Supplementary Japanese Schools in Australia

A Japanese supplementary school provides supplementary Japanese education to Japanese residents living abroad. There are three major Japanese supplementary schools in Australia, all designated by MEXT as a Hoshū jugyō kō, providing Japanese education to Japanese Australians and Japanese nationals on weekends.

Canberra Japanese Supplementary School

Canberra Japanese Supplementary School Inc. (CJSS; キャンベラ補習授業校 Kyanbera Hoshū Jugyō Kō), established on 1 August 1988,^[1] is a Japanese supplementary school serving Japanese residents of Canberra, Australia. It holds its classes at Alfred Deakin High School in Deakin, while it has its school office in Yarralumla.

As of 2001, half of the approximately 60 students were dual nationals of Japan and Australia.^[2]

Melbourne International School of Japanese

The Melbourne International School of Japanese, Inc. (MISJ; メルボルン国際日本語学校 Meruborun Kokusai Nihongo Gakkō) is a weekend Japanese supplementary school in Melbourne, Australia. It serves levels kindergarten through senior high school.^[3] Classes are held on Saturdays,^[4] at Oakleigh South Primary School in Oakleigh South.^[5]

History

The Japanese School of Melbourne, a full-time Japanese school, was formed out of the previous supplementary school, so a new supplementary program opened to replace it.^[6] There had been Japanese families who already had children enrolled in Australian schools at the time the JSM was established,^[3] with many of them being permanent residents.^[7] Therefore, there was demand for a new supplementary school.^[3]

The MISJ first opened in 1986.^[3] Because the school had formed to replace the JSM, the Japanese government had little connection with the new supplementary school.^[7] MISJ began admitting non-Japanese students in 1995; these students were divided into small classes based on their Japanese proficiency.^[3]

Previously the school held its classes at the Brighton Grammar School in Brighton.^[8][9] The school later moved classes to the Kilvington Girls' Grammar School in Ormond,^[10] and then Oakleigh South Primary School in Oakleigh South.^[5]

Student body

In April 1995 the MISJ had a total of 232 students in the Japanese national classes, which included some part-Japanese students from mixed marriages, and 23 international class students. The Japanese national classes included 53 kindergarten students, 129 students in grades 1–6, 38 junior high school students, and 12 senior high school students. In 2005 the school had a total of 324 students in all divisions, including 315 students in Japanese national classes and 9 international class students. The Japanese national classes included 73 preschool students, 169 elementary school students, 3 junior high school students, and 30 senior high school students.^[3]

Japanese Language Supplementary School of Queensland

The Japanese Language Supplementary School of Queensland (JLSSQ; クイーンズランド日本語補習授業校 Kuīnzurando Nihongo Hoshū Jugyō Kō) is a weekend Japanese supplementary school serving Japanese nationals and Japanese Australians in the state of Queensland, Australia.

The institution consists of two schools, both with teachers from Japan.^[11] The Japanese School of Brisbane (ブリスベン校 Burisuben Kō) has classes in St Aidan’s Anglican Girls’ School in Corinda and offices in Taringa. Japanese School of Gold Coast (ゴールドコースト校 Gōrudo Kōsuto Kō) has classes in the All Saints Anglican School in Merrimac and offices in Surfers Paradise.^[12]

See also

Full-time Japanese schools in Australia:

• Sydney Japanese International School
• The Japanese School of Melbourne
• The Japanese School in Perth
• South Queensland Academy (closed)

References

1. "学校概要 Archived 14 November 2014 at the Wayback Machine" (Archive ). Canberra Japanese Supplementary School Inc. Retrieved on 7 April 2015. "借用校 Alfred Deakin High School (Denison St., Deakin, 2600, ACT) ディーキンハイスクール（写真）校舎・2Fにて授業を実施" and "日本大使館領事部：112 Empire Circuit, YARRALUMLA, ACT 2600, AUSTRALIA"
2. "I learned how to be Japanese at Saturday school – and my teacher thinks that’s good! Archived 13 April 2015 at the Wayback Machine" (Archive ). AFMLTA National Conference 2011, Australian Federation of Modern Language Teachers Association Inc. July 6-July 9, 2011. Retrieved on April 8, 2015. See handout Archived 9 March 2015 at the Wayback Machine (Archive ).
3. Mizukami, The Sojourner Community, p. 153.
4. Yoshimitsu, circa p. 257: (see Search page): "The study investigated 10 Japanese children in Grade Five who were 10–11 years old and enrolled at the Melbourne International School of Japanese, a supplementary Japanese school held on Saturdays. They were selected from two[...]"
5. "Introduction Archived 2009-09-27 at the Wayback Machine." Melbourne International School of Japanese. Retrieved 2 March 2015. "校舎所在地 Oakleigh South Primary School Riley Street, Oakleigh South VIC3167"
6. Mizukami, The Sojourner Community, p. 145.
7. Marriott, Helen Elizabeth. Unlocking Australia's Language Potential: Profiles of 9 Key Languages in Australia, Volume 7. National Languages and Literacy Institute of Australia, 1993. p. 45 (See search page) "The establishment of full-time schools left the minority of Japanese residents, mainly permanent residents who wanted their children to receive education in Australian schools, in a difficult position. It was mainly for this reason that in Melbourne the former part-time school was reorganised, now without much connection with the Japanese authorities, as the Melbourne International School of Japanese. It serves as a means of maintaining Japanese language competence of Japanese children who[...]"
8. Mizukami, The Sojourner Community, p. 119.
9. "大洋州の補習授業校一覧" (). MEXT. 13 February 2002. Retrieved 7 April 2015. "The Melbourne International School of Japanese,INC.（学校所在地）c/- Brighton Grammar School,90 Outer Crescent,BRIGHTON,Victoria 3079 AUSTRALIA"
10. "Introduction" (). Melbourne International School of Japanese. 27 September 2009. Retrieved 3 March 2015. "校舎所在地：　Kilvington Girls' Grammar School (Melway:P68E7) 2　Leila Road, Ormond, Vic 3204"
11. "大洋州の補習授業校一覧（平成25年4月15日現在）" (). MEXT. Retrieved on February 13, 2015.
12. "平成 26(2014)年度" (Archive). The Japanese Language Supplementary School of Queensland. Retrieved on April 1, 2015. p. 4. "借用校舎：セントエイダンスアングリカンスクール　(St Aidan’s Anglican Girls’ School) 11 Ruthven Street Corinda QLD 4075,AUSTRALIA, 事務所：The Japanese Club of Brisbane/The Japanese School of Brisbane Suite 17, Taringa Professional Centre, 180 Moggill Road, Taringa, QLD4068" and "借用校舎：オールセインツアングリカンスクール(All Saints Anglican School) Highfield Drive, Merrimac, QLD4226, AUSTRALIA 事務所：The Japanese Society of the Gold Coast/ The Japanese School of Gold Coast 25 Mawarra Building, 3108 Gold Coast Highway, Surfers Paradise, QLD4217"

Further reading

• (in Japanese) 飯島 健太郎. "Boys and Girls, be ambitious! : Canberra Japanese Supplementary School" (キャンベラ補習授業校での取り組み (特集 弁理士の海外研修・海外勤務)). パテント 66(9), 46–54, 2013–07. 日本弁理士会. See profile at CiNii.
• 水上 徹男 (Mizukami Tetsuo). The Sojourner Community: Japanese Migration and Residency in Australia (Volume 10 of Social sciences in Asia, v. 10). BRILL, 2007. ISBN 9004154795, 9789004154797.
• Yoshimitsu, Kuniko (Monash University). "Japanese school children in Melbourne and their language maintenance efforts." DOI: 10.1075/japc.10.2.07yos. In: Jernudd, Björn H. (editor). Language Management and Language Problems: Part I. Special issue of Journal of Asian Pacific Communication (Volumes 10–11) 10:2 (2000). p. 255–278.