Yasuhiro Shirai
Professor of Linguistics
Department of Linguistics
2806 Cathedral of Learning
University of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, PA 15260
Tel: 412-624-5933
Fax: 412-624-6130 Linguistics Department
email: yshirai at pitt.edu
Research Interests
- Crosslinguistic study of the acquisition of tense-aspect
morphology, particularly the acquisition of Japanese. Typological study
of tense-aspect systems. Cognitive models of L2 acquisition and use,
particularly the connectionist model.
Publications, presentations, etc.
Academic Positions Held
Professor (with tenure), Department of
Linguistics,
University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA. 2006-present.
Chair, Department of Linguistics,
University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA. 2010-2012.
Associate Professor (with tenure),
Department of
Asian Studies, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY.
1999-2006.
Professor, Department of Japanese
Studies, Chinese University of Hong Kong. 2004-2005.
Visiting Professor, Department of
Japanese Studies, Chinese University of Hong Kong.
2003-2004.
Assistant Professor, Department of
Modern Languages, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY. 1997-1999.
Visiting Associate Professor,
Department of Modern Languages, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh,
PA. 1995-1996.
Associate Professor, Department of
English, Daito Bunka University, Tokyo, Japan. 1994-1997.
Assistant Professor, Department of
English, Daito Bunka University, Tokyo, Japan. 1991-1994.
Teaching
- Applications of Linguistics
(Ling 1930, Spring 2007)
- Second Language Acquisition
(Ling 2146, Spring 2007)
- Research Methods in Applied
Linguistics and Sociolinguistics (Ling 2144, Fall 2006)
- Current Issues in Second
Language Learning: Rules, Associative Memory, and Language Learning
Aptitude (Ling 2147, Fall 2006).
- Crosslinguistic Topics in Language
Acquisition: Verb Learning (Ling
700/Asian 701, graduate seminar, Spring 2003)
- Aspect: Typology, Grammaticization,
and Acquisition (Ling 700/Asian
701, graduate seminar, Fall 2000)
- Second Language Acquisition and
Asian Languages: Cross-Linguistic
Perspectives (Ling 609/Asian 610, Fall 1999)
- Cognition and Second Language
Acquisition (Lang 700, graduate
seminar, Spring 1999)
- Second Language Acquisition I:
Introduction to Second Language
Acquisition (Lang 414, Fall 1998)
- Second Language Acquisition II:
Second Language Acquisition Research
and Foreign Language Teaching (Ling 415, Spring 1998; Ling
415/Asian 417, Spring 2003)
- Teaching Second Languages (Lang 501,
Fall 1997) co-taught with H.
Diffloth, R. Feldman, K. Golkowska, G. Lischke and M. Redmond
- Crosslinguistic Topics in Language
Acquisition: Tense and Aspect (Ling
700, graduate seminar, Spring 1997)
- Beginning Japanese at a Moderate
Pace (JPN 141-142, Fall 1997-Fall
1999, Fall 2000, Fall 2002)
Graduate Field
Bibliography:
Research on Second Language
Acquisition of Asian Languages
Links:

Talk at Sophia University, Tokyo (Jan
14, 1999)
Last updated: November 1, 2012