Teaching

What I value in class

Rather than memorizing correct answers, I emphasize clarifying the question, checking the evidence, building an argument and expressing it so that it reaches the reader or listener. Drawing on English-language teaching, critical thinking and philosophy education, I look for methods that let students keep learning on their own after the course ends.

• Academic Writing
• Discussion
• Presentation
• Critical Thinking
• Generative AI
• Intercultural Learning

Courses

I teach mainly in Academic Studies in English (ASE) at Tokyo Metropolitan University, including courses in English writing, discussion and presentation. ASE course offerings change from year to year; for current information, see the ASE website.

• TMU ASE course guide (Japanese)

Generative AI and learning

My teaching is designed around one principle: when a better tool arrives, change the goals to fit it. The Fosbury flop in the high jump only became possible once soft landing mats came into use; Dick Fosbury won gold with it at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics. The equipment does not jump for the athlete, but it makes new techniques and higher goals possible. Generative AI works the same way. Because students can now get feedback and conversation practice matched to their own level outside class, I have raised the goals: a long essay as the final writing assignment, and mock job interviews in English for speaking. What matters then is the ability to judge AI’s suggestions rather than simply accept them, deciding which to adopt and which to reject. I call this pushing back on AI.

At the same time, I am thinking about what happens when a tool becomes too good: the sport itself may change. If equipment let anyone clear a ten-metre bar, the high jump would no longer be a contest. In 2020, World Athletics capped the sole thickness of running shoes to keep competition fair. Do we regulate the tool to protect the athlete’s own ability, or redefine what counts as the ability to jump? Generative AI now puts this question to language education too.

On critical thinking

Critical thinking is not a technique for finding fault with others. It is a way of reading carefully: what is being claimed, what evidence supports it and what assumptions lie hidden. I aim to bring the methods of argument developed in philosophy into everyday settings such as writing, meetings, research and decision-making.

Now that generative AI returns plausible answers instantly, the ability to ask your own questions, judge how reliable information is and take responsibility for your own judgments matters more than ever.