Graduate School of Intercultural Studies, Kobe University

Last Updated: 2025年08月05日

The graduate program in the Systems of Second Language Education is committed to analyzing a diversity of linguistic phenomena through different modes of inquiry. We examine language through its phonetic systems, acquisition, use in context, and via psycholinguistic models. By valuing the legitimacy and relevance of research at every level of analysis, we aim to help students to build a foundation for language studies.

Specifically, we focus on:

• researching language pedagogy by applying knowledge in linguistics, psychology, and related fields
• exploring learners’ second language developmental processes from SLA perspectives
• investigating the psycholinguistic and cognitive processes involved in language learning
• researching a range of methods and approaches for teaching literary works
• exploring the environment for language teaching and learning with ICT

Students’ research themes	Master’s program: Use of Lexical Stress Information in Silent Reading and Speech Production by Japanese Learners of English: Evidence from Eye Movements and Naming Tasks, The Effects of Short-Term Overseas Training and Corrective Feedback on Second Language Writing of Japanese Learners of English Doctoral program: The automatization of grammatical encoding process during oral sentence production by Japanese EFL learners: A syntactic priming, An investigation of the automaticity in parsing for Japanese EFL learners: Examining from psycholinguistic and neurophysiological perspectives
Teaching staff	Atsuhisa SHIMAZU, Professor Subjects: Language and Cultural Representation Research fields: Modern American literature. I am particularly interested in Jewish American literature, and am attempting to decipher Bernard Malamud’s novels and short stories from the perspective of expression. Yasunori TAKAHASHI, Associate Professor Subjects: Contrastive Linguistics and Cognition Research fields: Chinese linguistic, phonetics and phonology. I have researched tonal phenomena in Chinese dialects from both phonetic and phonological viewpoints. Mayu HAMADA, Assistant Professor Subjects: Language Learning Environments Research fields: My area of research is psycholinguistics, and I am trying to explore the cognitive mechanisms of L2 comprehension and production especially focusing on syntactic processing in terms of the learners’ input and output. I would like to use and adopt findings to classroom teaching. Daichi HIROTA, Associate Professor Subjects: Language and Culture I Research fields: French literature. My object of study is modern French poetry represented by Baudelaire, and I am trying to describe his poetics from a linguistic viewpoint. In addition, I am interested in literary criticism and language teaching through the use of computers and the Internet. Sachiko YASUDA, Professor Subject: Linguistic Science (Second Language Acquisition & Foreign Language Pedagogy) Research fields: My main area of research is in second language writing, particularly longitudinal development of academic literacy of EFL learners. Rei YASUDA, Lecturer Subjects: Language and Culture II Research fields: phonetics in language teaching, contrastive phonetics. I am interested in teaching German pronunciation and currently working experimentally on how Japanese learners pronounce German. Hirokazu YOKOKAWA, Professor Subjects: Psycholinguistics and Language Teaching Research fields: English education studies and psycholinguistics. My main research themes are L2 reading, writing, speaking and listening as well as the cognitive mechanisms for vocabulary, and how all of this might be adapted for practical applications in classes.

Students’ research themes

Master’s program: Use of Lexical Stress Information in Silent Reading and Speech Production by Japanese Learners of English: Evidence from Eye Movements and Naming Tasks, The Effects of Short-Term Overseas Training and Corrective Feedback on Second Language Writing of Japanese Learners of English

Doctoral program: The automatization of grammatical encoding process during oral sentence production by Japanese EFL learners: A syntactic priming, An investigation of the automaticity in parsing for Japanese EFL learners: Examining from psycholinguistic and neurophysiological perspectives

Teaching staff

Atsuhisa SHIMAZU, Professor
Subjects: Language and Cultural Representation
Research fields: Modern American literature. I am particularly interested in Jewish American literature, and
am attempting to decipher Bernard Malamud’s novels and short stories from the perspective of expression.

Yasunori TAKAHASHI, Associate Professor
Subjects: Contrastive Linguistics and Cognition
Research fields: Chinese linguistic, phonetics and phonology. I have researched tonal phenomena in Chinese dialects from both phonetic and phonological viewpoints.

Mayu HAMADA, Assistant Professor
Subjects: Language Learning Environments
Research fields: My area of research is psycholinguistics, and I am trying to explore the cognitive mechanisms of L2 comprehension and production especially focusing on syntactic processing in terms of the learners’ input and output. I would like to use and adopt findings to classroom teaching.

Daichi HIROTA, Associate Professor
Subjects: Language and Culture I
Research fields: French literature. My object of study is modern French poetry represented by Baudelaire, and I am trying to describe his poetics from a linguistic viewpoint. In addition, I am interested in literary criticism and language teaching through the use of computers and the Internet.

Sachiko YASUDA, Professor
Subject: Linguistic Science (Second Language Acquisition & Foreign Language Pedagogy)
Research fields: My main area of research is in second language writing, particularly longitudinal development of academic literacy of EFL learners.

Rei YASUDA, Lecturer
Subjects: Language and Culture II
Research fields: phonetics in language teaching, contrastive phonetics. I am interested in teaching German pronunciation and currently working experimentally on how Japanese learners pronounce German.

Hirokazu YOKOKAWA, Professor
Subjects: Psycholinguistics and Language Teaching
Research fields: English education studies and psycholinguistics. My main research themes are L2 reading, writing, speaking and listening as well as the cognitive mechanisms for vocabulary, and how all of this might be adapted for practical applications in classes.