Dennis Koyama

(小山デニス)

Profile Information

Affiliation: Associate Professor, Faculty of Liberal Arts, Department of Liberal Arts, Sophia University

Degree: M.A.(The University of Hawai'i)
Ph.D.(Purdue University)

Researcher number: 60817980
J-GLOBAL ID: 201901018265597582
researchmap Member ID: 7000029063

Courses taught:
Overview of Data Science
Thinking Processes (critical thinking)
Academic English Skills
English Composition 1
English Composition 2
Public Speaking

(Subject of research)
Validity of TOEFL iBT Speaking Section for Japanese University Students in English-Medium Courses
Teaching and Assessing Critical Thinking in English-Medium Courses
International Perspectives on Professional Development for Language Instructors

Research Interests

Research Areas

Awards

Papers

Why Understanding General Education as a Complex Dynamic System Matters

Dennis Koyama

Jun 23, 2026 Peer-reviewedLead authorCorresponding author
The Syllabus Assessment Paragraph as a Micro-Teaching Philosophy

Dennis Koyama

College Teaching, Dec 24, 2025 Peer-reviewedLead authorCorresponding author
Reconceptualizing academic literacy development in a Japanese university

Gary G. Fogal, Dennis Koyama

121-140, Apr 11, 2025 Peer-reviewedLast author
Critical thinking as an ecology

Koyama, Dennis

Critical Thinking in Language Learning, 11(1) 13-25, Dec, 2024 Lead authorCorresponding author
Why a dispositional view of ecological literacy is needed

Dennis Koyama, Takehiro Watanabe

Teaching in Higher Education, 28(5) 1108-1117, Jul 4, 2023 Peer-reviewedLead authorCorresponding author

Books and Other Publications

Development of Innovative Pedagogical Practices for a Modern Learning Experience

Dennis Koyama (Role: Editor, Editor)

CSMFL Publications, Dec, 2021 (ISBN: 9788194848363)

Presentations

Teaching academic English with the updated TOEFL iBT® test: Listening and Reading

Dennis Koyama, John M. Norris

ETS Japan, Oct 29, 2026 Invited
Maternal Guilt and Shame in Japan: Insights From Online Narratives

Yuka Minagawa, Dennis Koyama, Holly Hunter

Population Association of America Annual Meeting, St. Louis, MO, USA., May 7, 2026, Population Association of America
Bridging human and GenAI writing: Comparison of student writers in Japan and the UAE with generative AI models

Theron Muller, Philip McCarthy, Dennis Koyama, Gerald Talandis Jr, Sebah Al-Ali

12th Asian Conference on Pattern Languages of Programs, People, and Practices (HILLSIDE), Yokohama, Japan
Mothering and women’s well-being in Japan

Yuka Minagawa, Dennis Koyama, Holly Hunter

Réseau Espérance de Vie en Santé 2026 (REVES 2026), Tokyo, Japan
Designing for inquiry: Scaffolding question-asking in multilingual EMI settings

Dennis Koyama, Sayaka Sugimoto

60th RELC International Conference, Singapore, Mar 9, 2026
Why AI is not an epistemology: Critical thinking as an ecological, relational practice

Dennis Koyama

60th RELC International Conference, Singapore, Mar 9, 2026
What do journal editors look for in manuscripts?

Dennis Koyama

Temple University Japan Applied Linguistics Colloquium, Conference, Tokyo, Feb 8, 2026 Invited
Questioning as dialogue: How questions build shared reasoning in EMI classes

Dennis Koyama, Sayaka Sugimoto

Integrating Content and Language in Higher Education (ICLHE) East Asia Symposium, Tokyo, Japan, Jan 10, 2026
Teaching academic English with the updated TOEFL iBT® test: Writing

Dennis Koyama, John M. Norris

ETS Japan, Oct 1, 2025 Invited
What counts as “critical”? Disciplinary modes of integration in critical thinking research

Dennis Koyama

Critical Thinking in the Classrooms, Osaka, Japan
Processes of Gender-Unequal Childcare in Japan: Evidence from an Internet Blog Analysis

Minagawa, Yuka, Koyama, Dennis, Hunter, Holly

30th International Population Conference, Brisbane, Australia, Jul 17, 2025
Toward a Localized Model of Diffusion of Innovations Theory: Generative AI in English-Medium Instruction

Dennis Koyama

JALT Pan-SIG 2025, May 17, 2025
From sociolinguistic theory to research practice: A guide for beginning researchers

Dennis Koyama

Waseda University, Apr 17, 2025 Invited
Processes of gender-unequal childcare in Japan: Evidence from an internet blog analysis

Minagawa, Yuka, Koyama, Dennis, Hunter, Holly

Population Association of America Annual Meeting, Washington DC, USA.
Critical Thinking and Autonomy: Integrating Self-Regulated Learning and Generative AI

Dennis Koyama

Thinking about Thinking 2025, Feb 15, 2025
Critical Thinking as an Ecology: Insights from EMI Instructors at Japanese Universities

Dennis Koyama

ICLHE East Asia Regional Group 2025 Symposium, Jan 25, 2025
Perspectives on Critical Thinking in English-Medium Instruction Courses at Japanese Universities

Dennis Koyama

Critical Thinking in the Classroom, Aug 3, 2024
Critical Thinking in English-Medium Instruction Courses at Japanese Universities

Dennis Koyama

Japan Association for Language Teaching Special Interest Groups (JALT Pan-SIG) Conference, May 25, 2024
An inside perspective on publishing with JALT

Dennis Koyama, Jeremie Bouchard, Peter Ferguson, Paul Lyddon, Irina Kuznetcova, Theron Muller

2023 JALT National Conference, Tsukuba, Nov 25, 2023
Teaching and assessing critical thinking: Perspectives from the literature

Dennis Koyama

2023 JALT National Conference, Tsukuba, Nov 25, 2023
Using ChatGPT to support critical thinking: Perspectives from psychology, philosophy, and education

Dennis Koyama

Okinawa JALT Summer Symposium, Aug 12, 2023
Critical thinking education and assessment

Dennis Koyama

JALT Gunma Chapter, Jul 16, 2023 Invited
Enhancing critical thinking in the English language classroom with ChatGPT

Dennis Koyama

Critical Thinking in the Classroom, Jul 1, 2023
Getting Published in JALT Publications

Dennis Koyama, Rick Derrah, Jeremie Bouchard, Paul Lyddon, Theron Muller

2022 JALT National Conference, Nov 12, 2022
Constructing Learning Tasks and Materials for Assessing Critical Thinking

Dennis Koyama

6TH CELC SYMPOSIUM, May 30, 2022
The Art of Assessing Critical Thinking: A Focus on Task Design

Dennis Koyama

International Conference on Bilingual Education, Apr 29, 2022
Cooperative learning: Critical thinking and learning transfer

Dennis Koyama

Michigan State University and the Japan Center for Michigan Universities, Mar 6, 2022 Invited
Getting Published in JALT Publications

Dennis Koyama, Peter Clements, Caroline Handley, Paul Lyddon

Japan Association for Language Teaching 2021, Nov 3, 2021 Invited
Japanese university language instructors’ professional development: A nation-wide study

Dennis Koyama, Elizabeth Lavolette

EUROCALL 2021, Aug, 2021
The state of professional development for language instructors at Japanese universities: A call for context-based transformation

Elizabeth Lavolette, Dennis Koyama

International Association for Language Learning Technology Conference 2021
Automated question generation: A systematic review of 50 years of research

Dennis Koyama

JALT CALL, Jun 5, 2021
Effective teaching practices for online learning

Dennis Koyama

Sep 9, 2020, Faculty Development Committee Invited
Fifty years of automated question generation research in language teaching and assessment: Implications for CALL

Dennis Koyama

EUROCALL 2020
Implications of student ratings of instruction for teachers and professional development programs

Dennis Koyama

Jun 24, 2020 Invited
Designing critical thinking assessments

Dennis Koyama

35th Annual JALT Conference in Hokkaido, Jan 31, 2020
A synthesis of student evaluations of teaching

Dennis Koyama

Japan Association for Language Teaching, Tsukuba, Japan, 20-23 November.
Why and How to Use Turnitin for University Courses

Harwood Chris, Koyama Dennis

May 29, 2019, Sophia University Faculty Development Workshop Invited

Professional Development Workshop & Presentation
Does Anonymity Make Difference in Peer Review? An Empirical Investigation in the Japanese EFL Context

Kim Sugene, Koyama Dennis

The 16th Asia TEFL International Conference, 2018, The 16th Asia TEFL International Conference
The Effect of Model Feedback and Group Work on Data Integrations: An L2 Writing Investigation of the Graph Description Task

Koyama Dennis

The 4th TBLT in Asia, 2018, JALT 2018 Task Based Learning SIG
An Empirical Investigation into Japanese EFL Learners’ Attitudes Toward Anonymous Peer Review

Kim Sugene, Koyama Dennis

The International Conference on English Teaching and Learning (ROC-ETL), 2018
A Comparative Study of Japanese EFL learners’ Perception Toward Face-to-Face vs. Anonymous Peer Review

Koyama Dennis, Kim Sugene

JALT PanSIG Conference, 2018, JALT
Purposeful program theory: Student learning outcomes

Koyama Dennis, Cazangiu Alexandra

Faculty Development Conference, 2016, New York University
Keeping up with the assessments: Identifying learning outcome indicators

Koyama Dennis, Cazangiu Alexandra

Faculty Development Conference, 2016, New York University Invited
Providing written feedback to international students in mainstream English classrooms

Koyama Dennis

Writing Center Workshop for Faculty, 2015, Purdue University Writing Center Invited
Shaking hands and fist bumps: Learning to read time and place in your internship

Koyama Dennis

2015, College of Engineering & Krannert School of Management Invited
The relationship between TOEFL iBT speaking scores and oral communication ability in an academic EFL environment

Sun Angela, Ockey Gary, Koyama Dennis

American Association of Applied Linguistics (AAAL) annual conference, 2014, American Association of Applied Linguistics
L1 and L2 email requests: A pilot study of inter/intrasubjective comparisons

Koyama Dennis, Gherwash Ghada, Cong Annie

The 19th International Conference on Pragmatics and Language Learning (PLL), 2014
Oral communication tactics: Learning strategies for professional English conversations

Koyama Dennis

2014, College of Engineering Invited
L1 and L2 Email Requests: An Explorative Study of Inter/intrasubjective Comparisons

Gherwash Ghada, Cong Annie, Koyama Dennis

The 12th Symposium on Second Language Writing (SSLW), 2014
The relationship between TOEFL iBT speaking scores and oral communication ability in an academic EFL environment

Setoguchi Eric, Ockey Gary, Koyama Dennis, Sun Angela

The Language Testing Research Colloquium (LTRC), 2013

Professional Memberships

Research Projects

A mixed-methods study of transitional challenges and learning outcomes of university students in English medium instruction (EMI)

Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), Apr, 2025 - Mar, 2030

Sayaka Sugimoto, Dennis Koyama
An Analysis of the Role of Family as a Determinant of Physical and Mental Health in Japan

Sophia University, Sophia University Special Academic Research Promotion Fund, Apr, 2024 - Mar, 2027

Yuka Minagawa, Dennis Koyama
Teaching and Assessing Critical Thinking in English-Medium Instruction Courses: Perspectives from Japan

Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Apr, 2020 - Mar, 2024

KOYAMA Dennis
Teaching and Assessing Critical Thinking in English-Medium Courses

Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research (KAKENHI) Program, Apr, 2020 - Mar, 2024
Validity of TOEFL iBT Speaking Section for Japanese University Students in English-Medium Courses

Educational Testing Services (ETS) TOEFL Board of Examiners, Apr, 2011 - Mar, 2013

To the list screen