The teaching materials grant is for schools wishing to supplement their budget to purchase teaching materials for their Japanese language program.

​There are two kinds of grant applications:
- establishing new programs
- expanding existing programs.

2017/18 Round 1 application forms are now available on The Japan Foundation website. 
The application form must arrive by mail at The Japan Foundation, Sydney office by Monday 1 May 2017. 
 
2017/18 Round 2 applications will open on 15 August 2017 and close by 16 October 2017.
 
The guidelines, information and application forms can be accessed on The Japan Foundation website. 
 
For further enquiries, please contact coordinators@jpf.org.au.

The 2017 JLTAV Annual Conference will be held at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre on Friday 28 and Saturday 29 April 2017.
 
Information regarding the conference is available on the JLTAV website.
​
​Click on the link at the top of the page for session details and presenter biographies. 
Teachers are encouraged to take advantage of the early bird registration rate available until Friday 17 March.
Registrations for the conference close on Friday 14 April and no registrations will be accepted after this.

Thank you for your support of the JLTAV. We look forward to seeing you at this year's conference.

ABC Splash have announced a student haiku competition.  
Students write a haiku (poem of 17 syllables) for the chance to win a book for their class about poetry.
Poems can be on any theme.
The competition closes 5pm 17 March 2017.
For more details about how to enter as well as examples of haiku go to the ABC Splash website.

A Year 12 Japanese Beginners course student is seeking a tutor in the Beverly Hills, Hurstville or Burwood areas.  Please email the Japanese teacher stephanie.jung1@det.nsw.edu.au if you are interested. 

The Japanese Government Monbukagakusho (MEXT) Scholarship for teacher training is available to primary and secondary teachers who have more than five years of teaching experience.
​
Applicants are required to take Japanese and English exams and must demonstrate a sufficient level of Japanese language ability to be able to receive research guidance in Japanese.
 
The deadline for applications is Friday 10 March 2017.
Please see the flyer for details.
Further information is available on the Embassy of Japan in Australia website. 

​Port Hacking High School (Miranda) is looking for a Japanese/French teacher to work on Thursdays and Fridays in Terms 1 and 2 in a dynamic Languages faculty. The load is mainly Japanese with 3 hours/fortnight of French. Classes include Year 7 Japanese, Year 8 Japanese, Year 8 French, Year 9 Japanese as well as sport. Port Hacking High School is a comprehensive high school with an excellent reputation in the Sutherland Shire. For further enquiries and to apply please email Belinda Munro-Laylim. ​

Northmead CAPA High School is seeking a full-time secondary Japanese teacher for a three week block from 20 March - 7 April 2017. This block includes teaching Years 7-12 classes including Japanese Continuers.
For further information and to apply, please email Natalie Poon.  

Excursions
Thank you very much for your interest in bringing your students to the centre.
Terms 2 and 3 are fully booked at this stage. Please make contact with us if you would like to be placed on the cancellation list.
Currently, there are still a number of days available in Term 4.

Once you have tentatively booked your visit to the centre, please send the booking form within one week. Upon receiving the booking form, your visit then will be confirmed. Your cooperation with this will ensure the maximum opportunity for all interested schools. 
(Please leave blank any parts you cannot fill in. We will contact you two weeks before your visit to confirm and update details.)
 
Currently we are looking for schools with a small group of students to share the following dates:
Thursday 4 May for Year 12 Continuers
Monday 31 July for Year 8
Tuesday 19 September for Year 11 Beginners
Please contact us, if you are interested in combining with these groups.  

Mieko Shida
Coordinator
Nihongo Tanken Japanese Language Centre
T: (02) 9542 5745 F: (02) 9542 5749
E: nihongo.tanken@det.nsw.edu.au   

The Tanken Centre staff is offering a 30 minute Adobe Connect webinar for teachers of Japanese to share their ideas regarding Strategies to use the target language in the classroom. 
13 March 2017 from 3:30 – 4:00pm
Log in at: https://connect.schools.nsw.edu.au/nihongo/

If you are the only Japanese teacher at your school, it can be hard to find someone who can answer your questions about Japanese language and culture. This session is for teachers who are in this situation.
 
Please send your questions before the session to Mieko.Shida4@det.nsw.edu.au.
For example:

• - I want to know how Japanese teachers address their students. e.g. Smith kun? Smith? Tom? Tom kun? Lisa san? Lisa chan?
• - How do Japanese students remember kanji?
  
• - Is it true that Japanese people eat KFC on Christmas day?
• - Can you recommend any suitable Japanese DVDs?

All questions are welcome, including questions regarding intonation and pronunciation.
 
The following strategies will be covered:

• - increasing the use of Japanese in the classroom
• - broadening students’ interest in Japanese culture and motivating them to study beyond HSC
• - organising engaging classroom activities and providing clear directions.

 
The session can contribute 30 minutes of teacher-identified PL addressing Standard 7.4.2.