Invited Speakers
Professor Steven L. Thorne
Department of Applied Linguistics
Center for Advanced Language Proficiency Education and Research
The Pennsylvania State University"New Media Literacies and the 21st Century Language Learner"
Steven L. Thorne is Assistant Professor in the department of Applied Linguistics and Associate Director of the Center for Language Acquisition at the Pennsylvania State University. He also serves as the Advisor for Mediated Learning at the Center for Advanced Language Proficiency Education and Research (a national foreign language resource center). His research focuses on cultural historical activity theory, computer-assisted language learning, new media literacies, second language acquisition, and themes contributing to social theory and critical pedagogy. He has presented invited talks, workshops and seminars on a variety of language-related topics, including internet communication and information technologies, intercultural communication, Vygotskian developmental theory, and corpus linguistics. His research has appeared in numerous edited collections, the Handbook of New Literacies, Encyclopedia of Language and Education, and journals such as the Modern Language Journal, Language Learning & Technology, Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, The CALICO Journal, and Intelligence, among other venues. His book length works include a co-edited volume on Internet-mediated Intercultural Foreign Language Education (Thomson/Heinle, 2006) and the co-authored monograph Sociocultural Theory and the Genesis of Second Language Development (Oxford University Press, 2006).
Professor Mari Noda
Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures
The Ohio State University"Advanced Language Training and Study Abroad:
abstract
Language Learning Environment for Advanced Learners "A specialist in East Asian language pedagogy, Mari Noda is primarily interested in curriculum, material development, and assessment. She directs and teaches in SPEAC (Summer Programs East Asian Concentration), which currently offers training in teaching of Japanese and Chinese and intensive Japanese and Chinese languages. Her recent publications include A Performance-based Pedagogy for Communicating in Cultures (co-author, Matthew B. Christensen, National East Asian Language Resource Center at The Ohio State University, 2002) and Acts of Reading (co-author, Hiroshi Nara, University of Hawaii Press, 2003). She is the content designer of the Interactive CD-ROM for Japanese: The Spoken Language Part 1 (Yale University Press). She is currently developing the intermediate to advanced level software to accompany Japanese: The Spoken Language Parts 2 and 3. She is President-elect of the Association of Teachers of Japanese and chair of its SIG on Study Abroad for Advanced Skills (SAFAS). She serves as the faculty advisor and coach for the OSU Aikido Club and Nihongo Osyaberi-kai.