Position:
Lecturer in Japanese Language
Faculty / College Address:
Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies / Wadham College
Email:
hiroe.kaji@ames.ox.ac.uk
Current Projects:
- Development of a reference book for beginner learners of Japanese and research on teacher identity.
Courses Taught:
-
Teach all core Japanese language skills
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Deliver set-text reading instruction
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Teaches across undergraduate and postgraduate courses for students in Japanese, Korean, and Chinese studies.
Research Interests:
- Language pedagogy and classroom practice
- Professional development of language teachers
Biography:
Hiroe Kaji teaches Modern Japanese in the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Oxford and is a Titular Lecturer at Wadham College. Trained in language pedagogy and applied linguistics, she has taught English and Japanese in schools and universities in Japan, Hungary, Northern Ireland, and the UK. She has also served as Deputy Head of a language school in Japan and worked in External Affairs at the University of Ulster, teaching alongside her administrative roles in both positions.
Within the Faculty, she is one of two language officers who liaise between language teachers and the Faculty, and she co-organises the Language Lecturers’ Committee workshops. She is active in Open Days and outreach activities, with research interests in language pedagogy and teacher identity.
Originally from Osaka, she sometimes teaches Kansai dialect to students preparing for study in Kobe. She has led several funded cultural and academic projects, including a Kyōgen performance, and is the principal translator for The Works and Days (of Tayoko Shiojiri in the Shiotani Basin), which won Best Film at the 2020 Berlin Film Festival.
She practises ikebana and exhibits annually during Oxford Artweeks. She also co-organises the “Let’s Read Classical Japanese Literature” reading group with colleagues across the UK and Europe.
She is a keen sports player and an enthusiastic cook and is a member of a local korfball club as well as the Oxford University korfball team. She also has extensive volunteer experience as a language teacher, interpreter, chef, and sports assistant.
Educational Background:
- MA in Social Anthropology;
- MA in Applied Linguistics;
- Postgraduate Diploma in TEFL;
- BA in American and English languages and linguistics
Recent Publications:
- Cakir, E. and Kaji, H. (2024) The Language Teachers' Committee Workshops: an Oxford case study. Language Pedagogy from Memphis to Tokyo, No. 68, ed. R. Meyer and A. Ruppel.
Further Info:
- Member of British Association for Teaching Japanese as a Foreign Language (BATJ)
- Secretary of Kongyukai (Oxford Japanese Studies Alumni Group)
- Member of Oxford Ikebana Study Group
Other links:
Kongyukai (the alumni association for Japanese Studies at the University of Oxford): https://www.facebook.com/groups/30043648861
Oxford University Korfball Club: https://users.ox.ac.uk/~korfball/
