Sakamoto Mitsuyo

(坂本光代)

Profile Information

Affiliation: Professor, Faculty of Foreign Studies, Department of English Studies, Sophia University

Degree: Bachelor of Arts(University of Toronto)
文学士(トロント大学)
Master of Education(University of Toronto)
修士（教育学）(トロント大学大学院)
Bachelor of Education(University of Toronto)
学士（教育学）(トロント大学)
Doctor of Philosophy(University of Toronto)
博士（教育学）(トロント大学大学院)

Researcher number: 30439335
J-GLOBAL ID: 200901085081594019
researchmap Member ID: 5000105675

External link: https://ll.sophia.ac.jp/en/faculty/mitsuyo-sakamoto

Language acquisition, maintenance and attrition.
Second and third language acquisition (specifically, L1 role in SLA and L1 & L2 roles in TLA).
Foreign language pedagogy.
Sociocultural theory and SLA.
Qualitative research.
Multiculturalism and multicultural education (specifically, minority groups in Japan, with focus on Chinese and Brazilians).

(Subject of research)
Bilingualism and bilingual education
Foreign language pedagogy
Language loss and maintenance
Language transfer
Minority and Multicultural education
Qualitative research
Second and third language

(Proposed theme of joint or funded research)
Heritage language education, bilingualism, translanguaging, sociocultural theory, critical applied linguistics

Research Interests

Research Areas

Humanities & social sciences / Foreign language education /

Research History

Dec, 2017 - Dec, 2017

Salzburg Global Seminar Fellow
Apr, 2012 - Mar, 2013

Visiting Scholar, University of Toronto
Apr, 2006 - Mar, 2012

Associate Professor, Sophia University
Aug, 2007 - Sep, 2007

Visiting Scholar, Universidade de Sao Paulo
Jul, 2001 - Jun, 2004

Assistant Professor, University of Western Ontario

Education

Sep, 1995 - Nov, 2000

Education, Graduate School, Division of Education, University of Toronto
Sep, 1994 - Jun, 1995

Education, Faculty of Education, University of Toronto
Sep, 1991 - Jun, 1994

Education, Graduate School, Division of Education, University of Toronto
Sep, 1986 - Jun, 1990

Arts & Sciences, Faculty of Liberal Arts and Science (Humanities), University of Toronto

Awards

Papers

Cursed by Accuracy: Exploring Decolonial Practices in Undoing the Native Speaker Spell

Mitsuyo Sakamoto

IAFOR Journal of Education, 13(3), Dec, 2025 Peer-reviewedCorresponding author
‘Native speakers aren’t perfect’: Japanese English learners’ identity transformation as English users

Mitsuyo Sakamoto, Gavin Furukawa

System, 110 102921-102921, Nov, 2022 Peer-reviewedLead author
The missing C: addressing criticality in CLIL

SAKAMOTO MITSUYO

International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 25(7) 2422-2434, Jul 15, 2022 Peer-reviewedLead author
(Re)imagining oneself as an English user: Identity formation of Japanese English learners

Mitsuyo Sakamoto, Gavin Furukawa

Asian Englishes, 25(3) 407-420, Feb, 2022 Peer-reviewedLead author
Forming a personal multicultural ideology: The case of a Japanese college student

SAKAMOTO MITSUYO, Mitsunori Takakuwa

Journal of Belonging, Identity and Diversity, 6(1) 77-96, Jan 2, 2022 Peer-reviewedLead author

Misc.

海外新刊書紹介：Language assemblages

坂本光代

英語教育, 73(12), Feb, 2025 InvitedLead author
海外新刊書紹介：On bilinguals and bilingualism

坂本光代

英語教育, 73(5), Aug, 2024 InvitedCorresponding author
海外新刊書紹介：The Handbook of Linguistic Human Rights

坂本光代

英語教育, 72(12) 77-77, Feb, 2024 InvitedCorresponding author
海外新刊書紹介：Rethinking the Education of Multilingual Learners: A Critical Analysis of Theoretical Concepts

坂本光代

英語教育, 72(5) 79-79, Aug, 2023 InvitedCorresponding author
『多様性を再考する』図書紹介２

坂本光代

第59回日本比較教育学会ブックセッション, Jun 18, 2023 InvitedCorresponding author

Books and Other Publications

H. Nassaji (Ed.), The TESOL Encyclopedia of English Language Teaching

Mitsuyo Sakamoto (Role: Contributor, Critical Sociocultural Perspectives on English Language Teaching: Multilingualism, Identity, and Posthuman Futures)

2026
S. K. Taylor & R. Kubota (Eds.). The International Impact of Jim Cummins' Theoretical Constructs of Transformative Pedagogy for Minoritized Students

Mitsuyo Sakamoto (Role: Contributor, Revisiting the linguistic interdependence hypothesis: Bringing UTT and CTT together)

Multilingual Matters, 2026
J. Ennser-Kananen & M. Bigelow (Eds.). The Routledge Handbook of Educational Linguistics (2nd ed.)

Mitsuyo Sakamoto (Role: Contributor, Chapter 29: Critical Approaches to CLIL: A Postcolonial Posthumanist Perspective)

Routledge, 2026
Language Education for Migrant Children: Current Practices and Future Directions in Mother Tongue and Heritage Language Education by Diverse Stakeholders

Masako Tanaka, Mitsuyo Sakamoto (Role: Joint editor, Introduction; In between Chotto-sei and Chanto-sei: Heritage language education for migrant children)

Akashi Shoten, Nov, 2025
Mammadova, T. (Ed.) (2024). Academic Mobility through the Lens of Language and Identity, Global Pandemics, and Distance Internationalization: Multidisciplinary Perspectives

Gavin Furukawa, Mitsuyo Sakamoto (Role: Contributor, ‘Not just English’: Identity and liminality among Japanese bilingual returnees)

Routledge, Taylor & Francis, Nov 16, 2023 (ISBN: 9781032431796) Refereed
Transcending and Creating / Language and Culture - To Realize the Diversity in Front of Us

Makiko Matsuda, Seiichi Nakai, Mitsuyo Sakamoto (Role: Joint editor)

Kurosio, Oct, 2022
Rethinking diversity: Multicultural education for the majority

Mitsuyo Sakamoto (Role: Editor)

Dec, 2021
Heritage language education connecting generations: From the Japanese perspective

Sakamoto Mitsuyo (Role: Joint editor)

Kuroshio, 2019
From Applied Linguistics to English Teaching: The Past, Present and Future of the Graduate TESOL Programme at Sophia University

Sakamoto Mitsuyo (Role: Editor)

Sophia University Press, May, 2017
Ensino de lingua japonesa na era do plurilinguismo e pluriculturalismo "Superdiversity among Nikkei Brazilian communities: Newcomer/Oldcomers' Japanese cultural and linguistic maintenance"

(Role: Contributor, p. 163-181)

Bonjinsha, Oct 10, 2016 (ISBN: 9784893589125)
Polestar English Communication 3

Jan, 2015

English textbook for third-year high school students
宮崎幸江（編）『日本に住む多文化の子どもと教育：ことばと文化のはざまで生きる』第１部第1章「文化間移動と子どもの言語発達」

坂本光代

上智大学出版, Jan 6, 2014 (ISBN: 9784324097236)
宮崎幸江（編）『日本に住む多文化の子どもと教育：ことばと文化のはざまで生きる』第１部第２章「日本に住む多文化家庭のバイリンガリズム」

坂本光代 (Role: Joint author)

上智大学出版, Jan 6, 2014 (ISBN: 9784324097236)

日本語を母語としない子どもたちの教育について考える―。グローバル化が進み、外国籍居住者が増加することにより、多文化を背景に持つ子どもが増えている。・母語・母文化と、日本語・日本文化のはざまで生きる多文化のこどもたちの問題について、多角的に考察。・日系ペルーとベトナム家庭の調査研究による、生(なま)の声、バイリンガル子育ての状況、体験談などを収録。多くの教育現場でいま求められる一冊。
Culturally diverse children and education in Japan : between languages and cultures

Sakamoto Mitsuyo (Role: Joint author, 3-13 . 17-46 . 149-164)

Sophia University Press, Jan 6, 2014 (ISBN: 9784324097236)
Polestar English Communication 2

Jan, 2014

English textbook for second-year high school students
Polestar English Communication 1

Jan, 2013

English textbook for first-year high school students
『国際移動と教育 : 東アジアと欧米諸国の国際移民をめぐる現状と課題』「カナダにおける外国籍児童生徒の就学への対応 : 在トロント日系新移住者を事例として」

坂本光代 (Role: Joint author, 302-318)

明石書店, Jan 15, 2011 (ISBN: 9784750333199)

東アジアと欧米諸国の国際移民をめぐる現状と課題についての著書
Basic progressive English dictionary

Sakamoto Mitsuyo (Role: Joint author)

Shogakukan, Oct 15, 2010 (ISBN: 9784095106045)

English-Japanese/Japanese-English dictionary for Japanese high school students
Research in foreign studies : today and a look to tomorrow

Sakamoto Mitsuyo (Role: Joint author, 189-203)

Sophia University Press, Mar 31, 2010 (ISBN: 9784324088906)
International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism v. 12, Special Issue: Overcoming micro (school-based) and macro (societal) level constraints in the development of bilingualism and multilingualism

Sakamoto Mitsuyo (Role: Joint author)

Taylor & Francis Routledge, May, 2009

Festschrift for Jim Cummins
『日常英会話。ほんとに使える表現500 : 24シーンのミニドラマで口からすらすら』

坂本光代 (Role: Joint author)

コスモピア, Nov 5, 2008 (ISBN: 9784902091632)
『Heritage language development : focus on East Asian immigrants』 (Studies in bilingualism, v. 32)「Balancing L1 maintenance and L2 learning: Experiential narratives of Japanese immigrant families in Canada」

Sakamoto Mitsuyo (Role: Joint author)

J. Benjamins, Dec, 2006 (ISBN: 9027241430)
『Official languages education in diverse Canada : implications for Japan from experiences of an advanced "internationalized" country』

Sakamoto Mitsuyo

Toshindo, Aug 31, 2006 (ISBN: 4887136854)
『Education in Canada at the dawn of the 21st century』

Sakamoto Mitsuyo

Toshindo, Sep 20, 2003 (ISBN: 4887135157)

Presentations

移動する子どもの母語・継承語教育をとりまく現状

坂本光代

『移動する子どもたちのことばの教育』刊行記念シンポジウム（仮）, Jan 10, 2026 Invited
Uniqueness of heritage language speakers

Mitsuyo Sakamoto, Shoei Nakaie

Professional development program, International Education & Research Division, Hokkaido University, Sep 25, 2025 Invited
Thinking together: Language & school education

Keijiro Makino, Shinji Sato, Noriko Iwasaki, Mitsuyo Sakamoto, Yukiko Okuno

International Workshop on Network for Translingual Japanese (IWNTJ), Feb 9, 2025 Invited
Challenging hegemonic discourse via COIL: A Japan-US initiative

Mitsuyo Sakamoto, Yuriko Miyamoto Caltabiano

AILA 2024, Aug 15, 2024
Japanese fathers raising bilingual children in Australia: Paternal perspectives on Japanese language use at home

Miyako Matsui, Mitsuyo Sakamoto

Sociolinguistics Symposium 25 (SS25), Jun 26, 2024

Professional Memberships

Research Projects

International collaborative research on heritage language network contributing to socio-mobile infrastructure

Apr, 2024 - Mar, 2029

Makiko Matsuda
異言語環境下の子供達にどう学ばせるか：教科学習言語の『学びのデザイン』の国際比較

科学研究費助成事業, 日本学術振興会, Apr, 2021 - Mar, 2026

所澤潤
Partnering to support educators' personal transformation, expand their professional competences & co-create comparative/international knowledge on the impact of pluralistic/pluricultural approaches to L2/FL teaching from East to West

SSHRC, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), 2024 - 2025

Shelley K. Taylor
海外日本語継承語(JHL)コーパスの開発と日本語・日本語教育研究への応用

科学研究費助成事業, 日本学術振興会, Apr, 2020 - Mar, 2024

松田真希子
Multicultural Education for the Majority: Multiple perspectives (Project number: 16K04622)

Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Apr, 2016 - Mar, 2020

Mitsuyo Sakamoto

Academic Activities

Member of the Committee for International Scientific Research Grants, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science

Review, evaluation

Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, 2018 - 2020

Social Activities

Bilingualism and Bilingual Education

Lecturer

Tokyo Metropolitan Tachikawa Kokusai Secondary Education School, Oct 31, 2025 - Oct 31, 2025
External Doctoral Thesis Examiner

Consultant

University of Technology Sydney, Jul, 2025 - Aug, 2025
Judge, H.I.H. Prince Takamado Trophy. All Japan Inter-Middle School English Oratorical Contest. Japan National Student Association (JNSA) Fund

Others

Nov, 2013 - Nov, 2024
Bilingualism and Bilingual Education

Lecturer

Sophia University, Sophia University Open Campus, Aug 1, 2023 - Aug 1, 2023
Bilingualism and Bilingual Education

Lecturer

Seibi Gakuen, Nov 9, 2019 - Nov 9, 2019

Media Coverage

What does it mean to be bilingual: A professor who grew up with three languages poses a question

SBS, SBS On Demand, https://www.sbs.com.au/language/japanese/en/podcast-episode/what-does-it-mean-to-be-bilingual-a-professor-who-grew-up-with-three-languages-poses-a-question/buasm1072, Mar 16, 2023 TV or radio program

Other

(Teaching achievements)Thesis writing/APA workshop

May, 2008 - May, 2008

As part of GTRA, a workshop on thesis writing and APA was hosted. The presentation was given by a GTR and a professor provided guidance.
(Teaching achievements)Visitng Professorship, Center for Japanese Studies, University of Sao Paulo

Aug, 2007 - Sep, 2007

Offering a course called, "Bilingualism and Bilingual Education" to graduate students at University of Sao Paulo.
(Licenses)Ontario Teaching License (Intermediate/Junior)

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