Self-Introduction
Hello, my name is Aina Tanaka. I specialize in sociolinguistics, particularly focusing on English and globalization. My research interests lie in investigating the complex and emergent discussion of how English is used, perceived, and conceptualized by people and in society amidst globalization, and how ideologies and social issues around language shape our everyday communication.
During my undergraduate studies in theater culture, I never envisioned myself becoming an applied linguistics researcher. However, after gaining experience as an assistant in a foreign language class at the United Nations International School (NYC) and at the journalism field with Reuters, a news agency branched in Tokyo, I find myself here today at SILS. Through experiences in theater, language education, and journalism, I realized that my core interest lies in exploring how language, something we often take for granted, serves as a significant and powerful medium for expression and communication, shaping individual and societal beliefs. It’s fascinating and odd to consider how seemingly disparate experiences in one’s life can be connected to pave the way to becoming a researcher!
At SILS, I teach first year seminars. One seminar provides an introductory discussion on English as a lingua franca, while the other delves into language and globalization, focusing on social media discourse. I hope my classes provide students with an opportunity to explore, reflect on their personal experiences, and critically analyze globally spread English.
Recent Research Interest
My most recent research ethnographically investigated language identity construction observed in Japanese young people’s English use on SNS, as reflected in their online practices and interview narratives. Guided by underpinning principles and keywords such as English as a Lingua Franca (ELF), translingualism, language investment, and power and ideologies, the study illuminated how participants’ daily engagement with English (and other languages indeed) on SNS is shaped by multiple ideological discourses embedded in Japanese society. These include the perception of English as a symbolic capital, native speakerism, and prescriptivism in English, and emergent power dynamics such as online surveillance among English learner themselves. Ultimately, my study highlighted the need for teachers and scholars to acknowledge how constructed language ideologies are internalized in learners themselves and the emerging communicative power dynamics outside classroom discourse.
My work has been presented at academic conferences and published in journals and book chapters through both international and domestic research groups and publishers.
Profile
Aina Tanaka is an Assistant Professor at SILS, Waseda University. She recently completed Ph.D. at Graduate School of International Culture and Communication Studies (GSICCS), Waseda University. Her recent research interests include English as a Lingua Franca (ELF), translingualism, online communication, language ideologies, and language identities.
