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Applying Theory and Research to Learning Japanese as a Foreign Language
Editor: Masahiko Minami
Date Of Publication: Oct 2007
Isbn13: 9781847182890
Isbn: 1-84718-289-5
Complex issues surround second language acquisition and foreign language learning in any language. There is no doubt that individuals are capable of acquiring two or more languages at different stages of human development, particularly in childhood. Research investigating how adults acquire two languages also carries important insights into what takes place during later stages of human development. From the fact that early and late bilinguals are faced with two languages in diverse stages of cognitive development we can predict differences in language processing between these two groups. In the case of the Japanese language, unfortunately, far fewer studies — particularly those written in English — have been presented on foreign-language learners and bilingual children. Designed to address some of these gaps in the literature, the chapters included in this book discuss various issues with regard to adult learners of Japanese as an L2 and English-Japanese bilingual children. This book provides the reader with an overview of the field of Japanese linguistics and its current concerns. One of the main purposes of the book is to provide a forum in which to examine contributions in a variety of areas of Japanese linguistics to the teaching and learning of Japanese in the L2 classroom. This book has at least two interrelated areas of benefit. First, both researchers and teachers benefit from each other’s expertise and receive new insights that apply to their respective fields. Second and more important, the book serves as a forum to promote ways in which we can apply linguistic theory to the learning of Japanese as an L2. That is, what researchers have learned from both theory and practice can suggest what is important for the teaching of language; conversely, language educators have a great deal to offer linguists regarding the phenomenon of language. Thus, the goal of this book is to integrate theoretical concepts and empirical research findings in L2 development in order to apply them to educational practice.
Dr. Masahiko Minami received his doctorate from Harvard University in Human Development and Psychology. His primary area of interest in research is bilingual education and cross-cultural studies. Since 1995 he has been teaching and conducting research on first and second language acquisition, the development of literacy skills, and bilingualism. He has written extensively on psycho/sociolinguistics with a particular emphasis on cross-cultural comparisons of language development and narrative/discourse structure. He has published a number of books and articles that explore cultural constructions of meaning, the quality of childcare in Japan, and East Asian students’ experiences in US classrooms. His major works include Language Issues in Literacy and Bilingual/Multicultural Education (Harvard Educational Review, 1991) and Culture-specific Language Styles: The Development of Oral Narrative and Literacy (Multilingual Matters, 2002). Dr. Minami currently lives in San Francisco. He teaches at San Francisco State University, and sometimes manages to take a drive in the country.
Price Uk Gbp: 39.99
Price Us Usd: 59.99
Sample pdf (including Table of Contents)
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From Navigating Music and Sound Education
“We rarely have the opportunity and time to engage with the practicalities of music teaching through the lens of evidence-based practice. This book provides us with a wonderful exception that is accessible to beginning and established teachers. It contains a wide range of stimulating and thought-provoking material that draws on real-world experiences and events, which are contextualised, informed and structured by theory. This is a powerful combination that we can visit again and again for insight and inspiration. Congratulations to all involved, particularly the editors for shaping such a valuable contribution!”
—Professor Graham F. Welch, University of London; President, International Society of Music Education
“Navigating music and sound education draws together a range of issues increasingly acknowledged to be at the basis of reflective and effective music learning and teaching: social settings, cultural dimensions, gender, indigeneity, varying cognitive approaches, inter-disciplinary connections, technology, types of learning, and creativity. It opens up areas of pedagogy that go beyond classroom methodology to acknowledge student individuality and encourage music learning and teaching grounded in the reality of students’ musical and social lives. It will be invaluable for those training to become educators and for teachers already in the field.”
—Associate Professor Peter Dunbar-Hall, University of Sydney
“This book brings an important contribution to music teacher education as it challenges the readers to rethink their paradigms of music education. It highlights the importance of preparing a reflective teacher, autonomous, creative and conscious of the multifaceted and multicultural locus in which they will work. The book also draws on the importance for music teachers to consider the context in which they work, and establish a dialog between local musical traditions, informal music practices and global trends of music teaching and learning. Most importantly, all chapters are in one way or another derived from research carried out on specific areas, thus stressing the importance of the research informed practice in music education.”
—Professor Liane Hentschke, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil; International Society of Music Education Immediate Past President
Many readers will appreciate Steve Dillon and Kathy Hirche’s description of the future of education in their work with dynamic technological contexts.
Navigating Music and Sound Education is a wonderful guide and resource for pre-service music teachers, for teachers in the field, and for teacher educators.
It offers a range of fresh perspectives on the state of music education as it is and as it might be. Kari K Veblen
Navigating Music and Sound Education is an ambitious project which features current research from 20 individuals whose professional identities run the gamut from musician to songwriter to student to educator to music therapist to ethnomusicologist. The book’s scope is perhaps the most exciting aspect of Navigating Music and Sound Education.
Kari K Veblen
University of Western Ontario
British Journal of Music Education
October 2011
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