PhD Student Profile

Robert Lowe

Robert Lowe

PhD Student

School: School of Language Studies and Applied Linguistics

Campus: Canterbury

Biographical note

Robert is a PhD student in Applied Linguistics, and works as an assistant professor in the English Communication Department of Tokyo Kasei University. He has been working the field of language education since 2008, and produces the TEFLology podcast in his spare time.

Project title

'Resisting native-speakerism in Japanese higher education: Towards a more equitable model of course development and design.'

Research outline

There are many controversial issues surrounding language education in Japanese higher education, many of which involve complaints that teachers are discriminated against on the basis of their perceived speakerhood. This project is a study of one teaching department in a Japanese university which seems to offer a more fair and equitable alternative to most others. The purpose of this study is to find out how this has been achieved, and what can be learned from this for future course planning and implementation.

Supervisory Team

  • Adrian Holliday (first supervisor)
  • Alexandra Polyzou (second supervisor)
  • Shane Blackman (chair)

Research outputs

  • Lowe, R. (2015) Special needs training in ELT programs as a part of continuing professional development. OnCUE Journal 9(1) - forthcoming
  • Lowe, R. (2015) Cram schools in Japan: The need for research. The Language Teacher 39(1), pp. 26-31
  • Turner, M., and Lowe, R. (2014). Foregrounding learner research for TBL activities. In R. Chartrand, M. Grogan, M. Porter, and G. Brooks (Eds.), The 2013 Pan-SIG Conference Proceedings (pp. 138-144). Nagoya: JALT.
  • Lowe, R. (2013) Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing; Problematic representations of gender in authentic EFL vocabulary texts. The Journal and Proceedings of the Gender Awareness in Language Education Special Interest Group 6, pp.6-26.
  • Lowe, R. (2012) A Question of Qualifications; Making a case for TESOL diplomas. OnCUE Journal 6(3), pp.54-61.
  • Lowe, R. (2012) Promoting L2 use as a means of facilitating TBLT in Japanese classrooms. The Language Teacher 36(6), pp.21-26

Teaching Experience (Academic)

  • Chiba University (2012) - Academic Writing, British Culture
  • Rikkyo University (2012-2015) - English Discussion
  • Tokyo Kasei University (2015-present) - British English dialects and socioliguistics, World Englishes and Postcolonial Literature, British Culture, English Poetry.
 

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Last edited: 05/12/2017 10:52:00