MEIKAI HOME >> ENGLISH >> GRADUATE SCHOOL >> Graduate School of Applied Linguistics

GRADUATE SCHOOL

Graduate School

The four graduate schools of Meikai University were established to further advance academic research in this age of constant change in society, economy and information. They were created to fulfill Meikai University's mission to foster graduates of talent and ability, who are well educated, creative and rational, and capable of performing on the world stage. In 1977, the Graduate School of Dentistry was established. In 1998, the Graduate School of Applied Language Studies, Economics and Real Estate Sciences were founded. In 2000, doctorate programs were established in the graduate schools of Applied Language Studies and Real Estate Sciences.

Graduate School of Applied Linguistics

Applied linguistics is a general term that covers the study of languages and related human linguistic behavior from different perspectives. In Japan such investigation has traditionally been carried out in separate fields, such as linguistics, education, and psychology. This school is the first large-scale educational institution that enables study of these fields from an interdisciplinary point of view.
The Master's Program offers three major areas, each of which is designed to prepare students for a wide range of research fields: Language Education, Language Behavior, and Language Culture. Students can select from a very large number of lecture subjects, and every effort is made to have these subjects reflect the latest research developments in the field.
The Doctoral Program, established in 2000, offers subjects primarily in the field of linguistic behavior. The aim is to stimulate truly original, creative research in a wide variety of topics, research that is not shackled by conventional, stereotyped methodology, but can give rise to truly new ways of thought. In the Graduate School of Applied Linguistics, a master's degree or a doctoral degree can be earned in either Applied Linguistics or Japanese Language Teaching.
Meikai University offers a Japanese Language Education Program, an English Language Education Program, a Translating and Interpreting Program, and a "Simul Academy Interpreter Training Program" in conjunction with the major translating and interpretation firm Simul International, Inc.

Curriculum

Basic Subjects: Two basic courses are offered to all students in applied linguistics to provide them with the fundamental grounding they need for their subject: Special Lecture on Research Methods in Applied Linguistics and Special Lecture on Applied Linguistics. In the first, Students learn basic statistical analysis and computational operations, and in the Students they learn basic ideas and concepts in applied linguistics.

Major Areas (Master's Program)

Language Education: This area focuses on the teaching of Japanese, Chinese, English, and other languages as foreign languages. Students deepen their research into the teaching methods, materials, and curricula of these languages separately, and then go on to tackle the larger question underlying language education: the aims of language education within general society.
Linguistic Behavior: This is a thriving field in Europe and the United States, but is still in its primary stages in Japan. Students learn of the ways in which language relates to human behavior, the diverse ways that relationship can manifest itself, and the underlying principles. Through an examination of translating and interpreting techniques and communication, psychology, secondary psychology, secondary language acquisition and loss, language contact and comparative linguistics, linguistic policies, and computational linguistics, students deal with themes that will be of great importance in the 21st century.
Language Culture: This area focuses on the relation between languages and cultures. Using our University's research achievements, students investigate literature, grammar, thought, and so on. related to those languages, both independently and from a comparative point of view (including research into comparative literary studies of Japanese, Chinese, and English literature, etc.), looking for commonalities as well as comprehending holistically the way in which a particular language may shape a culture.