Faculty

Shuichiro Takeda

Shuichiro Takeda

Adjunct Lecturer in Japanese

Email:  st3377@columbia.edu
Office Hours: TW 2:15 PM – 2:45 PM

Educational Background

Master of Educational Technology, University of British Columbia
BA, Psychology, Hunter College
BA, English and American Literature, Nanzan University

Research Interests

Japanese Pedagogy

After completing his master’s program in Canada, Shuichiro Takeda contributed to the establishment of a Japanese language program for adults at Centre Japonais de Québec in Quebec City as their first instructor until 2015. He has been teaching language courses at all levels at Hunter College, New York University, The New School, and the Japan Society. He has also developed cultural courses (Japanese Pop Culture, History of Manga and Anime, Society in Japan) and Japanese Business Etiquette workshops. Outside of academic circles, he was the Japanese language coach for the American lead in a TV series filmed in Japan for WarnerMedia Entertainment.

Sonam Tsering

Sonam Tsering

Adjunct Lecturer in Tibetan

Office Hours: TBA
Email: st2855@columbia.edu

Educational Background

PhD: Columbia University
MTS: Harvard University
MA: Central University for Tibetan Studies

Research Interests

Tibetan Studies, Religion, and Buddhist Studies

Sonam Tsering Ngulphu has taught topics on religion, Buddhist philosophy, and Tibetan language and literature at monasteries and modern educational institutions in India and the US. He had previously worked as the managing editor of Tibet Journal, an academic quarterly on Tibetan studies, where he also co-edited thematic series on Tibet and British Raj, Tibetan monuments, and a fourteen-issue history of Tibetan art.

Sonam’s doctoral dissertation examined the eighteen-volume Collected Works of Je Tsongkhapa (1357–1419) to assess the role of the texts in the formation of Geluk School in Tibet during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. It studied the significant roles that Je Tsongkhapa’s writings have played in establishing doctrinal authority, defining philosophical boundaries, postulating intellectual identity, and reorienting monastic education for Tibet’s largest school of thought and philosophy.

Trained in several languages, Sonam specializes in translation and interpretation with a focus on classical Tibetan Buddhist texts.

Selected Publications

Verses of Naga King Drum (Nāgarājabherīgāthā, Trans. 8400, 2020)
Precious Garland: Buddhist Polity on Life and Liberation (Rājaparikathāratnāvali, Trans & Annot. LTWA, 2014)
Tibet Journal (Managing Editor, 2001–2004)
Tshan rig dus deb (Assistant Editor, 2001–2003)

Naoko Sourial

Naoko Sourial

Lecturer in Japanese

Office: 520 Kent Hall
Office Hours: MR 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM
Email: nns2111@columbia.edu

Educational Background

MA: Japanese Pedagogy, Columbia University
BA: British and American Studies, Nanzan Universtiy

Classes Taught

JPNS UN1101 First Year Japanese I
JPNS UN1102 First Year Japanese II
JPNS UN1001 Introductory Japanese A & B

Research Interests

Language Pedagogy and Content-Based Instruction and Project-Based Learning

Naoko Sourial majored in British and American Studies and American Philosophy at Nanzan University (Nagoya, Japan). She received her MA in Japanese Pedagogy at Columbia University. Ms. Sourial has many years of experience teaching Japanese. She has taught at Columbia University, The New School, NYU, and Baruch College (CUNY). She has developed and designed curriculum for advanced-level content courses such as Japanese Pop Culture at The New School.

Recent Publications

“Learning “Japanese Pop Culture” with Self-Taught Learners – Teacher’s Roles in Curriculum Design of Japanese Advanced-level Courses” (American Association of Teachers of Japanese (AATJ), March 2020, presented as the pedagogy panel with a panel title, “What Is Happening in Japanese Classes Now with Increasing Numbers of Self-Taught Learners?)

“Connecting and Reflecting through Fashion: Advanced Japanese curriculum design using anthropological and sociological approach” (The 25th Princeton Pedagogy Forum Proceedings, 2019)

“Ecological Approach-Based Individual Portfolio & Group Project in “Japanese for Global Markets” Course” (The 24th Princeton Pedagogy Forum Proceedings, 2018)