Dr Iwasaki Appointed President of the Association of Japanese Language Teachers in Europe
19 December 2011
Dr Noriko Iwasaki of the Linguistics Department has been appointed the President of the Association of Japanese Language Teachers in Europe (AJE) for a three year term.
Since 1995, the Association of Japanese Language Teachers in Europe (AJE) has worked to promote the learning of Japanese language and culture throughout Europe.
Dr Iwasaki said she hopes to use the role to strengthen the connection between research and practice as well as develop a stronger tie between area studies and language education.
“This year the AJE joined the European Association of Japanese Studies conference and as part of this, convened the AJE annual symposium,” she said. “We hope to join them again to further develop education that will enhance language students’ interest in Japanese studies and develop their proficiency in Japanese language.”
With a network of about 300 members worldwide, the AJE provides an international network for the sharing of information on research and practice related to teaching Japanese that focuses on the current needs within Europe. Its work includes the organisation of an annual symposium or workshop and the publication of their proceedings and newsletters for Japanese teachers.
Dr Iwasaki joined SOAS in 2007 as a lecturer in Language Pedagogy and has since then also taken up the role of chair of the Centre for Language Pedagogy. Before this, Dr Iwasaki was an Assistant Professor of Japanese at the University of California, Davis, and was also a board member of the (American) Association of Japanese Teachers.
For more information on Linguistics at SOAS please see the Department of Linguistics web pages.
