The Hamako Ito Chaplin Memorial Award Committee is pleased to announce that Dr. Mai Takeuchi (Lecturer of Japanese, University of California, Los Angeles) is the recipient of the 2023 Hamako Ito Chaplin Memorial Award for Excellence in Japanese Language Teaching. Dr. Takeuchi has a background in Japanese language pedagogy, pragmatics, and sociolinguistics, and she has a range of teaching experience from elementary and high school to the university level. She is described as approachable, creative, and informed. Dr. Takeuchi’s approach to language education emphasizes making language meaningful and impactful for the individual learner, especially in regard to self-expression. She has implemented pedagogical practices such as the multiliteracies framework and collaborative online international learning (COIL) to empower and provide opportunities for students to grow as active learners and active participants in the community. The selection committee would like to congratulate Dr. Takeuchi for her accomplishments and look forward to her continued contribution to Japanese language education.
This award is made possible through the generous donation of Professor George Chaplin in memory of his wife, Hamako Ito Chaplin, who was a devoted, experienced, and well-respected professor of the Japanese language at Yale University for many years.