Mayumi Ajioka is an assistant professor-in-residence of Japanese. She earned her Ph.D. in Applied Linguistics from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), after obtaining two master’s degrees: M.A. in Applied Linguistics & TESL from UCLA and M.A. in English Language & Literature from Tsuda University (Tokyo, Japan).

Ajioka’s research interests are diverse. Her dissertation centered on a Japanese heritage language speaker. She explored the heritage speaker’s background, learning motivation, and development of her proficiency in reading and writing formal Japanese. Besides her work on Japanese heritage language speakers, she has been interested in formulaic language, functional linguistics, and second language acquisition and instruction overall. As a certified ACTFL OPI tester, she has also actively researched ways to enhance students’ speaking skills through class activities.

Similar to her research background, Ajioka has extensive experience teaching Japanese. She started her teaching career at UCLA as a teaching assistant in 2007 and later taught at various colleges and universities in California, including the University of California, Riverside and California State Universities. Her teaching philosophy is that teachers should act as facilitators to boost students’ motivation. Through classroom instruction and activities, she consistently aims to inspire and motivate her students based on her research findings.