This course offers an overview of the underlying concepts and skills that are needed for teaching ESL and EFL literacy development at all age and proficiency levels, with a special focus on EFL literacy in the Japanese educational environment. Students will acquire a working knowledge of the current best practices for the teaching of reading and writing in English as a Foreign/Second/Other Language to adults and children. They will also become familiar with the theory behind the various current methods for planning, implementing, and assessing reading and writing instruction for all levels of ESL/EFL students, from preliteracy to academic skills. Students will also acquire a familiarity with criteria and methods in these fields sufficient to enable them to develop and evaluate teaching methods suited to the local needs of their students, yet clearly motivated by the best research insights. Specific topics will include reading comprehension, vocabulary development, the psycholinguistics and neurolinguistics of reading, the nature of literacy, the writing process, the effectiveness of written feedback, the social and institutional contexts of ESL/EFL reading and writing and reading and writing assessment.

Required Textbook:

• Chen, X., Dronjic, V., & Helms-Park, R. (Eds.). (2016). Reading in a second language: Cognitive and psycholinguistic issues. Routledge. (Buy on Amazon.co.jp New Tab / Buy on Amazon.com New Tab)
• Ferris, D. R., & Hedgcock, J. (2014). Teaching L2 composition: Purpose, process, and practice. (3rd ed.). Routledge. (Buy on Amazon.co.jp New Tab / Buy on Amazon.com New Tab)
• Lems, K., Miller, L. D., & Soro, T. M. (2017). Building literacy with English language learners: Insights from linguistics. (2nd ed.). The Guilford Press. (Buy on Amazon.co.jp New Tab / Buy on Amazon.com New Tab)

Recommended Textbook:

• Grabe, W. (2009). Reading in a second language: Moving from theory to practice. Cambridge University Press. (Buy on Amazon.co.jp New Tab / Buy on Amazon.com New Tab)
• American Psychological Association. (2020). Concise guide to APA style. (7th ed.). Author. (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, and (e) 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 three chapters in the course textbook (pages 1–68) before the first class session.

The class on Friday, May 16, will be canceled. The make-up class schedule will be discussed in the class.

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)
• 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.

There will be 13 regular class sessions for this course and in addition to the regular class sessions, all the students will be required to attend any one of the two Distinguished Lecturer Weekend Seminars (only the first three hours of the Saturday session) scheduled in summer. The professor will provide you with further details about the seminar requirement later in the classroom.

This course can be used as elective credit for the MSEd degree.

The Session 4 class on Thursday, May 29 has been canceled. In lieu of this canceled session, students are required to attend the first three hours of public session for one of the two seminars scheduled in summer 2025.

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)

The acquisition of morphology and syntax (i.e., morpho-syntax) has been at the heart of the field of second language acquisition since its modern inception in the 1970s. The reason for this focus is simple: Acquiring these aspects of a foreign language is extremely difficult for most adult foreign language learners given the complexity and abstractness of many morpho-syntactic forms. This course has three main goals. The first goal is to become more familiar with basic aspects of English morpho-syntax (e.g., the syntax of declarative statements, question formation, negation, and embedding) in order to better understand some of the key morpho-syntactic mechanisms used in the English language. The second goal is to become conversant with a wide variety of empirical studies into the acquisition of English morpho-syntax. This body of research includes theoretical investigations of the cognitive mechanisms held responsible for the acquisition of morpho-syntax as well as classroom applications of various pedagogical approaches used to teach particular aspects of English grammar. The third goal is to give course participants an opportunity to conduct a hands-on teaching project in which they use a pedagogical approach that is new to them for teaching one aspect of English morpho-syntax. In this way, the participants can expand the pedagogical techniques available to them. Other course assignments include weekly readings, sentence-diagramming tasks, leading and participating in small group discussions, and a final examination.

Participants should read Chapters 1-5 in The Grammar Book before the first class meeting.

Required Textbook:

• Larsen-Freeman, D., & Celce-Murcia, M. (2016). The grammar book: Form, meaning, and use for English language teachers. (3rd ed.). Heinle Cengage Learning. (Buy on Amazon.co.jp New Tab / Buy on Amazon.com New Tab)
• 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 role of content in language teaching, how much does it belong in the foreign language class and how it should be integrated with language learning outcomes to promote language learning, has been a debate since the 1980’s. An extensive body of research demonstrates that “content-based instruction is typically more effective than ‘text-based’ instruction across a wide range of L2 instructional contexts” (Brinton, et al., 2006, p 2). 

Content-based instruction (CBI) is the integration of content instruction and foreign language teaching. More recently, Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) has become an umbrella term describing the joint learning of a content subject such as science or history with a foreign language, thereby learning new content and the language simultaneously. In all its manifestations, content-based language teaching is based on the principle that successful language learning occurs when students are presented with target language material in meaningful, contextualized forms where the primary focus is on acquiring information and knowledge. Content is the organizing principle, and aspects of language (linguistic structures, vocabulary, functions) are presented as needed. 
The goal of this course is to clarify the complexities in CLIL and identify key features of effective content based programs that can be applied with learner groups of various ages. Participants will explore the theoretical underpinnings of content in language classes, design content-based units of instruction, and develop the knowledge and skills necessary to be an effective content plus language teacher in a wide range of language teaching contexts.

Required Textbook: 

• Snow, M. A., & Brinton, D. M. (Eds.) (2017). The content-based classroom: New perspectives on integrating language and content.   University of Michigan Press. (Buy on Amazon.co.jp New Tab / Buy on Amazon.com New Tab)

New edition is getting from the University of Michigan Press New Tab. Used versions from Amazon.com, Amazon.co.jp are also acceptable for the class.

Other readings will be provided through TU Canvas LMS portal or are available online through the TU library.

Recommended Textbook:

• Ikeda, M., Izumi, S., Watanabe, Y., Pinner, R., & Davis, M. (2023). Soft CLIL and English language teaching: Understanding Japanese policy, practice, and implication.   Routledge. (Buy on Amazon.co.jp New Tab / Buy on Amazon.com New Tab)
• Linares, A., & Morton, T. (2017). Applied linguistics perspectives on CLIL.   John Benjamins Pub Co. (Buy on Amazon.co.jp New Tab / Buy on Amazon.com New Tab)
• Mehisto, P. (2017). CLIL essentials for secondary school teacher.   Cambridge University Press. (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 MSEd 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.

This course looks at the full range of approaches that constitute contemporary Second Language Acquisition/Second Language Development (SLA/SLD), with special foci on: (a) how the field is changing in response to the emergence of functionalist approaches in linguistics and embodied/situated cognitive science, (b) advanced applications of quantitative methods in SLD, and (c) psycholinguistic methods in SLD. The course has two theoretical aims. The first is to survey the current range of approaches to the study of second language development. The second is to explore fully the conceptual foundations of usage-based approaches to second language development, paying special attention to how these approaches construe the learner and learning processes. Course projects will include group presentations, the generation and analysis of reaction time data, and a final research proposal.

*For more details about the schedule, please check the chart below.

Dr. Nelson’s In-person Class Schedule:

Required Textbook: 

• Winter, B. (2019). Statistics For Linguists: An Introduction Using R.   Routledge. (Buy on Amazon.co.jp New Tab / Buy on Amazon.com New Tab)
• Mackey, A., & Gass, S. M. (2011). Research methods in second language acquisition: A practical guide. John Wiley & Sons.  (Buy on Amazon.co.jp New Tab / Buy on Amazon.com New Tab)
• Robinson, P., & Ellis, N. C. (2008). Handbook of Cognitive Linguistics and Second Language Acquisition.   Routledge. (Buy on Amazon.co.jp New Tab / Buy on Amazon.com New Tab)
• Jegerski, J. & VanPatten, B (2014). Research Methods in Second Language Psycholinguistics.   Routledge.  (Buy on Amazon.co.jp New Tab / Buy on Amazon.com New Tab)

This course will provide a general introduction to research in the social sciences and a broad overview of various research methods currently employed in applied linguistics and educational psychology. In addition to the textbook topics, students will critically read example research articles in order to gain familiarity with the presentation of research results, to evaluate the validity and appropriateness of the methods employed, and to become informed about current topics of interest in the field of second language education. Emphasis will be placed on identifying gaps in current knowledge with a view toward generating questions for guiding future research. By the end of this course, participants will develop a clear understanding of the roles of quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methods research protocols currently employed in second language acquisition research. Specific topics to be covered include 1) current ethical standards for research involving human subjects, 2) methods of data collection and organization, 3) coding and interpretation of qualitative data, 4) reliability and validity of quantitative variables, 5) assessing the internal and external validity of various research designs, 6) construction and validation of quantitative variables, and 7) effective integration and cross-validation of qualitative and quantitative approaches. Assessment will be based on a short critical evaluation of a published research paper, a final project, plus regular short quizzes provided through the online course website.

To prepare for the first weekend sessions, candidates should read Trochim, Donnelly, and Arora Chapters 1 and 2, and Mackey & Gass Chapters 1-2.

Dr. Sick’s In-person Class Schedule: 

Required Textbook: 

• Trochim, W., Donnelly, J.P., & Arora, K. (2015). Research Methods: The Essential Knowledge Base (2nd ed.). Cengage. (Buy on Amazon.co.jp New Tab / Buy on Amazon.com New Tab)
  Paperback edition can be only purchased from amazon.jp. E-Book version is available from amazon.com.
  Edition: (2015) Paperback is “English” edition; eBook may be labeled 2nd edition. They are the same, either is acceptable.
• Mackey, A., & Gass, S. (2022). Second Language Research: Methodology and Design (3rd ed.). Routledge.  (Buy on Amazon.co.jp New Tab / Buy on Amazon.com New Tab)

This course looks at the full range of approaches that constitute contemporary Second Language Acquisition/Second Language Development (SLA/SLD), with special foci on: (a) how the field is changing in response to the emergence of functionalist approaches in linguistics and embodied/situated cognitive science, (b) advanced applications of quantitative methods in SLD, and (c) psycholinguistic methods in SLD. The course has two theoretical aims. The first is to survey the current range of approaches to the study of second language development. The second is to explore fully the conceptual foundations of usage-based approaches to second language development, paying special attention to how these approaches construe the learner and learning processes. Course projects will include group presentations, the generation and analysis of reaction time data, and a final research proposal.

*For more details about the schedule, please check the chart below.

Dr. Nelson’s Online Class Schedule:

Required Textbook:

• Winter, B. (2019). Statistics For Linguists: An Introduction Using R.   Routledge.  (Buy on Amazon.co.jp New Tab / Buy on Amazon.com New Tab)
• Mackey, A., & Gass, S. M. (2011). Research methods in second language acquisition: A practical guide.   John Wiley & Sons.  (Buy on Amazon.co.jp New Tab / Buy on Amazon.com New Tab)
• Robinson, P., & Ellis, N. C. (2008). Handbook of Cognitive Linguistics and Second Language Acquisition.   Routledge.  (Buy on Amazon.co.jp New Tab / Buy on Amazon.com New Tab)
• Jegerski, J. & VanPatten, B (2014). Research Methods in Second Language Psycholinguistics.   Routledge.  (Buy on Amazon.co.jp New Tab / Buy on Amazon.com New Tab)

This course will provide a general introduction to research in the social sciences and a broad overview of various research methods currently employed in applied linguistics and educational psychology. In addition to the textbook topics, students will critically read example research articles in order to gain familiarity with the presentation of research results, to evaluate the validity and appropriateness of the methods employed, and to become informed about current topics of interest in the field of second language education. Emphasis will be placed on identifying gaps in current knowledge with a view toward generating questions for guiding future research. By the end of this course, participants will develop a clear understanding of the roles of quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methods research protocols currently employed in second language acquisition research. Specific topics to be covered include 1) current ethical standards for research involving human subjects, 2) methods of data collection and organization, 3) coding and interpretation of qualitative data, 4) reliability and validity of quantitative variables, 5) assessing the internal and external validity of various research designs, 6) construction and validation of quantitative variables, and 7) effective integration and cross-validation of qualitative and quantitative approaches. Assessment will be based on a short critical evaluation of a published research paper, a final project, plus regular short quizzes provided through the online course website.

To prepare for the first weekend sessions, candidates should read Trochim, Donnelly, and Arora Chapters 1 and 2, and Mackey & Gass Chapters 1-2.

*For more details about the schedule, please check the chart below.

Dr. Sick’s Online Class Schedule:

Required Textbook: 

• Trochim, W., Donnelly, J.P., & Arora, K. (2015). Research Methods: The Essential Knowledge Base (2nd ed.). Cengage. (Buy on Amazon.co.jp New Tab / Buy on Amazon.com New Tab)
  Paperback edition can be only purchased from amazon.jp. E-Book version is available from amazon.com.
  Edition: (2015) Paperback is “English” edition; eBook may be labeled 2nd edition. They are the same, either is acceptable.
• Mackey, A., & Gass, S. (2022). Second Language Research: Methodology and Design (3rd ed.). Routledge.  (Buy on Amazon.co.jp New Tab / Buy on Amazon.com New Tab)

PhD 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 PhD students who have passed the Preliminary Examination and working on their dissertation proposal. 

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 the PhD students.

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

Teaching & Researching Speaking and Listening by Dr. Kazuya Saito, University College London, U.K., will be conducted by 3-hour online Zoom sessions for four days: Saturday, June 21, Sunday, June 22, Saturday, June 28, and Sunday, June 29 from 18:00 to 21:00 (JST). Students taking this seminar for credit must attend all four days. Students can add/drop this seminar course by 22:00 on Saturday, June 21.

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, June 21 from 18:00 to 21:00. The sign-up process must be completed through the "Distinguished Lecturer Series Seminar Sign-Up Form" that is available on TUJ Grad Ed website. The sign-up deadline is Friday, June 20 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, June 20. The zoom link for the remaining sessions will be provided to the creditors and auditors between 13:00 to 14:00 on Sunday, June 22.

This lecture series introduces key topics in L2 speaking and listening, with an emphasis on both theoretical insights and practical implications.

Focusing on the speaking component, we will first examine how speakers’ use of phonology and lexicogrammar affects intelligibility, while also considering how listeners vary in their ability to understand the same L2 speech. Within this interactive framework, we will discuss the types of training that research has shown to be effective. Next, we will explore the listening component related to the underlying mechanisms (top-down vs. bottom-up processing), different types of knowledge (declarative vs. automatized), speaker variation (native vs. non-native voices), and modality effects (audio with vs. without visuals) on successful comprehension.

The latter half of the module shifts focus to a rapidly growing area of research—the interplay between learner individual differences and their impact on speaking and listening development. We will examine how L2 learners differ in their perceptual-cognitive abilities (i.e., aptitude) and sociopsychological orientations (i.e., motivation, emotion, and personality). Then, we will explore the latest research on how learners adopt different strategies in tackling L2 speaking and listening and how instructional approaches can be optimized to support these processes.

Throughout the lectures, the lecturer will introduce both classic and recent studies, as well as his team’s extensive work on these topics

Task-based Language Teaching and Learning by Dr. Andrea Révész., University College London, U.K., will be conducted by 3-hour online Zoom sessions for four days: Saturday, July 5, Sunday, July 6, Saturday, July 12, and Sunday, July 13, from 18:00 to 21:00 (JST).  Students taking this seminar for credit must attend all four days. Students can add/drop this seminar course by 22:00 on Saturday, July 5.

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 5 from 18:00 to 21:00. The sign-up process must be completed through the "Distinguished Lecturer Series Seminar Sign-Up Form" that is available on TUJ Grad Ed website. The sign-up deadline is Friday, July 4 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, July 4. The zoom link for the remaining sessions will be provided to the creditors and auditors between 13:00 to 14:00 on Sunday, July 6.

Task-based language teaching (TBLT) is an increasingly popular approach to second and foreign language education across the globe. Based on insights from the fields of general education, second language (L2) acquisition research, and L2 pedagogy, TBLT uses communicative tasks as the defining unit for L2 curriculum and syllabus design. In this seminar, we will first discuss theoretical, empirical, and practical rationales for task-based language learning and teaching. Then, we will review some key steps involved in the development of task-based curricula, from carrying out a task-based needs analysis to deriving and sequencing pedagogic tasks, implementing task-based syllabuses and assessing student performance. Throughout the course, we will draw on recent research on TBLT and discuss how TBLT principles can be applied in practice. When considering practical applications, we will pay particular attention to the design and implementation of input-based tasks (reading, listening, and multimodal tasks), given their special importance in early stages of TBLT.