JapanEasyReads

26/05/2026

JLTASA Conference: “Passion and Purpose”

It was a real highlight of the weekend to be at the Japanese Language Teachers Association SA conference in Adelaide and to finally meet some JapanEasyReads Hub members IRL 😊

The keynote from Susan Oguro, PhD really set the tone for the day. A key takeaway for me was the idea that teacher passion and purpose grow when Japanese is used for genuine, everyday, authentic communication in the classroom.

We unpacked this through three really practical lenses of classroom language:

• Instruct
• Coordinate
• Connect

It was such a useful prompt to reflect on what we can realistically do in Japanese with our learners, what language we’re already using, and where English still naturally fits (and why).

I also really enjoyed sharing my sessions on
* Cold Character Reading and
* Story-based Comprehensible Input.

Always a privilege to chat with teachers who are experimenting, adapting, and building confidence with CI approaches.

And Immanuel College was such a hospitable and stunning venue! The Japanese garden with the torii gate was gorgeous… and the DIY poke bowls were next level 😄 (I will never not comment on good conference food.)

Grateful for the conversations, the ideas, and the shared energy around teaching Japanese well. A big thank you to the JLTASA committee of volunteers for creating such a rich space for learning, connection, and networking within the Japanese teaching community. ありがとうございます 🙏

19/05/2026

Isn't it funny how life ebbs and flows?

I remember being tickled pink when Susan Oguro, PhD reached out to connect on Linkedin. We were both presenting at the AFMLTA conference in July last year. We power chatted over lunch, and it was, as they say in the movies, 'the beginning of a beautiful friendship'.

As fate would have it, we connected again later that year, as presenters at the International School of Basel for the 2025 World Languages Conference, and along with Nikolas Djakovic made up the only Japanese language speakers- and Aussies!- in a sea of world languages. It really was such a joy to share this highlight with them both.

Now I'm gearing up for the JLTASA Conference in Adelaide this weekend, where I'll be presenting on two of my passions: Story based Comprehensible Input and Cold Character Reading, an inclusive reading approach for scripted languages developed by Terry Waltz, Ph.D.

I’m especially delighted to be there for Susan’s keynote address:
'Purpose and passion in Japanese teachers’ classroom communication: making connections and promoting student engagement.'

Looking forward to reconnecting with familiar faces, meeting new people, and talking all things Japanese language teaching.

Who else will be there?

11/05/2026

Love this book by . Perfect for beginners.
Compelling stories.
Comprehensible language.
Highly recommend.📚

If you are attending the JLTASA conference in Adelaide May 23 you can check out this book- The Story Pit and other fabulous books by Richard.

03/05/2026

Just a quick camera roll scroll…

20 minutes later

In October of 2025, I travelled to Europe (for the very first time!) with my daughter Lily. We had an absolute blast and I am grateful for this time we had together, seeing the sights, sharing laughs and building up the resilience muscle while we navigated some unexpected twists and turns along the way!

During the 6 weeks I was also very fortunate to attend and present a workshop at the World Languages Conference in Switzerland. A major highlight was meeting the keynote speaker Dr Liam Printer from the podcast. Amazing keynote. Amazing workshop. What I really love is the way Liam grounds the research (in particular Self Determination Theory) with practical examples from his classroom.

There were SO many takeaways but I'm sharing this one-the Most Disgusting Milkshake activity- which I managed to capture a snippet of in the presentation. It is a fantastic example of how we can tweak an often vocab heavy 'food' unit to meet the needs of:
Competence
Autonomy and
Relatedness (or the 'CAR' as Liam calls it) that drives intrinsic motivation.

I'm keen to try this out for Japanese classes-has anyone tried something similar?

28/04/2026

Research Talks: Motivating Acquisition-Centred Classrooms by Eric Herman brings together 30 weeks of powerful quotes from leading voices in second language acquisition.

What I love most is how accessible it is. You can dip into one quote a day, reflect, and connect it directly to your classroom practice….without getting lost in heavy research jargon.

A thoughtful, teacher-first resource for anyone wanting to align their teaching with research.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Japanese teachers-do you enjoy reading research, or prefer it simplified like this?

25/04/2026

Romaji: to use or not to use? 👀🇯🇵

This comes up all the time in beginner Japanese.

But honestly, it’s not a simple yes or no.

I use romaji strategically:
✨ During the input stage, when I want meaning and communication to flow - and decoding hiragana would interrupt interaction
✨ In scaffolded texts for non-essential words (like names or places), so the focus stays on high-frequency language and reading for meaning.

For beginners, too much decoding can slow everything down… sometimes it even stops communication altogether.

So it’s not about avoiding hiragana - it’s about when and why.

For me, it’s about reducing cognitive load so students can actually use the language they have 💬

What’s your approach? Team romaji, no romaji, or somewhere in between?

17/04/2026

Easy low prep game! Japanese language teachers try this easy pair activity for reading revision.

https://www.tiktok.com//video/7629632539753401620?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7353951361232815632

Check out JapanEasyReads’s video.

11/04/2026

How do you build reading habits with emergent readers of Japanese?

This simple reading warm-up routine has been really effective in helping students revisit language, get repeated exposure to key kanji and vocabulary, and have space to notice and read for meaning.

Nothing complicated. Just consistent, intentional practice that really adds up over time.

I’d be really interested to hear how others are approaching this. What’s working for you at the moment?

06/04/2026

Reading is power
Reading = language acquisition

01/04/2026

Follow up resources from my JLTAV reading/story sessions

So many amazing resources have been shared by members of the JapanEasyReads Hub community to go with the books-here's one for Boris. Guaranteed to get stuck in your head! Love it. Thank you Rachel and Suno.

Anna also created an amazing 'parallel story' that uses the language in Boris in a new story. What I love about Anna's story is it highlights the power of personalisation. This is what Anna had to say: "Alex** (not his real name) is the student who objected to the black and white focus. He is now very comfortable and has created a 黒が好き page and has been collecting black and white animals. He challenged me to write a story about a black and white King Charles Caviller Spaniel (he owns one)." Genius!

Very grateful for the shares-both resources and experiences. 🌸

https://canva.link/t660vr3yp838l2b

29/03/2026

The perfect end to the JLTAV conference weekend. Lunch with at . Never disappoints🍙