Events

Workshop Leader: Y.-H. Tohsaku (University of California, San Diego). Facilitator: Yoshiko Saito-Abbott, AATJ Professional Development Director (California State University, Monterey Bay) Session 2: Effective AI strategies to engage your learners and enhance their learning in the Japanese classroom (October 21, 2023)   Register here In this session, we will discuss how we can leverage ChatGPT and other AI tools to strengthen our teaching and enhance our students' learning. We will explore specific strategies that can be used in face-to-face and online learning settings as well as effective engineering and assessment strategies in the new AI-infused classroom.

The 2023 AATJ Fall Conference will be held, in conjunction with the ACTFL Annual Convention and World Languages Expo, on November 17-19, 2023, in Chicago, IL.

Nengajo 2024 submissions are due December 30 for the Year of the Dragon. View the Rules and Lesson Plans Submission Form Renew Membership

Registration opens for the National Japanese Exam (NJE), an online, proficiency-oriented, standards-based and culture-related assessment tool, aligned with ACTFL Guidelines. It is for middle school, high school, and college students of Japanese as a second language.

Join us in Seattle at a workshop, ‘Examining Ourselves in Order to be Culturally Responsive Educators and Create Inclusive Environments,’ with special keynote speaker William Matsuzaki of the All Saints’ Episcopal School. Registration now open! Target participants: K-12 teachers of Japanese language, UW students, faculty, and other post-secondary teachers of other institutions.

Now accepting proposals: The ACTFL Annual Convention will be held Friday, November 22 through Sunday, November 24, 2024 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia, PA. The 2024 ACTFL Convention will feature educational content covering a wide spectrum of the language profession. The ACTFL Convention is a national event bringing together over 7,000 attendees from all languages, levels, and assignments within the profession. Call for Proposals

Confronting the Japanese Language Teacher Shortage: Government Developments Concerning Japanese Language Education in the United States 米国における日本語教育を巡る政府の動向について April 28 (Sunday), 9:00-10:30 a.m. Pacific time; 12:00-1:00 p.m. Eastern time 日時：4月28日（日）9:00 -10:30 a.m. PDT; 12:00 - 1:30 p.m. EDT Based on the "Memorandum of Cooperation in Education" signed between the U.S. and Japanese governments last May, the first U.S.-Japan High-Level Policy Dialogue on Education was held in October 2023. At this dialogue, the Embassy of Japan presented the results of a survey conducted by the Mid-Atlantic Association of Teachers of Japanese (MAATJ) and raised issues surrounding the shortage of Japanese language teachers. Included in the joint statement that was compiled was the decision to strengthen efforts to support Japanese language education in the U.S. In this webinar, the presenters will share the latest developments and deepen the discussion with teachers on finding creative solutions to the shortage of Japanese language teachers. 要旨：昨年５月に日米両政府間で署名された「教育における協力覚書」を踏まえ、昨年10月に第１回日米教育ハイレベル政策対話が開催された。この中で中部大西洋岸日本語教師会（MAATJ）が実施した調査結果を示しつつ日本語教師不足を巡る課題を提起した。その後、共同文書がまとめられ、米国での日本語教育の支援策について取り組みを強化することとした。本講演で一連の動向について共有し、日本語教師不足の解決策について先生方と議論を深めたい。 Speakers: Taichi Kaneshiro, Education Counsellor at the Embassy of Japan in Washington, DC / 金城太一参事官、在アメリカ合衆国日本国大使館 / Tomoko Marshall, Distinguished Lecturer at the University of Virginia and Past President of MAATJ / マーシャルともこ、バージニア大学、MAATJ2022-2023年度会長 Facilitator: Yoshiko Saito-Abbott, AATJ Professional Development Director / 齋藤-アボット佳子, カリフォルニア州立大学モントレイベイ校 Registration is required. Here is the zoom link [...]

Register   AATJ is co-hosting ICJLE (International Conference on Japanese Language Education – North America) August 1-3, 2024, where the conference theme will be “Exploring Issues of Diversity and Expertise in Japanese Language Education.” In all regions of the world, people are teaching and learning Japanese in all kinds of organizations and circumstances, aims, and approaches. Given the diversity of teaching and learning environments, what connects us as we engage in Japanese language education? What constitutes the core expertise of Japanese language education? The conference will feature three days of workshops, symposia, exhibits, networking events, plenary sessions, and panel, paper, and poster sessions. Make plans now to attend: Registration is open. The venue for all conference events is the beautiful lakeside campus of the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Housing options include a full-service hotel as well as “budget” options in a newly remodeled dormitory a short walk from the conference venue. SUPPORT ICJLE  

JLPT Registration in the US opens August 5. Registration closes when all seats are FULL OR on September 18 (Wed) at 5 PM PDT, whichever is sooner.

The Spring Conference will be March 13, 2025 in Columbus, Ohio. The Call for individual papers and panels will open September 1.

Registration is open for the 2024 Fall Conference, which takes place in Philadelphia November 22-24 in conjunction with ACTFL. Information on attending is online at https://www.actfl.org/convention-and-expo . The schedule of AATJ-sponsored sessions will be available soon.

The 2024 JLPT will be held on Sunday, December 1. There will be 18 testing locations, and all 5 levels of the test, from N1 to N5, will be offered at each location.

We will be slithering into the new year with our 2025 Nengajo contest for the Year of the Snake. As with every year, this contest is open to original nengajo from any level from elementary to college/university.