立教大学

My interests are teaching and researching English language and literature in the field of foreign language learning. The connection between the two topics is natural because literature includes rich cultural information and real language in use. These rich sources of interest bring about meaningful interactions in discusssions and writing while learning a new language.

The focus of my practitioner-based research is in the category known as action research. I am interested in classroom-based questions or problems and how to solve them. For example, what types of texts are useful for foreign language learners? How can teachers estimate the difficulty level of literature? What kinds of literary competences do learners already have when they come to university? What kinds of reading backgrounds do today's learners have, and how are these changing in the digital age? What are some ways to teach useful skills such as literary critique and response?

Previously, I worked as a high school English literature and language teacher in different countries. Being from the UK, I learned a lot about British literature at school and at university we studied Scottish and World literature. When teaching, I found it interesting that literary texts of all kinds appealed to teens and young adult readers, whether or not those students would describe themselves as bookish. Literature and storytelling in general is such a dynamic area of creativity, there are always new ways of seeing stories, characters, themes and interpretations of texts.

When I worked in a high school in New Zealand, we had many students from different countries, and some of them had only learned English after years of unschooling (refugees) or had low literacy for other reasons. One possible way to increase literacy skills was through spending more time reading and discussing literature. One memorable group was a set of younger students matched with seniors (school leaders, athletes and other volunteers) to read with younger students using a program called “peer reading”. In cooperation with a specialist learning support teacher, the older students were trained to work with younger readers and ask questions along the way as they read together. The students with the weakest reading skills made excellent progress when reading books along with older students they admired. After one term of peer reading, some younger students had improved by several years of reading age. It was a remarkable experience and one that showed the potentially life-changing effects of engaging with literature.

Discussing literature and learning with literature can be endlessly intriguing. There are always new things to discuss and explore, whether learning with children's literature, classic texts or new multimodal genres. Some students think that literature is a difficult subject and that to “learn” a language with literature must be difficult. However, when defining literature broadly to include popular fiction, multimedia storytelling and new genres of literary works, this difficulty tends to fade away. University students have already read lots of literature in their childhood days and in school, which means that they are not novice or beginning readers of literature.

One of the ongoing concerns in education today is the role of technology and how it can be used effectively for learning. It has been said that digital reading is reducing the focus and attention span of students, and that digital tools are not allowing students to deeply engage with their reading. Yet this view does not take into account the amount of social interaction occurring when people engage with online communities to talk about their interests and reading backgrounds, sharing book recommendations and remixing stories using new genres and modes. These things are interesting to researchers for teachers at the current time, as literary interactions continue to evolve in the digital age.

Instead of studying abroad as an undergraduate, I was working abroad when I studied for my master`s degree in applied linguistics (Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand). As well as taking general TESOL courses as part of the degree, I learned about multilingualism in New Zealand, a place where sign language is also an official language. It was new to me to discover that language policies in different parts of the world change over time and that history and culture are so closely related. Te Reo Maori is the other official language of New Zealand (along with English), and is learned to augment understanding of language and history. Overall, various international experiences helped me adapt my thinking to understand culture from multiple perspectives.

In language and literature classes using literary texts as the authentic content, students frequently report that they can gain valuable knowledge about culture as well as language. That can be a short-cut to advanced thinking, critical thinking and language awareness. I teach literature and language elective classes open to students from all departments at Rikkyo. Students from various academic backgrounds bring a wealth of knowledge about their own areas of interests and their personal literature experiences. The learning between students is therefore interdisciplinary and this is a key strength of English elective courses at Rikkyo.

As an academic advisor working with students at Rikkyo who meet to improve their English language skills in an English circle, I am encouraged to see that a lot of interest in learning English comes from learning outside the classroom. This is excellent as it allows for the development of the individual along with identity. International experiences are now possible with or without travelling abroad, and such diverse experiences are a valuable aspect of education in the 21st century.
Recently, I have been working on a literature and language-based policy project in which international approaches to literature teaching have been the focus. Having the opportunity to work with scholars from different countries has shown me the importance of using content such as literature in language teaching and learning.