5. Vale Mrs Mioko Wood
Written by Anne de Kretser, Director, Monash Japanese Language Education Centre
It is with great sadness that I inform you of the passing of one of our Japanese language education pioneers, Ms Mioko Wood.
Before becoming a teacher Mioko was a well respected translator and interpreter, translating important works including, Professor Manning Clark’s ‘A History of Australia’.
Mioko was at the forefront of Japanese language education from the 70’s when it was in its infancy. She worked enthusiastically and productively to develop the curriculum and materials for the post-war teaching of Japanese in Victorian schools. Her input, hard work and determination was pivotal to the success of Japanese language education in Victoria. Mioko mentored many teachers and supervised many pre-service teachers throughout her career, encouraging and educating them by working collaboratively with them to further the professionalism of Japanese language teachers. Throughout her career she continued to be a mentor and leader in the Japanese language teaching profession giving of her time generously, always an active and productive member of the Japanese language teaching community serving as a JLTAV committee member, member of state curriculum committees, the Chief Examiner for both the Japanese Second Language and First Language courses, author of curriculum materials, supplementary teaching materials, VCE examinations and co-author of textbooks.
As an exemplary teacher, Mioko spent her teaching career at St. Catherine’s In Toorak where she motivated and encouraged numerous students. She worked diligently to ensure her students’ Japanese language levels were of a very high standard and worked very hard to establish and maintain links with schools in Japan where her students would spend their summer break furthering their proficiency while living with a host family. Mioko developed close relationships with her students and their families many of whom she remained in contact with after retirement. Mioko was a perfectionist with very high standards of herself and her students who regularly gained exceptional results in VCE examinations. Mioko also dedicated her time to helping students enter the Victorian Japanese Speech competition and other opportunities related to their studies.
Her contribution to Japanese language education was recognised by the JLTAV with a Life Membership Award. We all owe a debt of gratitude to Mioko for all her efforts in the development and success of Japanese Language Education in Victoria, she will be sadly missed.
Written by Nathan Lane, President, Japanese Language Teachers’ Association of Victoria Inc. (JLTAV)
I first came across Mrs Wood when I was a student studying Japanese in Year 12 in Adelaide and we used the text book she had co-authored called ‘ハイスクールの日本語 Japanese for Senior Secondary Students’. This was back in the 1990s when Japanese language education was advancing and we saw a lot of locally based resources produced to support learners of Japanese in Australian schools.
When I moved to Melbourne in 2000 I remember attending many professional learning workshops run by Mrs Wood, particularly around the old VCE Study Design. Mrs Wood was generous with her time and the sharing of resources she made to ensure students could achieve success in their Japanese studies.
In 2002 I became an assessor for the first time for the Japanese Second Language Oral Examination. Mrs Wood was the Chief Assessor at this time, and ensured she took new assessors under her wing and mentored and supported us. Her kindness towards me is something I have always remembered.
Mrs Wood received a life membership of the Japanese Language Teachers’ Association of Victoria Inc. (JLTAV) in recognition of her great contribution to Japanese Language Education in Victoria. Mrs Wood’s contributions to Japanese Language Education have ensured the subject that we all love to teach continues to flourish in Victoria. Thank you Mrs Wood, you will be sadly missed. |
