There are seven faculty members in the EAGL. Professors: Minoru Hirota, Osamu Ueda, Hirofumi Hosokawa, Associate Professors: Daryl Sherriff, Hiromi Chiba, Yumi Ohashi, Lecturer: Eri Hirata. For further information please visit the EAGL Department web pages.
Minoru Hirota: University of Kyushu
One of my major concerns is to study English literature with special reference to the English novels in the 19th and 20th centuries. I have also been doing research on the comparative cultural studies particularly between Britain and Japan. Here at the EAGL department, I teach the history of English literature, the history of the English language from the point of cultural aspects on Britain and America and some other related subjects. Besides being professor at the EAGL, I am also Professor Emeritus at Kyushu University as a result of my former position at this institution. Prior to my present position, I taught at Kyushu University for almost 30 years. I also hold a Visiting Scholar Status at the University of Cambridge in England.
Osamu Ueda: University of Kumamoto
My study field is English Stylistics and I am especially interested in the study of language in literature, more particularly, the language of plays and novels. I am also interested in translating English dramas into Japanese. I have been working on this project with Professor Iwai and Professor Michiyuki in Hyogen Gakka. We have translations and put on three dramas in Fukuoka city.
Hirofumi Hosokawa: University of Oxford
My research interests are in cognitive linguistics and English education. I have been trying to apply the findings of cognitive linguistics to teaching English as a foreign language. For the last few years I have been working on the ideas of the usage-based model of Cognitive Grammar and schema theory. I teach teacher-training courses at college. I supervised SELHi programs at two high schools, and currently I am supervising a new government project of English education at Fukuoka Jo Gakuin High School.
Daryl Sherriff: University of Wales
My main interests are: semantics, grammar, meaning in film and understanding the thinking process. These are all connected. I am very interested in understanding how language and grammar function and in analyzing our thinking processes - which seem to be linear and memory based. Language and grammar, of course, have a deep connection with meaning, while many of the thoughts we have relate to our sense of self. With regard to film, I’m interested in the question of how we make sense of, and give meaning to, the movies that we watch. In part this involves asking what the director wants to communicate but it also depends on how we react to what we see
Hiromi Chiba: University of Hawaii, Ph.D
My main fields are International Relations and American Studies. My academic work has focused on the historical analysis of U.S.-Japan relations. I am particularly interested in the mutual images between the two nations, and also the differences of attitudes toward nuclear weapons.
Yumi Ohashi: University of Leeds, Ph.D
My main research area is the analysis of spoken discourse in the EFL classroom. Through the analysis of discourse I explore how language is learned and what it means to learn a language. I believe that learning English is an organic process, a process in which learner development occurs by interacting with the classroom environment. In the global world of today English is an essential tool enabling individuals to become a part of the wider global community.
Eri Hirata: University of Birmingham, Ph.D candidate
My research interests are mainly in the areas of corpus linguistics, primary ELT and discourse analysis. In particular, I am interested in the contribution of corpus linguistics in English language education, especially with material and syllabus design. Currently, I am investigating the possibility of the application of a corpus-influenced syllabus to primary ELT.
Miss Hirata joined the EAGL faculty in April 2009.