NSJLE 2022 PROCEEDINGS

88

CONTRIBUTOR
BIOGRAPHIESClaire Maree is Professor in Japanese at the Asia Institute, University of Melbourne, Victoria. Claire’s expertise lies in thelinguistic analysis of identity and mediatisation of language styles. She has taught Japanese and Japanese linguistics
in Japan and Australia for over 20 years. Claire’s third monograph queerqueen: Linguistic Excess in Japanese Media(2020, OUP) illustrates how a diversity of gender identifications, sexual orientations, and discursive styles are packaged
together to form a homogenous character—the queerqueen. Claire is President, International Gender and Language
Association (IGALA) and Co-Coordinator, International Network of Gender, Sexuality & Japanese Language Education(INGS-Japanese).
Victoria Poulos has been teaching Japanese for over 25 years in Victorian schools, combined with 20 years’ experiencein gifted education. She completed her B.A & Dip Ed majoring in Japanese at Monash University and has a Masters in
Gifted education at UNSW. Victoria is a committee member of VAGTC, a teacher assistant at UNSW, a research assistantat UNSW, was the 2022 postgraduate recipient of the Dean’s award for academic excellence and is the Gifted andTalented Leader at Crest Education.
Anthony Oldmeadow is the Principal for Mernda Central P to 12 College. Anthony has been with the College since
the start of 2020 and was officially appointed to the role of Principal in June 2020. Prior to his appointment at Mernda
Central, Anthony has been involved in the start-up of two new schools from their first day. Anthony worked as a Leading
Teacher and Assistant Principal at Laurimar Primary School when it opened in 2010 and then as an Assistant Principal
in the Junior (Prep to 4) and Middle (5 to 8) school at Hazel Glen College since it opened in 2014. Throughout his career,
Anthony has worked extensively with adolescent students across multiple schools in both Physical Education andClassroom settings. Anthony has also had time working in the Northern Metropolitan Region as an ICT support coachfor schools across our network. He has gained valuable experience in all settings and is passionate about working withchildren to achieve their best. Anthony has a strong interest in P to 12 education settings. He is passionate about student
engagement, wellbeing and success and is committed to learning about the way students develop through the Prep
to 12 continuums. Anthony loves harnessing the power of ICT and seeing how it can be utilised in schools to engage,
support and strengthen students’ understanding of curriculum concepts. Anthony is considered a family man who tries
to stay fit. He has been involved in a wide range of sports throughout his life as both a competitor and coach.
Nicholas Creed is the College Innovations Assistant Principal at Mernda Central College, also leading College Data,Assessment and Reporting. He completed a Bachelor of Arts at The University of Melbourne alongside a Diploma in
Modern Languages (Japanese). Nicholas subsequently completed a Graduate Diploma of Education (Secondary), andin 2012 completed a Professional Certificate in Education (CLIL). Nicholas moved to Mernda Central College in 2018
to establish the Japanese program. Prior to this, he taught Japanese and History for 12 years at Mount Waverley
Secondary College. Nicholas has extensive experience teaching Year 7-VCE Japanese in flexible learning environments,
and a passion for sharing knowledge of Japanese language and culture. He is also responsible for the development of
the College timetable and oversees the leadership of a range of co-curricular programs.
Steven Miyazawa is the Curriculum Leader of Japanese in the Middle School at Mernda Central College. He has beenteaching Japanese since graduating with postgraduate qualifications in education from The University of Melbourne in2013. Prior to his postgraduate study, Steven attended Sophia University, Tokyo, on a one-year exchange program, which
afforded him the opportunity to enrich his cultural and linguistic knowledge about his subject area. Steven moved toMernda Central College in 2018 to help start the College’s new Japanese language program. He is passionate about theeducation of young adults and is a strong advocate of second language learning.

NSJLE 2022 PROCEEDINGS

89

Thomas Armstrong has been working at Mernda Central College since 2019 and is the Curriculum Leader of Japanesein the Senior School at Mernda Central College. Thomas completed a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in Japanese at La
Trobe University (Melbourne Campus), including a semester exchange at Momoyama Gakuin University, Osaka. Thomas
subsequently completed a Graduate Diploma of Education (Secondary). He has lived and worked extensively in Japan aspart of the Japan Exchange Teaching (JET) program. He is passionate about Japanese language education and providing
students with a rich and challenging learning environment.
Nathan Lane has been teaching Japanese in Victorian Government and Catholic secondary schools for over twentyyears. Currently he is the Deputy Principal Teaching and Learning at St Mary MacKillop College. Nathan has presented
at state, national and international language conferences and has been involved in resource development and external
assessment for students studying Japanese at secondary level. He is the current President of the Japanese Language
Teachers’ Association of Victoria Inc. (JLTAV). In 2017 Nathan was awarded a Certificate of Merit by the Modern Language
Teachers’ Association of Victoria Inc. (MLTAV) in recognition of his exceptional and outstanding contribution to languages
teaching in Victoria.
Shinji Okumura obtained his doctoral degree in Applied Linguistics at Monash University. He is currently an Associate
Professor of Applied Linguistics in the Faculty of Information and Communications at Bunkyo University, Japan. He
has served as a reviewer for Computer-Assisted Language Learning (Taylor and Francis). His research interests arefocused on technology-enhanced language learning and additional language education in primary schools. Dr. Okumura
has conducted virtual exchange projects for young language learners involving the global community to enhance theiradditional language learning and intercultural understanding.
Masae Uekusa obtained her master’s degree in Applied Linguistics and postgraduate degree in Education at Monash
University. She is currently a primary school teacher at a government school in Victoria. Her research interests areforeign language education in Australia and Japan, ICT-based language teaching, and gesture-based language teaching
methods.
Kaoru Kadowaki, Professor in the Faculty of International Studies at Setsunan University in Japan, was Visiting
Professor of The University of Queensland from 2017 to 2018. At Setsunan University, Kaoru teaches how to teachJapanese to Japanese students who want to become Japanese language teachers, and Japanese language and culture
to international students. Her research interests are acquisition of Japanese language as a second language and teacher
training. She has conducted research on Japanese language education at primary and secondary schools outside Japansuch as South Korea, Thailand, Indonesia and Australia, receiving Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (2012-2014, 20152018,2019-2023) from Japan Society for the Promotion of Science.
Takako Morita teaches Literacy and Numeracy in Japanese and serves as the Japanese Literacy Leader at CaulfieldPrimary School in Victoria. She is also a member of the Teachers Executives, Bilingual School Network, working in thefield of bilingual education. Prior to moving to Australia, Takako taught Japanese as a Second Language at tertiary levelin Tokyo. She holds a Bachelor of Arts (Major in Spanish) from the University of Massachusetts, and a Master of Teachingfrom the University of Melbourne.
Keiko Okumura is an Assistant Professor in Global and Transcultural Studies at Meiji Gakuin University, Japan. She
received a Master in Japanese Language Education in 2008 from the Graduate School of Japanese Applied Linguistics inWaseda University, Japan. Her research interests are Japanese language education, language education for Japanesebackground speakers, citizen Literacy, multiculturalism and Japanese education for foreign care workers.
Yoji Hashimoto has taught in several universities in both Australia and Japan, including Monash University, The
University of Melbourne, and most recently in the University of Tasmania from which he retired at the end of 2020. Yoji’steaching-related expertise includes overseas studies and school-university connections. His research interests include
language maintenance, language & identities, TJFL/TJSL (Teaching Japanese as a Foreign/Second Language) and COIL
(Collaborative Online International Learning). He has co-authored and/or has been involved in the development of several
Japanese language textbook series in both Australia and Japan. Yoji is the current Chief Editor of ANJCL Newsletter.

NSJLE 2022 PROCEEDINGS

90

Chihiro Kinoshita Thomson is Professor of Japanese Studies at UNSW Sydney. She is a multi-award winning teacherof Japanese. Her research interests include Australian learners of Japanese as a second and community language, andtheir communities of practice. Her most recent book is Foreign Language Learning Communities of Practice: Mechanisms
for Participatory Learning (2017). She has published numerous papers including “From Keishogo (Heritage language) toKEISHOGO (Community language): An examination of language of children with connections to Japan” in Journal forChildren Crossing Borders (2021). She currently leads the Australian Network for Japanese as Community Language(ANJCL).
Naomi Kurata is a lecturer at Monash University in Australia. Her research interests include teaching and learning
Japanese as a foreign and community language, language learners’ motivation and identity, and sociolinguistics. She
is the author of Foreign Language Learning and Use: Interaction in Informal Social Networks (London: Continuum, 2011)
and a co-editor of Social Networks in Language Learning and Language Teaching (London: Bloomsbury, 2021). Her recentpublications include “The effects of social networks on L2 experiences and motivation” in this book. She is a member ofthe ANJCL and has conducted KEISHOGO research targeting parents and teachers in Victoria.
Shoko Ono has been teaching Japanese language and culture in various Australian institutions for many years. Shecurrently lectures Japanese Language and Culture at the University of Technology Sydney, and is a lecturer of Japanese
language at the Japan Foundation, Sydney. She is the Manager and one of the founding members of Australian Networkfor Japanese as Community Language (ANJCL). Her interests include how educators can effectively support the further
development of young heritage Japanese language users, as well as teaching Japanese language learners at advancedand upper-advanced levels.
Kaya Oriyama is a lecturer in Japanese Studies at the University of Melbourne and a core ANJCL member. Her researchareas are heritage/community language maintenance, transnational/mixed-heritage Japanese identities, Japanese as(an) additional/heritage/community language education, plurilingualism and plurilingual literacy, and language policy.
Her recent publications include “Fitting in at last? Learners of Japanese as community language in search of belongingand legitimacy” in Melbourne Asia Review, 13 (2023) and “Social networks with purpose: Heritage Language Networksof Practice among transnational and transcultural Japanese youth in Sydney” in Carhill-Poza and Kurata (Eds.), Social
Networks in Language Learning and Language Teaching, Bloomsbury (2021).
Miyako Matsui has extensive language teaching experience both in Japan and Australia. She completed her PhD atJames Cook University in 2022 and teaches Japanese at the University of Wollongong. This paper arose from her
PhD thesis which investigated the perspectives of Japanese-Australian intermarriage families’ use of Japanese in thehome and community. Her experience of living in Japan and Australia since childhood inspired her interest to research
heritage language and cultural maintenance. She wishes to further develop her knowledge of the community language
programs and language studies at schools in Australia.