On August 28, 2024, the BC Japanese Language Teachers Information Exchange Meeting was held at the Asian Centre Auditorium, UBC. Co-hosted by the UBC Japanese Language Program and the Japanese Foundation Toronto, with support from the Canadian Association for Japanese Language Education (CAJLE)’s Regional Workshop Support Fund, the event was held just before the start of the new school year. Around 30 people, mostly Japanese language education professionals from the Vancouver area and Vancouver Island, participated.
The purpose of this meeting was to strengthen the network among Japanese language teachers in BC. This year, we focused on fostering communication among individual participants. In the first half of the event, we provided time for each participant to introduce themselves, sharing their ideas of interest and the types of activities they are involved in. Following the introductions, participants engaged in socialization and group discussions in the afternoon. They were divided into groups based on their topics of interest and had the opportunity to freely exchange ideas. The discussions were lively and covered a variety of topics, from current hot topics such as AI and Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) to teaching and assessment at different levels, articulations, cultural activities and projects, and more.
The feedback from participants was overwhelmingly positive, including comments like, “it was beneficial to have time to discuss in a relaxed setting,” and “I gained valuable insights from engaging in discussions with teachers who share similar interests. I hope we can further strengthen our connections in the future.”
There are many fields of practice, such as EDI and indigenization, where knowledge and expertise can be effectively shared across educational settings. In addition, to create a better environment for heritage Japanese speakers and those who have studied Japanese at the secondary level and wish to continue their Japanese at the university level, it is beneficial to maintain a continuous exchange of information across educational levels and institutions.
The Japanese Language Program extends our sincere thanks to the Japan Foundation, Toronto for co-hosting this event and to CAJLE for their generous support. We are also grateful to the Asian Studies Department for providing the venue.
Photos by: The Japan Foundation Toronto
