The primary purpose of this course is to introduce students to the basics of English phonetics and phonology, with an emphasis on areas of interest to language teachers. The course objectives are to: (1) introduce the basic concepts of phonetics and phonology; (2) provide practice in transcribing and analyzing the sound systems of native speakers and learners of English; (3) consider the place of pronunciation teaching in a foreign language curriculum and instructional approaches; (4) examine methods of assessing pronunciation; and (5) look at the relationship between pronunciation and other language skills. Students will complete a number of weekly assignments, take a mid-term examination and final examination, and conduct a project in which the speech of an English language learner is analyzed, a particular aspect of the English sound system is taught, and the results reported.

The last class on Friday, December 4 will be cancelled. Students will be required to attend the public session of Dr. Alyssa Kermad’s Distinguished Lecturer Series from 9:00-12:00 on September 26, in lieu of the class on Friday, December 4.

Required Textbook:

• Celce-Murcia, M., Brinton, D. M., & Goodwin, J. M. (2010). Teaching pronunciation: A course book and reference guide. (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press. (Buy on Amazon.co.jp New Tab / Buy on Amazon.com New Tab)
• Avery, P., & Ehrlich, S. (Eds.). (1992). Teaching American English pronunciation. Oxford University Press. (Buy on Amazon.co.jp New Tab / Buy on Amazon.com New Tab)

Recommended Textbook:

• American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American psychological association. (7th ed.). Author. (Buy on Amazon.co.jp New Tab / Buy on Amazon.com New Tab)

The first major purpose of this course is to give students the knowledge base needed to flexibly respond to all language teaching issues and contexts, with a special focus on how the nature of human learning directly impacts the design of instruction, materials, and assessment practices in both EFL and ESL contexts. The second purpose is to build a foundation in meaning-driven teaching methods (i.e., Task-, Project-, Theme-, and Content-based teaching) that can support and extend the traditional grammar- and vocabulary-focused teaching expected by EFL audiences. In support of these goals, students are introduced to the principles of cognitive linguistics that are relevant to teaching (e.g., construction and cognitive grammar, construal, and embodied meaning and metaphor). Students will learn to integrate their own situated observations with research findings to generate topically relevant material for any age group that meets the criteria laid out by any curriculum they follow. This material (lesson and task plans, texts, recordings, etc.) will support the teaching of the four skills (listening, speaking, reading, and writing) as well as the linguistic competencies of English. That is, students will leave the class able to employ the principles of meaning-based linguistics and pedagogy to create motivating learning experiences that are flexible enough to fluidly switch between form and function foci. Course requirements include completing weekly readings, contributing to group discussions, completing a final examination and course projects, and compiling a teaching portfolio.

Required Textbook:

• Nunan, D. (2004). Task-Based Language Teaching (Cambridge Language Teaching Library). Cambridge University Press. (Buy on Amazon.co.jp New Tab / Buy on Amazon.com New Tab)
• Littlemore, J. (2009). Applying Cognitive Linguistics to Second Language Learning and Teaching. Palgrave Macmillan. (Buy on Amazon.co.jp New Tab / Buy on Amazon.com New Tab)
• Deheane, S. (2021). How We Learn: The New Science of Education and the Brain. Penguin. (Buy on Amazon.co.jp New Tab / Buy on Amazon.com New Tab)

Recommended Textbook:

• American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American psychological association. (7th ed.). Author. (Buy on Amazon.co.jp New Tab / Buy on Amazon.com New Tab)

The overarching purpose of this course is to canvass contemporary theories that are central to modern discussions of second language development (SLD), and to thereby provide the participants with an opportunity to further develop and consolidate their understanding of SLD, models of language representation and use, and issues that directly affect classroom teaching. In the first part of the course, we look at motivation, early theories of second language development, and sensitive periods of acquisition. In the second part of the course, the focus is on several theoretical positions, including usage-based approaches, input processing, and neurobiologically-informed theory. Finally, in the third part of the course, we read about various topics including skill acquisition theory, the relationship between input, interaction, and output, fluency, crosslinguistic influence, sociocultural theory, and instructed second language development, which concerns the practical application of several strands in the field of second language development. Students will participate in small group discussions, take three in-class examinations, write a literature review on a selected topic, and make a presentation on their self-selected topic.

Before Session 1, students should read and be prepared to discuss Chapter 1 of VanPatten et al. (2025; the required textbook) and the Session 1 readings on Canvas.

The course is best taken by students who have already completed TESL 5611, TESL 5612, TESL 5613, TESL 5614 and TESL 5616. 

The class on Wednesday, September 16 is cancelled. The make-up session will be held on Wednesday, December 9.

Required Textbook:

• VanPatten, B., Keating, G. D., & Wulff, S. (Eds.). (2020). Theories in second language acquisition: An introduction. (4th ed.). Routledge. (Buy on Amazon.co.jp New Tab / Buy on Amazon.com New Tab)

Recommended Textbook:

• American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American psychological association. (7th ed.). Author. (Buy on Amazon.co.jp New Tab / Buy on Amazon.com New Tab)

This course will present a broad overview of various research methods currently used in applied linguistics and educational psychology with a view toward assisting teachers in becoming better informed consumers of research, as well as establishing a foundation for actively conducting research in the future. By the end of the course, students will attain a general understanding of the roles of quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods research protocols currently employed in SLA research. In addition to the textbook topics, students will critically read example research articles in order to gain familiarity with the presentation of research results and to evaluate the validity and appropriateness of the methods employed. Topics to be covered include the purposes and limitations of different research designs, methods of data collection, reliability and validity of quantitative variables, assumptions underlying statistical analyses, sampling and probability, and the coding and interpretation of qualitative data. Quantitative analysis techniques such as descriptive statistics, correlation, t-tests, and analysis of variance (ANOVA) will be introduced and practiced using the free JASP software package and supplied data sets. Students are expected to bring their Windows or Macintosh laptop computer to class for doing data analysis.

Required Textbook:

• A. Mackey., & S. M. Gass. (2021). Second Language Research: Methodology and Design. (3rd ed.). Routledge. (Buy on Amazon.co.jp New Tab / Buy on Amazon.com New Tab)

Recommended Textbook:

• American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American psychological association. (7th ed.). Author. (Buy on Amazon.co.jp New Tab / Buy on Amazon.com New Tab)

Beginning students of TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) usually have two purposes: (1) to learn the academic skills they need to succeed at graduate work and (2) to discover the best ways to teach English to non-native speakers. In this course, students will achieve the first purpose, mastering necessary academic skills, while getting a head start on the second, understanding methods and issues of TESOL study. Academic skills include getting the most out of lectures and research articles, taking notes, accessing library and internet resources, answering essay test questions, giving presentations, and writing papers using proper forms of citation, paraphrasing and bibliographic references.
This course is designed for students who are new to the Master of Science in Education program, who have little or no experience studying in an English-language university, or who are not familiar with formal academic writing style (APA style). For such students, this course is recommended as the first course in the MSEd curriculum. Registrants who are not native speakers of English should have a TOEFL score of at least 550 on the paper-based test or 80 on the internet-based test.

The class on Thursday, September 10 will be cancelled. In lieu of the class, all the students will be required to attend any one of the two Distinguished Lecturer Series Seminars (only the first three hours of the first Saturday public session) scheduled in fall. The professor will provide you with further details about the seminar requirement later in the classroom.

Required Textbook:

• Lightbown, P. M., & Spada, N. (2022). How languages are learned. (5th ed.). Oxford University Press. (Buy on Amazon.co.jp New Tab / Buy on Amazon.com New Tab)

Recommended Textbook:

• American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American psychological association. (7th ed.). Author. (Buy on Amazon.co.jp New Tab / Buy on Amazon.com New Tab)
• Richards, J. C., & Schmidt, R. (2010). Longman dictionary of language teaching and applied linguistics. (4th ed.). Routledge. (Buy on Amazon.co.jp New Tab / Buy on Amazon.com New Tab)

Technological changes have brought rapid change to all aspects of education, as became abundantly clear as teachers and learners adapted to the demands of online and on demand classes. Digital tools, including AI, provide access to a vast amount of information through an expanding number of media platforms. These digital technologies are transformative and disruptive. Though often touted as the "answer" to the issue of student engagement, technological tools do not always fulfill early promises. Educators need to do more than just add a new tool. They need to make sure the technology leads to classrooms that are pedagogically engaging. This course will explore intersections in media, communication, and language education with the goal of understanding how to ensure that the integration of technology is leading to deeper learning. Topics will include the use of digital tools that aid teachers; the use of digital tools to transform education; the possibilities for these to shift students understanding of the wider world; and the limitations of digital tools. In short, this course will explore both the disruptive and transformative use of technology in second language education. 

In addition to course readings, participants will have a mid-term exam, respond to issues discussed in the course, lead small group discussions, and complete a course project on one aspect of the use of media and technology in second language education.

Required Textbook:

• There is no required text. Journal articles and book chapters from online sources in the TU library will be required readings for this course.

Recommended Textbook:

• Chapelle, C.A., & S. Sauro, S. (Eds.) (2019). The handbook of technology and second language teaching and learning. Wiley-Blackwell. (Buy on Amazon.co.jp New Tab / Buy on Amazon.com New Tab)

A reading packet will be available on TU Canvas. Some readings will need to be obtained from the TU Library, online resources.

This course focuses specifically on the academic language and literacy skills needed for English learners (ELs) to   be successful in classrooms, both in the US and abroad. How do the challenges of learning to read and write for Multilingual Learners differ from students who are not Multilingual Learners? What do we need to know to improve their reading and writing success? What resources do they bring to their reading and writing, in particular, and to our classrooms, more broadly? This course includes a thorough review of key theories and principles in first and second language acquisition, with an emphasis on foundational knowledge of language structures (i.e., English phonology, morphology, and syntax). The course also looks at the literacy challenges faced by students at different points in their education (K through 12 as well as adult education) and the role of disciplinary literacies. With this, students will understand the complexities of reading and writing development in more than one language. The practicum component of the course will give students an opportunity to apply this research-based knowledge to practice and to conduct hands-on analyses and diagnostic assessments of a learner’s reading and writing strengths and needs. Students will use these analyses to address learner needs with evidence-based practices, strategies, and targeted activities. These experiences will allow students to deepen their understanding of the structure of English, the processes involved in reading and writing development, and the most effective practices in teaching English reading, writing, and grammar.

The classes start August 24 and end December 7, with the possibility of final project due dates as late as December 15. 

There is no required textbook for this course. 

The Canvas site for this course will open approximately one week before the semester starts. This site will contain the syllabus and all course materials.
 

This course introduces students to the most current approaches to teaching English as a Second/Foreign language. Drawing on contemporary research, the course will focus on creating optimal learning environments and strategies that engage, motivate, and support English language learners through meaningful and L1/age/level-appropriate activities. This hands-on course provides practical strategies, technologies, and ideas for designing and teaching effective language lessons integrating reading, writing, listening, speaking, grammar, and vocabulary. Additionally, students will have multiple opportunities to apply and reflect upon particular approaches, building essential skills as a (future) language educator.

The classes start August 24 and end December 7, with the possibility of final project due dates as late as December 15. 

There is no required textbook for this course. 

The Canvas site for this course will open approximately one week before the semester starts. This site will contain the syllabus and all course materials.
 

Since the post-war emergence of modern second language acquisition research, aural-oral skills have been a central focus of the field, and a substantial portion of research to date has examined listening and speaking development. This course allows participants to explore theoretical and practical issues in the acquisition of second language listening and speaking skills, and to survey the methodological approaches used to investigate these areas. In this course, we will examine theories of language comprehension and production, read and analyze recent empirical research investigating listening and speaking, and consider how existing research can be extended and improved. Some specific issues we consider include the relationship between listening and vocabulary, the development of listening fluency, the assessment of listening skills, the components of speaking proficiency, automaticity in L2 speech production, and syntactic and phonological encoding. Participants are expected to complete homework assignments, analyze and critique published research studies, plan and carry out a small-scale research project investigating an aspect of listening or speaking development, facilitate and participate in group discussions, and make a research presentation. Before the first class meeting, participants should read Chapters 1–6 of Teaching and Researching Listening.

Dr. Garside’s In-person Class Schedule:

Required Textbook:

• Rost, M (2024). Teaching and Researching Listening. (4th ed.). Routledge. (Buy on Amazon.co.jp New Tab / Buy on Amazon.com New Tab)
• Hughes, R ., & Reed,B.S. (2017). Teaching and Researching Speaking (3rd ed.). Routledge. (Buy on Amazon.co.jp New Tab / Buy on Amazon.com New Tab)

As anyone who has been involved with language education can attest, language learners vary greatly in both their rate of progress and ultimate attainment. The challenge for theory and practice is to understand and explain this variation. Conventionally, the blanket term “individual differences” has been employed to refer to the cognitive and affective attributes that influence language learning behavior, This course will provide an overview of individual differences (IDs) hypothesized to influence second language learning and acquisition, drawing from both the canonical literature of individual differences in second language learning as well as the broader field of educational psychology. 

In recent years, thinking about individual language learners’ contributions to their own learning has shifted significantly and primary attention in the course will be given to a consideration of these changes. Using the textbook as a statement of the orthodox view, class discussions will be supplemented by additional readings that challenge this orthodoxy. At the end of this course, participants should have developed an informed position on how familiar ID variables, such as personality, aptitude, and motivation, fit within an integrated account of language learner psychology.
 

Dr. Ryan’s In-person Class Schedule:

Required Textbook:

• Dörnyei, Z., & Ryan.S. (2015). The Psychology of the Language Learner Revisited. Routledge.  (Buy on Amazon.co.jp New Tab / Buy on Amazon.com New Tab)

Recommended Textbooks:

• Gregersen,T., & Mercer,S. (2024). The Routledge Handbook of the Psychology of Language Learning and Teaching. Routledge. (Buy on Amazon.co.jp New Tab / Buy on Amazon.com New Tab)
• Li, S., Hiver, P., & Papi,M. (2024). The Routledge Handbook of Second Language Acquisition and Individual Differences.   Routledge. (Buy on Amazon.co.jp New Tab / Buy on Amazon.com New Tab)

The two recommended books are available online through the TUJ library.

Since the post-war emergence of modern second language acquisition research, aural-oral skills have been a central focus of the field, and a substantial portion of research to date has examined listening and speaking development. This course allows participants to explore theoretical and practical issues in the acquisition of second language listening and speaking skills, and to survey the methodological approaches used to investigate these areas. In this course, we will examine theories of language comprehension and production, read and analyze recent empirical research investigating listening and speaking, and consider how existing research can be extended and improved. Some specific issues we consider include the relationship between listening and vocabulary, the development of listening fluency, the assessment of listening skills, the components of speaking proficiency, automaticity in L2 speech production, and syntactic and phonological encoding. Participants are expected to complete homework assignments, analyze and critique published research studies, plan and carry out a small-scale research project investigating an aspect of listening or speaking development, facilitate and participate in group discussions, and make a research presentation. Before the first class meeting, participants should read Chapters 1–6 of Teaching and Researching Listening.

Dr. Beglar’s Online Synchronous Class Schedule: 

Required Textbook:

• Rost, M (2024). Teaching and Researching Listening. (4th ed.). Routledge. (Buy on Amazon.co.jp New Tab / Buy on Amazon.com New Tab)
• Hughes, R ., & Reed,B.S. (2017). Teaching and Researching Speaking (3rd ed.). Routledge. (Buy on Amazon.co.jp New Tab / Buy on Amazon.com New Tab)

As anyone who has been involved with language education can attest, language learners vary greatly in both their rate of progress and ultimate attainment. The challenge for theory and practice is to understand and explain this variation. Conventionally, the blanket term “individual differences” has been employed to refer to the cognitive and affective attributes that influence language learning behavior, This course will provide an overview of individual differences (IDs) hypothesized to influence second language learning and acquisition, drawing from both the canonical literature of individual differences in second language learning as well as the broader field of educational psychology. 

In recent years, thinking about individual language learners’ contributions to their own learning has shifted significantly and primary attention in the course will be given to a consideration of these changes. Using the textbook as a statement of the orthodox view, class discussions will be supplemented by additional readings that challenge this orthodoxy. At the end of this course, participants should have developed an informed position on how familiar ID variables, such as personality, aptitude, and motivation, fit within an integrated account of language learner psychology.

Dr. Ryan’s Online Synchronous Class Schedule:

Required Textbook:

• Dörnyei, Z., & Ryan.S. (2015). The Psychology of the Language Learner Revisited. Routledge.  (Buy on Amazon.co.jp New Tab / Buy on Amazon.com New Tab)

Recommended Textbooks:

• Gregersen,T., & Mercer,S. (2024). The Routledge Handbook of the Psychology of Language Learning and Teaching. Routledge. (Buy on Amazon.co.jp New Tab / Buy on Amazon.com New Tab)
• Li, S., Hiver, P., & Papi,M. (2024). The Routledge Handbook of Second Language Acquisition and Individual Differences.   Routledge. (Buy on Amazon.co.jp New Tab / Buy on Amazon.com New Tab)

The two recommended books are available online through the TUJ library.

PhD students are required to take two 3-credit Research Apprenticeship courses.

If you wish to take an apprenticeship course, you must first write a 300-400-word abstract of your proposed project (unless you are assisting a professor with one of their 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 must then 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 PhD students who have passed the Preliminary Examination and working on their dissertation proposal.  
 
The PhD 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 PhD students.  
  
Students wishing to register for this course should obtain permission from the professor and complete the registration process during the registration period.  

Second Language Pragma-Prosodic Research and Methodology by Dr. Alyssa Kermad, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, U.S.A. will be conducted by 3-hour online Zoom sessions for four days: Saturday, September 26 and Sunday, September27, Saturday, October 3, and Sunday, October 4 from 9:00 to 12:00 (JST). Students taking this seminar for credit must attend all four days. Students can add/drop this seminar course by 13:00 on Saturday, September 26.

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, September 26 from 9:00 to12:00. 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, September 25 at 12:00 p.m. 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, September 25.

Prosody (often interchangeably referred to as “suprasegmentals”) collectively refers to the properties of speech which involve variations in pitch, loudness, tempo, and rhythm (Crystal, 2008). The physical correlates of prosody allow us to study speech-associated features of temporal fluency, word stress, sentence prominence, and intonation. Prosody is pragmatic in nature (Brazil, 1997; Kermad, 2021; Knowles, 2016; Ladd, 1996; Levis, 2016; Pickering, 2018) and communicates meaning far beyond the surface-level of an utterance. Pragma-prosodic interpretations crucially depend on the interaction between a speaker and a listener; therefore, the choices a speaker makes and how those choices are perceived by a listener must be considered in tandem, merging prosodic and pragmatic theoretical frameworks.

For second language (L2) speakers, pragma-prosodic production and comprehension do not come intuitively. While an L2 utterance may be perfectly target-like at the lexico-grammatical level, if the prosodic performance does not meet a listener’s expectations, the utterance may still be perceived as pragmatically inappropriate. Furthermore, in comprehension, language learners may not be able to detect how prosodic cues alter the meaning of an utterance, especially when the pragmatic force is not transparent with the linguistic form.

This seminar will therefore begin with an introduction to prosody and its pragmatic nature, situating the discussion within a survey of current L2 research by highlighting crucial findings and methodological considerations. The next portions of the seminar will lead attendees through a presentation of David Brazil’s (1997) prosodic framework alongside a Praat (https://www.fon.hum.uva.nl/praat/) workshop to provide theoretically-informed hands-on training in conducting prosodic analyses of speech. The seminar will conclude with discussions and recommendations for research and pedagogy at the intersection of prosody and pragmatics. The final deliverable associated with this seminar will be to perform independent prosodic analyses of pragmatic speech acts with meaningful interpretations of the quantitative findings.

The Psycholinguistics of Multi-Word Expressions: Past, Present, and Future by Dr.Anna Siyanova-Chanturia, Te Herenga Waka–Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand., will be conducted by 3-hour online Zoom sessions for four days: Saturday, November 7, Sunday, November 8, Saturday, November 14, and Sunday, November 15 from 9:00 to 12:00 (JST). Students taking this seminar for credit must attend all four days. Students can add/drop this seminar course by 13:00 on Saturday, November 7.

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, November 7 from 9:00 to 12:00. 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, November 6 at 12:00 p.m. 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, November 6.

Multi-word expressions (MWEs) are conventional strings of language that are ubiquitous in language. Examples of MWEs include idioms, binomials, collocations, lexical bundles, and other phraseological units. Research has consistently shown that MWEs exhibit a processing advantage over novel phrases in both first (L1) and second language (L2) speakers. This effect has generally been attributed to MWEs being highly familiar, frequent, and predictable sequences of words—characteristics that facilitate efficient language processing. While the plethora of recent studies have helped us better understand the nature of MWEs and the factors that may influence their real-time processing, several notable gaps and unresolved questions remain. In this series of seminars, we will examine and reflect on some of the key topics within the domain of the online processing of MWEs, including—but not limited to—the comprehension and production of MWEs in adult L1 and L2 speakers, the role of modification in MWE processing, and MWE processing in children. We will also consider the methodologies commonly used in MWE processing research, including reaction-time measures, eye movements, spoken corpora, and electrophysiology, while critically evaluating their respective strengths and limitations. Special attention will be paid to directions for future research and possible ways forward in advancing our understanding of phrasal processing.