{"id":16155,"date":"2026-08-01T10:11:46","date_gmt":"2026-08-01T00:11:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/japanbookshop.com\/?p=16155"},"modified":"2026-11-06T15:39:35","modified_gmt":"2026-11-06T05:39:35","slug":"japanese-teacher-in-australia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/japanbookshop.com\/ja\/japanese-teacher-in-australia\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2708\ufe0f From Japan to Australia: The Freedom to Dream"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"\ud83c\udf38\" A Dream That Began in Japan<\/span><\/h2>

Growing up in Japan, I loved learning English, especially English conversation. The excitement of communicating in another language inspired my dream of becoming a Japanese teacher.<\/p>

At 18, I moved to Australia to pursue that dream.<\/p>

My English was far from perfect, but I was excited about the possibilities ahead. I began studying childcare at TAFE, which eventually led to my first teaching job.<\/p>

My journey did not follow a straight path, but every experience opened a new door.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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\ud83c\udf0fDiscovering a Different World in Australia<\/span><\/h2>

One of my strongest impressions of Australia was its sense of freedom and equality.<\/p>

I remember thinking that Australia was a country where a cleaner and a lawyer could sit together and talk as equals.<\/p>

Coming from Japan, where age and social position often influence communication, I found this refreshing.<\/p>

Australia gave me the confidence to explore opportunities and make my own decisions. I began to believe that I could shape my own future.<\/p>

A simple philosophy became part of my life:<\/p>

\u201cYou never know until you try.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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\ud83c\udf38My Journey as a Japanese Language Teacher in Australia<\/span><\/h2>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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After studying childcare at TAFE, I began working as a kindergarten teacher at 22. I loved working with children, but my dream of teaching Japanese remained.<\/p>

When I was around 24, I discovered a newspaper article about a new bilingual school in Sydney, described as the city’s first. It offered education from daycare through high school.<\/p>

The article had been circled, but there were no contact details.<\/p>

I immediately thought:<\/p>

\u201cThis is for me!\u201d<\/strong><\/p>

I loved children, had some teaching experience, and was excited by the opportunity to teach my native language in a bilingual environment.<\/p>

Determined to find the school, I telephoned the newspaper publisher, obtained its contact details, and arranged an interview.<\/p>

And I got the job!<\/strong><\/p>

It became my second teaching position, teaching Japanese from kindergarten through high school.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Later, I became a mother and spent a period raising my child as a single mother. I realized that I needed to become more independent and create a secure future for us.<\/p>

When my child was four, I began a four-year teaching degree at the University of Queensland (UQ)<\/strong>.<\/p>

Studying while raising a young child was challenging, but with determination and support from people around me, I completed my degree.<\/p>

It remains one of my proudest achievements.<\/p>

Over the years, I have taught Japanese in preschools, primary schools, high schools, language schools, and corporate programs.<\/p>

In 2015, another opportunity came through an educational project for the Australian Defence Force (ADF)<\/strong>.<\/p>

Together with another Japanese teacher, I developed the textbooks, teaching materials, and learning resources for an intensive one-year Japanese language course in Sydney and Melbourne.<\/p>

Our team was selected through a competitive process. We did not teach the course ourselves; our responsibility was to create its educational resources.<\/p>

Another unforgettable opportunity came when I saw a Japanese teaching position advertised at the Institute of Modern Languages (IML), University of Queensland<\/strong>.<\/p>

We were away on a week-long family vacation during the school holidays, and the application deadline was approaching.<\/p>

I thought, \u201cImagine teaching Japanese at the very university where I earned my degree!\u201d<\/strong><\/p>

I wanted that position so much that I drove home alone, leaving our family vacation early to prepare my r\u00e9sum\u00e9 and application.<\/p>

I attended the interview.<\/p>

And I got the job!<\/strong><\/p>

Returning to UQ as a Japanese language teacher was a very special moment.<\/p>

Another dream had come true.<\/strong><\/p>

Today, I continue teaching Japanese in primary schools and at IML. After more than 40 years in education, I still love helping students discover what they can achieve.<\/p>

\ud83d\udcda Creating Japanese Graded Readers: Another Dream<\/span><\/h2>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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Throughout my teaching career, I have seen how students gain confidence when they can read Japanese independently.<\/p>

I have also seen how difficult reading can become when books introduce too much unfamiliar language or provide insufficient support.<\/p>

I wanted to create books that would make Japanese reading accessible, meaningful, and enjoyable.<\/p>

That dream became Mariko Sensei’s Japanbooks<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>

Drawing on my classroom experience, I create Japanese graded readers with carefully selected vocabulary, meaningful repetition, supportive layouts, and engaging stories about Japanese life and culture.<\/p>

Approximately 90% of the visual content in my readers uses authentic photographs, alongside illustrations where appropriate. Many books also include furigana, while audio recordings and additional learning resources support reading development.<\/p>

My greatest reward is seeing a learner discover that they can read Japanese independently.<\/p>

\u201cI did it! I read it myself!\u201d<\/strong><\/p>

That moment inspires me to keep creating.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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\u2728 Still Dreaming After More Than 40 Years<\/span><\/h2>

Looking back, my journey has taken me from Japan to Australian classrooms, university studies, educational resource development, and publishing my own Japanese readers.<\/p>

There have been challenges, unexpected opportunities, and dreams I never imagined would come true.<\/p>

But I could not have achieved these things alone.<\/p>

I am deeply grateful to my family, friends, colleagues, and everyone who has encouraged and supported me along the way.<\/strong> Their kindness and belief in me have made an enormous difference.<\/p>

Today, I am also fortunate to have a wonderfully supportive husband.<\/p>

I am still teaching, still creating, and still learning.<\/p>

And the belief that has guided me since my early days in Australia remains unchanged:<\/p>

\u201cYou never know until you try.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>

I hope my journey encourages others to pursue their dreams, even when the path ahead seems uncertain.<\/p>

And whenever a learner opens one of my books and proudly says, \u201cI did it! I read it myself!\u201d<\/strong>, another little part of my dream comes true.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

At 18, I moved from Japan to Australia with a dream of becoming a Japanese teacher. Discover my teaching journey, the challenges I faced, and how I turned my passion for Japanese language education into creating Japanese graded readers.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":123464880,"featured_media":16168,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","ocean_front_end_style_editor":"no","ocean_post_layout":"","ocean_both_sidebars_style":"","ocean_both_sidebars_content_width":0,"ocean_both_sidebars_sidebars_width":0,"ocean_sidebar":"0","ocean_second_sidebar":"0","ocean_disable_margins":"enable","ocean_add_body_class":"","ocean_shortcode_before_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_after_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_before_header":"","ocean_shortcode_after_header":"","ocean_has_shortcode":"","ocean_shortcode_after_title":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_bottom":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_bottom":"","ocean_display_top_bar":"default","ocean_display_header":"default","ocean_header_style":"","ocean_center_header_left_menu":"0","ocean_custom_header_template":"0","ocean_custom_logo":0,"ocean_custom_retina_logo":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_height":0,"ocean_header_custom_menu":"0","ocean_menu_typo_font_family":"0","ocean_menu_typo_font_subset":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_size":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_unit":"px","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_line_height":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_unit":"","ocean_menu_typo_spacing":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_unit":"","ocean_menu_link_color":"","ocean_menu_link_color_hover":"","ocean_menu_link_color_active":"","ocean_menu_link_background":"","ocean_menu_link_hover_background":"","ocean_menu_link_active_background":"","ocean_menu_social_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_links_color":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_color":"","ocean_disable_title":"default","ocean_disable_heading":"default","ocean_post_title":"","ocean_post_subheading":"","ocean_post_title_style":"","ocean_post_title_background_color":"","ocean_post_title_background":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_image_position":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_attachment":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_repeat":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_size":"","ocean_post_title_height":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay":0.5,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay_color":"","ocean_disable_breadcrumbs":"default","ocean_breadcrumbs_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_separator_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_hover_color":"","ocean_display_footer_widgets":"default","ocean_display_footer_bottom":"default","ocean_custom_footer_template":"0","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_wpcom_ai_launchpad_first_post":false,"_jetpack_hide_featured_image":false,"_jetpack_featured_image_duplicate_dismissed":0,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"ocean_post_oembed":"","ocean_post_self_hosted_media":"","ocean_post_video_embed":"","ocean_link_format":"","ocean_link_format_target":"self","ocean_quote_format":"","ocean_quote_format_link":"post","ocean_gallery_link_images":"on","ocean_gallery_id":[],"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"{title}\r\n\r\n{excerpt}\r\n\r\n{url}","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":true},"categories":[1620],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16155","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-slug-my-teaching-journey","entry","has-media","owp-thumbs-layout-horizontal","owp-btn-normal","owp-tabs-layout-horizontal","has-no-thumbnails","has-product-nav"],"acf":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8RRgZ-4cz","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/japanbookshop.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1990s-Preschool-Craftroom-Memories.png?fit=1672%2C941&ssl=1"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