Contact
Biography
I am an Assistant Professor in Applied Linguistics at the School of English, The University of Nottingham. I lecture and supervise on the BA English Language and Literature and the MA Applied Linguistics and English Language Teaching.
Prior to moving to Nottingham in 2022, I completed a DPhil in Education (Applied Linguistics) at the University of Oxford in 2022 and served as a tutor on the MSc in Applied Linguistics and Second Language Acquisition (MSc ALSLA) and a research assistant at the English Medium Instruction (EMI) Research Group. Previously, I have also worked on the BA Japanese Studies at the School of English and Modern Languages at Oxford Brookes University.
My areas of expertise include:
- Applied linguistics
- Second Language Teaching and Learning
- English Medium Instruction (EMI)
- Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL)
- Language policy
- Global Englishes
- Assessment and measurement
Teaching Summary
Teaching
Undergraduate teaching
Year 1 - Studying Language (ENGL1002); Year 2 - The Psychology of Bilingualism & Language Learning (ENGL2021); Year 3 - Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) (ENGL3012)
Masters teaching
English Vocabulary: Teaching and Learning (ENGL4074); Group Dynamics and Motivation in the Language Classroom (ENGL4073); MA Applied Linguistics and English Language Dissertation (ENGL4031)
Postgraduate supervision
I welcome applications from PhD students on the vast research topics of English Medium Instruction (EMI), including:
- Language and content outcomes
- Language policy
- Assessment and measurement
- Pedagogical challenges and success
- The role of vocabulary and motivation
Please contact me directly at ikuya.aizawa1@nottingham.ac.uk with any questions or inquiries relating to PhD study at Nottingham.
Research Summary
Research
My research interests include the globalisation of English language teaching and the pedagogical implications of the use of English to teach and learn academic subjects in higher education, with a particular interest in English Medium Instruction (EMI) and Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL).
My current research projects focus on the role of English in higher education, language policy concerning EMI, assessment and measurement in EMI, and the role of motivation and vocabulary in EMI, and the effectiveness of EMI in relation to content and language outcomes.
My research has appeared in journals such as Language Teaching, System, Language Teaching Research, International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, Higher Education, and Studies in Higher Education. I am the current communications officer of the English Medium Instruction (EMI) Research Group at the Department of Education, the University of Oxford, and I am engaged in funded research, professional development and consultancy work in the broader area of Applied Linguistics and English Language Teaching.
Ongoing and recently completed projects:
- 2022-2023: Taiwan Ministry of Education EMI Programme Evaluation Project (funded by the British Council Taiwan)
- 2020-2021: Global Mapping of English Medium Instruction in Higher Education: 2020 and beyond (British Council Research grant, funded by the British Council)
- 2021-22: British Council East Asia English Connects Feasibility Study (British Council Research grant, funded by the British Council)
- 2020-2021: A discipline-based investigation of CEFR, challenges, and academic success of Turkish EMI students (New Connections in EMI Turkey Research Partnership Fund 2020, funded by the British Council Turkey)
Books
Aizawa, I. (2026). English Medium Instruction in Japan: Opportunities, Challenges and Future Directions. Routledge, contracted and in progress.
Book Chapters
Thompson, G., Kim, V., Zhou, S., & Aizawa, I. (Forthcoming). L2 Proficiency and affective factors as predictors of content knowledge attainment: A comparative study of learners from Japan and South Korea. In Lasagabaster, D., Fernández-Costales, A., & González Mujico, F. (Eds.), The affective dimension in language learning in higher education. Multilingual Matters, contracted and in progress.
Curle, S., Lin, Y. & Aizawa, I. (2023). English Medium Instruction in Japan: changes and challenges faced by faculty and students. In Sah, K. & Fan Fang, F. (Eds.), English-Medium Instruction in Multilingual Universities: Politics, Policies, and Pedagogies in Asia. Routledge.
Thompson, G., Curle, S. & Aizawa, I. (2022). Success Stories from English-Medium Instruction Undergraduate Students in Japan: Student Perceptions of Challenge and Benefit. In McKinley, J. & Galloway, N. (Eds.), English Medium Instruction Practices in Higher Education: International perspectives. Bloomsbury.
Aizawa, I. & McKinley, J. (2020). EMI challenges in Japan's internationalisation of higher education. In Bowles, H. & Murphy, A. (Eds.), English medium instruction and the internationalisation of universities. Palgrave Macmillan.
Journal Articles
Macaro, E., & Aizawa, I. (2024). English Medium Instruction, EAP/ESP: Exploring overlap and divergences in research aims. the International Journal of Applied Linguistics.
Aizawa, I. (2024). Tracking the first-year experience in English medium instruction: A pre-post study of transitional challenges. English for Specific Purposes, 73, 20-32. DOI: 10.1016/j.esp.2023.09.002.
Curle, S., Yuksel, D., Aizawa, I. Thompson, G., & Rakhshandehroo, M. (2023). Academic success in English Medium Instruction programmes in Turkey: exploring the effect of Gender, Motivation, and English language proficiency. International Journal of Educational Research. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijer.2023.102288.
Aizawa, I. & Rose, H. McKinley, J., & Thompson, G. (2023). A comparison of content learning outcomes between Japanese and English Medium Instruction. Language and Education. DOI: 10.1080/09500782.2023.2238688.
Aizawa, I. (2023). A comparative study of Japanese and English Medium Instruction: The driving factors behind academic success. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development. DOI: 10.1080/01434632.2023.2184476.
Macaro, E. & Aizawa, I. (2022). Who owns English medium instruction? Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development. DOI: 10.1080/01434632.2022.2136187.
Rose, H., Macaro, E., Sahan, K., Aizawa, I., Zhou, S. & Wei, M. (2021). Defining English Medium Instruction: Striving for comparative equivalence. Language Teaching, 1-12. DOI: 10.1017/S0261444821000483.
Aizawa, I. & Rose, H. (2020). High school to university transitional challenges in English Medium Instruction in Japan. System. DOI: 10.1016/j.system.2020.102390.
Aizawa, I., Rose, H., Thompson, G. & Curle, S. (2020). Beyond the threshold: Exploring English language proficiency, linguistic challenges, and academic language skills of Japanese students in an English Medium Instruction programme. Language Teaching Research. DOI: 10.1177/1362168820965510.
Aizawa, I. & Rose, H. (2019). An analysis of Japan's English as medium of instruction initiatives within higher education: the gap between meso-level policy and micro-level practice. Higher Education, 77, 1125-1142. DOI: 10.1007/s10734-018-0323-5.
Thompson, G., Aizawa, I., Curle, S. & Rose, H. (2019). Exploring the role of self-efficacy beliefs and learner success in English Medium Instruction. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism. DOI: 10.1080/13670050.2019.1651819.
Rose, H., Curle, S., Aizawa, I. & Thompson, G. (2019). What drives success in English medium taught courses? The interplay between language proficiency, academic skills, and motivation. Studies in Higher Education, 1-13. DOI: 10.1080/03075079.2019.1590690.
Commissioned Reports
Borg, S., Anderson, J., Beaumont, B., Xie, K., Guo, Y., Thorburn, R., Choi, T., Kim, H. J., Aizawa, I., & Fujinaga, K. (2022). The continuing professional development experiences and needs of English language teachers (Countries: China, Japan and Korea). London, UK: British Council. https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/continuing-professional-development-experiences-and-needs-english-language-teachers-china
Yuksel, D., Altay, M., Curle, S. & Aizawa, I. (2021). A discipline-based investigation of English language proficiency, linguistic challenge, and academic success of students in Turkish EMI setting. British Council Turkey, New Connections in EMI Turkey Research Partnership Fund 2020.
S., James Relly, Robson, J., Emms, K., Laczik, A., Aizawa, I., Dong, L., Hwang, S., Pinto, V., Randhawa, A. & Zlock, L. (2021). Drivers of technical excellence in the skills economy: Evidence from seven case countries: A report to WorldSkills UK. https://www.worldskillsuk.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/SKOPE-final.pdf.
Sahan, K., Mikolajewska, A., Rose, H., Macaro, M., Searle, M., Aizawa, I. & Zhou, S. (2021). Global Mapping of English Medium Instruction (EMI) in Higher Education: 2020 and beyond. London: British Council. https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/sites/teacheng/files/5.%20Global%20mapping%20of%20English_artwork.pdf
Online Publications
Maiden, M., Kotzor, S., Cappellaro, C. & Aizawa, I. (2020). How 'foreign' are 'foreign languages'? Lingua Mania podcast, Creative Multilingualism. https://podcasts.ox.ac.uk/series/linguamania.