Category: Graduate School of Education

Professor: TESOL

Dr. Jo Mynard is a Professor in the Anaheim University Graduate School of Education, Professor in the English Department, Director of the Self-Access Learning Center (SALC), and Director of the Research Institute for Learner Autonomy Education (RILAE) at Kanda University of International Studies (KUIS) in Chiba, Japan. She completed her Ed.D. in TEFL from the University of Exeter, UK in 2003 and an M.Phil. in Applied Linguistics from Trinity College, University of Dublin, Ireland in 1997. She has lived in Japan since 2015, but has also worked in the United Arab Emirates, France, Spain, Germany, Australia, the USA and Ireland and has been involved in language education since 1993. She is the founding editor of SiSAL Journal (Studies in Self-Access Learning), has been a committee member of the IATEFL Learner Autonomy Special Interest Group since 2001, and is an executive officer for the International Association for the Psychology of Language Learning. Her professional interests are learner autonomy, advising in language learning, affect, and learning beyond the classroom/self-access. She has co-edited four books. Two on learner autonomy (2011; 2014), and two on advising in language learning (2012). She co-authored Reflective Dialogue (Research and Resources in Language Teaching) with Satoko Kato (Routledge, 2016) and Dynamics of a Social Language Learning Community: Beliefs, Membership and Identity (Multilingual Matters, 2020).

Professor: TESOL

Alessandro Benati is a professor at University College Dublin (Ireland). He has held positions in several British and overseas institutions. He is known for his work in second language acquisition, and he published ground-breaking research on the pedagogical framework called processing instruction. His research on processing instruction has been recently driven by the use of new online measurements (e.g., eye tracking, self-paced reading). Alessandro has coordinated national and international high-impact research projects which have been influential in determining educational policy and had an impact in providing effective language teacher training. He is author and co-author of several research monographs and peer-reviewed articles in high-ranked journals. Editor and co-editor of book series and scientific journals such as Cambridge Elements in SLA and Instructed Second Language Acquisition. He was a member of the sub-panel for Modern Languages and Linguistics for the Research Excellence Framework for England (REF 2021), and he is Honorary Professor at Your SJ University (UK), University of Hong Kong, and Associate Professor at Anaheim University (USA).

Professor: TESOL

Dr. Nobuhiro Kamiya is a Professor in the Anaheim University Graduate School of Education and an internationally recognized specialist in second language acquisition, corrective feedback, gesture, multimodality in language learning, and English language pedagogy. His research explores how learners acquire a second language, how instructional strategies influence language development, and how nonverbal communication—including gesture—affects learning outcomes in classroom environments.

Dr. Kamiya earned his PhD in Second Language Studies from Michigan State University, where his dissertation investigated the relationship between teachers’ beliefs, instructional practices, and research-informed approaches to corrective feedback. He also holds an MA in Applied Linguistics from Teachers College, Columbia University and an MA in Education Heidelberg College, with additional TESOL certification from San Diego State University.

Before entering higher education, Dr. Kamiya spent more than a decade teaching English in junior high schools across Japan, experience that continues to inform his evidence-based approach to teacher training and classroom-focused research. His teaching career later expanded to roles at Michigan State University, Columbia University, and Gunma Prefectural Women’s University, where he now serves as a full professor.

Dr. Kamiya’s scholarly work includes peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters, encyclopedia entries, and contributions to professional teaching publications. His research has been supported by numerous competitive grants, including multiple awards from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (KAKENHI). He frequently presents at scholarly conferences, delivers invited lectures, and provides consultation and training for educators and institutions in Japan and abroad.

Passionate about bridging research and practice, Dr. Kamiya’s teaching focuses on applied linguistics, second language acquisition, corrective feedback, listening and speaking development, vocabulary learning strategies, and teacher education. He is also active in editorial and review work for leading academic journals in applied linguistics and language education.

Professor: TESOL

Dr. Neal Snape is a Professor of TESOL in the Anaheim University Graduate School of Education and a Professor of Language and Linguistics in the Faculty of International Communication at Gunma Prefectural Women’s University in Japan, where he specializes in second language acquisition with a particular focus on the English nominal domain, article systems, definiteness, genericity, and cross-linguistic influence. His research examines how linguistic knowledge is acquired, processed, and retained in second, third, and heritage languages, with a growing body of work dedicated to multilingualism and returnee language development.

Dr. Snape earned his PhD in Language and Linguistics from the University of Essex, where his dissertation explored acquisition patterns of the English determiner phrase among Japanese and Spanish learners. His work has since contributed to key theoretical discussions on interface phenomena, generative approaches to second language acquisition, and the pedagogical implications of grammatical complexity. Following his doctoral work, he completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Calgary’s Language Research Centre, continuing research into article acquisition while leading pedagogy-focused scholarly groups.

Over the course of his career, Dr. Snape has held faculty roles at leading institutions, including Hokkaido University, the University of Tokyo, Chuo University, and Anaheim University. He has served as principal investigator and co-investigator on numerous large-scale research projects supported by Japan’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), advancing empirical research on bilingualism, processing, and the development of linguistic competence across learner populations.

His publication record includes peer-reviewed articles, edited volumes, and book chapters with major academic presses and journals. His invited lectures and conference presentations span Asia, Europe, and North America, making his work a recognized contribution to the field internationally. In addition to his research and teaching, Dr. Snape is an active member of the academic community, serving on editorial boards and reviewing for journals, book publishers, and research councils across multiple countries.

A dedicated educator, he teaches courses in bilingualism, psycholinguistics, second language acquisition, academic writing, and research methodology, mentoring both undergraduate and graduate students pursuing advanced study in applied linguistics. Originally from the United Kingdom, Dr. Snape brings a global perspective and expertise to his teaching and research, informed by extensive experience living and working internationally.

Associate Professor: TESOL

Dr. Casey Keck is a TESOL Associate Professor in the Anaheim University Graduate School of Education and Associate Professor of Linguistics and Associate Chair of the English Department at Boise State University. She has over 20 years of experience teaching English as a second language to immigrants, refugees, and international students. She holds an MA in TESL and a PhD in Applied Linguistics from Northern Arizona University. Her research focuses on best practices in teaching English to adults in both community and university contexts, and her book, Pedagogical Grammar, is used in graduate teacher-training programs throughout the world. Her areas of expertise include corpus linguistics, second language acquisition, TESOL teacher education, and language program evaluation. Casey has provided technical assistance to nonprofits that focus on immigrant and refugee inclusion, including Welcoming America, the Idaho Office for Refugees, and LDS Charities. At Boise State, she coordinates Project SHINE, a service-learning initiative in which university students assist elder refugees in their efforts to obtain citizenship. Casey is a member of Boise’s Neighbors United Adult Education Task Force and the BSU-Jannus Refugee Collaboration Team. In 2016, she received the Exceptional Partnership Award from Boise State Service-Learning, for her long-standing partnerships with local ESL programs.

Associate Professor: TESOL

Dr. Talia Isaacs is a TESOL Associate Professor in the Anaheim University Graduate School of Education. She holds a Ph.D. in Second Language Education from McGill University and serves as Associate Professor of TESOL and Applied Linguistics at the UCL Institute of Education, University College London. She has designed and taught a wide range of courses in applied linguistics and TESOL at four UK and Canadian universities, including in language testing, aural/oral communication, TESOL pedagogy and curriculum, second language acquisition, and research methods. Her work on assessing second language speech (particularly pronunciation) has been shaped by her language teaching and learning experience and background in voice performance, particularly taking diction courses for opera singers. She has a strong track record of leading research and consultancy projects on language and communication and often serves in an assessment advisory capacity, most recently as a core expert group member for the OECD’s PISA 2025 foreign language assessment questionnaire, and as a member of the TOEFL Committee of Examiners (ETS, 2020-24). With growing research interests in computer-mediated assessment and language for specific and academic purposes, she is increasingly active in the UK clinical trials methodology community, injecting a social sciences dimension into a complex, interdisciplinary research area. Her research is methodologically eclectic and mostly resides within the mixed methods paradigm.

Associate Professor: TESOL

Dr. Masatoshi Sato is a TESOL Associate Professor in the Anaheim University Graduate School of Education. Dr. Sato earned his Ph.D. in Educational Studies, Language Acquisition and a Master of Arts in Second Language Education from McGill University, as well as a Graduate Certificate in TESOL from the University of New Mexico and a Bachelor of Arts in International and Intercultural Communication from Kobe University. In addition to serving as Associate Professor in TESOL at Anaheim University, Dr. Sato is a Professor in the Department of English at Universidad Andrés Bello, Chile. His research interests include peer interaction, corrective feedback, learner psychology, and teacher education. He is interested in ways in which foreign language learners’ grammatical knowledge can be used accurately and fluently during real-world communication. He has published in various international journals, such as International Review of Applied Linguistics, Language Awareness, Language Learning, Language Teaching, The Modern Language Journal, Studies in Second Language Acquisition, and System. He recently co-edited books from John Benjamins (with Susan Ballinger, McGill University: 2016) and Routledge (with Shawn Loewen, Michigan State University: 2017). His new co-edited volume from Routledge will appear in 2018. He is the recipient of the 2014 ACTFL/MLJ Paul Pimsleur Award.

Associate Professor: TESOL

Dr. Natsuko Shintani is a TESOL Associate Professor in the Anaheim University Graduate School of Education. She obtained her Ph.D. from the University of Auckland in 2011. She has worked as a language teacher in Japan and New Zealand, including in her own private language school for children. Her research interests include task-based language instruction, the role of interaction in second language acquisition and written corrective feedback. She has also worked on several meta-analysis studies of form-focused instruction. She has published widely in leading journals and is currently working on a single-authored book, The Role of Input-Based Tasks in Foreign Language Instruction for Young Learners, to be published by John Benjamins.

Associate Professor: TESOL

Dr. Anna Siyanova is an Associate Professor in the Anaheim University Graduate School of Education and an internationally recognized scholar in applied linguistics, psycholinguistics, and second language acquisition. Her research focuses on how people learn, process, and use vocabulary in a second or additional language, with particular emphasis on formulaic language, bilingual processing, and the role of frequency and cognitive mechanisms in language learning.

Throughout her career, Dr. Siyanova has held academic appointments across several global institutions, including Victoria University of Wellington, Ocean University of China, and Temple University Japan. Her research has received support from international organizations including the European Commission and national research councils, and she has been invited to deliver keynote lectures and workshops at universities and conferences around the world.

Dr. Siyanova’s publications include numerous journal articles, book chapters, and edited volumes on vocabulary learning, bilingual processing, multi-word expressions, and advanced research methods. Her work bridges empirical research and educational practice, supporting more effective and evidence-informed approaches to language teaching and learning.

In addition to her research, Dr. Siyanova is an experienced teacher and supervisor at both the master’s and doctoral levels, and has guided graduate research in areas such as psycholinguistics, vocabulary development, learner corpora, and quantitative research methods.

Dr. Siyanova holds a PhD in Applied Linguistics from the University of Nottingham, where her work was funded by the UK Economic and Social Research Council.

Assistant Professor: TESOL

Dr. Scott Aubrey is a TESOL Assistant Professor in the Anaheim University Graduate School of Education. Scott Aubrey received his Ph.D. in Applied Linguistics from the University of Auckland in 2016. He has taught at language schools and universities in Korea, Japan, and Hong Kong. Scott’s research and teaching interests include L2 motivation, the role of inter-cultural contact (inside and outside the classroom) in language learning, task-based language teaching, and L2 writing instruction. His published work includes articles in leading journals such as TESOL Quarterly, Language Teaching Research, and The Modern Language Journal. Scott currently lives in Hong Kong and teaches courses in English language education at The Chinese University of Hong Kong.