Passionate about the learning and teaching of languages, Katherine has taught Japanese at tertiary level, and in comprehensive and selective secondary schools. Katherine has a strong interest in student retention, engagement and motivation at all levels of learning and is always looking for more effective strategies, techniques and approaches to further increase student uptake of languages. She is currently looking at how we can use the target language more effectively in the classroom and how formative assessment can be used to increase student achievement and confidence.

Kurtis is an educator currently on the JET Programme as an ALT in Fukushima.  He enjoys every opportunity where he can learn and grow and is passionate about supporting teacher development and student inclusivity, identity formation and wellbeing. Kurtis’ interests include Eurovision, KPOP and learning other languages - such as Korean and French.

Jack is a passionate educator who is currently working at Newcastle Grammar School where he has worked to strengthen student retention, and increase opportunities for students studying Japanese. He is always looking at furthering himself in terms of effective language teaching strategies, and strives to build positive relationships with his classes to increase motivation. In his free time, Jack loves to play and watch soccer and cricket, travel, and further his knowledge of Japanese language and culture.

Faith is currently teaching at Chester Hill High School. Enthusiastic about Japanese language and pop culture, she is dedicated to encouraging students to learn languages. Furthermore, she aims to implement a variety of techniques to build confidence, encourage active participation, and improve retention, while fostering an inclusive and supportive learning environment.

Monica is a Japanese and Chinese teacher at Cranbrook School with over 16 years of experience teaching Japanese and 3 years teaching Chinese across both HSC and IB programs. She is known regarded for creating engaging, visually teaching resources that make learning fun and meaningful. Her practice focuses on connecting classroom learning with authentic, real-world contexts to help students see the relevance and value of language learning.

As a mother of two, Monica understands the importance of designing activities that are inclusive, motivating and relevant for learners of all levels. She has a strong interest in effective pedagogy and in mentoring pre-service teachers, believing it is essential to nurture the next generation of passionate and capable educators. Monica values professional collaboration and the collegial spirit within the Japanese teaching community, and enjoys organising events that promote languages and enrich students’ educational experiences. Having previously served as JTAN Treasurer and Workshop Coordinator, she looks forward to contributing her IB experience to strengthen professional learning opportunities for teachers across diverse contexts. Outside the classroom, Monica enjoys musical theatre and cooking.

Sally Mizoshiri is a dedicated, focused and passionate high school teacher of Japanese. She commenced her teaching of Japanese in 2009 at North Sydney Girls High School and has worked consistently to obtain outstanding student outcomes in Stages 4-6 including Extension Japanese. She has previously served as JTAN NSW Workshops Co-ordinator and as JTAN President and is highly committed to mentoring younger teachers and her students of Japanese. She was awarded a Regional Director’s Beginning Teacher Award for the NSW DEC Northern Sydney Region in November 2012. Sally has presented on Japanese Language Education at school conferences, JTAN NSW Workshops and Conferences, DoE NSW Japanese conferences, the 2012 and 2014 National Symposiums on Japanese Language Education and other Australian conferences on Japanese Language Education.

She is particularly interested in the work of Professor John Hattie (Visible Learning), Professor Maryanne Wolf (https://www.maryannewolf.com/), literacy and scaffolding in language learning, and supporting the specific needs of Gifted and Talented students.

Natasha is currently the Assistant Head of Languages at MLC School. Passionate about the Japanese language, she is committed to staying up to date with innovative teaching approaches and adapting her methods to inspire and engage her students. With a particular focus on motivating language learners, Natasha aims to use a variety of techniques to build confidence, encourage active participation, and improve retention, while fostering an inclusive and supportive learning environment.

Motoko Iseki Christensen is passionate about teaching Japanese and has extensive experience in teaching Japanese at all levels from pre-school age to university students and mature aged adults in Australia and overseas. Motoko has an adaptable and flexible style of teaching which allows her to cater to a range of students' needs. This stems from Motoko's PhD research work using SNS for teaching and learning Japanese with native speakers and Japanese language learners at UNSW, Sydney. Motoko also has a long connection with JTAN which started in 2005 as she was ‘Northern Region Coordinator’ (Norther Rivers District) for JTAN and organised many workshops for high school students, especially for HSC candidates. Motoko was also involved in designing the teacher retraining graduate diploma course. She also participates in interest groups focusing on Japanese as a community language and ‘well-being through dramatization’, using Japanese language concepts of empathy to create global citizens. She is coordinating Storytime sessions, utilising her knowledge and experience of teaching early childhood and primary education, at Sydney Japan Foundation in collaboration with JPF Sydney Library and the Australian Network for Japanese as Community Language.

Kerrie is currently teaching at Danebank Anglican Girls’ School in Hurstville, NSW, having also taught in public and private primary and secondary schools for 14 years.

Currently, she has a strong interest in the promotion of Japanese as an elective subject in secondary stages. At her school, she is known for her creativity and is always looking for more effective and engaging strategies. Her practice focuses on enabling students to connect classroom learning with real-world contexts. Her favourite aspects of teaching include her school’s sister school relationship and sharing entertaining texts about experiences in Japan with her students.