NSJLE 2016 SYMPOSIUM SESSION ABSTRACTSDAY ONE

KEYNOTE
Sheereen Kindler
Glen Eira College (Vic)
Title: Languages are valuable – make them visible

A school culture that supports the learning of languages is vital to the success ofany language program. Language teachers can sometimes feel isolated andstruggle to get the support they need to really promote the enormous valuelearning a language has to their community. At Glen Eira College we haveworked diligently as a team to embed a culture that values language learning
across our community.
Sheereen will speak from her point of view as a principal as to how language
teachers can best engage their principals and their community in the value of
language learning for their students. She will provide practical ideas as to howteachers can make languages more visible in their school and gain theconfidence of their leadership team in promoting a culture where languages arevalued by students and parents.

Anne de Kretser - MCJLE
Sheereen Kindler - Glen Eira College (Vic)
Roger Page - Nossal High School (Vic)
Margaret Pickburn - Roberts McCubbin Primary School (Vic)John Webster - Wellers Hill State School (Qld)
Karen Webster - Department of Education WA
Title: School Leader Fellowship Tour: The Positive Impact of taking school leaders
to Japan

Advocacy is an important and integral aspect of language teaching in Australia.
Many organisations in Australia work at promoting Japanese language education,
helping teachers and schools involved in Japanese programs and conducting
professional learning to promote excellence in the teaching work force. For themost part, advocacy and programs are aimed at teachers who are alreadypassionate about Japanese language education; but change often necessitates
reaching the decision-makers.
In February 2016 an initiative of Yutaka Nakajima, the then Manager of theLanguage Department of The Japan Foundation, Sydney and Deputy Manager ofThe Japan Foundation, Sydney, was realised with a tour to Japan escorting 19
educational leaders. The Japan Foundation School Leaders Fellowship Tour wasa week-long tour to Japan with participants coming from all over Australia andfrom every educational sector. The aims of the tour were to introduce
participants to Japan and the benefits of learning about Japanese language andculture, and to showcase the culture of Japan and the ease of travel in country.
The tour was very successful, and participants – mainly school principals – foundit both interesting and educational in regards to learning about Japan andJapanese language education and how it can work across the curriculum. This
presentation will outline The Japan Foundation School Leaders Fellowship Tour,the aims and outcomes, and includes participants speaking about theirexperience and how it has influenced their understanding of Japan and Japanese
language education and the impact on Japanese language programs.

Shingo Gibson-Suzuki
Taylors Lakes Secondary College (Vic)
Title: Social Media Tools to Enhance Collaboration with Students and Colleagues

Since the public introduction of Facebook in 2006 and a growing number ofsmartphone users, our existence in the virtual community in one way or anotherhas become a norm in today's society. Checking our phones in the morning has
also become part of everyday routine in order to keep track of what ishappening to others connected, average users check their phones more than2000 times every week.
What if we could take advantage of this habit and turn it into professional
development by connecting with other educators around Australia? What if
students could collaborate with other students outside of school hours tocommunicate with each other in Japanese under your supervision?
In this session, I will be sharing my findings on the use of social media tools toconnect with your students as well as other Japanese teachers around Australia
focusing on the benefits and issues. I have been utilising Facebook groups withmy senior classes to provide a supportive learning environment for formative
assessments and communication hub since 2012. I have also founded theJapanese Language Teachers of Australia Facebook group in 2014, where I
witness highly valuable professional networking every week.

Kazuhiro Ueno
Ashburton Primary School (Vic)
Title: Hiragana Asobi Karuta – Japanese Competitive Card game based on Kyogi
KarutaHiragana Asobi Karuta is a Japanse competitive card game based on Kyogi
Karuta. It is inspired by ‘Chihayafuru’, a Japanese anime. This version isarranged especially for non-Japanese people. It's a card game, but it is like asport. This game is very simple and most importantly it's fun. Learners can pickup a lot of Japanese words without even noticing. It is suitable for Primary andSecondary school students to help them develop vocabulary.
Kyogi Karuta is a Japanese traditional game using the classical Japaneseanthology of poems called ‘Ogura Hyakunin Isshu’. The oldest one was written
more than a thousand years ago. Kyogi Karuta is a one-on-one game. Each player
randomly selects 25 cards and places them in the game area. The rest of thecards are called 'Kara-fuda' that means dead cards and the players don't use
them in the game. A reciter randomly picks a card and reads it aloud. The
players find a matching card, then swipe or touch it as fast as they can. The
player who clears his/her own territory is the winner. There are more than amillion people playing Kyogi Karuta in Japan. Because of ‘Chihayafuru’ fever,more Japanese people are now interested in it.

Richard Webb
Raw Lisard
Title: Developing a better understanding of Japanese sentence structure

For students new to Japanese, one of the biggest challenges is that thefundamental grammatical structure of Japanese sentences is completely
different to what they are used to. English relies on word order and prepositions,while Japanese depends almost exclusively on particles, with word order playing
only a minor role. It takes most students years before they fully understand therole that particles and word order play.
When confronted with a simple sentence such as 私は元気です, students
intuitively believe that は means ‘is/am/are’ because, in English, word order
determines meaning. It often doesn’t occur to them that this might not be true.
In addition, the difficult nature of は results in particles being explained indetail only in the context of simpler ideas, such as those expressed with を or に.
The result is that the true purpose of particles – to define the role of the wordthat precedes them – is not fully understood.
Building a solid understanding of sentence structure, and the role of particles
therein, should be the first step to learning Japanese. Beyond this, each stepshould be thoughtfully planned to allow the student to see precisely how eachnew concept fits within this framework. I have applied this approach in my book,80/20 Japanese, which has been very well received by teachers and students
alike. An outline of the framework taught in this book can be found athttps://8020japanese.com/japanese-sentence-structure.

Masako Nagayama
The University of Melbourne
Title: How to teach heritage language using 文科省国語教科書

The number of children living outside Japan but who have a connection to theJapanese language through family is increasing. A new kind of student, within
the realm of Japanese language education, now exists – the Heritage Language
Learner. In this talk, I would like to share my experiences teaching Japanese asa Heritage Language to secondary school students and those attending weekend
ethnic school classes, using 文科省 (もんかしょう) 国語 (こくご) 教科書 (きょうかしょ). I would also like to provide an opportunity for Japanese teachingprofessionals to share their opinions and experiences regarding the Heritage
Language style of teaching.

Sarah McFadden
Department of Education and Training
Title: Oh The Places You’ll Go: The Importance of Education Cooperation inAustralia-Japan Relations

Education cooperation remains an integral component of Australia-Japan
relations. Japanese is the most popular foreign language studied in Australianschools and universities, and Australia is the most popular destination forJapanese school study tours and sister-school agreements. An employee of theCommonwealth Department of Education and Training, Sarah McFadden gives
life to the policy rhetoric surrounding people-to-people connectivity and Asian
literacy. Sarah will share her Japanese language journey spanning from studying
individually by correspondence in coastal NSW right through to studying at oneof the top ranking universities in Tokyo. There are a range of career
opportunities in government for Japanese language speakers. The Departmentof Education and Training has a long-standing relationship with Japan’s Ministryof Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), formalised
through a Memorandum of Understanding. Part of this cooperation involves anannual reciprocal officer exchange program. Selected to represent the
Department of Education and Training on the 20th anniversary of the MEXT
officer exchange program, Sarah conducted research into Japan’s vocational
education and training system during a three-month secondment at MEXT from
April to June 2016. Japan’s vocational education system is undergoingsignificant reforms and these feed directly in to the Abenomics reform agenda.
It is an exciting area of education cooperation and Sarah will share her researchfindings as well as highlights from her experience working in the Japanesebureaucracy.

Megan McLaughlin
Melbourne Grammar School (Vic)
Title: Inspiring Years 9 and 10

Included in my 2008 teaching allotment were two Year 10 Japanese classes forwhich the study of Languages was compulsory, but not universally popular. For avariety of reasons the levels of confidence and achievement varied greatly
within the classes. Since then I have been actively trialling and refining a range
of approaches for responding to these perennial challenges:
1. How to meet the individual learning needs of each student
2. How to enable students to clear the hurdle of poor motivation
This workshop will explore the activities, planning ideas, style and manipulationof the physical classroom that I have been experimenting with in three schools
over the last nine years. Each of these schools had different structures and end
points for compulsory LOTE, but the challenge for the teacher is essentially thesame, and the flexible approach I have developed assists me to respond to thesedifferences. Student reactions to this research will also be considered.

Sally Mizoshiri
Teruko Sharif
JTAN NSW
Title: JTAN NSW : ‘Japanese Teachers Advocate Nihongo!’

The Japanese Teachers’ Association of NSW was established in 2005 as a nonprofit educational organisation for all teachers of Japanese in New South Wales.
Its acronym is JTAN. The main aims of JTAN are to provide a place of mutual
support and professional development for member teachers of Japanese in NSW.
In this presentation we outline the history of JTAN, the reasons for its formationand the meaning it gives our NSW members. We provide illustrations of advocacy
in the community and in schools and give in-depth examples of activities and PD
opportunities we provide our NSW members and their students of Japanese.
We work hard to promote our subject and provide valuable learning
opportunities for our members and their students. We also work to counter theprevailing ‘Monolingual Mindset’ pervading sections of the community, and wecome to present on our successes over the past decade in NSW. We encourage
all Secondary School Japanese teachers from across Australia to join us.

Shelley Warner
Nossal High School (Vic)
Title: Marugoto: A Japanese Course for Adults adapted for the Nossal High School
Adult Learning Environment

Students begin their studies at Nossal in Year 9 and additional foreign language
study is compulsory for one year (students at Nossal are predominantly bilingual)
The retention rate has historically been approximately 30% to Year 10,
dwindling to 10-15% at VCE. While these are relatively good numbers, I wanted
to see them increase, so I set about looking for an up-to-date, interactive andflexible course that would cater more specifically to modern language learners.
When the Japan Foundation produced the Marugoto Course A1 and A2 supportedby the online learning platform ‘Marugoto Plus’ (http://www.marugotoweb.jp/)
for the first two stages, and an additional E-book/Web based platform for the
first 10 lessons of stage 1 (‘Nihongo Starter Book’), I was inspired. I trialled thetexts and supplementary resources along with Marugoto Plus and Nihongo
Starter and the ‘Facebook lounge’, and I had the beginnings of a Course that
included the essential elements I sought – a wide range of formative assessments
strategies, easily differentiated learning activities within an up-to-date andinteractive course. I integrated this course into the Nossal Learning platform
and with the addition of Language Perfect (with Marugoto materials) and a
supplementary script booklet, I had the makings of a new and innovative
program for learners of Japanese.
Most recently, after meeting with Japan Foundation representatives, I haveincluded the one area I felt was missing – High School life in Japan. The JapanFoundation also created ‘Erin’ – a learning platform about an exchange student
spending half a year at a Japanese school (https://www.erin.ne.jp/jp/) and thisfantastic resource has added another new and exciting dimension to the course.

Kathleen Duquemin
Gardenvale Primary School (Vic)
Title: Not just ‘token technology’ – web tools that really work

Technology is changing the way that students learn. In order to keep up withlearners, we as teachers also need to hop on the bandwagon and change theway that we teach. In this workshop, participants will be introduced to a series
of web tools that are being used in a Primary second-language classroom not
only to engage students, but also to enrich the teaching and learning ofJapanese and increase literacy. Through the use of tools such as Triptico,
Powerpoint and Postposit, they will learn how to create engaging and effective
learning environments that target specific skills such as reading and listening.

Taeko Imura
Griffith University
Title: Japanese Popular Culture Enthusiasts in Japanese Language Courses

As revealed in the Japan Foundation reports, teachers of Japanese language areconvinced that many students study Japanese because they have an interest infeatures of Japanese Pop Culture (JPC) like anime, manga, drama, video games
and J-pop. This paper is based on a qualitative study that examined thecharacteristics of JPC enthusiasts who take a Japanese course at a multi-campus
university. The analysis is based on 38 students, self-identified JPC fans who
participated in semi-structured small group interviews. They were constantly
comparing JPC with Western counterparts, claiming that JPC is different andunique. It appears that JPC is very engaging not only for continuation ofJapanese study, but also for personal development. They were fascinated bystory lines, artistic appeal and the cognitive challenge associated with culturaldifferences. It was evident that JPC has been woven into their lives and isoccasionally used to relax and escape from a busy life as well as providing adrive to hold one’s head up to when things get tough. The participants were
aware that JPC offers benefits for learning casual conversation, listening tonatural speed and exposure to everyday culture. This paper has an implication
for future Japanese language education and for development of a pedagogicallysound curriculum using JPC.

Julie DevineStar of the Sea College (Vic)
Title: Grammar in the Senior Secondary Classroom: Flipping all over the place

The presentation looks at some tools and strategies to deal with the age-old
problem of how to cater for the varying levels of achievement and motivation insenior grammar classes. How do we make time in our lessons for reinforcement
and extension activities? How do we support our weaker students? How do wemove beyond the presentation and lecture mode and get our students actively
involved in their own learning? This session will look at an enquiry-based
approach to grammar introduction and a three-tier system using videos andonline support material to allow for differentiation and personalised learning in
the classroom. The aim is to create space for motivated students to do somehigher-order activities using the target pattern to solve problems and create
scenarios. Less motivated students have time to complete basic exercises andstruggling students have some time with the teacher in smaller groups.

Marianne Turner
Monash University
Title: Japanese language as a tool for learning in Humanities and Social Science(HASS) classrooms: Positioning students’ knowledge of Japanese as a resource

In the Australian Curriculum two of the general capabilities to be addressed inall subject areas are: ‘intercultural understanding’ and ‘critical and creative
thinking’. But there is limited guidance for Humanities and Social Science (HASS)
teachers on how to address the general capabilities. In this presentation I
propose that this opens an opportunity to advocate for Japanese language byembedding it across the curriculum in creative ways. Japanese language
teachers can help HASS teachers draw on what the students are learning in their
Japanese language classroom in order to help all students learn in the HASS
subject area. This in turn can serve as motivation for the students’ language
learning. I will draw on data from a small-scale study in which a Japanese
language teacher collaborated with a monolingual (in English) History teacher tobring advanced Japanese language students’ knowledge of Japanese into a Year
8 History classroom. It was found that students were very engaged in thisinitiative. In the presentation, ways to link students' engagement to thedevelopment of intercultural understanding and critical and creative thinking in
HASS subject areas will be explored.

Sue Metcalfe
Kardinia International College (Vic)
Title: Students learning from other students

My presentation is based on my personal goal to broaden my teaching andstudent learning using the Kath Murdoch inquiry indicators, looking at different
ways to encourage and engage my students to practise and remember their
hiragana. With the indicators as a check list, I aimed to get students to useclassroom spaces better, in small group activities and rotations. I got my Year 6
students to teach each other the hiragana characters, drawing upon theirpersonal strengths to develop the activities they were going to use. This shortprogram was very successful, as evidenced by my pre- and post-test results. I
then asked them to teach hiragana to the Year 3 students; the aim was todevelop and improve the way Year 3 students remembered hiragana. I booked intimes for Year 3 classes to visit Year 6. My Year 6 students developed all theirown activities and needed to be mindful of the key areas they were focusing on(listening, writing or reading) in the mini-program they designed. The feedback
from both groups of students was quite positive. This process has resulted in abetter relationship with my students and I am more confident in letting go of
the teaching and letting the students have more responsibility for their learning.

Julie Campbell
Kae Raffaele
Trudi Sampson
Cornish College (Vic)
Lois Booth
Title: Stories Inspire Language Learning

Students bored with language textbooks? This presentation demonstrates how toengage students, both primary and secondary students, through literature.
Fiction and non-fiction books are used to develop innovative units of work tomotivate and extend students’ learning and creativity. Speaking, listening,reading and writing language skills are developed through these literacy units.
SECONDARY RESOURCE: Hana’s Suitcase
Hana’s Suitcase is a non-fiction children’s book by Karen Levine based on thestory of a Czech girl who died in the Holocaust. The story of Hana Brady firstbecame public when Fumiko Ishioka, a Japanese educator and director of theJapanese Tokyo Holocaust Education Resource Centre, exhibited Hana’s suitcase
in 2000 as a relic of the concentration camp.
This presentation will show you how to design an engaging unit of work for Year
9/10 students using the text and an interactive online educational resource.
Relevant language includes self-introductions, nationalities, families, daily
routines and locations. Higher-level thinking skills are developed.
This innovative unit was developed as an inquiry-based unit titled ‘Language,
Culture and Life Experiences Shape Identity’ and was integrated with the English
and Humanities Year 9 curriculum. It is a suitable non-fiction text for CLIL
methodology.
PRIMARY RESOURCE: Yoshi’s Feast
Yoshi’s Feast is a fictionbook written by Kimiko Kajikawa which centres aroundthe lives of two neighbours. The setting for the story is in the Japanese city ofYedo, and through the illustrations intercultural understanding is developedwith glimpses of kimonos, villages, fan dances and many other aspects ofJapanese culture and life.
This presentation will show you how to design a unit of work with language
developed through numeracy, literacy, dance, music, physical education
activities and games. The unit incorporates the opportunity to develop aJapanese Day around the story with another ‘neighbouring’ school.

Andrew Mitchell
St Mary MacKillop College, Canberra
Title: Adventures With Sister School Relationships

Four years ago, the language faculty at St Mary MacKillop College was in a badplace. It was decided to raise the then-low profile of languages in the school bycreating sister school relationships and bringing students from Japan and othercountries into the school. The exchange program running at the school has beena contributing factor to increased enrolments in languages and making
languages visible in the school community. This session will look at thedevelopment of MacKillop's relationship with the remote community of the Oki
Islands in Shimane Prefecture, a UNESCO Global Geopark. Particular ideas thatwill be shared are how the relationship has enhanced our study tours to Japan,
the use of technology to engage with the Oki community and other Japanese
schools while in Australia, ways of engaging with the community through theschool curriculum and how this has enabled students to make real world
connections with their learning. Participants will be encouraged to share theirown experiences and ideas to enable all to benefit the most from these types ofrelationships.

Natalie Pearce
Swan Christian Education Association (WA)
Title: What are creative and imaginative texts and what do they have to do withteaching Japanese?

Some teachers have been a bit puzzled by the Creating Strand of the Australian
Curriculum. This practical workshop explores ideas and examples of thesuccessful use of creative and imaginative texts in Japanese classes. It shows
ways for students to engage with texts such as cartoons, poems, stories andplays to enhance their Japanese learning. There are also examples andsuggestions for students to create their own imaginative texts. This workshop is
suited to both primary and secondary teachers.

Mari Nobuoka
The Japan Foundation Japanese-Language Institute, Kansai
Title: ‘JF Japanese e-Learning Minato’ – More Options and More Opportunities forJapanese Language Learning

The Japan Foundation Japanese-Language Institute, Kansai has developed aJapanese integrated learning platform site, ‘JF Japanese e-Learning Minato’(‘Minato’). Minato places importance on encouraging learners to actively findand expand their own lifelong pursuits, and to satisfy their interests andcuriosities. In order to realize this, Minato has two main concepts: it is a place‘to learn Japanese with more options’ and ‘to meet other like-minded people’.
In terms of ‘to learn Japanese with more options’, Minato provides a variety ofchoices for learners to select courses based on their interests – comprehensive
learning, sub-culture, character etc. – or by course type – the level, study style(self-study or tutor support), study category, study period, language of
explanation etc. For those who want to use Minato ‘to meet other like-mindedpeople’, it has an international feature letting learners communicate withJapanese language students around the world on various topics. It helps learners
deepen their understanding and knowledge of Japan, Japanese people and theJapanese language. Connecting with people also helps learners to reduce any
sense of isolation in online coursework. E-Learning lets people access Japanese
language study and connect with a worldwide community anytime, anywhere.
In this session participants will familiarize themselves with the concept and thecontent of Minato, and then discuss future prospects of this exciting new eLearning program. We want Minato to give learners more options depending on
their individual circumstances and the needs of each country and area. In orderto realize this, we look forward to opportunities to cooperate with Japanese
language teachers at The Japan Foundation all over the world.

Jarrod Hoare
Title: Japanese Performing Arts – Rakugo, Kamishibai & Kyogen

Sit back, relax, and let's have a laugh together with some Rakugo, Kamishibai
and Kyogen. After all, 『笑う門には福来る』 – Good fortune and happiness cometo those who smile and laugh! Through his entertaining and interactive
storytelling, Jarrod will take you on a journey to re-discover your own passion
for Japanese language and culture. Be inspired by innovative ways to continue
spreading knowledge, culture and joy in your own schools and communities!
Teachers will benefit from:• innovative ideas to incorporate Japanese language / culture in classrooms• exciting new ways to link to the Australian Curriculum (Intercultural
Understanding, Critical and creative thinking, Drama, the Arts, Japanese
language and culture)• learning ways to foster students' creativity while enhancing their Japanese
language and culture skills• networking with passionate performer to tailor workshops to school needs• discovering free online teaching resources for Japanese language / culture• opportunity to enquire, request and suggest learning collaborations• experiencing various traditional Japanese Performing Arts LIVE!
• inspiration to re-kindle your own passion for Japanese language / culture
Students will benefit from:••••first-hand inspiration for their own Japanese language and cultural studies
exciting examples of the endless possibilities that Japanese language offers
the opportunity to personally meet and ask questions directly
exploring ways to blend their creativity together with Japanese language
and culture• discovering free online learning resources for Japanese language / culture• experiencing various traditional Japanese Performing Arts LIVE!
Visit Jarrod at his Stall for more info and laughs!

Robyn Spence-Brown
Monash University
Title: Retaining and motivating students of Japanese to the post-compulsory years
and beyond

This session explores the reasons why some students continue with theirlanguage studies into the Senior Secondary years, and why others do not. How
important is liking/being interested in a subject, and what role do perceptionsof future ‘usefulness’ or of ‘level of difficulty’ play? How do different school andeducational structures influence the decisions of students? Drawing on a major
survey of year 11 students of Japanese which I conducted nationally in 2014, as
well as on the latest research internationally on what motivates study of asecond language and what determines student subject choices, I will addressthese and other questions, and set the scene for a discussion of what teachers
can do to encourage students to continue their Japanese studies.

Jenn Brown-Omichi
Catholic Education Melbourne
Title: ‘Front loading’ through film

Language teachers often tell me how difficult they find it to create a studentcentred learning environment in a languages learning and teaching context.
Differentiation is a targeted process that involves forward planning,
programming and instruction. Addressing issues associated with differentiation

can be very challenging in any learning area, but Languages is perhaps morechallenging than some other learning areas.
Several years ago I started creating films for and with students. Film gives
students opportunities and benefits in effectively and more independently
learning and applying their acquired knowledge of language through film. I referto the process of creating a unique teacher resource to support a unit of work as‘front loading’. Working in a CLIL space, I am convinced of the value of using
film as a stimulus to self-paced, independent learning in languages. To view
recently created films using functional classroom language, please follow theselinks: https://goo.gl/lHG8PV or https://youtu.be/3Gi3jHlvXDw

Liberty Campbell
St Paul's College, Manly (NSW)
Title: Targeted differentiation – how to spend more time with your students, andless in front of them

The theme for this year’s symposium underpins the action research project I
have been working on with junior classes in Japanese. The program is based on
ensuring my students are visible and valuable, as well as their learning inJapanese classes. It is inspired predominantly by the research of Sarah Pavy andCarol Ann Tomlinson.
Pavy notes that one of the deterrents to language uptake is the lack of progress
indicators in many classrooms. Students simply can’t see the progress they aremaking, and many fail to see the relevance of the learning beyond theclassroom. Their learning is neither visible nor valuable. Tomlinson, an
inspiration in differentiation strategies, has produced some excellent researchon the learning profiles of students. She emphasizes the importance of notteaching, merely in the learning profile that suited you as a student. The more I
read the more I struggled to perceive how I as teacher could make the best
differentiation choices every lesson for every student on any given day. My
research has thankfully revealed a technique that doesn’t require me to. The
choices are instead made by students as part of our targets program. Content ismapped to lessons activities, with students choosing to demonstrate theirlearning of each topic from among a range of listening, speaking, reading,writing and intercultural understanding tasks. Teacher feedback is individualised,and a code word hidden in the feedback, to encourage student reading of the
feedback and demonstration of personal improvement in subsequent tasks.

Jan Chalmer
Gippsland Grammar (Vic)
Title: What makes a program ‘Visible and Valuable’?

Many Primary teachers of Japanese face the challenge of providing a language
program within very tight time constraints. How can their programs be ‘visible
and valuable’ in perhaps only one hour (or less) per week?
This presentation will highlight a number of tactics and ideas to address thisissue. Some of the tactics which will be addressed are• CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES. Classroom routines which help
maximise learning time. A speaking strategy learned from Whole Brain
Teaching will be demonstrated, together with the implications of a ‘No
hands up to answer’ rule.
• LEARNING INTENTIONS AND SUCCESS CRITERIA. The work of John Hattie
and Dylan Williams has shown the importance of these. Help teachers focus
on lesson aim! Helps student gain a sense of progress.
• USING FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT. Online tools now abound (e.g. Kahoot,Socrative and Quizalize) for creating multiple choice quizzes presented inengaging ways. Great for student review and consolidation. Teachers canuse data to gauge effectiveness of teaching and for planning next step.
• PROVIDING A PURPOSE FOR LEARNING. Purpose may be as simple aspresenting a role play or creating a video, but important for students toknow at the outset: a goal to work towards.
• ENGAGING ACTIVITIES. Whether using paper flashcards or online tools, avariety of ‘games’ will be showcased.
• EVENTS. Cultural Festival. Visit from Sister School. Incursion. School Trip.
Involving parents and local media.

Catherine Bryant
Genazzano FCJ College (Vic)
Title: The origins of Japanese language education in Victoria

This paper explores the origins of Japanese language education in Victoria. The
first Japanese language classes for school children in Victoria began on Saturday
mornings at MacRobertson’s Girls High School in Melbourne in 1935. The
Saturday classes were set up by Victorian Education Department officials as a‘special experiment’ teaching just two languages, Japanese and Italian. These
classes continued, and more than 30 years later they became known as theSaturday School of Modern Languages. In 1988 the school became known by its
current name, the Victorian School of Languages (VSL). With a history now
spanning 80 years, the VSL continues to offer Japanese programs to Victorianschool children today. The particularity of the school is in the complementaryrole it plays in supporting delivery of language programs by mainstream schools.
Archival documents and interviews form the basis for this historical analysis of
the origins of the Japanese language program at the school. Japanese classes
emerged during a period of ‘aggressive’ monolingualism in Australia between
the wars. The paper looks at the original personnel who taught the VSL’s earlyJapanese classes and who pioneered their curriculum. It also presents insights
into the early pedagogical practices in the Japanese language program at thisparticular school along with original data on student enrolments. By presenting
historical perspectives of Japanese language education in Victoria, this researchaims to shed light on the challenges that face Japanese language education
today. The paper is based on a PhD study which was supported by the Victorian
School of Languages PhD Scholarship in memory of Professor Michael Clyne.

NSJLE 2016 SYMPOSIUM SESSION ABSTRACTSDAY TWOKEYNOTE
Professor John Hajek
The University of Melbourne
Title: From ‘I love Lucy’ to ‘I love languages’: using popular culture and promotion
to make languages visible and valuable

Language education in Australia and other English-speaking countries has long
faced a series of perennial and often intertwined challenges. Amongst the long
list of issues which manifest themselves in schools and society more generally
are the following: (a) the low value assigned to multilingualism, and thereby
also to language learning; (2) anxiety around adequate proficiency in English –also tied inextricably to general literacy or numeracy skills; and (3) misguided
ideas about English itself as the world’s lingua franca. While we have developedand engaged a long list of serious responses to address many of these concerns,
experience shows they haven’t been particularly effective in shifting attitudes
and behaviours. I argue here that while these responses are all valid, it’s time
also to consider a new tack – that uses popular culture in surprising ways (eventurning it on its head) to capture people’s imagination or attention. In thislecture I show how classic examples of Anglo pop culture can be used
unexpectedly to reduce resistance to language education and multilingualism. I
also show how at a very practical level Japanese and the world it represents,
including popular culture, lend themselves to positive and effective language
promotion in our school communities.

Greg Brown
Ruskin Park Primary School/Kalinda Primary School (Vic)
Title: Making Japanese language films to support language learning

Making Japanese language films is a great way to motivate students to use their
Japanese in meaningful and fun ways. It is also an excellent way to introduce
technology into your classrooms. Filmmaking used to be a difficult task which
required a lot of specialised knowledge and equipment, but with the advancesin computers and mobile devices, especially iPads, anyone can now easily maketheir own film.
I would like to share my experiences of filmmaking with my students and ourjourney to make Japanese language films for the Video Matsuri competition.
While I'm not an expert, some of the skills and experiences I have picked up
along the way may encourage other teachers to try making a film with theirstudents. I will demonstrate how to use iMovie, Green Screen and other special
effect apps to make any film look special. I hope to inspire other teachers tomake video resources which can be used by all teachers to support Japanese
language programs and help motivate students with their language learning.

Stephen Grant
St Philips Christian College - Port Stephens Campus (NSW)
Title: Connecting Japanese with the Community

Japanese is often labelled a subject for female, introverted and/or sociallyawkward students. It is also seen as an irrelevant, useless, and token subject.
For Japanese to survive and prosper, it must be seen as a relevant andattractive subject for all students. Japanese needs to be positively marketed toall students, parents and staff. We need to communicate our personalconnection with the language passionately, confidently and creatively at thesame time as we educate them with relevant facts and figures.
Since I started promoting Japanese in NSW schools (my labour of love), twoformer students have become Japanese teachers, with others planning to follow.
Despite initial opposition, Japanese is now embraced by a wide range ofstudents and parents at my present school.
Connections established with Japanese at St Philips Christian College:-PDHPE: Establishing the martial arts-based Japanese Cultural Society (JCS).
-SPORT: Establishing Japanese symbols as sporting house emblems on sashimono
and headbands-ART: Origami and shodō-MATHEMATICS: Kanji numbers

-SOCIAL SCIENCES: JCS training and study-ENGLISH: Comparison of sentence structures and use of metalanguage-LOCAL COUNCIL: Establishing a Student International Committee for monitoring
interregional exchange between the two countries, reporting to council,
assisting Japanese department and promoting language at school-STAFF: Promoting other KLAs in the Japanese classroom-PARENTS: Schoolwide recognition of student achievement; inclusion,
empowerment, promotion of Japanese-related work; and study opportunities
and evening Japanese classes for parents.
Promotion of Japanese requires teacher passion, persistence, patience, energy
investment, solid rationale for teaching it, and a willingness to constantly
market the language. This presentation shows ways to establish and nurture
Japanese as a visible and valuable language in our communities.

Amelia Hawkins
Footscray City College (Vic)
Title: Kanji learning attitudes and kanji learning strategy use: Relationships toJapanese learners' orthographic background

This study (based on 2014 Honours research at Monash University) explores kanji
learning attitudes and strategy use in learners from alphabet and character
orthographic backgrounds. Classroom composition is changing, as classes cometo include learners who have existing knowledge of Chinese characters alongside
those who do not, addressing different tasks in learning kanji. This emphasises
the need to understand kanji learning in multilingual classrooms.
An online questionnaire was completed by 40 learners from an upperintermediate Japanese class at an Australian university, supplemented by semistructured interviews with seven learners. Data analysis revealed that learners
from both backgrounds used repeated writing strategies and strategies
associated with the kinaesthetic sensation of writing with high frequency.
Descriptive statistics indicated some significant differences in strategy adoption
among learners from the two orthographic backgrounds: association with first
language knowledge occurs among character background learners, andmnemonic strategies are used by alphabet background learners. Correlational
analysis revealed statistically significant relationships between attitudes andstrategy use for character background learners.
The findings highlight the complex relationships between orthographic
background, kanji attitudes and learning strategy use. Understanding thedifferent attitudes and strategy use within the two learner groups is importantfor educators, in order to provide tailored support in kanji learning in a way thatis not biased by preconceived notions related to learners’ orthographic
background.

Chris Graham
Kelmscott SHS (WA)
Title: Personal Encounters with Palaygo

Making language learning relevant and engaging for students, whether they arestarting at a primary, secondary or tertiary level, is a basic mission statement
for all second language teachers. Research conducted by the Asia Education
Foundation in 2012 suggested that ‘persuasive personal encounters’ is one of the
key ingredients for building student demand in the language classroom. Creating
opportunities for our students to have ‘personal encounters’ is now an integral
part of developing a clear purpose for commencing study of another language
and continuing it beyond the initial compulsory years.
The interactive platform Palaygo provides students with exceptional
opportunities to communicate with other students in the target language
Japanese. It uses a unique palette system which clearly delineates Japaneseword order and complements the growth of productive language skills. The
Palaygo community also encourages students to build friendships through regularcommunication facilitated by networking technology, both in the classroom andat home. The links to The Australian Curriculum Languages document will be
immediately obvious to anyone who has been involved in its development.
This session will showcase practical applications of Palaygo, and will give
participants time to utilise the Palaygo palette on mobile devices and toworkshop practical examples that will ultimately inspire our students to become
second language advocates in their own right.

Andrea Truckenbrodt
Melbourne Graduate School of Education
Title: Using Picture Story Books to enact the Australian Curriculum Languages

This presentation explores the potential of picture story books to deliver quality
outcomes for language learners through the lens of the Australian Curriculum
Languages (ACL). I argue that picture story books have a particular status andcurrency within primary school context which Languages teachers can readily
exploit, particularly with reference to L1 literacy practices. I demonstrate how
picture story books support learners' language and literacy development using
authentic Japanese, translated and English materials. I then discuss the picture
story book as an intercultural experience. Referencing Scarino and Liddicoat's(2009) model of intercultural learning, I show how learners have the opportunity
to notice, compare, reflect and interact with Japanese, Australian and otherrelevant languages and cultures through picture story books.

Katrina Watts
Australian Sumo Federation
Title: Seduced by Sumo

A mild-mannered high school teacher set off for Japan to develop her Japanese
language skills and wound up as a television sports commentator. She went tolearn more Japanese and to teach English, but ended up studying Russian andSpanish as well, and travelling the world as an interpreter. All because of sumo.
Many who go to live abroad find the culture of the host nation intriguing, andthe outsider often ends up becoming a specialist in some aspect that the locals
take for granted. So it was for this teacher with sumo. This is a personal tale of
how a knowledge of the Japanese language and thirst for learning led to aninteresting and rewarding life, far beyond expectations – and an exploration of
the seductive power of sumo. This high-profile spectator sport is a valuable partof Japanese culture and a window on Japan for the world.

Nathan Lane
St Columba's College (Vic)
Title: Rethinking assessment in Japanese
Research in the area of formative assessment by Hattie (2012), Hattie andTimperley (2007) and Black and Wiliam (1998) highlights the importance ofstudents receiving ongoing personal and whole class feedback as they learn inorder to maximise their potential and to assist in making progress. This
presentation will focus on the implementation of an assessment model in asecondary Japanese languages program that is underpinned by formative
assessment practices.
The presentation will focus on five areas:
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what formative assessment looks like in the Japanese classroom
the role of ICT in formative assessment
how assessment practices were changed to focus on formative assessment
and the constant monitoring and measuring of each students’ knowledge andunderstanding, both during the lesson and at the end of the lesson, andresponding to their individual needs
listening to the voices of the students explaining the impact of thesestrategies in their learningteacher reflections on the success and improved student learning outcomes
as a result of implementing a range of formative assessment strategies in
the Japanese program

Cindy Pitkin
St Peter's Girls’ School (SA)
Title: A lesson a day: Increasing intensivity in primary language classes

From 2013 to 2015, St Peter’s Girls’ School participated in a research project
conducted by Professor Angela Scarino and her team at the Research Centre for
Languages and Cultures at the University of South Australia. The three-year
project piloted some program models that were designed to strengthen
language learning in schools. St Peter’s Girls’ School adopted the model of alesson a day with a primary school Japanese class (Year 4 in 2013). Increased
time on task resulted in greater language acquisition, as expected. It also gavethe students greater understanding of Japanese culture and the way thelanguage works. The more frequent lessons meant that we were able to spend
time exploring the language to a greater depth, thus engaging the girls’ criticalthinking skills and giving them a wider view of the world, improved logic andanalytical skills and greater levels of cognitive skills and creativity.

Amanda Pentti
Queensland Department of Education and Training
Title: Making conceptual learning visible and valuable for students learning theAustralian Curriculum: JapaneseConcepts are the big ideas that students work with. The use of the word‘concept’ rather than ‘topic’ in the Australian Curriculum: Languages isdeliberate. It marks a shift from description to conceptualisation. The Australian
Curriculum for Japanese invites students not only to describe facts or featuresof phenomena, situations and events from the Japanese language and culture,
but also to consider how facts and features relate to concepts. For example, adescription of a house can lead to a consideration of the concept of ‘home’ or‘space’ in both Japan and Australia. This shift is necessary because it isconcepts that lend themselves most fruitfully to intercultural comparison andengage learners in personal reflection and more substantive learning.
In this workshop, participants will explore the concepts of the Australian
Curriculum for Japanese, and how they can be used as curriculum organisers toplan for, teach and assess the Japanese language program. The Japanese
language and culture being learned offer the opportunity for learning newconcepts and new ways of understanding the world. Concepts, combined withknowledge and skills, develop intellectual depth and deeper understandings.

Kathleen Duquemin
Gardenvale Primary School (Vic)
Title: 45 minutes per week – How the Australian Curriculum is working in a Primary
SchoolThe Australian Curriculum: Japanese is a comprehensive outline of how
Japanese language education should look in Australia. However, since thelaunch of the document, the reality of adopting it within the primary classroom
has been a hot item of discussion. In this presentation, participants will beshown a model of how the Australian Curriculum: Japanese is working – quite
effectively – in a government primary school where class time is approximately
45 minutes per week. The effectiveness of this program is partly due to a strong
oral/aural and kanji focus in the first two years (F – 1) and delaying introductionof hiragana until Year 2, when students have built up their phonemic awarenessand are ready to – very quickly – learn hiragana and apply it to their steadily
growing second language lexicon.

Yoko Nishimura-Parke
Junko Nichols
The Japan Forum
Title: Exploring activities to develop General Capabilities using real voices fromcontemporary Japan through the Click Nippon website

The Japan Forum (a public-interest incorporated foundation based in Tokyo)
actively provides support for language education overseas that is in line with theAustralian Curriculum. One such activity is hosting the Click Nippon website,which provides content related to current Japan, stimulating students’ thinking
by ‘Meeting Others and Self in Depth’ and by appreciating values and beliefs ofothers.
This session will explore ways of developing students’ language skills throughactivities using real voices from contemporary Japan. We will focus on thearticle from the Click Nippon website about the Japanese artist who turns‘rubbish’ into art. We first walk through the Click Nippon website. Then we will
introduce the article in focus and take note of the beliefs or values of the artist– the essence of the article. We also share the practical ideas for student
activities which provide opportunities to develop Critical and Creative Thinking
and Intercultural Understanding. The topic of the article in focus, Art using‘rubbish’, connects well with Sustainability as a cross curriculum priority.
Teachers are also encouraged to share and discuss activity ideas using materials
from the Click Nippon website.

LuLu Vitali
Lowther Hall Anglican Grammar School (Vic)
Title: Making keigo more visible within the classroom

The politeness system (particularly the use of honorifics) is undergoing complex
changes in contemporary Japan which challenge the practices and expectationsof both native and non-native Japanese speakers. This presentation will draw
upon elements of my research to demonstrate how keigo is one feature of thelanguage that native and non-native speakers engage with in a similar way –both are conscious of their status as learners. It will discuss the ways in which‘ideologies’ of Japanese speakers are constructed and the variable ways inwhich speakers engage with keigo.
The presentation will discuss the role that Japanese teachers play in shaping theideologies of students, and how their own ideologies as language educators caninfluence the ways students view the use of keigo. It will suggest ways in whichteachers can make keigo become more visible within the classroom andgenerate discussion around the extent to which keigo is still relevant andvaluable in contemporary society, and indeed still relevant and valuable to learn.

Mariel Howard
Swan Christian Education Association
Catholic Education WA
Kalamunda Christian School (WA)
Title: Differentiating the learning of hiragana – with no romaji in sight!

The key objectives of the Australian Curriculum should be the same for all
students, but the program as implemented must offer alternative pathways tostudents with special educational needs (ACARA, 2012). One of the challenges ofJapanese education is ensuring that all students, regardless of ability andprevious experience with the language, can start from the level they are at intheir hiragana acquisition and still keep up with the common curriculum for theyear group. The answer is not to scaffold weak or new students with romaji. Useof romaji often leads to poor pronunciation as well as delay in masteringhiragana. Furthermore, having to learn the pronunciation of the phonetic romaji
that is so different from English will result in an increased cognitive load rather
than a reduced one.
There are several ways to differentiate the learning of hiragana, as well as
clever ways to practise and assess hiragana without the use of romaji. Japanesereading ability is a process that often takes years to master, as it does for the
students’ first language, especially in primary school. The characters must belearnt in the context of words rather than in isolation, and each new word offers
another natural opportunity to revise the characters that form that word.
Teaching the hiragana chart once at the start of the program and then assumingthat students can read and write does not work, nor does it cater for newcomers.
Students move at different rates from individual character recognition to being
able to read word and sentences. It is therefore essential that all reading andwriting activities, including assessment, are differentiated to cater for all ability
levels.

John Webster
Taku Hashimoto
Wellers Hill State School (Qld)
Title: Japanese Bilingual Education: An Alternate Method of Learning

After exploring alternate evidence-based models of learning, Wellers Hill State
School launched its Japanese Bilingual Program in 2014. Research relating to thebenefits of bilingual language learning indicates that children who learn in abilingual environment have significant changes to the neuroplasticity of theirbrain. Brain changes in neuroplasticity increase a student’s ability to switch
between tasks and to maintain attention. To maximise these benefits, children
should be engaged in language learning from an early age.
At Wellers Hill State School the Japanese bilingual program commences in Year
1. Students spend 50% of their school week studying the Australian Curriculum inEnglish; the remaining 50% is spent studying the Australian Curriculum inJapanese and a Japanese Literacy and Numeracy component.
All Japanese teachers at Wellers Hill State School are Japanese nationals who
hold Australian teaching qualifications. The school uses an authentic CLIL
(Content and Language Integrated Learning) approach in the bilingual program.
The Japanese Literacy and Numeracy program is unique to Wellers Hill and isdeveloped as a spiralling curriculum building on and reinforcing the previous
year’s content.
The objectives of this Japanese Bilingual Program are:
• To improve student learning and outcomes through the development ofadditional neural pathways.
• To provide a Japanese bilingual and global education.
• To enable students from all cultural backgrounds to discover and integrate
Japanese linguistic and cultural experiences into their life.
• To support the learning of students by teaching Japanese vocabulary linked
to the Australian Curriculum as well as other subject areas in order toenhance students’ use of spoken and written Japanese.
• To promote the application of language in the real world by using realtexts, concepts and functional communication.

• To assess students’ progress using a variety of assessment formats
including oral, written and culturally appropriate assessment.
• For students to be able to communicate effectively in all four skills oflistening, speaking, reading and writing, in both English and Japanese.
• For students to be conversationally fluent by end of Semester Two Year 3
and technically fluent by end of Year 6 in spoken and written Japanese.

Kumiko Katayama
Griffith University
Title: Training students for work ‘readiness’ – Japanese work-integrated learning

Griffith University in Queensland recommends that students in all its degree
programs and courses have work-integrated learning (WIL) experiences. The
research shows there are significant benefits that WIL curricula provide to
students, including professional/ disciplinary skill and knowledge developmentin the context of application/ employment and work ‘readiness’. As the demand
for graduates to possess employability skills or graduate competencies,
increases, there is an obvious benefit and advantage for students engaged in
WIL curricula because of the increased likelihood that they will develop in theseareas as a consequence of that engagement.
Based on this principle, I have been offering a Japanese WIL program at theGold Coast campus of Griffith University. This program is offered as acomponent of a third year Japanese course. The WIL component involves 20
supervised hours in a workplace and the goal of this experience is to offer
students the opportunity to experience a workplace where Japanese is used andprepare for their entry to a career. Prior to the WIL, students are trained within
the classroom to use the formal and vocational language common to various
contexts. They are also introduced to Japanese business manners. WIL gives
students the opportunity to use this classroom-learned language, develop
confidence in their language ability, prepare for entry to a career and beevaluated on their ability in an authentic context.
This program has been successful to the extent that feedback from students andour industry partners are both positive and some students are offered a job orinternship after the completion of the WIL component.

Mayumi Mitsuya
Cathy JonakThe Japan Foundation, Sydney
Title: Collaborating for advocacy
Australia has the fourth largest number of learners of Japanese in the world(Survey report on Japanese-Language education abroad 2012), and Japanese is
the most learned language in primary and secondary schools. However, in many
regional areas there are very limited opportunities to connect with Japanese
language and culture, and this can lead to Japanese language learners feelingdisengaged from their learning.
Recently Japan has been losing its economic power and as China’s presence has
been expanding, stakeholders’ interest in Asian languages has been shifting fromJapanese to Chinese. Faced with this situation and the decline in languages inschools in general, the Japan Foundation, Sydney (JFSYD) has come to recognisethat advocacy for Japanese language education is critical, and has implemented
two programs, Nihongo Roadshow and the School Leader Fellowship Program.
The Nihongo Roadshow provides games and activities to encourage and inspirelearners of Japanese, professional development opportunities for teachers andincludes a focus on advocacy. The School Leader Fellowship Program provides
an opportunity to school principals and administrators to explore Japan and gain
an understanding of the benefits of Japanese language learning to their students.
In this presentation we will outline the Roadshow and Fellowship programs, andreport on the outcomes of the programs based on feedback from participants.
We will then consider how the JFSYD, classroom teachers and otherstakeholders can combine our strengths to advocate Japanese in schools.

Noburo Hagiwara
Kolbe Catholic College (WA)
Title: Differentiation and Deep Learning‘In a healthy classroom, what is taught and learned is relevant to students,
personal, familiar, and connected to the world they know.’ ‘In the healthyclassroom, students have the opportunity to work and learn in ways that are
most comfortable to them as individuals’ (Carol Tomlinson). In this session,
participants will explore many practical examples of differentiation to achieve
deep learning for all members of the classroom, with or without technology.

Kylie Farmer
Languages Education Consultant
Title: Using the Language Learning Space resources to support implementation of
the Australian Curriculum: JapaneseThis session will introduce teachers to the wealth of free resources available on
the Language Learning Space (lls.edu.au) for Japanese, including:• Demonstrating a range of game-based student challenges in rich graphic
novel format with strong cultural connections for students in years 5-9• Information and demonstration of some of the 1000+ teaching resources,and how these can be stored, shared and used to create learning pathways
for classes and individual students• Indicating how resources are aligned with Australian Curriculum: Japanese• Introducing and exploring the range of professional learning resources thatwill appeal to teachers of all year levels

Nathan Williams
Bundaberg North State High School (Qld)
Title: Targeted Interventions for Reading Comprehension in Junior Japanese

Bundaberg North State High School has successfully partially implemented
ACARA (Languages) before the development of Queensland C2C resources. This
presentation will present the school as a case study to Japanese teachers fromdifferent states and territories, providing insights into how a rural school has
overcome the negative stereotype of language learning and is slowly building amore rigorous and successful Year 7-9 Japanese program. In Semester 1, 96% of
students in an accelerated Year 7 Japanese cohort received an ‘A’, the other 4%
receiving a ‘B’; meanwhile, 97% of students in our mainstream cohorts received≥‘C’ (22%=B, 75%=C). In Semester 1, 85% of students in mainstream Year 8
Japanese cohorts received a ‘C’, and 22% a ‘B’. This presentation will begin by
showcasing our 7-9 Scope and Sequence, Assessment Items, Marking Rubrics, andJapanese Reading Comprehension activities. Explicit Instruction, QAR, Literacy
Warm-Ups, and 6 Steps to Reading Comprehension will all be quickly modelled
to demonstrate how to use the strategies to intervene to target students at riskof achieving a ‘D’ or ‘E’ to create their potential to achieve a ‘B’ or ‘C’, as well
as 7 Steps to Writing Strategies to develop written ability within a short amountof time. The presentation will illustrate how I am using Japanese to teachEnglish concepts and vice versa by teaching the same cohort of Year 8 English
students for Japanese, and how this improves the confidence of students in thegoal of becoming bilingual. The presentation will be engaging and encourage theinteraction of the audience to demonstrate strategies, which teachers can trial
by taking home the resource kits that will be handed around the room.

Masako Chikushi
Ballarat Clarendon College (Vic)
Title: Voices of students: Secondary school student decisions on Japanese language
learning in regional Victoria
Over the past decade, there has been a growing awareness of the declining
number of students in second language education in secondary schools inAustralia. When looking at the current state of Japanese Language Education,knowledge around the challenge of engaging students in second language
learning is important for understanding students’ perceptions about theirlearning. The individual stories of their learning experiences and the choices
involved in learning a second language is fundamental. My research aims toidentify the student voice in order to understand students’ meaningful
participation in Japanese language learning in relation to their academic, socialand community life. If students are alienated rather than engaged in learning,then it is likely that they are similarly alienated in developing andunderstanding the importance of learning a second language. Through individualinterviews and observations, I have analysed students’ real-life experiences inJapanese language learning. Students who are currently taking Japanese classes
have been interviewed, as well as students who have discontinued. In this way, I
have reached an understanding of some of the various factors that influence thedecision-making process to study or not to study Japanese. The analysis, fromthe stories of the students along with observations and immersion in a school
culture, will add to the nuanced understanding of the secondary school students.
This research will enhance student language and cultural understandings leading
to them becoming more self-aware and productive citizens in a global world.
The benefit of the research centers on gains for individual students and theirlanguage learning. This makes student-centered learning visible. It also adds
value to Japanese teacher education. It is essential to provide advocacy for all
students and educators so the focus on regional students is beneficial for boththe local community, state, national and international levels.

Trudi Wigg
Education Perfect
Title: Taking Assessment Online with Education Perfect and Languages in Action

Are you maximising the motivation of online learning and assessment with yourstudents? Education Perfect is here to help! This is a demonstration of
Languages in Action, a course for Japanese Beginner, Intermediate andAdvanced students covering vocabulary, grammar, and culture with listening,reading and writing activities all neatly bundled in Education Perfect Smart
Lessons. The demonstration will also provide an introduction to Education
Perfect’s hiragana writing component, as well as online assessment features,including Proficiency Testing, and what we can offer teachers to support
reporting and differentiated curriculum.

Kelly Harrison
San Sisto College (Qld)
Title: Media Studies - a new approach to secondary JapaneseJapanese Media Studies is a Year 10 Content and Language Integrated Learning(CLIL) program introduced in 2016, which involves the teaching of content(Media Arts) and language (Japanese) simultaneously. This approach requires
the explicit teaching of language, as and when it is needed to support thestudents in their content learning. The course covers the topics of Japanesecooking shows, animation, advertising and representations of women in theJapanese media.
The course is opt-in and still covers the essential grammar and vocab from thestandard Year 10 Japanese. The class covers more than double the amount ofcontent of the standard course within the same time frame. The efficiency andeffectiveness of the CLIL approach allows this. Teacher observation and student
results suggest that student proficiency and motivation have improved
dramatically. The course is also being analysed for effect size according to
Visible Learning principles. Student feedback has been extremely positive andthe students are reporting significant improvements in their Japaneseconfidence. Teacher motivation has also increased – seeing the students flourish
due to the engaging nature of CLIL has been very encouraging. The class is fullof laughter and a sense of accomplishment.

Susan Taylor
Brighton Beach PS, St Mark’s Dingley PS (Vic)
Title: Code switching for student control of L2 communication

This paper explores the idea that code switching enables functional
communication with full student control from the beginning of language learning.
Furthermore, students quickly begin to identify as L2 speakers. Student
response has been stunning. Focussing on high frequency words, my aim has
been to de-construct the language classroom walls and build a culture in our
school community where Japanese becomes a normal, comfortable, expected
and easy communication option everywhere all the time.

I propose stepping stones between English and Japanese. Each step being
neither fully English nor fully Japanese is a powerfully creative zone engaging
high flexibility of mind. Teacher anxiety to have ‘correct’ language must
therefore be put aside to create the environment for creative experimentation.
This session will outline the stepping stones, share the teaching approaches andstudent/teacher/community responses, and lead robust discussion about thepossibilities in this idea.

Brianna Winsor
Brisbane State High School (Qld)
Title: My iJourney; Creating valuable learning experiences through integrating
iPads into the learning workflow

Do your students currently have iPads (or tablets) for learning? Is your school
considering it? Does it all feel a bit overwhelming? It did for me too! But don’t
worry. I would like to share my story of how in under one year I managed totransform the way my students and I use iPads in the Japanese classroom toenhance learning. I will discuss how I continue to integrate the use of iPads into
my lesson workflow and the effects it has had on my pedagogy and my students’learning, which include improved student engagement and outcomes, extending
learning beyond the classroom, freeing up more time for interacting andsupporting students in class, and even reducing my own workload and stress!
Students at Brisbane SHS participate in a BYOD iPad program. For almost two
years I simply used the iPads as a ‘tack on’ to my regular program, which
included the standard things like paper notebooks, textbooks, worksheets andMP3s. The iPad was basically a tool for playing script game apps, vocab quizzes,
internet research and word processing. I basically used it as a ‘reward’ after the‘real classwork’ had been completed.
It wasn't until the start of this year that I started to realise the endless potential
these devices offer and started utilizing them as an integral part of the learning
process. Come along as I share my transformational practice that includes
activities for:
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sharing resources and differentiating learning
regular formative assessment and data collection
giving students timely, detailed and meaningful feedback
facilitating collaborative group work and online peer feedback
creating online learning communities
flipping the classroom
improving pronunciation
practising speaking, listening and digital note taking
building meaningful relationships with students
practising language and creating digital content in an authentic context

Mariko Tatsumi
Japan National Tourism Organization
Title: Discover Japan as the ideal school tour destination

Would you like to discover Japan with your students?
The aim of our presentation is to encourage Japanese language teachers toorganise school tours to Japan. We provide the latest updates in regards totravelling in our country. These updates will help not only teachers who havenever organised school trips to Japan before, but also well-experienced teachersfor organising their next trip.
The Japanese Government holds school tours to Japan in high regard and thisattitude is clearly demonstrated in the draft ‘Action Programme towards theRealization of a Tourism Oriented Country 2015’ which highlights all thepractical policies. The Japan National Tourism Organization recognises that
school trips are significant to overall tourism, as students have the opportunity
to gain a deeper understanding of Japan which helps build good relationships
between other countries and Japan. Moreover, school trips have the potential toinfluence young travellers to visit multiple times through their continued
interest.
An extraordinary time is awaiting you and your students in Japan!