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 M.S.Ed. 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 fall semester 2023. The professor will provide you with further details about the seminar requirement later in the classroom.

Since the first class meeting for this course is on Thursday, September 14, after the fall 2023 Add/Drop Period ends, the office will only accept drop requests for this course until 10:00 a.m. on Friday, September 15, after the first class meeting.  Students who wish to drop this course after attending the first class meeting must inform the office of your intention to drop this course by emailing [click-for-email] by 10:00 on Friday, September 15.

The session 3 on Thursday, September 28 is cancelled. In lieu of the session, students are required to attend one of the distinguished lectures in fall 2023 semester.  

Required Textbook:

• Lightbown, P. M., & Spada, N. (2021). 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 research 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.

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)

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 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 pre-literacy 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)

This course will explore, with breadth and depth, the state of the art in second language teaching pedagogy. The issues covered will be: the history of the field; theories of language learning and the principles connecting these theories to effective classroom practice (e.g., input, output, form-focused instruction, content- and task-based instruction); teaching the 4 skills, motivation, strategies-based instruction, assessment, form vs. function focused teaching, the role of the first language, and the evaluation of methods and materials. Other critical issues include the roles that culture and personality play in learning/teaching, assessment, and syllabus/curriculum writing. These issues will be covered by reading current articles from the ESL/EFL literature, as well as the textbooks. Students will produce lesson plans, a course syllabus, and a teaching philosophy. Active participation in discussion and frequent short papers are required. By the end of this course, students will be able to:

1. 1. Express and defend the strategies, methods, and activities s/he wants to use as a teacher.
2. 2. Describe the role(s) of the teacher in language learning.
3. 3. Understand and appropriately employ the technical terminology of the field.
4. 4. Discuss and write about the methods and the major issues that presently define second/foreign language teaching.
5. 5. Design effective lesson plans and syllabi suited to multiple pedagogical contexts.
6. 6. Apply theoretical principles to classroom practice.

Required Textbook:

• Brown, H. D., & Lee, H. (2015). Teaching by principles: An interactive approach to language pedagogy. (4th ed.). Pearson Education. (Buy on Amazon.co.jp New Tab / Buy on Amazon.com New Tab)
• Dörnyei, Z. (2001). Motivational strategies in the language classroom. Cambridge University Press. (Buy on Amazon.co.jp New Tab / Buy on Amazon.com New Tab)

Recommended Textbook:

• 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)

The overarching purpose of this course is to canvass ten 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 (a) early theories of second language development, (b) linguistic theory and universal grammar, and (c) the concept-oriented approach to SLD. In the second part of the course, the focus is on a number of modern theoretical positions, including (a) usage-based approaches, (b) skill-acquisition theory, and (c) input processing. Finally, in the third part of the course, we read about (a) research on the brain and SLD, (b) processability theory, (c) input, interaction, and output; (d) sociocultural theory, and (e) complexity theory.

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

Required Textbook:

• VanPatten, B., Keating, G. D., & Wulff, S. (Eds.). (2020). Theories in second language acquisition: An introduction. (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)

The course is focused on teaching, learning, and researching vocabulary (i.e., single words and multi-word units) in a second language. We will look at a wide 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; using dictionaries effectively; and; learning multi-word units. The course has two 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 aim, 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.

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 a language teaching textbook, test (e.g., entrance examination), or written materials designed for native English speakers. 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 five chapters in Learning Vocabulary in Another Language before the first class meeting.

Required Textbook:

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

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.

Utilizing an Argument-Based Test Validation Framework for Developing and Using Assessments in the L2 Classroom, by Dr. Yasuyo Sawaki, Waseda University, Japan, will be conducted by 3-hour online Zoom sessions for four days: Saturday, October 7, Sunday, October 8, Saturday, October 14 and Sunday, October 15 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, October 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, October 7 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, October 6 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, October 6. 

In the field of language assessment, various frameworks have been in use for investigations into the validity of language assessments. While many applications of such frameworks have dealt with large-scale high-stakes assessment contexts, conscious attempts have been made by language assessment researchers over the last few decades to make them also applicable to classroom-based language assessment. Using such frameworks would allow practitioners to systematically evaluate the extent to which the use of language assessments is functioning as an aid to promote learning in the L2 classroom.

The aim of this seminar is to familiarize participants with a major framework of language assessment validation currently in use, the Assessment Use Argument (AUA) proposed by Bachman and Palmer (2010) and Bachman and Damböck (2018). In the first part of this seminar, participants will learn about the historical development of assessment validation frameworks and classroom-based assessment principles, with a particular focus on important developments in this area of L2 assessment research over the last two decades. In the second part, they will be introduced to key principles of AUA. An application of AUA to formative assessment of summary writing skills in a university-level academic writing course in Japan will be used as a running example. Finally, in the third part, participants will apply the AUA framework to developing assessment specifications and sample assessment tasks for classroom use as the final project.

Activity Orientation in Interaction by Dr. Alfred Rue Burch, Nanzan University, Japan, will be conducted by 3-hour online Zoom sessions for four days: Saturday, October 21, Sunday, October 22, Saturday, October 28 and Sunday, October 29 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, October 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, October 21 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, October 20 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, October 20. 

This seminar will ask participants to set aside what they know (both from research and our received notions) about concepts such as motivation (Dörnyei, Henry, & Muir, 2016; Dörnyei, MacIntyre, & Henry, 2015), engagement (Hiver, Al-Hoorie, & Mercer, 2021; Philp & Duchesne, 2016) and task planning and performance (Ellis, 2005; Long, 2015), and consider the ways in which these may be less “inside the skull” (Kasper, 2009) and more (or at least as consequentially) a matter of socio-interactional factors and distributed cognition (cf. Goodwin, 2018; Hutchins, 1995). The seminar will focus on Multimodal Conversation Analysis (Goodwin, 2018; Mondada, 2016) as the primary framework and methodology through which to consider what learners and users of additional languages attend to in interactions and activities, how they do so, and what the practical consequences are for the interactants themselves and for the understanding, teaching, and assessment of additional languages.

The seminar will examine a range of multilingual contexts, including language course task interaction, language partner interaction, paired speaking assessments, and other pedagogical and non-pedagogical interactions, with an aim to center on what the learners/users treat as consequentially relevant in the context of the ongoing activity, and how this may (and often does) differ from the goals and interests of researchers and educators alike. Each day will include at least one data session in which participants will work with interactional data. For credits students, the culminating assignment will give participants a choice between 1) a research proposal with relevant literature, or 2) developing a classroom or assessment task with rationales based upon the content of the course.