Yumiko Matsunaga’s research focuses on the issues faced by foreign language learners, including identity construction, participation frameworks, and community building. Since her dissertation, she has conducted extensive research on foreign language housing (FLH), a form of specialized university housing designed for language learners. In the past decade, FLH has attracted increasing attention from foreign language educators and second language acquisition (SLA) researchers seeking to better understand language learning and the development of communicative competence in community-based learning environments. Her FLH research examines the complex interactions and configurations arising from participants’ diverse expectations and contributions within these settings. In June 2020, her book chapter, “Learners’ Investments and Identities in the Japanese House: A Study of JFL Learners Living in Foreign Language Housing,” was published. Currently, she is researching various modes of virtual exchange between Japanese language learners and Japanese speakers. She is also collaborating on research related to the use of artificial intelligence in Japanese language learning.
keywords
Teaching Japanese as a second/foreign langauge, Japanese linguistics, second language acquisition
