The Japan Foundation, Sydney’s Intensive Seminar was conducted over four days from 19th to 22nd January. Focusing on ILTL(Intercultural Language Teaching and Learning) methodology, participants made teaching materials and lesson plans through project work. The next Intensive Seminar will be conducted in October. Detailed information will be available in late July. The focus will be on Japanese proficiency as well as ILTL methodology.

Our multimedia resource ‘Art Speaks Japanese 「日本の美術」’ was reviewed by Megan McLaughlin, Japanese teacher at Methodist Ladies College in Melbourne, in Babel, the journal of the AFMLTA (Australian Federation on Modern Language Teachers Association).

As previously announced, we will conduct two new national Nihongo events this year. They are ‘Art Speaks Japanese Comes Alive!’ and ‘Video まつり’. Currently information regarding these events is being uploaded onto our website. The timeline of these events is listed below.

The 2009 Speech Contest information is currently being uploaded onto our website. In the meantime we recommend teachers access our latest Sensei's Pages ‘Speech making as a classroom activity’.

As part of the JENESYS program, the Japan Foundation, Japan is inviting teachers of Japanese from East Asian countries to participate in a 2 month training program at our Urawa Institute, Japan. The program will commence on May 20, 2009 and finish on July 17, 2009, all costs including airfares will be covered by the Japan Foundation.

The Prize Donation Program was developed by the Japan Foundation, Sydney to support schools staging any kind of Japanese language-related event. Assistance is provided in the form of donations of small prizes, such as Japanese books or magazines, stationery, and other small goods to a value of $100.

Past prize donations have been made to schools in all areas of Australia, assisting urban and rural schools with events such as speech contests, LOTE days, cultural days, hiragana writing competitions, and a lot more.

Eligible schools are primary or secondary schools with an established Japanese language program.

Further information online or contact the Japanese Language Dept on (02) 8239 0077, email donation@jpf.org.au .

The organizer of the 2009 Japanese Web Page Contest would like to invite teachers of Japanese to participate in a free five-week correspondence course "How to Create a Website and Web Pages Using KompoZer and Yahoo Geocities". This course is offered free of charge and participation in the Web Page Contest is NOT required.

For more information, please visit “Nihongo memo”

The Japan Foundation, Sydney is delighted to invite Professor Keizo Yamawaki to Australia to give a series of lectures on aspects of multiculturalism in Japanese society. Professor Yamawaki is professor in the School of Commerce at Meiji University, Tokyo and specialises in multicultural community building, as well as advising the Japanese government on immigration policy. The lectures will be open to the general public and held in Melbourne and Sydney in early March 2009.
Further details will appear in March Omusubi and on the Japan Foundation, Sydney website soon.

Nihongo kyōjuhō wākushoppu DVD [videorecording] / Kamada Osamu, Kawaguchi Yoshikazu, Suzuki Mutsumi hencho.
Tōkyō : Bonjinsha, [2006].
2 videodisc (DVD) (ca. 300 min.) :sd., col. ;4 3/4 in.+ 1 booklet (44 p. : ports.).
ISBN: 4-89358-351-4
Call #: 810.72 KAM rev2

Aside from the Grammar Translation Method (文法訳読法), the most commonly used instruction method in foreign language education, there are a myriad of other, more innovative methods and techniques available to teachers as well as a considerable number of texts that explain them. However, without the opportunity to see how these techniques are used in a real class setting, properly understanding and using the techniques is very difficult.

The Library’s opening days for February - March are as follows:

Opening hours:
Mon-Fri (except Wed): 11.00 am - 5.30 pm
Wed: 11.00 am - 6.00 pm
Sat (every third week): 11.00 am - 4.00 pm
Sun: Closed

There is a book returns chute at the library entrance.  It is available during the Chifley Plaza building operation hours:
Mon-Fri: 6.30 am - 10.00 pm
Sat : 8.30 am - 10.00 pm
Sun/Public Holidays: Closed

The Inoue Yasushi Award for Outstanding Research in Japanese Literature in Australia is awarded to the best refereed journal article or book chapter published in English during the previous year by a researcher based in Australia. The recipient will receive $1000 as well as a certificate of the award’s conferral.

Inoue Yasushi was a prominent post-Second World War novelist and poet. He was a unique writer who managed to combine serious themes with fascinating and intriguing plots.

Applications for the 2009 award should be submitted by Sunday, 15 February 2009. Submissions should be sent to the Chair of the award selection committee, Dr Yasuko Claremont, at the following mailing address: Japanese Studies, School of Languages and Cultures A18, University of Sydney, NSW 2006; or email: yasuko.claremont@usyd.edu.au

Full details online

The annual International Japanese English Translation conference (IJET) was established by the Japan Association of Translators (JAT) in 1990 and has since evolved into a highly successful event that brings together language practitioners from all over the world.

The next conference, IJET-20, will be held in Sydney on 14-15 February 2009 and is shaping up to become a very special event, including a welcome from the Consul-General of Japan in Sydney and a keynote speech by social anthropologist Dr Fiona Graham.

For full details, visit the following websites:
http://ijet.jat.org/en/ijet-20 (English);
http://ijet.jat.org/jp/ijet-20/ (Japanese).

Since the 12th century, The Tale of Genji has inspired Japanese artists to visualise the fascinating world of the story’s main character the Shining Prince (Hikaru Genji) in countless hand scrolls, folding screens, hanging scrolls and albums.
This exhibition features about 70 works drawn from the Gallery’s collection as well as loans from other Australian major public and private collections of Japanese art and aims to show the imaginative power of Japanese artists in adapting the classical theme on various media.

Kodô, hailing from Sado Island, is Japan’s most internationally renowned performing arts group, having given over 3100 performances on all five continents since their inception in 1981.

TaikOz is Australia’s premiere taiko ensemble, having established a unique Australian repertoire.

For the first time ever, Kodô and TaikOz combine forces to present an evening of dynamic drumming, spectacular dance and beautiful song.

The Japanese Studies Association of Australia (JSAA) is delighted to host JSAA-ICJLE 2009. Featuring research and discussion in various disciplines of Japanese language and studies, the main theme of the conference will be "Bridging the gap between the Japanese language and Japanese studies". The conference aims to provide a forum for Japanese language and studies academics and educators from around the world to meet and share ideas beyond and across their disciplines.

Come and enjoy a day of entertainment with Japanese music, dancing and food.