On August 18, 2025, the annual 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 Japan Foundation Toronto, and supported by the Canadian Association for Japanese Language Education (CAJLE)’s Regional Workshop Support Fund, this marked the third year the event was held.
This year, the meeting was scheduled in conjunction with the CAJLE annual conference as a pre-conference event, which attracted a larger audience. About 50 people attended, including Japanese language education professionals from across Canada and abroad. We were also honored by the presence of Deputy Consul General Okagaki.
The annual meeting aims to strengthen the network among Japanese language teachers in BC. The morning session featured self-introductions by participants and presentations from two speakers. Mr. Tatsuya Nakagome, Japanese Language Education Advisor dispatched to the Alberta Ministry of Education by the Japan Foundation, reported on the current state of Japanese language education in Alberta. Ms. Ai Nishino, a visiting researcher at UBC from International Christian University (ICU), gave a presentation on recent trends in Japanese language education in Japan and Japanese language teaching at ICU.
During lunch, provided by the Japan Foundation Toronto, participants enjoyed friendly conversations in a relaxed atmosphere. In the afternoon, participants engaged in group discussions on a wide variety of topics. Particularly popular this year were discussions on AI, task-based Japanese language teaching, and Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI). Several participants from outside BC brought specialized expertise in areas such as task-based language teaching, heritage language education, and the use of AI and ICT in education. Their contributions further enriched the conversations, and participants gained many new insights through the lively exchange of ideas.
Feedback from participants was highly positive, including comments such as:
- It was a fun and relaxed environment where I could reflect on my own classroom practice and gain new insights.
- It was interesting to hear from teachers working in Japanese language education outside of British Columbia and Canada this time.
- I was very satisfied to be able to join a table of my interest and freely exchange opinions.
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 Department of Asian Studies for providing the venue.
