We are re-sending this announcement as we have extended the deadline to February, 20, 2020.

The Department of Asian Languages and Cultures at Macalester College (Saint Paul, MN) is pleased to announce the 28th Conference of the Central Association of Teachers of Japanese (CATJ) on May 30- 31, 2020. We are excited to carry on the tradition of bringing together Japanese language professionals from across the US and Canada to network and share their research and ideas on best practices in teaching and advising. In addition, we seek to provide a space in which K-12 Japanese language educators can interact with college instructors and exchange ideas regarding the current issues of our shared profession.

Click here for the CATJ 28 Conference Homepage.

The theme of CATJ 28 is “Japanese Language Education in Diversifying Communities (多様化社会における日本語教育).”

Aware of the increasing diversity in the environment surrounding Japanese language education, both in terms of the modes of language education and the importance of identities amongst our students (race, ethnicity, class, nationality, and gender/sexuality to name a few), we hope this conference will provide opportunities to discuss and exchange ideas about how Japanese language educators are addressing the complexities of this diversity in and outside their classrooms.

We have invited three keynote speakers, Dr. Junko Mori (University of Wisconsin – Madison), Mr. Yo Azama (North Salinas High School and California State University), and Dr. Yuri Kumagai (Smith College). We are also planning a roundtable discussion to address various issues related to diversity.

We invite proposals related to the main theme or any topic related to Japanese language education (linguistics, second language acquisition, and pedagogical innovations, among others). Presenters will have 20 minutes for their presentation followed by a 5-minute question and answer period. Presented papers will be published in the CATJ proceedings. Please see the Call for Proposals site to submit your proposal. Please go the Conference Homepage for registration, travel accommodations, and conference schedule.

The proposal submission deadline is February 20, 2020. If you have any questions, please send an e-mail to Satoko Suzuki (suzuki@macalester.edu).

We look forward to seeing you in Saint Paul in the spring!