Advanced Seminar

About this seminar

In this seminar, students are exploring ways in which linguistic theory and knowledge can be applied to actual situations.
The focus is mainly on second language learning and teaching, but we also welcome students interested in other applications, such as translation or language policy, or in aspects of linguistic theory.
The seminar is conducted in English, but it is open to students interested in theory or applications to ANY language. This zemi is multi-lingual!
It is expected that students in this seminar will already have taken some classes in linguistics or applied linguistics. This is especially true for students who want to join the seminar from the Spring term. If you haven't taken any classes in linguistics or applied linguistics, it may be difficult for you to finish a thesis on time to graduate in March.
In order to more deeply understand the ideas we are discussing in class, it would be very useful for you to have some actual work experience related to your interests. If you have never worked (either as a volunteer or in a paid position) as a language teacher/tutor or translator, you are strongly urged to do some kind of work as you attend this seminar. Some suggestions are given below. NOTE: For the volunteer positions as Waseda, you need to apply BEFORE the start of the semester in which you want to work.

Some possibilities for getting practical experience

If you are interested in teaching Japanese as a foreign or second language, and your native language is Japanese, you can become a volunteer tutor for Japanese classes at Waseda classes. Check the homepage of the Center for Japanese Language to find out how to become a volunteer for the fall term classes.
If you are interested in teaching English and/or your native language other than Japanese, you could work as a private tutor.
If you are interested in translation from Japanese to English, volunteer to help translate the Waseda Weekly . You can find the contact e-mail address at the bottom of their web page.

There are also opportunity for language-related interships through the SILS office. Contact Vicky for more details.

Possible Thesis Topics

Here are just some of the thesis topics of past students in this seminar.

attempts to revive the Ainu language
the future of the Okinawan language
attitudes toward the use of Taiwanese dialect in the media in Taiwan
attitudes toward the use of Shanghai dialect in Shanghai
Computer-mediated communication and English education
English education in elementary schools in Japan and other Asian countries
Japanese language education for linguistic minority (e.g. Brazilian-Japanese) children in Japan
Japanese language education for refugees
metaphors and thought in Japanese and English
some problems of foreign students learning Japanese as a second language
student motivation and Japanese language study at Waseda
teachers' views of English education in Japanese junior high and high schools
the portrayal of English in Japanese junior high school textbooks (is English portrayed as a lingua franca? Or as a language used only by native speakers?)
the usefulness of linguistic knowledge of phonetics in study of a foreign language
how politeness is handled in Engish and Japanese foreign language textbooks
focus on form in the teaching English
integration of computer-assisted language learning into the English teaching curriculum
translation of tanka from Japanese to English
translation of children's literature from English into Japanese
a functional analysis of code-switching among SILS students
code-switching with Korean on social media sites
translation of movie titles into Chinese
foreign-film translation into Japanese
Japanese-language eduction for care-givers from Indonesia
foreign accents in animation--how and why are they used
university students' foreign language vocabulary learning strategies
language issues in the application of international accounting standards
the Englishization of Rakuten

Career opportunities

Some graduates of this seminar have gone to work directly after graduation, in banks, trading companies, software companies, telecommunications (docomo), housing companies, universities (Waseda!), and so on.
Some are working or planning to be language teachers at the junior high, high school or university level, teaching English, Japanese, or possibly other languages. Some graduates have gone on to graduate study (in Japan, the US, and the UK) in areas including linguistics, applied linguistics, anthropology, and accounting.

To apply for this seminar--Information for 2012

First, be sure to read the information on this page carefully to make sure that you are really interested in the theme of this seminar. If you have any questions about it, please contact Vicky (email to vicky AT waseda.jp) before you apply for it.
Next, fill out the web application.
Then write one to two pages in English describing a topic or problem in linguistics or applied linguistics which you are interested in learning more about. For example, maybe you are curious about why young children can learn to speak a second language without a foreign accent while people who learn as adults almost always have an accent, or maybe you would like to know effective techniques for teaching people to read a foreign language. Describe the problem or topic as specifically as you can, explaining how you came to be are interested in it. Then briefly describe what you know about the topic or problem already, either from your own experiences or from linguistics classes you have taken. E-mail this to Vicky before the end of the application deadine.
Finally, if you need to come in for an interview, I will contact you by e-mail to schedule an interview. If I already know you well, or if I can judge your application just by the paper documents, I may make a decision without an interview.

Preparation for this seminar

If you have NEVER taken a class in linguistics or applied linguistics, this will NOT be a good seminar for you. It is assumed that all students in the seminar will have at least some background in linguistics.
Before class starts, you may want to review your knowledge of the basic terminology used in phonetics/phonology, syntax, morphology, and semantics. If you already have an introductory textbook, read through the chapters on these topics, focusing on your weak areas. If you don't have an introductory textbook in English (or you don't like the one you have), I recommend Japanese Linguistics by Yamaguchi (listed below). It explains basic concepts of linguistics using Japanese examples. Another useful book, similar in style but focusing on English examples, is English Words by Harley. Both of these books are used as textbooks in CO315 (Word Structure and Vocabulary) which I will be teaching in the fall semester. If your background in linguistics is weak, or if you are especially interesting in morphology and words, you might want to take this class.
If you are thinking about attending graduate school in Japan, you will also need to know linguistics terminology in Japanese. As a starting point, you may want to look at the book by Kazama, listed below.
For a basic background in applied linguistics, Lightbown and Spada (2006) is very useful, especially the first three chapters. If you have never studied anything about language learning or teaching before, this might be an excellent book for you to read before classes start. Finally, Gass and Selinker is one of the most-used textbooks in the area of applied linguistics. Most or all of these books are available in the SILS library.

Reference books

This is a partial list of reference books which will be useful for this seminar. Additional works will be recommended based on students' interests.

Brown, James Dean, and Theodore S. Rodgers. 2003. Doing Second Language Research. Oxford University Press.
Davies, Alan, and C. Elder. 2004. The Handbook of Applied Linguistics. Malden, MA: Blackwell.
Gass, Susan M. and Larry Selinker. 2008. Second Language Acquisition: An Introductory Course. Lawrence Erlbaum and Assoc.
Griffiths, Carol. 2008. Lessons from Good Language Learners. Cambridge University Press.
Harley, Heidi. 2006. English Words: A Linguistic Introduction. Blackwell.
Jenkins, Jennifer. 2009. World Englishes: A Resource Book for Students. Routledge.
Larsen-Freeman, Diane. 2000. Techniques and Principles in Language Teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Lightbown, Patsy, and Nina Spada. 2006. How Languages are Learned. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Radford, Andrew, et. al. 1999. Linguistics: An Introduction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Sinclair, John McH. 2004. How to Use Corpora in Language Teaching. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Company.
Widdowson, H. G. 2003. Defining Issues in English Language Teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Yamaguchi, Toshiko. 2007. Japanese Linguistics : An Introduction. London: Continuum.
Yamaguchi, Toshiko. 2007. Japanese Language in Use. London: Continuum.

Seminar on Communication