Ms. Minami Honda Mata
Teacher of Japanese Language
Ed. W. Clark High School
Las Vegas, Nevada
Ms. Manami Honda Mata started teaching Japanese at Ed W. Clark High School in Las Vegas (NV) in 2004 after teaching at the University of Nevada Las Vegas for three years and at Japanese supplementary schools for six years. Ms. Mata teaches over 170 9th-to 12th grade students ranging from Level I to AP Japanese Language and Culture.
Ms. Mata constantly incorporates fun activities in her classroom to help her students learn Japanese language and culture. Fukuwarai (a game like “pin the tail on the donkey”), hana ichi monme (a children’s game), and a T-shirt Fashion Show are just some of the many examples. Her students also have many opportunities to improve their technology skills, such as making cooking videos and using “Kahoot!”. In 2014 her Japanese National Honor Society students made a dance video with “Koisuru Fochun Kukkii/ Loving Fortune Cookie” to introduce their high school to students in Japan. Ms. Mata has also been known to perform a tea ceremony on tatami for her students and to bring a furisode (Japanese kimono for young ladies) for students to try on. Her students have opportunities to listen to first-hand stories by guest speakers from a variety of fields, such as the military, popular culture, transportation, and others.
Ms. Mata also strongly encourages students to explore Japanese language and culture outside of the classroom. Since the Southern Nevada Japanese Speech Contest began in 2004, her students have regularly participated and have frequently won 1st, 2nd, and 3rd places. Her dance and drama teams also participate in the annual Las Vegas Fall Festival. Some students volunteer at the annual Spring Festival. Every year students take the American Association of Teachers of Japanese (AATJ) National Japanese Exam and participate in the AATJ Nengajo (Japanese New Year’s cards) contest. In both 2012 and 2013, one of her students was selected to participate in the Japan Exchange and teaching Memorial Invitation Program (JET-MIP). In 2014 Ed W. Clark High School was chosen to participate in the KAKEHASHI Program, hosting two groups of 21 students from Japan and sending 21 of Ms. Mata’s students to Japan.
In the Clark County School District, Ms. Mata has taken a leadership role by participating in groups such as the Advanced Placement (AP) Professional Learning Community Cadre, the Curriculum Task Force, the Textbook Adoption Committee, and the New Course Development Committee for Japanese. She has served as President and Vice-President of the Southern Nevada Japanese Teachers Association (SNJTA), and has organized speech contests and facilitated various workshops and lectures. She has presented at the Southwest Conference on Language Teaching and will be a co-presenter of a 2018 ACTFL Convention workshop, “Sparkling Your Students’ Interest with Lessons Integrating Technology.”
When AP Japanese Language and Culture was launched in the 2006-2007 school year, Ms. Mata was selected as an AP Reader. This opportunity became the most important event in her professional career, providing not only first-hand knowledge about AP Japanese Language and Culture but also the opportunity to meet other enthusiastic, dedicated and highly qualified Japanese language education professionals. They inspired her as a language teacher and made her think about what she could do to promote knowledge of Japan. Since then she has been an active member of the California Association of Japanese Language Schools (CAJLS) and ACTFL, helping share information with the teachers in her district. Furthermore, in 2014, with the help of the Consulate General of Japan in San Francisco, the Japan Foundation in Los Angeles, and others, Ms. Mata launched the “Las Vegas Free Lecture Series.” to promote greater knowledge of Japan in the community. In April this year Ms. Mata facilitated the 4th Las Vegas Free Lecture Series. In December 2017, with the help of her school district coordinator, she organized and facilitated a district-wide Professional Development Workshop for all World Language teachers in her district to improve the quality of teaching.
Ms. Mata states “It is a quite honor to receive this renowned award, and I am humbled to be selected for this prestigious recognition. I have a passion to establish regular youth exchange opportunities between the U.S. and Japan in the near future, to promote greater knowledge of Japan in the Las Vegas community, and to improve Japanese language education both in my own school district and beyond. This Elgin Heinz Teacher Award is a great enforcement to me as I pursue my goals.”