Noriko Taira Yasohama
Director of Language Programs; Professor of Instruction
M.Ed., University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Noriko Taira received her M.Ed. from University of Massachusetts at Amherst. She is one of the recipients of the 2012 Arts and Sciences Alumni Teaching Award, the Weinberg College Distinguished Teaching Award. Taira has extensive training in foreign language education and curriculum development as well as some training in research design on second language acquisition. She has contributed to several chapters of textbooks on Japanese language, English culture and intercultural communication. She has worked on a CIC-sponsored computer-assisted materials development project with professors at Purdue University and the University of Michigan. Taira is a certified tester of the Japanese Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI) Test for the American Council on Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL).
