Hiroko Ohashi

Hiroko Ohashi is the Coordinator of Japanese Studies and a Lecturer in RMIT University’s School of Global, Urban and Social Studies.

 

Hiroko teaches Japanese language and culture at all proficiency levels. Through her research and publications, she advocates for a new role for Japanese language education in providing learners with an intercultural space where the integration of self and others transcends cultural differences. Her research focuses on the impact of Japanese language learning on learners’ identity formation and personal development.

Key activities

• Coordinating Japanese Studies
• Teaching Japanese language courses
• Coordinating international exchange programs with RMIT’s partner universities
• Serving as Vice President of the Japanese Language Speech Contest Victoria

 

Awards

• 2025 Patji-Dawes Language Teaching Award – Australian Federation of Modern Language Teachers Associations (AFMLTA Inc.) and Languages and Cultures Network for Australian Universities (LCNAU)
• 2010 Teaching Excellence Award – School of Global Studies, Social Science and Planning, RMIT University
• 2009 Teaching Excellence Award – School of Global Studies, Social Science and Planning, RMIT University
• 2009 RMIT Teaching Awards – Certificate of Achievement in the TAFE Outstanding Teacher category (teaching team application), recognising quality learning and teaching opportunities delivered through a cohesive team approach that fostered student engagement in Japanese and Chinese language learning through diverse industry and community links

 

Professional memberships

• International Pragmatics Association (IPrA)
• Japanese Studies Association of Australia (JSAA)
• Applied Linguistics Association of Australia (ALAA)
• Modern Language Teachers’ Association of Victoria (MLTAV)
• Japanese Language Teachers’ Association of Victoria
• Languages and Cultures Network for Australian Universities (LCNAU)
• Oceanian Education Studies

 

Industry experience

• Director, Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) Victoria Test Centre (2012–2022)
• Vice President, Japanese Language Speech Contest Victoria
• Japanese Program Leader, Tertiary–Secondary Partnership for Innovative Language Teaching/Learning Pathways project, funded through Round Two (2010) of the Strategic Collaboration and Partnership Fund under the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations’ (DEEWR) 2010–2012 National Asian Languages and Studies in Schools Program
• Reviewer, Australian Review of Applied Linguistics (2002)
• Examiner, Cambridge Certificate in Japanese and Japanese Studies, University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate International Examinations (1992–1993)