The course is focused on teaching, learning, and L2 vocabulary research (i.e., single words and multi-word units). We will look at a range of topics, such as what is involved in knowing a word; how much vocabulary is needed when using the four major skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing; acquiring; using specialized vocabulary; learning words from context; and learning multi-word units. The course has three primary aims. The first aim is for participants to become familiar with the wide variety of research that makes up the field of second language vocabulary acquisition. The second aim, which rests on the foundation provided by the first, is to develop the knowledge and skills necessary to create an effective plan for teaching vocabulary in a course or in a foreign-language curriculum. The third aim is for participants to question research to improve their teaching and research. 

Course participants will read extensively, complete in-class tasks regarding vocabulary teaching and learning, participate in and lead small group discussions, conduct a course project by analyzing the lexical composition of learning materials. Participants will also make an in-class presentation about their course project. By the end of the course, course participants should be aware of the major issues pertinent to teaching, learning, and researching second-language vocabulary, be able to design a vocabulary component for a language course and advise teachers and learners on vocabulary learning strategies. Course participants should read the first seven chapters in Learning Vocabulary in Another Language before the first-class meeting.

Required Textbook:

• Nation, I.S.P. (2022). Learning Vocabularly in another language. (3rd ed.). Cambridge University Press. (Buy on Amazon.co.jp New Tab / Buy on Amazon.com New Tab)

High quality language teaching materials are a critical component of any language teaching program. Although textbooks published by major publishers have undergone noticeable improvements in the past four decades, the fact remains that commercially produced materials are designed to be used with a wide variety of learners who often reside in different countries and speak different native languages. For this reason, many instructors find it difficult to find texts that are appropriate for their specific teaching situations. The purpose of this course is to allow students to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of commercial texts in the light of research on successful second language acquisition, and plan and produce original materials in an area of their choice (e.g., listening, speaking, reading, or writing). Topics covered in the course include (a) understanding the backward design approach to materials development, (b) identifying principles for evaluating and producing effective pedagogical materials that are based on research into second language acquisition, (c) specifying instructional goals and objectives, (d) considering multiple tasks that can be used to achieve those goals and objectives, (e) considering how student achievement can be assessed, and (f) enhancing affective factors such as student motivation and self-efficacy.

Course participants will be required to actively participate in weekly small group discussions, lead some of those discussions, and produce a final course project of an original teaching unit and a description of the theoretical and/or researched-based underpinnings of that unit. Course participants should read the first 5 chapters/modules in the course textbooks before the first class session.

Required Textbook:

• Heineke, A., & McTighe, J. (2018). Using understanding by design in the culturally and linguistically diverse classroom. ASCD. (Buy on Amazon.co.jp New Tab / Buy on Amazon.com New Tab)
• Wiggins, G., & McTighe, J. (2011). The understanding by design guide to creating high-quality units. ASCD. (Buy on Amazon.co.jp New Tab / Buy on Amazon.com New Tab)

Students are required to register for this course in the semester they take the M.S.Ed. Comprehensive Examination. This course is a Pass/Fail course. If the student is taking the January Comprehensive Exam, the student must register for this course in the spring semester. If the student is taking the May Comprehensive Exam, the student must register for this course in the summer semester. 

Ph.D. students are required to take two 3-credit Research Apprenticeship courses.   
  
If you wish to take an apprenticeship course, you first need to write a 300-400-word abstract of your proposed project (unless you are assisting a professor with one of his or her studies). This abstract should include basic information such as (a) the gaps in the literature you are addressing, (b) the purpose(s) of the study, (c) specific research questions, and (d) your methodology, including information about the participants, instruments, procedures, and the analyses you will perform. You will then need to send the abstract to the advisor you wish to work with (Consult the list of Apprenticeship advisors on the registration form to see who is available), and if the advisor approves your plan, you can then register for the course with that advisor.  

This course is for those Ph.D. students who have passed the Preliminary Examination and working on their dissertation proposal. 

The Ph.D. students are required to take Culminating Courses (6 semester hours overall, minimum 2 semester hours of EDUC 9999). Culminating Courses: Preliminary Preparation Course (EDUC 9994), Dissertation Proposal Design Course (EDUC 9998) and Doctor of Education Dissertation Course (EDUC 9999).  

Minimum 2 credit hours of EDUC 9999 are required for the Ph.D. students. 

Students wishing to register for this course should obtain permission from the professor and complete the registration process during the registration period. 

Diagnostic Language Assessment: Theory and Practice by Dr. Daniel Isbell, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, U. S. A., will be conducted by 3-hour online Zoom sessions for four days: Saturday, May 27, Sunday, May 28, Saturday, June 3 and Sunday, June 4 from 10:00 to 13:00 (JST).  Students taking this seminar for credit must attend all four days. Students can add/drop this seminar course by 14:00 on Saturday, May 27.

The pre sign-up (or course registration for those who are taking this seminar for credit) is required for anybody attending the public session on Saturday, May 27 from 10:00 to 13:00. The sign-up process must be completed through "Distinguished Lecturer Series Seminar Sign-Up Form" that is available on TUJ Grad Ed website. The sign-up deadline is Friday, May 26 at 12:00. The public session Zoom link will be provided to those people who completed the online sign-up (or course registration) process by 18:00 on Friday, May 26.

Diagnostic Language Assessment (DLA) seeks to identify individual learners’ strengths and weaknesses to inform subsequent learning activity, with the ultimate goal of language development. With its focus on specific learner needs and orientation to learning, DLA holds considerable potential for individualizing instruction and improving language learning outcomes. Despite its promise, DLA also appears to be conceptually muddled in practice, with diagnostic procedures that connect directly to follow-up instruction exceedingly rare (or at least rarely documented and shared). What does it take to design useful DLA procedures and implement them in classrooms or other learning contexts?

Answering this question is the focus of this seminar. In the first lecture, the instructor will provide a review of DLA theory, focusing in particular on the work of Alderson and colleagues (Alderson et al., 2015; Harding et al., 2015), and a survey of current practices ranging from low-stakes pronunciation diagnostics to diagnostic information extracted from high-stakes proficiency tests. Through lecture and hands-on activities in subsequent sessions, we will further examine the design and construction of diagnostic tools, nature and delivery of diagnostic feedback, and connections to follow-up learning activity. Throughout the seminar, important connections to models of language ability and (instructed) second language acquisition will be highlighted. As a culminating assignment, students will design a DLA procedure that could be implemented in a familiar instructional setting.

Classroom-Based Formative Assessment for EFL Teachers by Dr. Peter Gu, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, will be conducted by 3-hour online Zoom sessions for four days: Saturday, July 8, Sunday, July 9, Saturday, July 15 and Sunday, July 16 from 10:00 to 13:00 (JST).  Students taking this seminar for credit must attend all four days. Students can add/drop this seminar course by 14:00 on Saturday, July 8.

The pre sign-up (or course registration for those who are taking this seminar for credit) is required for anybody attending the public session on Saturday, July 8 from 10:00 to 13:00. The sign-up process must be completed through "Distinguished Lecturer Series Seminar Sign-Up Form" that is available on TUJ Grad Ed website. The sign-up deadline is Friday, July 7 at 12:00. The public session Zoom link will be provided to those people who completed the online sign-up (or course registration) process by 18:00 on Friday, July 7.

Formative assessment has been a buzzword for quite some time in the educational assessment literature. However, many teachers still find it hard to implement formative assessment in their classrooms. Likewise, it has been difficult for many researchers to operationalise formative assessment in an empirical study.

In this weekend seminar, the instructor will delineate the boundaries of classroom-based formative assessment, and show how exactly formative assessment can be done in the EFL classroom. In addition to the What, Why, and How of formative assessment, the instructor will outline a validation framework for the evaluation of assessment qualities. The instructor will also use concrete examples to illustrate how contingent formative assessment can be studied. Both teachers and researchers will find the seminar useful.