Year 10 CLIL program. She
discusses the theories and other works that inspired her, the way in which she implemented
CLIL within her own program and the positive results for her students and for herself.
The next three papers tackle different aspects of secondary level programs and all include smart
uses of technology to achieve greater efficiency and value. In Social media tools to enhancecollaboration with students and colleagues, Shingo Gibson-Suzuki outlines the ways inwhich he uses various forms of social media both in class and in out of class activities. He also
discusses the development of extensive networks for Japanese teachers through social media
sites that he has established.
Nathan Lane’s paper Improving assessment in Japanese through the use of digital tools also
leverages technology to implement an effective program of formative assessment that gives
timely feedback to students, in addition to efficient summative assessment. He outlines thewide range of applications that can be used to provide assessment in ways that both benefit
students, and save time for teachers.
In her paper on Targeted differentiation in a Japanese language course context, Liberty
Campbell discusses her experience with implementing a student-centred program in which
students chose and worked through a range of self-determined tasks, and received individual
feedback. This resulted in teachers spending more time connecting and communicating withindividuals in the class and provided more opportunities for the students to make decisions
about their learning and how they would demonstrate their progress. The results were very
positively evaluated by the students, particularly those from the academically weaker group.

NSJLE 2016 Proceedings: Visible and Valuable

The final paper in the volume tackles one of the underlying themes of the conference, advocacy,in Towards effective advocacy – evaluation of the Nihongo Roadshow and the School Leader
Fellowship Program. Mayumi Mitsuya and Cathy Jonak, of the Japan Foundation, provide
evaluations of two programs designed to address advocacy for JLE, one aimed at students andcommunities and one at school leaders. They found that the Nihongo Roadshow was highlyeffective in remote areas in boosting students’ engagement, and providing opportunities toconnect to Japanese language and culture. The School Leader Fellowship Program had asignificant impact on principals and administrators in leading them to recognise the importanceof intercultural understanding and Japanese language programs in their own schools/ states. A
supplementary survey revealed that materials and resources alone are not enough for advocacy,that advocacy skills and networking are also crucial; and this is clearly an area in which morework is required in future.
In summary, the papers in this volume demonstrate the innovativeness and vitality of Japanese
language education in Australia. The key to the success of Japanese is its well-informed,
creative and passionate teachers, and the strength of the organisations that support them. We
hope that the papers in this volume, which introduce real innovations across a wide range ofschools and levels, inspire other teachers to drive change in their own schools and across theirown communities in order to ensure that Japanese language education is increasingly effectiveand valued, and achieves the visibility that it deserves.

Robyn Spence-Brown
Monash University