Japanese

Kana Toda Pierce

Kana Toda Pierce

Adjunct Lecturer in Japanese

Email: ktp2111@columbia.edu
Office Hours: Mondays, 10:10-11:10 A.M

Educational Background

M.A. in Japanese Pedagogy, Columbia University, New York, NY, 2019
B.A. in British and American Literature, Meiji University, Tokyo, Japan, 2003

Research Interests

Japanese Language Pedagogy
Technology-Enhanced Language Learning
Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL)

Kana Toda Pierce holds a B.A. from Meiji University and an M.A. in Japanese Pedagogy from Columbia University. She taught English at junior and senior high schools in Nagasaki, Japan, for eight years. She also worked as a Japanese-English translator for eight years, translating anime-, manga-, and mobile game-related content. She has taught Japanese at Rochester Institute of Technology and the University of California, Santa Barbara, and as a substitute lecturer at Hobart and William Smith Colleges and Princeton University. She currently teaches Japanese at Japan Society and Princeton Community Japanese Language School.

Shuichiro Takeda

Shuichiro Takeda

Adjunct Lecturer in Japanese

Email:  st3377@columbia.edu
Office Hours: By appointment

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

Shuichiro Takeda began his teaching career in Quebec City, where he taught Japanese to adult learners until 2015. Since then, he has taught Japanese language courses at all levels at Hunter College, Japan Society, The New School, New York University, and Columbia University. Beyond language instruction, he has designed and taught cultural courses such as Japanese Pop Culture, History of Manga and Anime, and Society in Japan, as well as workshops on Japanese business etiquette. Outside the classroom, he is the author of The Beginner’s Guide to Manga and Anime (Scholastic Inc., 2024) and has provided Japanese language coaching for the HBO Max series Tokyo Vice and the Searchlight Pictures film Rental Family.

Mihoko Yagi

Mihoko Yagi

Lecturer in Japanese

Office: 516 Kent Hall
Office Hours: Wed & Thur 3-4 PM
Phone: (212) 854-3594
Email: my2891@columbia.edu

Educational Background

Ed.M: TESOL, Boston University
BA: Literature, Waseda University

Classes Taught

JPNS 1002 Introductory Japanese B
JPNS 1101 First Year Japanese I

Research Interests

Language Pedagogy

Mihoko Yagi joined the Japanese Language Program at Columbia in
2024. She received her BA in literature from Waseda University and her
Ed.M in teaching English to speakers of other languages (TESOL) from
Boston University. Prior to joining Columbia, she taught at Harvard
University and Boston University, where she had extensive experience
of teaching Japanese at various levels. She has also served as a Japanese
language department assistant at DePauw University. She is passionate
about bridging students’ learning in class to the real world.