Faculty

Miharu Nittono

Miharu Nittono

Senior Lecturer in Japanese

Office: 520 Kent Hall
Office Hours: TR 4:00-5:00
Teaching Hours: MW 11:40-12:55, MTWR 1:10-2:15
Phone: (212)854-5500
Email: mn70@columbia.edu

Educational Background

EdD: Teachers College, Columbia University
MA: TESOL at Teachers College, Columbia University
MA: Waseda University

Classes Taught

JPNS UN2201 Second Year Japanese I
JPNS UN2202 Second Year Japanese II
JPNS GU4516 Fifth Year Japanese I
JPNS GU4517 Fifth Year Japanese II

Research Interests

Japanese Linguistics
Japanese “Hedging”

Miharu Nittono is a senior instructor of Japanese at Columbia University, where she has taught all levels of Japanese. She also has experience teaching intensive summer courses in Japanese, including “Japanese Language and Culture” at Sophia University in Tokyo as an invited professor. She has also served as the Administrative Director of the MA Program in Japanese Pedagogy at Columbia University.

Publications

Hiyaku: An Intermediate Japanese Course (Routledge, 2011; co-authors: Shigeru Eguchi, Fumiko Nazikian, Keiko Okamoto, Jisuk Park)
“Follow the Old Ways: A New Approach to Kanji Learning” (The Seventeenth Princeton Japanese Pedagogy Forum Proceedings, 2010)
“We’re doing traditional rakugo!: Striving towards acquiring the ‘five’ skills through performing rakugo” (The Sixteenth Princeton Japanese Pedagogy Forum Proceedings, 2009)
“Show & Short: A Journey through 10 Years of Student-Written Short Stories” (The 20th Annual Conference of the Central Association of Teachers of Japanese (CATJ20), 2008)
“Contrasting Group Size and Hedge Use” (The Fifteenth Princeton Japanese Pedagogy Forum Proceedings, 2008)
“Avoidance and Appeal: A Two-Fold Motivation for Japanese Hedging Use” (Sophia International Review, 2007)
“Hedging at Work: How Occupations Affect the Use of Hedging in Japanese Interactions during Non-Work Conversations” (The Fourteenth Princeton Japanese Pedagogy Forum Proceedings, 2007)
“Two-Fold Conversation Management Function of Japanese Hedging: Speaker-Centered and Listener-Centered” (Humanities Conference 2004 Proceedings, 2006)
“The Golden Mean: Japanese Speakers’ Use of ‘Downtoners’” (Hawaii International Conference on Arts and HumanitiesProceedings, 2005)
“Japanese Hedging in Friend-Friend Discourse” (Teachers College, Columbia University, 2003)

Phuong Chung Nguyen

Phuong Chung Nguyen

Senior Lecturer in Vietnamese, Director of the Vietnamese Language Program

Office: 502-A Kent Hall
Office Hours: T 4:00–6:00 PM
Email: cn2496@columbia.edu

Educational Background

MA: Linguistics and Applied Linguistics, Vietnam National University
Diploma: Teaching English as Second Language (TESOL), Hanoi University
BA: English Language and Culture, Hanoi University

Classes Taught

VIET UN1101 & UN1102 First Year Vietnamese
VIET UN2201& UN2202 Second Year Vietnamese
VIET UN3301 & 3302 Third Year Vietnamese
VIET GU4401 & 4402 Mixed Advanced Vietnamese

Research Interests

Vietnamese Language Pedagogy
Vietnamese for Special Purposes
Materials Development
Language Testing and Assessment
Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT)
Heritage Vietnamese Language Education

Phuong Chung Nguyen began her teaching career at Hanoi University, where she taught Vietnamese and English and developed instructional materials for international students and professionals. She later served as Vietnamese Language Coordinator for the Post Language Program at the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi, directing intensive Vietnamese language training for diplomats and overseeing curriculum development and assessment.

She is currently Senior Lecturer in Vietnamese and Director of the Vietnamese Language Program at Columbia University. Her work focuses on curriculum design, proficiency-based instruction, and innovative approaches to Vietnamese language teaching, including task-based pedagogy and technology-enhanced learning.

Selected Publications

2025
Nguyen, C. An Integrated Approach to Contextual Pronunciation Teaching and Listening Comprehension in Vietnamese: A Case Study at Columbia University. Vietnam Journal on Linguistics.

2024
Phung, H., Nguyen, C., & Sakach, A. Intermediate Vietnamese: A Task-Based Journey. Open Educational Resources (OER), Michigan State University.

2023
Nguyen, C. & Nguyen, H. Oral Proficiency Lesson Plans. Southeast Asian Language Council (SEALC).
Nguyen, C., et al. Reading Materials Development Project. Southeast Asian Language Council (SEALC).

2022
Nguyen, C. “Best Practices for Teaching Listening Skills in Elementary Vietnamese.” GUAVA Newsletter, Vol. 02–1, pp. 6–8.

2021
Nguyen, T.A., Nguyen, C., & Nguyen, H. Heritage and Project-Based Learning Lesson Plan. Southeast Asian Language Council (SEALC).

Dinh, H., Nguyen, T.A., & Nguyen, C. Vietnamese OPI Sample Videos Project. Southeast Asian Language Council (SEALC).

Nguyen, C. “Reflections from SEALC Publication Workshop.” Southeast Asian Language Council News.

2020
Nguyen, C., et al. Oral Proficiency Guidelines for Vietnamese Language. Southeast Asian Language Council (SEALC).

Sonam Tsering Ngulphu

Sonam Tsering Ngulphu

Lecturer in Tibetan

Office: 502-G Kent Hall

Office Hours: By appointment
Email: st2855@columbia.edu

Educational Background

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

Classes Taught 

TIBTW UN1410 First Year Classical Tibetan I

TIBTW UN1411 First Year Classical Tibetan II

TIBTW UN2412 Second Year Classical Tibetan I

TIBTW UN2413 Second Year Classical Tibetan II

TIBTW UN2710 Advanced Literary Tibetan I

TIBTW UN2711 Advanced Literary Tibetan II

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

Precious Garland: Buddhist Polity on Life and Liberation (Rājaparikathāratnāvali, Trans & Annot. LTWA, 2014)

Verses of Naga King Drum (Nāgarājabherīgāthā, Trans. 8400, 2020)

Select Biographies, The Treasury of Lives: Biographical Encyclopedia of Tibet, Inner Asia, and the Himalayas. ‘Select Biographies’ include entries published with the National Endowment of Humanities (NEH) Grant (New York: Treasury of Lives, 2018–2023).  See https://treasuryoflives.org/search/by_author/.-Sonam-Tsering-Ngulphu [Entries 14th–21st Century]: Horkhang Sonam Pelbar (1919–1994); The Third Penor, Lekshe Chokyi Drayang (1932–2009); Karma Chopel (1930–1999); The Third Belmang, Jamyang Tenzin Gyatso (1854–1919); The Fourth Belmang, Jigme Tsultrim Namgyel (1918/1920–1957);  The Sixth Ling Rinpoche, Thupten Lungtok Namgyal Trinley (1903–1983); Dondrub Rinchen (1309–1385); Khyenrab Norbu (1883–1962); Lobzang Wanggyel (1920–2003); Pawo Wangchuk Tengpa Lobzang Nyima (1895?–1964); Śākya Yeshe (1354–1435); Takla Norbu (1889–1958); Tenzin Chodrak (1924–2001); Tubten Lhundrub (1906–1955); and Umapa Tsondru Sengge (14th–15th cent.).

Tibet Journal (Managing Editor, 2001–2004)

Tshan rig dus deb (Assistant Editor, 2001–2003)

Tibet Journal (A Quarterly Academic Journal on Tibet Studies), Managing Editor, Vol. 26, No. iii & iv–Vol. 29, No. iv (Dharamsala: LTWA, 2001–2004).

Tshan rig dus deb (A Science Journal for Monks), Assistant Editor, Vol. 1– Vol. 6 (Dharamsala: LTWA, 2001–2003).