Canadian Association for Japanese Language Education (CAJLE)
The Japan Foundation, Toronto
Japanese is taught at several secondary schools in Toronto and its surrounding areas. Yet, it appears that teachers do not know much about the other institutions, courses or programmes. This lack of understanding can sometimes be found even within the same institution. We believe that it is very important and necessary for teachers to know what their current students have previously studied and in what type of environment that education took place. Similarly, it is important to be informed of the available learning opportunities for students who wish to continue studying Japanese. We believe it is essential for teachers to build a strong and active network that enables them to communicate with one another. Since December 2009, the Canadian Association for Japanese Language Education (CAJLE) and the Japan Foundation, Toronto have been co-organizing events to build a good foundation for the articulation of Japanese language education.
Reference Materials:
・Explanation of the purpose of the “Japanese Teachers’ Information Exchange Meeting: Continue Japanese Learning” (video)
・Japanese course classification table (PDF)
Upcoming Events
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TBA
Past Events
Click on a event title for more details.
Show Continuing Learning Japanese 36: オンライン語学学習に対する学習者の認識 (July 16, 2022) 今回は、トロント大学の富田恭代先生より、同大学日本語・韓国語プログラムの学生を対象に行われた調査の結果をもとに、オンライン環境での語学学習に対する学習者の意識等についてお話しいただきます*。また、参加者の方々とのディスカッションも 予定しています。
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Show Continuing Learning Japanese 35: 教室に戻った日本語教育の現場から (May 7, 2022) 今回は「教室に戻った日本語教育の現場から」をテーマとして、すでにオンラインから対面授業に戻った、あるいはこれから戻ることについて、先生方のお考えやお気持ち等の共有を通じ、今までの経験を今後どのように活かすかにについての話し合いを予定しています。
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This time the theme will be “Thinking about cheating in online environments – Sharing cases and countermeasures”, where we will discuss the points to be aware of and to keep in mind when conducting tests in online environments. Due to the shift online, teachers have been required to respond to new methods of academic dishonesty that they have never encountered before. In light of this, we plan to have participating teachers share their own specific examples, as well as host a discussion on the topics of potential countermeasures and teachers’ mental health.
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For the 33rd event of the series, we will introduce Japanese language courses at Huron University College.
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For the 32nd event of the series, we will introduce Japanese language courses at York Region District School Board.
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Show Continuing Learning Japanese 31: Japanese Language Courses at Seneca College (Jul. 4, 2020) For the 31st event of the series, we will introduce Japanese language courses at Seneca College.
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Show Continuing Learning Japanese 30: EdCamp for Japanese Language Teachers (Jul. 24, 2019) In the 30th event of the series, we will host an EdCamp for Japanese Language Teachers. EdCamps are study groups where the participants play leading roles, and discussion topics are decided by participants at registration and/or on the spot. Participants are welcome to suggest topics related to any problem they may face in the course of teaching, or something they want to hear others’ opinions on, etc. The goal is not to listen to success stories, but for participants to work together to solve problems.
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In the 29th event of the series, we will view videos taken during classes held at the Japan Foundation, Toronto (cf. “Continuing Learning Japanese 28”).
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In the 28th event of the series, the Japan Foundation, Toronto opens our Japanese-language classes for observation.
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For the 27th event of the series, we will introduce initiatives in “Japanese as a heritage language education” in various places in Ontario. The education institutions will introduce their programs while showcasing new teaching materials and unique activities along with actual samples of students’ school work.
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Show Continuing Learning Japanese 26: Japanese Language Courses in London (Oct. 14, 2017) For the 26th event of the series, we will introduce various Japanese language courses in London: Forest City Japanese School, Mother Teresa Catholic Secondary School, University of Western Ontario, and Huron University College.
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Show Continuing Learning Japanese 25: “Japanese Language Education and Gender” (Jul. 22, 2017) In the 25th event of the series, we would like to share ideas within the topic of “Japanese language education and gender;” namely, how we are expected to respond in an educational environment where we are met with an increasing variety of students with different backgrounds and values. In the first part of the workshop, Mr. Jotaro Arimori will introduce studies on the topic and talk about gender within the context of Japanese language education. After a lunch break, we hope to think about the topic from different viewpoints as we discuss the important points to remember when dealing with classroom instruction and materials, how to interact with our students, etc.
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In the 24th event of the series, we would like to share activities targeting speaking proficiency, as a continuation of Continuing Learning Japanese 23. We once again welcome participants to share any speaking activities such as conversation activities, presentations, and skits, which came alive in your classroom and were popular with your students, including warm-up and even out-of-class activities.
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In the 23rd event of the series, we would like to share activities targeting speaking proficiency. Although both students and teachers are always interested in speaking activities, we often hear that there is no time in the classroom. We welcome participants to share any speaking activities such as conversation activities, presentations, and skits, which came alive in your classroom and were popular with your students, including warm-up and even out-of-class activities.
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In the 22nd event of the series, we will have a showing of a video of an adult Japanese class (level 2) at Toronto Japanese Language School. Through this recorded class observation, we hope that participating teachers are able to have the chance to reflect on issues in their own teaching and to share good points from the video that we can use. After the explanations of the background of the class, we are going to watch the video and then have a discussion between participants.
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In the 21st event of the series, we will visit Toronto Japanese Language School, and observe one of three individual Japanese classes.
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For the 20th event of the series, we will have introductions on the classes at The Japan Foundation, Toronto. We also would like to review our previous meetings and would like to discuss about future gatherings.
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Show Continuing Learning Japanese 19: Thornlea Secondary School Class Observation (May 2, 2015) In the 19th event of the series, we will visit Thornlea Secondary School, and observe one of Ms. Taiko Feldkamp’s high school credit Japanese classes.
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Show Continuing Learning Japanese 18: Following-up on Teaching Materials (Feb. 7, 2015) For the 18th event of this series, we will be following on from the topic of the 16th session. In groups of two to three we looked at the textbooks widely used in Toronto and the surrounding areas and examined things such as their composition, contents, order of contents, and used this to build a frame to compare texts. This time we will take this further and look at differences in focal points, differences in targeted students, and use in class; then through discussion we will further our understanding of the resources and at the same time learn the know how required to look at these resources from different angles. The participants will present their findings at the end of the session and these may be posted online later. The textbooks which we will be looking at include GENKI, Nakama, Minna no Nihongo, Mirai, Japanese for Busy People, and other textbooks in the Japan Foundation, Toronto’s collection.
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In the 17th event of the series, we will visit A. Y. Jackson Secondary School (introduced in Continuing Learning Japanese 15), and observe one of Mr. Takada’s Japanese classes.
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Show Continuing Learning Japanese 16: Teaching Materials (Oct. 25, 2014) For the 16th event of this series, we will be focusing on teaching materials. Focusing on beginner level textbooks widely used in Toronto and its surrounding areas, participants will divide into small groups of two to three people and look at things such as the differences in the order of contents and how they are delivered, differences in focal points, what level of students and approximate hours of study are appropriate for each text, and perform research activities on classroom activities amongst others. The groups will then present their conclusions, and these may even go onto the website. The textbooks which we will be looking at include GENKI, Nakama, Minna no Nihongo, Mirai, Japanese for Busy People, and other textbooks in the Japan Foundation, Toronto’s collection.
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Show Continuing Learning Japanese 15: Toronto’s A.Y. Jackson Secondary School (Jun. 15, 2014) For the 15th event of this series, we will have an introduction on the Japanese language classes at Toronto’s A.Y. Jackson Secondary School, which offers Japanese as one of the elective subjects in their regular high school program. We will also have a panel discussion featuring four students/former students who began studying Japanese in high school and continued studying Japanese on through university, and we hope to share their voices.
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