Japanese Blended Program – Tanjil South Primary School

Since 2021, the Japanese Blended Program has connected students from small, rural Victorian schools to qualified Japanese teachers through weekly Webex lessons. For many of these schools, finding a local language teacher is nearly impossible, so the program has been a valuable solution.

On August 12, I had the chance to meet one of the schools that has been part of the program since the beginning—Tanjil South Primary School—for the first time in person during their city experience camp in Melbourne. Although we’ve been learning together online since 2021, this was our first face-to-face meeting.

We started the day at Queen Victoria Market with a fun scavenger hunt, looking for the price of Wagyu, counting sushi shops, and practicing Japanese numbers and colours. These activities connected perfectly with our current unit on food.

On the way back to the CBD, we visited an Asian grocery store and discovered some delicious Japanese snacks. We also stopped by the World of the Book area at the State Library, where we spotted an old Japanese printing machine and a display featuring Astro Boy. Some students were even able to recognise Japanese writing, a great moment of connection to what we’ve been learning in class. Our day ended with a shared lunch at the QV food court, with many choosing sushi, of course.

Although the students were a little shy at first, they soon became confident and curious, asking thoughtful questions about Japan and Japanese culture. It was a special day that helped strengthen our connection beyond the screen. I’m proud of the students and grateful to the teachers and principal at Tanjil South for their ongoing support. I look forward to building even stronger connections in the future.

Mai Lovelock, Japanese Blended Program