Mieko Kawai is Distinguished Lecturer of Japanese and Director of the Japanese Language Program at the University of Virginia. She has taught all levels of Japanese language courses, including the newly established courses such as JAPN 2100: Cultural Conversation in Japanese and JAPN 4801: Japanese for Professionals. Her areas of specialization include Japanese Linguistics and Pedagogy, Curriculum and Instruction, and Articulation and Advocacy in Japanese Language Education. Committed to nurturing intellectually curious learners in an authentic, collaborative environment, she empowers students by engaging them in the design of their own learning process, fostering an inclusive community of active peer contributors.  

 On a broader scale, she has contributed to the field in many ways, notably as co-organizer for J-GAP from 2011 to 2015, which significantly enhanced networking and dialogue among K-16 Japanese language educators across the Mid-Atlantic and beyond. She has also served nationally on the AATJ Board as co-director of the AATJ Spring Conference in 2021-2022. Kawai's extensive teaching portfolio spans positions at the University of Maryland, University of Arizona, University of Chicago, Northwestern University, as well as summer courses at Middlebury College Japanese Language School, Sophia University (in Tokyo, Japan), and Harvard University.  

SPECIALIZATIONS

Japanese Linguistics and Pedagogy, Second Language Acquisition, Discourse Analysis, Socio-Phonetics, Articulation and Advocacy in Japanese Language Education.