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2022/01/29

Public Lecture by Tomoko Ishii: Part of speech knowledge of Japanese EFL learners

Together with the VocaTT research group, Waseda University and the Center for English Language Education in Science and Engineering (CELESE) are co-sponsoring a public lecture as follows.

Title: Part of speech knowledge of Japanese EFL learners

Speaker: Tomoko Ishii, Ph.D.

Abstract: In counting the number of words that a learner knows, we firstly need to decide what to consider as ‘a word’. Three word counting units that are often discussed are word family, flemma, and lemma, each of which assumes certain type of vocabulary knowledge and skills. For instance, word family-based counting assumes that the learners are familiar with the rules of derivations. In flemma-based counting, the assumption is that when a word form is known in one part of speech, the occurrence of the same word in another part of speech would not pose any difficulty in comprehension. Such assumptions, however, have been questioned by some Japan-based vocabulary researchers in recent years. In this talk, those assumptions and how they might not be met when teaching Japanese learners of English will be discussed.

Speaker info: Dr. Ishii earned her Ph.D. in 2005 from University of Nottingham in the United Kingdom where she studied under Norbert Schmitt, one of the world’s leading experts on vocabulary learning. Her dissertation was titled, “Diagnostic tests of vocabulary knowledge for Japanese learners of English” and focused on the customization of diagnostic testing specifically for Japanese learners. Since then, she has continued to focus on measuring learner vocabulary with a recent focus on the question of elucidating the units of vocabulary size. After previous posts at Rikkyo and Seikei Universities, Dr. Ishii is currently working as an associate professor at Meiji Gakuin University.

Time: Monday, February 28, 2022, 13:30–14:30 (JST)
13:30–13:35: Welcome & Introduction
13:35–14:20: Lecture by Dr. Ishii
14:20–14:30: Question time

Location: Online (Zoom)

Participation in this event is free, but pre-registration is required. If you wish to join, please fill in the form at the following link by 17:00, February 27 (JST).

https://forms.office.com/r/HVyFfNzHjD

Note: Registered participants should receive an e-mail on the day before the lecture with instructions about how to participate. If you have not received the message by 18:00 (JST) on Feb 27, please check your spam folder. Then, if necessary, contact the e-mail address below.

Contact: Questions about this event may be addressed to Ralph Rose [rose@waseda.jp].

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