Yuko Goto Butler
Biographic Data
| ID | 3449698 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Yuko Goto Butler |
| GIVEN NAMES | Yuko Goto |
| FAMILY NAME | Butler |
| SIGNATURE | BUTLER Y G |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Pennsylvania |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-9531-3469 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 30 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 125 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 29 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 1 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2000 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 7 |
Assessment for Young Learners
The number of children aged 4–12 (or through the end of primary school) who learn an additional language (AL) beyond their home language(s) is steadily increasing worldwide. Some learn an AL as the medium of schooling in immersion contexts, traditionally considered second language (L2) learning, while others study it as a subject in instructional settings, traditionally considered foreign language (FL) learning. Despite such differences, importan…
Teaching additional languages to young learners through tasks
Task-based language teaching (TBLT), an instructional approach for promoting real world communicative language use, has gained substantial attention among researchers and educators of additional languages, traditionally referred to as second languages (L2) and foreign languages (FL). Existing research on TBLT and tasks, predominantly conducted with adult learners, has primarily examined how meaning-focused tasks enhance (or do not enhance) learne…
How do pre-service language teachers perceive generative AIs’ affordance: A case of ChatGPT
As generative artificial intelligence (AI), such as ChatGPT, becomes prevalent, it presents various ethical and practical challenges for schools. This study explores how students assess ChatGPT's affordances and limitations in academic writing and how these assessments relate to their writing performance, judged by themselves and the course instructor. The study uniquely focuses on international pre-service teachers in a Teaching English to Speak…
Developmental trajectories of discourse features by age and learning environment
This study investigated the development of discourse features in young learners of a foreign language (YLLs), focusing on their complexity, accuracy, fluency (CAF), and vocabulary. The study also examined the relationship between CAF and communicative adequacy, and the influence of YLLs’ socio-economic status (SES) on discourse development. The participants were Grades 5, 8, and 10 learners of English in China (32 students in each grade level) wh…
Young Learners and Language Teaching
An ever‐increasing number of young learners (YLs, defined as children ages 4–12) are learning additional language(s) (ALs) other than their home language(s) in instructional settings. Efforts to provide high‐quality AL instruction to these learners are complicated by their highly diverse backgrounds, learning environments, and instructional goals and needs. Importantly, YLs are in the midst of cognitive, social, and affective development at the s…
Self-assessment in second language learning
Self-assessment (SA), as an activity for reflecting on one's own performance and abilities (Black & Wiliam, 1998), has been a topic of interest to educators over the years. Among second language (L2) educators, SA began growing in popularity in the 1970s and 1980s, when L2 educators’ focus shifted from analyzing linguistic systems to examining how learners learn a language. Many can-do statements and SA descriptors have been developed for L2 lang…
Investigating the ecological validity of second language writing assessment tasks
Failed policy attempts for measuring English speaking abilities in college entrance exams: Cases from China, Japan, and South Korea
English as a foreign language education in East Asia has received repeated criticism for its lack of success in developing sufficient English oral proficiency among its students (Muller at al., 2014). In response to the criticism, the governments of China, Japan and South Korea attempted to include assessment of students’ speaking abilities as part of their high-stakes college entrance exams, hoping for positive washback effects in both primary- …
Young learners’ voices: Towards a learner-centered approach to understanding language assessment literacy
Language assessment literacy (LAL) has recently gained substantial attention among language educators and other stakeholders. However, existing models focus almost exclusively on teachers, test developers, and administrators, and lack students’ perspectives in their conceptualizations. To address this gap, with this exploratory study we aimed to understand young learners’ LAL. The participants were fourth- and sixth-grade students (ages 9–10 and …
Multiple Stakeholder Interaction to Enhance Preservice Teachers' Language Assessment Literacy
Conducted in a U.S. English-to-Speakers-of-Other-Languages (ESOL) preservice teacher education program, this case study aimed to explore a dynamic process of preservice teachers' development of language assessment literacy (LAL). By inviting multiple stakeholders, namely preservice teachers, an inservice teacher and her ESOL students, and their course instructor, this study closely examined the interaction among the stakeholders during a semester…
Reconceptualizing Language Assessment Literacy: Where Are Language Learners
Common challenges in diverse contexts
Preview this article: Common challenges in diverse contexts, Page 1 of 1 /docserver/preview/fulltext/aila.00026.but-1.gif
Linking noncognitive factors back to second language learning: New theoretical directions
Introduction: Social class/socioeconomic status and young learners of English as a global language
A longitudinal investigation of parental social-economic status (SES) and young students’ learning of English as a foreign language
The Role of Affect in Intraindividual Variability in Task Performance for Young Learners
Young learners (defined as children ages 5–12) of English as a foreign language are growing in number worldwide. At the policy level, foreign language ( FL ) programs for young learners are increasingly emphasizing the use of task‐based language teaching ( TBLT ). In practice, however, designing and implementing tasks for young learners poses numerous challenges, especially considering that young learners are in the midst of developing cognitivel…
English language education among young learners in East Asia: A review of current research (2004–2014)
The teaching of foreign languages to young learners is growing in popularity around the world. Research in this field, particularly of English as a second/foreign language education in East Asia, is a relatively new area of empirical inquiry, and it has the potential to make significant contributions to child second-language acquisition (Child-SLA) theory building, research methodologies, and policies in East Asia and beyond. This article reviews…
Parental factors in children’s motivation for learning English: A case in China
Schools in China and elsewhere are starting to teach English as a second language or foreign language (FL) to students at increasingly earlier ages. Although young learners (YLs), due to their developmental stage, are likely to be particularly susceptible to the influence of parents, parents’ roles in YLs’ motivation to learn English as an FL is not well understood. Moreover, we don’t fully understand why YLs lose their motivation to learn Englis…
The use of computer games as foreign language learning tasks for digital natives
Parental factors and early English education as a foreign language: A case study in Mainland China
As English has increasingly become associated with social and economic power in the context of globalisation, there has been a growing concern regarding achievement gaps in English that appear to be correlated to learners’ socio-economic status (SES). The present study aims to examine how parents’ SES and their behaviours and beliefs about English education relate to their children’s English language learning, and how such relationships may diffe…
Teaching English as a Foreign Language in Kindergarten to 12th Grade
As English has increasingly gained prominence as a means of global communication, one can find various reforms in English education at the K–12 levels in those regions where English has traditionally been taught as a foreign language (EFL).
Globalization, changing demographics, and educational challenges in East Asia
The effects of self-assessment among young learners of English
This study examined the effectiveness of self-assessment among 254 young learners of English as a foreign language. This study looked at 6th grade students in South Korea, who were asked to perform self-assessments on a regular basis for a semester during their English classes. The students improved their ability to self-assess their performance over time. A series of quantitative analyses found some positive effects of self-assessment on the stu…
How Do Teachers Observe and Evaluate Elementary School Students' Foreign Language Performance? A Case Study from South Korea
This study investigates how teachers observe and assess elementary school students' foreign language performance in class and how such assessments vary among teachers. Twenty‐six elementary school teachers and 23 English teachers at secondary schools in South Korea watched videotapes of 6th‐grade students' group activities in English and were asked to assess the students' performance as if they were in their own classrooms. The study found that t…
Foreign Language Education at Elementary Schools in Japan: Searching for Solutions Amidst Growing Diversification
Hoping to achieve the current Japanese administration's goals of decentralisation and privatisation, the Japanese government has granted substantial latitude to local governments and individual schools as part of its recent reform of foreign language education. In introducing English at elementary schools, micro-language policies have been actively enacted at the local level along with slow but somewhat tactical top-down policies. The driving for…
A longitudinal investigation of parental social-economic status (SES) and young students’ learning of English as a foreign language
How Are Nonnative‐English‐Speaking Teachers Perceived by Young Learners
The current study examined the effects of Korean elementary school teachers' accents on their students' listening comprehension. It also examined students' attitudes toward teachers with American‐accented English (a native speaker model) and Korean‐accented English (a non‐native speaker model). A matched‐guised technique was used. A Korean American individual recorded texts in both American‐accented English and Korean‐accented English. The study …
Parental factors and early English education as a foreign language: A case study in Mainland China
As English has increasingly become associated with social and economic power in the context of globalisation, there has been a growing concern regarding achievement gaps in English that appear to be correlated to learners’ socio-economic status (SES). The present study aims to examine how parents’ SES and their behaviours and beliefs about English education relate to their children’s English language learning, and how such relationships may diffe…
Current Japanese Reforms In English Language Education: The 2003 ?Action Plan
Parental factors in children’s motivation for learning English: A case in China
Schools in China and elsewhere are starting to teach English as a second language or foreign language (FL) to students at increasingly earlier ages. Although young learners (YLs), due to their developmental stage, are likely to be particularly susceptible to the influence of parents, parents’ roles in YLs’ motivation to learn English as an FL is not well understood. Moreover, we don’t fully understand why YLs lose their motivation to learn Englis…
Foreign Language Education at Elementary Schools in Japan: Searching for Solutions Amidst Growing Diversification
Hoping to achieve the current Japanese administration's goals of decentralisation and privatisation, the Japanese government has granted substantial latitude to local governments and individual schools as part of its recent reform of foreign language education. In introducing English at elementary schools, micro-language policies have been actively enacted at the local level along with slow but somewhat tactical top-down policies. The driving for…
What Level of English Proficiency Do Elementary School Teachers Need to Attain to Teach EFL? Case Studies from Korea, Taiwan, and Japan
Responding to the growing need to foster communicative abilities in English, many Asian countries where English is taught as a foreign language have recently introduced English at the elementary school level. However, the majority of elementary school teachers in such countries might not be adequately prepared to teach English; improving their English proficiency and teaching skills has thus become a matter of concern. The present study focuses o…
Inadequate Conclusions from an Inadequate Assessment: What Can SAT-9 Scores Tell Us about the Impact of Proposition 227 in California
Proponents of Proposition 227 in California have argued for the effectiveness of English-only instruction over bilingual programs based on the increase in SAT-9 scores in the years since its implementation. Based on analyses of SAT-9 scores from 1998 to 2000, this article argues that: scores increased for all students, not just for English-learning students; scores increased for most districts regardless of the types of programs implemented; incr…
Introduction: Social class/socioeconomic status and young learners of English as a global language
Investigating the ecological validity of second language writing assessment tasks
Linking noncognitive factors back to second language learning: New theoretical directions
The Role of Affect in Intraindividual Variability in Task Performance for Young Learners
Young learners (defined as children ages 5–12) of English as a foreign language are growing in number worldwide. At the policy level, foreign language ( FL ) programs for young learners are increasingly emphasizing the use of task‐based language teaching ( TBLT ). In practice, however, designing and implementing tasks for young learners poses numerous challenges, especially considering that young learners are in the midst of developing cognitivel…
The use of computer games as foreign language learning tasks for digital natives
How do pre-service language teachers perceive generative AIs’ affordance: A case of ChatGPT
As generative artificial intelligence (AI), such as ChatGPT, becomes prevalent, it presents various ethical and practical challenges for schools. This study explores how students assess ChatGPT's affordances and limitations in academic writing and how these assessments relate to their writing performance, judged by themselves and the course instructor. The study uniquely focuses on international pre-service teachers in a Teaching English to Speak…
Reconceptualizing Language Assessment Literacy: Where Are Language Learners
Developmental trajectories of discourse features by age and learning environment
This study investigated the development of discourse features in young learners of a foreign language (YLLs), focusing on their complexity, accuracy, fluency (CAF), and vocabulary. The study also examined the relationship between CAF and communicative adequacy, and the influence of YLLs’ socio-economic status (SES) on discourse development. The participants were Grades 5, 8, and 10 learners of English in China (32 students in each grade level) wh…
Self-assessment in second language learning
Self-assessment (SA), as an activity for reflecting on one's own performance and abilities (Black & Wiliam, 1998), has been a topic of interest to educators over the years. Among second language (L2) educators, SA began growing in popularity in the 1970s and 1980s, when L2 educators’ focus shifted from analyzing linguistic systems to examining how learners learn a language. Many can-do statements and SA descriptors have been developed for L2 lang…
How Do Teachers Observe and Evaluate Elementary School Students' Foreign Language Performance? A Case Study from South Korea
This study investigates how teachers observe and assess elementary school students' foreign language performance in class and how such assessments vary among teachers. Twenty‐six elementary school teachers and 23 English teachers at secondary schools in South Korea watched videotapes of 6th‐grade students' group activities in English and were asked to assess the students' performance as if they were in their own classrooms. The study found that t…
Inadequate Conclusions from an Inadequate Assessment: What Can SAT-9 Scores Tell Us about the Impact of Proposition 227 in California
Proponents of Proposition 227 in California have argued for the effectiveness of English-only instruction over bilingual programs based on the increase in SAT-9 scores in the years since its implementation. Based on analyses of SAT-9 scores from 1998 to 2000, this article argues that: scores increased for all students, not just for English-learning students; scores increased for most districts regardless of the types of programs implemented; incr…
Learning Climates for English Language Learners: A Case of Fourth-Grade Students in California
This study investigates “learning climates” among fourth-grade students in an English-only school district in California. A student's learning climate is defined here as (a) a learner's perceptions of his or her own abilities and behaviors, as well as (b) the learner's perceptions of others' beliefs about his or her abilities and behaviors (or “externalized perceptions,” as we have termed this throughout this paper). This study aims to understand…
What Level of English Proficiency Do Elementary School Teachers Need to Attain to Teach EFL? Case Studies from Korea, Taiwan, and Japan
Responding to the growing need to foster communicative abilities in English, many Asian countries where English is taught as a foreign language have recently introduced English at the elementary school level. However, the majority of elementary school teachers in such countries might not be adequately prepared to teach English; improving their English proficiency and teaching skills has thus become a matter of concern. The present study focuses o…
Current Japanese Reforms In English Language Education: The 2003 ?Action Plan
Foreign Language Education at Elementary Schools in Japan: Searching for Solutions Amidst Growing Diversification
Hoping to achieve the current Japanese administration's goals of decentralisation and privatisation, the Japanese government has granted substantial latitude to local governments and individual schools as part of its recent reform of foreign language education. In introducing English at elementary schools, micro-language policies have been actively enacted at the local level along with slow but somewhat tactical top-down policies. The driving for…
How Are Nonnative‐English‐Speaking Teachers Perceived by Young Learners
The current study examined the effects of Korean elementary school teachers' accents on their students' listening comprehension. It also examined students' attitudes toward teachers with American‐accented English (a native speaker model) and Korean‐accented English (a non‐native speaker model). A matched‐guised technique was used. A Korean American individual recorded texts in both American‐accented English and Korean‐accented English. The study …
How Do Teachers Observe and Evaluate Elementary School Students' Foreign Language Performance? A Case Study from South Korea
This study investigates how teachers observe and assess elementary school students' foreign language performance in class and how such assessments vary among teachers. Twenty‐six elementary school teachers and 23 English teachers at secondary schools in South Korea watched videotapes of 6th‐grade students' group activities in English and were asked to assess the students' performance as if they were in their own classrooms. The study found that t…
Globalization, changing demographics, and educational challenges in East Asia
The effects of self-assessment among young learners of English
This study examined the effectiveness of self-assessment among 254 young learners of English as a foreign language. This study looked at 6th grade students in South Korea, who were asked to perform self-assessments on a regular basis for a semester during their English classes. The students improved their ability to self-assess their performance over time. A series of quantitative analyses found some positive effects of self-assessment on the stu…
Teaching English as a Foreign Language in Kindergarten to 12th Grade
As English has increasingly gained prominence as a means of global communication, one can find various reforms in English education at the K–12 levels in those regions where English has traditionally been taught as a foreign language (EFL).
The use of computer games as foreign language learning tasks for digital natives
Parental factors and early English education as a foreign language: A case study in Mainland China
As English has increasingly become associated with social and economic power in the context of globalisation, there has been a growing concern regarding achievement gaps in English that appear to be correlated to learners’ socio-economic status (SES). The present study aims to examine how parents’ SES and their behaviours and beliefs about English education relate to their children’s English language learning, and how such relationships may diffe…
English language education among young learners in East Asia: A review of current research (2004–2014)
The teaching of foreign languages to young learners is growing in popularity around the world. Research in this field, particularly of English as a second/foreign language education in East Asia, is a relatively new area of empirical inquiry, and it has the potential to make significant contributions to child second-language acquisition (Child-SLA) theory building, research methodologies, and policies in East Asia and beyond. This article reviews…
Parental factors in children’s motivation for learning English: A case in China
Schools in China and elsewhere are starting to teach English as a second language or foreign language (FL) to students at increasingly earlier ages. Although young learners (YLs), due to their developmental stage, are likely to be particularly susceptible to the influence of parents, parents’ roles in YLs’ motivation to learn English as an FL is not well understood. Moreover, we don’t fully understand why YLs lose their motivation to learn Englis…
A longitudinal investigation of parental social-economic status (SES) and young students’ learning of English as a foreign language
The Role of Affect in Intraindividual Variability in Task Performance for Young Learners
Young learners (defined as children ages 5–12) of English as a foreign language are growing in number worldwide. At the policy level, foreign language ( FL ) programs for young learners are increasingly emphasizing the use of task‐based language teaching ( TBLT ). In practice, however, designing and implementing tasks for young learners poses numerous challenges, especially considering that young learners are in the midst of developing cognitivel…
Introduction: Social class/socioeconomic status and young learners of English as a global language
Common challenges in diverse contexts
Preview this article: Common challenges in diverse contexts, Page 1 of 1 /docserver/preview/fulltext/aila.00026.but-1.gif
Linking noncognitive factors back to second language learning: New theoretical directions
Reconceptualizing Language Assessment Literacy: Where Are Language Learners
Young learners’ voices: Towards a learner-centered approach to understanding language assessment literacy
Language assessment literacy (LAL) has recently gained substantial attention among language educators and other stakeholders. However, existing models focus almost exclusively on teachers, test developers, and administrators, and lack students’ perspectives in their conceptualizations. To address this gap, with this exploratory study we aimed to understand young learners’ LAL. The participants were fourth- and sixth-grade students (ages 9–10 and …
Multiple Stakeholder Interaction to Enhance Preservice Teachers' Language Assessment Literacy
Conducted in a U.S. English-to-Speakers-of-Other-Languages (ESOL) preservice teacher education program, this case study aimed to explore a dynamic process of preservice teachers' development of language assessment literacy (LAL). By inviting multiple stakeholders, namely preservice teachers, an inservice teacher and her ESOL students, and their course instructor, this study closely examined the interaction among the stakeholders during a semester…
Failed policy attempts for measuring English speaking abilities in college entrance exams: Cases from China, Japan, and South Korea
English as a foreign language education in East Asia has received repeated criticism for its lack of success in developing sufficient English oral proficiency among its students (Muller at al., 2014). In response to the criticism, the governments of China, Japan and South Korea attempted to include assessment of students’ speaking abilities as part of their high-stakes college entrance exams, hoping for positive washback effects in both primary- …
Investigating the ecological validity of second language writing assessment tasks
Young Learners and Language Teaching
An ever‐increasing number of young learners (YLs, defined as children ages 4–12) are learning additional language(s) (ALs) other than their home language(s) in instructional settings. Efforts to provide high‐quality AL instruction to these learners are complicated by their highly diverse backgrounds, learning environments, and instructional goals and needs. Importantly, YLs are in the midst of cognitive, social, and affective development at the s…
Psychology (25 works) · Mathematics education (20 works) · Second Language Learning and Teaching (18 works) · EFL/ESL Teaching and Learning (17 works) · Pedagogy (15 works) · Multilingual Education and Policy (12 works) · Linguistics (11 works) · Sociology (11 works) · Foreign language (10 works) · Computer Science (9 works)