Choji Hayashi

Credentials and training

• MA in TESL and Applied Linguistics (UBC) 
• BA in Sociology (Kansai University, Japan)

Areas of academic or research interest

My academic specialty is analyzing the process of second language acquisition, in particular, social and political pressures on second language acquisition and the correlation between motivation factors and successful language learning. My current academic interest is to explore differences in learning patterns in the Japanese language when the instructional language is Japanese, English, Spanish, or Portuguese.

Academic and professional activities

• Member, Standing Committee on Language Articulation (SCOLA, 1996 - present) 
• Organizer & Judge, All BC Japanese Speech Contest; Consulate General of Japan (1996 - present) 
• Candidate Selection Staff, Japan Exchange Teacher (JET) Program, Consulate General of Japan (2001) 
• Facilitator, Langara-Ryukoku University Exchange Program (2012 - present) 
• Keynote Speaker, Cuarto Congreso Internacional de Educación Superior: Autonomy, University of Chiapas, Mexico (November 2014)
• Co-teacher (Japanese), Centro Universitario de Idiomas (CUI), University of Buenos Aires, Argentina (January - February 2014; January - February 2009) 
• Teacher (Japanese), Escuela para Estudiantes Extranjeros (EEE), University of Veracruz, Mexico (June - July 2006) 
• Professional Japanese-English and English-Japanese translator/interpreter

Other interests

I enjoy travelling, painting, hiking, cycling, reading, cooking, martial arts, playing the piano and guitar, learning languages, and exploring different cultures. In my volunteer work, I assist new immigrants in Vancouver.