Dr Jennifer Smith

Over almost 30 years, Jennifer has gained experience teaching in primary, secondary and tertiary settings. Most of her school experience is with catholic and independent schools. She has taught in regional, remote and major city schools. During this time she has been responsible for developing curriculum, supervising and mentoring pre-service and beginning teachers, and running Japanese Departments. As a Japanese Language teacher, Jennifer is passionate about developing connections between Australian and Japanese students through using collaborative technology in the classroom such as Skype. She has experience with teaching intercultural understanding through using authentic materials in the classroom and facilitating opportunities for reflection. Working in an all-boys school for over 10 years, she also has experience with boy-friendly pedagogy.

Jennifer has a keen interest in how second languages are acquired and second language teaching and learning. Drawing on her own experiences as a Rotary Exchange student who had no understanding of Japanese before she landed in Japan, Jennifer understands what it is like to be a second language learner in an educational institution. Combined with her Master of Education (TESOL) qualifications and experience teaching in mainstream classrooms, Jennifer has been teaching about English as an Additional Language or Dialect (EAL/D) learners to undergraduate and postgraduate students at QUT since 2016. She also has experience teaching second language teaching methodology in the Master of Education (TESOL) course.

Jennifer regularly contributes to her field through conference presentations such as:

Rethinking homework: What Japanese language teachers need to know about homework, Japanese Network (2019)

Languaging: A mediational tool for foreign language homework, ALAA (2018).

Languaging: How foreign language students get their homework done when they are home alone! BNU (2018).

Methodology: Using iPads to collect video data with children, HDR RECON, QUT (2018).

Investigating foreign language homework: Using iPads to collect video data with primary school children, SPARK, QUT (2018).

Scaffolding primary school Language homework for Language learning, MLTAQ (2018).

TV as a tool for intercultural understanding, AFLMTA (2017).

Skyping in the foreign language classroom, MLTAQ (2014).