Basic Information

写真a

Hi-Gyung BYUN


Title

Associate Professor

Nationality

KOREA REPUBLIC OF

Research Fields, Keywords

phonetics, pronunciation teaching, contrastive study of Japanese and Korean, sociophonetics, Korean language education

Research Field

I am interested in regional and generational phonetic variations of Japanese vowels and consonants, including diachronic changes. I am also interested in generational differences of Korean segmanetals. Recently I have been doing research on Korean consonants and vowels and their applications for Korean pronunciation teaching.

Recent Activities


2025.4. Website launch "Iwashi Test"
www.iwashi-test.com

2021.8. Website launch "Japanese Pronunciation Laboratory"
www.jp-lab.com


PRESENTATIONS

2025. 12. Perceptual cues for distinguishing voicing contrasts in word-initial Japanese stop consonants: focusing on voice onset time and post-stop fundamental frequency
The 340th Regular Meeting of the Phonetic Society of Japan, Daito Bunka University, Tokyo, December 13.

2025. 6. The influence of accent on the rates of vowel devoicing in various Japanese dialects
The 170th Meeting of the Linguistic Society of Japan, Meikai University, Urayasu-city, Tokyo, June 28.

2025. 6. Teaching and assessment of Tokyo Japanese accent using JP-lab and Iwashi-test
Tokyo Association of Phonetics and Speech, Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan, June 21.


PUBLICATIONS

2025.1. The Role of Vowel Devoicing in the Perception of Standard and Local Japanese: A Comparison among Tohoku, Kanto, and Kinki Listeners
NINJAL Research Papers, 28, 127-149.

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Academic Background (Graduate Level) 【 display / non-display 】

  • The University of Tokyo, Graduate School, Division of General Culture, Language and Information Sciences

    Doctor's Course, 2008/03, Accomplished credits for doctoral program, JAPAN

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Degree Earned 【 display / non-display 】

  • Ph.D., Linguistics, The University of Tokyo, 2012/11

  • M.A. in linguistics, Linguistics, Tokyo University of Foreign Studies, 2003/03

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Professional Career On-Campus 【 display / non-display 】

  • Akita International University Faculty of International Liberal Arts Foreign Language Education, Associate Professor, 2021/04 -

  • Akita International University Faculty of International Liberal Arts Basic Education Foreign Language Education, Associate Professor, 2018/04 - 2021/03

  • Akita International University Faculty of International Liberal Arts Basic Education Foreign Language Education, Assistant Professor, 2015/04 - 2018/03

  • Akita International University Faculty of International Liberal Arts Basic Education Humanities,Art, Assistant Professor, 2013/04 - 2015/03

  • Akita International University Graduate School of Global Communication and Language Japanese Language Teaching Practices, Lecturer, 2008/09 - 2017/03

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External Career 【 display / non-display 】

  • Akita University of Art, part-time lecturer, 2013/04 - 2014/03

  • Nogoya University of Foreign Studies, part-time lecturer, 2009/01

  • Nogoya University of Foreign Studies, part-time lecturer, 2008/08

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Academic Society Affiliations 【 display / non-display 】

  • The linguistic Society of Japan, 2019/04 - , JAPAN

  • Korean Society of Speech Sciences, 2013/11 - , KOREA REPUBLIC OF

  • Society for Teaching Japanese as a Foreign Language, 2004/04 - , JAPAN

  • Society for Japanese Linguistics, 2002/04 - , JAPAN

  • Phonetic Society of Japan, 2001/04 - , JAPAN

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Field of Expertise 【 display / non-display 】

  • phonetics, sociolinguistics, contrastive study, Korean language education

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Academic Papers 【 display / non-display 】

  • Teaching pronunciation in the winter teaching practice: How to use materials for materials for pronunciation instruction, Bulletin of Japanese Language Teaching Practices, vol.16 (p.000) , 2025/09, Hi-Gyung Byun

    Research paper (university, research institution), Single Author, Japanese

  • The Role of Vowel Devoicing in the Perception of Standard and Local Japanese: A Comparison among Tohoku, Kanto, and Kinki Listeners, NINJAL Research Papers, vol.28 (p.127 - 149) , 2025/01, Hi-Gyung Byun

    Research paper (scientific journal), Single Author, Japanese linguistics, Japanese

  • The effect of post-stop fo on the perception of Japanese stops and its stability within individuals, Proceedings of the 36th General Meeting of the PSJ (p.159 - 164) , 2024/09, Hi-Gyung Byun

    Research paper (scientific journal), Single Author, Japanese linguistics, Japanese

  • Teaching pronunciation in the winter teaching practice: The effects of teacher feedback on accent learning, Bulletin of Japanese Language Teaching Practices, vol.15 (p.387 - 393) , 2024/09, Hi-Gyung Byun

    Research paper (university, research institution), Single Author, Japanese

  • Teaching Pronunciation in the Winter Teaching Practice: Listening skills of Tokyo accents by JLT students, Bulletin of Japanese Language Teaching Practices, vol.14 (p.322 - 328) , 2023/09

    Research paper (university, research institution), Single Author, Japanese

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Books 【 display / non-display 】

  • Japanese Pronunciation Teaching: Research and Practice, Knowledge Tree, 2023/11

    Scholarly Book, Multiple Authorship , Japanese

  • A Practical Approach to Japanese Language Teaching, Bonjinsya, 2014/05

    Scholarly Book, Multiple Authorship , Japanese language education, Japanese

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Academic Awards Received 【 display / non-display 】

  • Phonetic Society of Japan Awards, Outstanding Article Award , 2020/09, JAPAN, Award by an Official Scientific Society or Academic Journal, Hi-Gyung Byun, Linguistics

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Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research 【 display / non-display 】

  • Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)，2025/04 - 2030/03，The elucidation of the relationship between production and perception of Japanese stop consonants and its application to Japanese pronunciation education

  • Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)，2022/04 - 2026/03，Development of "Japanese Pronunciation Laboratory" a pronunciation practice tool to support autonomous learning of Japanese language learners

  • Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)，2020/04 - 2023/03，Developmental Theory and Empirical Investigation of Public Language

  • Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)，2019/04 - 2025/03，Acoustic features of Japanese and Korean stop consonants and its relationship with pitch accent

  • Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)，2017/04 - 2020/03，A contrastive study of Japanese and Korean stops: production and perception (principal investigator)

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Presentations 【 display / non-display 】

  • The 170th Meeting of the Linguistic Society of Japan, Domestic Conference, 2025/06, The influence of accent on the rates of vowel devoicing in various Japanese dialects , Poster (general)

  • Tokyo Association of Phonetics and Speech, Domestic Conference, 2025/06, Teaching and assessment of Tokyo Japanese accent using JP-lab and Iwashi-test , Oral Presentation (general)

  • Tokyo Association of Phonetics and Speech, Domestic Conference, 2024/12, What students learn in Japanese Phonetics class, Poster (general)

  • The 38th General Meeting of the Phonetic Society of Japan, Domestic Conference, 2024/09, The effect of post-stop fo on the perception of Japanese stops and its stability within individuals, Poster (general)

  • 2024 International Conference on Japanese Language Education (ICJLE), International Conference, 2024/08, Japanese pronunciation teaching by non-native teachers, Oral Presentation (general)

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On-Campus Classes/Subjects In Charge of 【 display / non-display 】

  • 2025, Fall, JLT604-1_F, Teaching Materials and Aids for Japanese Language Teaching

  • 2025, Fall, JLT606-1_F, Pedagogy for Japanese Speech Sounds and Prosody

  • 2025, Fall, JLT211-1_F, Japanese Phonetics

  • 2025, Fall, KRN100-1_F, Korean I

  • 2025, Fall, KRN101-1_F, Korean I Practice

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Community Activities Outside University 【 display / non-display 】

  • Phonetic Society of Japan, Council Member，2025/04 - 2031/03

    Council Member

  • A member of editorial board for the Journal of the Phonetic Society of Japan ，2019/04 - 2022/03

    Article reviewer

  • High School - University Joint Course Program in fall 2019 Invitation to International Liberal Arts ，2019/11

    A lecture for high school students titled "Is the Korean language easy to learn for Japanese native speakers?"

  • Guidance for high school students，2015/08

    Guidance for high school students

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