Dr Naomi Wilks-Smith

Dr Naomi Wilks-Smith is a Lecturer, language education specialist, teacher and researcher. Her expertise spans Second language teaching methodology, Second language acquisition, Bilingual education, Oral language output, Interactive storytelling and Intentional Teaching Gestures for language learning. 

Naomi is an experienced educator who has had roles in a variety of educational settings within primary and secondary schools and tertiary institutions in Australia, New Zealand and Japan, including mainstream classrooms, language centres, bilingual schools, and as a specialist Japanese language and English as an additional language teacher. Naomi's vast experience contributes to her Higher Education teaching practice which centres around second language education. She is particularly interested in innovative approaches for second language learning and passionate about embracing learners' languages and linguistic and culturally inclusive practices. Naomi also leads inbound and outbound global experiences, as well as online global experiences, to enhance the global competencies of pre-service teachers.

Naomi's work involves the integrated scholarship of research and education practice and often includes industry partners in schools as well as cross-School, external and international collaborations. Naomi strives for educational impact through research translation and research value creation and has been awarded grants for her work.

Teaching Activities

Naomi has extensive teaching experience across a wide range of contexts and coordinates and lectures in courses across the BEd program.

Research Translation, Creative Output

• Wilks-Smith, N. & Thong, L. P. (2020). Voice Story App, Apple i Store.

Engagement

Cross-School Engagement

• School of Design – Research projects (eg. Community Banashi Project, Voice Story App Project), Joint publications, Presentations, Grant applications.
• School of Global, Urban and Social Studies (GUSS) – Research program team member, Joint HDR supervision, Joint grant applications.

Industry Engagement

• School partnerships (across Melbourne, Australia and Kochi, Japan) - Research projects, Grants, Inbound and outbound global experiences.
• Coordinator and Lecturer for the 'TESOL' and 'Extending TESOL' school-based courses.
• Melbourne-Kochi Bilateral Program including establishing sister-schools between Melbourne and Kochi.
• TEFL Praxis Association, Vice President in the Executive Council.
• TEFL Praxis Journal, Associate Editor on the Editorial Board of the TEFL Praxis Journal.

Professional Memberships

• Victorian Institute of Teaching (VIT) registration.
• MLTAV (Modern Language Teachers' Association of Victoria)
  
  • Vice President 2015, Committee member 2010-2015, current member
• AFMLTA (Australian Federation of Modern Language Teachers' Association), member
• JLTAV (Japanese Language Teachers' Association of Victoria), member
• VicTESOL (Victorian Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages Association), member
• ACTA (Australian Council of TESOL Associations), member
• LMERC (Languages and Multicultural Education Resource Centre), member
• MJLEC (Melbourne Japanese Language Education Centre), member
• IAFOR (International Academic Forum of Research), member, regular presenter, senior reviewer
• ISGS (International Society for Gesture Studies), member
• JALT (Japan Association of Language Teachers), member

External and International Engagement

Lead of RMIT-Kochi University (Japan) partnership. Collaborative research projects, Joint publications, Joint grant applications, Inbound and outbound global experiences, Online global experiences.

Funding

• 2022 - 2023 Carey Grammar EAL/D Project, $5,021.59
• 2022 - 2023 Australia-Japan Foundation Grant Project, Community Banashi: Stories of place from Australia and Japan, $30,000
• 2020 - 2024 NHMRC Transform Education: Moving a Sedentary Generation Project. 
• 2019 School of Education Research and Innovation Grant, $2,710 supporting the 'Bilateral Collaboration of Educational Pedagogy' Melbourne, Australia and Kochi, Japan project.
• 2019 School of Education Research Funding, $2,500 to support an invited presentation for JALT and research collaboration with Kochi University, Japan.
• 2019 New Colombo Plan Funding for student global experiences to Kochi, Japan, $19,800
• 2018 The Mirror Experiences project received 2,000,000 Japanese Yen (approximately AUS $25,110) Japanese funding for outbound and inbound student global experiences between Kochi, Japan and Melbourne, Australia.  
• 2018 School of Education funding $2,000 towards a 2019 student global experience to Kochi, Japan.
• 2018 The Improving Memory project received $2,500 from School of Education. 
• 2018 CSIRO ON Prime Program, performance bonus, $2,750 for the Voice Story Project.
• 2018 RMIT Research, Innovation and Enterprise, Seed Funding, $24,900 for the full development, launch and promotion of the 'Voice Story' App for languages.
• 2017 RMIT Research, Innovation and Enterprise, Research Translation Seed Funding, $25,000 for the development of a prototype of the 'Voice Story' App for languages.

Awards

• Michele Steele BEST of JALT Award, Best presentation in the East Shikoku JALT Chapter in 2021, awarded in 2022
• RMIT School of Education Excellence in Research Awards (June and September) 2021.
• CSIRO ON Prime Program, performance bonus, $2,750 for the Voice Story Project, 2018
• RMIT Teaching Excellence Award, 2012
• Department of Education LOTE Teaching excellence award – recipient of in-country study program, Urawa, Japan, 2000
• MCJLE (Melbourne Centre for Japanese Language Education) study scholarship awarded for Masters of Education, 1999

• Email: naomi.wilks-smith@rmit.edu.au

• PhD Education (Languages), University of Melbourne (2019)
• Master of Education (Languages), Deakin University (2001)
• Post-Graduate Diploma in Teaching Languages, Deakin University (1998)
• Bachelor of Education, Massey University, New Zealand (1994)
• Diploma of Teaching (primary), Palmerston North College of Education, New Zealand (1992)

• 2011 – current Lecturer, School of Education, RMIT
• 2003 – 2011 Sessional Lecturer, School of Education, RMIT
• 2001 – 2004 Casual Lecturer, La Trobe University
• 2000 – 2002 Bilingual classroom teacher, Huntingdale Primary Bilingual School
• 1997 - 1999 Bilingual Co-ordinator & teacher of Japanese, Gruyere Primary School
• 1998 - 1999 Lecturer of Japanese, Swinburne University, Croydon
• 1995 - 1997 Teacher of Japanese - LOTE program, Kerrimuir Primary School
• 1994 Teacher of Japanese - LOTE program, St Leonards College
• 1993 English as a second language teacher, NOVA Language Institute, Akihabara Campus, Tokyo, Japan