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 supplementary Japanese school in Melbourne, Australia. It serves levels kindergarten through senior high school.^[1] Classes are held on Saturdays,^[2] at Oakleigh South Primary School in Oakleigh South.^[3]

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.^[4] There had been Japanese families who already had children enrolled in Australian schools at the time the JSM was established,^[1] with many of them being permanent residents.^[5] Therefore, there was demand for a new supplementary school.^[1]

The MISJ first opened in 1986.^[1] The Japanese government had little connection with the new supplementary school.^[5] MISJ began admitting non-Japanese students in 1995; these students were divided into small classes based on their Japanese proficiency.^[1]

Previously the school held its classes at the Brighton Grammar School in Brighton.^[6][7] The school later moved classes to the Kilvington Girls' Grammar School in Ormond,^[8] and then Sandringham East Primary School in Sandringham.^[9]

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.^[1]

See also

• Japanese community of Melbourne
• Japanese Australian

References

• Mizukami, Tetsuo (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.

Notes

1. Mizukami, The Sojourner Community, p. 153.
2. 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[...]"
3. "Introduction." Melbourne International School of Japanese. Retrieved on March 2, 2015. "校舎所在地 Oakleigh South Primary School Riley Street, Oakleigh South VIC3167"
4. Mizukami, The Sojourner Community, p. 145.
5. 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[...]"
6. Mizukami, The Sojourner Community, p. 119.
7. "大洋州の補習授業校一覧" (Archive). MEXT. February 13, 2002. Retrieved on April 7, 2015. "The Melbourne International School of Japanese,INC.（学校所在地）c/- Brighton Grammar School,90 Outer Crescent,BRIGHTON,Victoria 3079 AUSTRALIA"
8. "Introduction" (Archive). Melbourne International School of Japanese. September 27, 2009. Retrieved on March 3, 2015. "校舎所在地：　Kilvington Girls' Grammar School (Melway:P68E7) 2　Leila Road, Ormond, Vic 3204"
9. "大洋州の補習授業校一覧（平成25年4月15日現在）" (Archive). MEXT. March 30, 2014. Retrieved on April 7, 2015. "c/o Sandringham East Primary School, 9 Holloway Rd. Sandringham, Vic 3191 (Melway P77 A-11),AUSTRALIA" (NOTE: This site is now in Oakleigh)

External links

• Melbourne International School of Japanese (Japanese)