The JTAN Annual General Meeting (AGM) and mini-conference 2021 will be held online in a shortened format on Saturday 16 October 2021. Registrations will open at 8:45 am and the event will conclude at approximately 2 pm.
All members are invited to attend. If you are unable to attend the AGM, you may participate in the decision-makings by completing the Proxy form (click here to download).
Please express your interest in joining the JTAN Committee 2021-22 by completing the Nomination form (click here to download). Nomination forms are due by Friday 8 October, 2021.  

The Annual General Meeting will be accompanied by engaging presentations from Japanese teachers, with a keynote workshop on Teaching Proficiency through Reading and Storytelling and Comprehensible Input in the Australian Context from Mr Beau Pett, CCLT Convenor from the MLTAQ.
There will no fee to participate in this event. 
Interstate participants who are members of their state Japanese Teachers' Association are also welcome to attend. Please email enquire@jtan.org.au with proof of membership and your details to be added to the list of of participants. 
Apply for the AGM here!

​Would you like to learn how to write HSC-style questions for Japanese Beginners and Continuers? 
This workshop aims to teach members the processes involved in writing formal exam questions for Preliminary Yearly and HSC Trial examinations. Members will also benefit from the opportunity to participate in peer discussion and review what makes suitable exam-style questions in a collaborative environment.
There will be NO FEE to participate in this event.
The purpose of this workshop is to develop the skills and confidence of our members in exam writing, as opportunities to engage in professional exam writing are limited. By upskilling our members, we hope that more members would be able to contribute to the writing of our JTAN examination papers. Subsequent exam writing workshops will be held from early 2022.
Registration closes on 21 October. Should you have any questions, please email enquire@jtan.org.au with subject line ‘Exam Writing Workshop I’.
​Apply for the Exam Writing Workshop here!

Special support for COVID-19
The purpose of this grant is to support schools in purchasing online teaching materials to aid in the teaching of Japanese language programs online due to COVID-19.
Successful applicants will be eligible for the reimbursement of 100% of the purchase price of approved materials up to AU$700.00
This is a special grant where applications will be accepted throughout the application period, and each application will be considered upon submission. Please be mindful that applicants are requested to complete purchasing, and all reimbursement-related original documents must arrive at JPF Sydney by post no later than 24 February 2022.
Please note the following key dates:

• Application period: 19 April 2021 - 27 January 2022
• Purchasing period: from application approval until 10 February 2022  
• Final date to submit reimbursement documents: 24 February 2022

Further details can be found here.

Japan Foundation Teaching Resources
Please be reminded that the Japan Foundation has produced a collection of resources on their website to assist teachers in teaching and learning. Activities available cater to all levels, including primary, junior secondary and senior secondary.
Click 👉 here to start browsing  

2021 exam availability
The 2021 exams are now available for download from the JTAN website. If you have not purchased a 2021 exam and still wish to do so, you will need to email JTAN as exam sales have now closed.
Instructions on how to access exams are attached. A reminder that you must be logged in to access exams, and the exams are only available in the account of the purchasing member. 

Japanese Extension monologue practice day
Presentation: Tuesday 17 August 7:00 - 8:00 am 
Practice sessions: Saturday 21 August 9:00 - 2:00 pm 

This day is an opportunity for students to practise 3 unseen monologues under exam-like conditions and receive instant feedback. The event will be held online, and will be similar in format to our online speaking days with students allocated a one-hour time slot. Teacher participation is required for the day to enable students to participate. A presentation session on monologue planning and delivery will be included as part of this event and will be held on 17 August to give students time to process the advice before putting it into practice on the Saturday.
 
The event timing has been changed to be after trial exams and the Continuers speaking exam, and with 2 weeks to go before the Extension exam to allow time to continue working on responses.

These days will be advertised on the JTAN website shortly.

Are you new to teaching the Extension course?

​This collaborative workshop will enable teachers to better understand and explain the linguistic nuances in all 9 prescribed extracts of ‘Kimi No Na Wa’. A number of prompt questions for each extract will be provided for discussion and as examples for teachers to use in lessons when analysing the language in the extracts.

Teachers who wish to attend are expected to be familiar ALL extracts (have read through at least once) and be open to contributing their ideas and questions in groups on the day. 

Maximum of 25 participants. (No availability for preservice teachers.)

Note this is a REPEAT of a workshop held in April this year – at a reduced cost as printed materials will not be provided this time (available digitally.

This workshop will be held ONLINE via Zoom.

• 1 November 1 2020
  9:00am to 5:00pm
  
• ​
  For further information please visit the JTAN website.

JTAN is offering an online Extension workshop focusing on preparing students for their HSC monologue on Saturday 25 July 9:00am-1:30pm.

Students will attend a one-hour presentation on monologue and essay writing skills. Students will then attend one of the sessions, in which they will be provided 4 sets of 10-minute HSC-style monologue practices  (7 minutes of preparation + 3 minutes of speaking), along with 5 minutes of feedback.

In order for this event to run smoothly, teachers of participating students must be available for the duration of the event (excluding the morning one-hour presentation). Due to the very limited capacity, each teacher may bring up to a maximum of 5 students. 

Teachers may register their students through the JTAN website. Students may also register and pay for themselves on the JTAN website here, however teachers must register themselves as well. Only credit card payments will be accepted, and places are strictly limited to 45 students.
Student ticket: $40.00
Password: Itomori
(Students should only be given the password once their teacher has registered so that their registration is not rejected.)

Please join us for an introductory workshop about the Japanese Extension course, on Tuesday 30 June. Participants will learn about course content, what is expected of the students, and explore various strategies to support student success and the prescribed text Kimi no Na wa (film). Insights into the analysis of the text, the prescribed issues and relating current issues will be discussed.

The webinar will be presented by Benjamin Gibb from Epping Boys High School who will share from his own experience of teaching Japanese Extension. There will be opportunities for feedback and questions from participants both prior to and during the workshop.
 
Please enrol via MyPL. 
Course code: NR28255
Date: Tuesday 30 June 2020
Time: 3:30-5:00pm
Venue: Zoom
 
Registrations close Friday 26 June. For further details, please contact Shanelle Ingram.

The Languages and Culture team is planning a session, led by Benjamin Gibb (Epping Boys HS), which aims to introduce the Japanese Extension course to anyone who's interested in teaching the course for the first time, or who is new to teaching the course.

Please register your interest via our short survey, so we can ascertain the number of interested teachers. The survey is open to teachers from NSW public schools only, however if the session runs, it will be open to all sectors. The survey closes Friday 19 June 2020.

The proposed session time is 3:45-5:15pm on Tuesday 30 June 2020.

The session will aim to show ways in which the course can be made more accessible (for both teachers and students), walk you through some ideas and resources, and provide a space to ask any questions.

The Languages and Culture team is seeking experienced departmental (DoE) teachers of the Stage 6 Japanese Extension course to create high-quality support materials for the new course prescriptions (2019-2023) that will be implemented in Term 4 2018.

Participation in the writing project will be over a period of 5 days:
- Monday 4 December 2017
- Tuesday 12 December 2017
- Wednesday 13 December 2017
- Thursday 15 February 2018
- Friday 23 February 2018.

Non-metropolitan teachers are welcome to apply - travel and accommodation reimbursements are available.

Should you wish to participate, please complete the EOI form attached below and email the completed form to aris.cao1@det.nsw.edu.au.

Closing date for applications: Friday 22 September 2017.

Queries: Janelle Byrne, 9266 8540.

Teachers may have seen this movie reviewed on The Movie Show last night.

Like Father, Like Son opens on 17 April.....

http://www.palacecinemas.com.au/movies/likefatherlikeson/

http://au.rialtodistribution.com/like-father-like-son.html

The ‘switched at birth’ urban legend and the Nature-vs.-Nurture debate provides, the globally acclaimed director of Nobody Knows, Still Walking and I Wish, Hirokazu Kore-eda with a fresh opportunity to revisit his ongoing preoccupation with family dynamics and parent-child relationships in contemporary Japan. The life of go-getting workaholic architect Ryota—one of comfort and quietly ordered affluence with his wife Midori and son Keita —is violently overturned when hospital administrators reveal the unthinkable: Keita is not his biological son. Due to a mistake made by a negligent nurse, his ‘true’ son has been raised in the dishevelled but warm-hearted home of working-class shopkeeper Yudai and his wife. The different approaches of both couples to their excruciating dilemma and the gradual emotional awakening of the all-too-rational Ryota are at the core of this sensitive drama of family feeling, which showcases Kore-eda’s rich sense of humanity.

NSW:
Palace Norton Street
Palace Chauvel

Thanks to Sally M for this recommendation.

Women’s lowly status in the Japanese workplace has barely improved in decades, and the country suffers as a result. Shinzo Abe would like to change that...

http://www.economist.com/news/briefing/21599763-womens-lowly-status-japanese-workplace-has-barely-improved-decades-and-country?fsrc=scn%2Ftw_ec%2Fholding_back_half_the_nation

The enrolment for the Extension Seminar on "Departures" with the 3 guest speakers is now closed.
Information will be emailed to the participants in due course. 
Kind regards, 
Jessica McKinlay
Japanese teacher, Barker College