Meet ATL’s Faculty Spotlight for February 2026, Nahoko Collis. She is an Associate Teaching Professor of Japanese at the University of Rhode Island. Read her full interview below.
What course(s) do you teach, or have you taught, at URI?
I have taught Japanese language courses at all levels as well as Special Topic (“Reading Japan”) and Culture and Language courses. In recent years, I primarily teach beginning and pre-advanced courses, working with approximately 80 students on average each semester. This means every semester I have a chance to introduce new students to a new language and culture! As Japanese is classified as a ‘super hard’ language for English speakers, it is not an easy task, but it has been incredibly rewarding to witness the impressive academic and personal growth of my students over time.
What is your proudest teaching moment of the last year?
It is not so much about pride, but there is a teaching moment I fondly recall from one of my beginner Japanese classes last year. As the semester got busier, my students clearly seemed tired (so was I). To make matters worse, we were studying Kanji – or Chinese characters – which could present both a cognitive and emotional burden to our students. I wanted to elevate my students’ mood with a fun activity while continuing to learn. So I had our class decorate cookies by writing Kanji with icing tubes. The idea was that you write the character you want to memorize with care, and eat (digest) it! The students loved it, and they engaged better in learning challenging materials because of the fun, tangible activity.
What do you hope students look back on in ten years and say about your class(es)?
As a lifelong English learner myself, I know that learning a language takes time. I hope my students are still learning the Japanese language ten years from now! But even if they are not, I hope they maintain their connection to Japanese culture. I also hope my classes help nurture interest and passion for learning and being open-minded to different cultures as well as people with different backgrounds, even beyond Japanese. I really like when alumni get in touch with me, reporting that they went to Japan for vacation or got into their dream job or internship.
What is a time when an assignment/activity did not go as planned, and how did you make it a teachable moment? What did you learn about yourself?
I incorporated COIL (Collaborative Online International Learning) into my pre-advanced class where students work together with Japanese university students both asynchronously and synchronously. One year, after we had the initial virtual synchronous exchange sessions, I sensed that our students seemed a little frustrated and confused because their Japanese counterparts didn’t appear engaged. Some of our students perceived this as a lack of interest and passion from their Japanese peers.
So I took class time to do a collective debriefing, unpacking, and reflecting on my students experiences and emotions. By sharing these reflections, the students realized that their frustrations may simply come from a cultural difference in communication styles among the participants. My students really listened to each other’s experiences and interpretations and eventually came up with strategies for future sessions. The second virtual exchange was a bigger success! I was impressed by how my students were able to apply their learning to this real-world setting, and to develop a deeper connection with their Japanese peers.
As a former international student who studied abroad in the U.S. for undergraduate, I went through similar cultural shocks and language difficulty frustrations. Sometimes I want to give my students the answer right away to remove their discomfort, but I learned to trust that my students can handle challenging situations independently if I provide careful, considered guidance.
How have you seen teaching evolve over your career? And/or where do you see teaching going?
The way I see my role as a teacher has evolved over my career. I really see myself as a designer of opportunities for students to connect with Japanese culture, people, and language, as well as for students to immerse themselves in these new experiences. I am very passionate about supporting whatever students are interested in. We have wonderful student-led initiatives in our program, including Japanese Game Day and Movie Night, which attest to our students’ proactive attitude. Similarly, peer tutoring, supported by our Department, is another important part of my teaching practice that fosters not only students’ learning but their agency and a sense of community.
Having grown up in Japan, where the teacher is more of an authority figure, I have come to see teaching as a co-creation between teacher and student. I try to include students’ interests and experiences in my teaching as much as possible, so even when I teach the same courses, it feels very different year to year.
Now that I am back to being a student (I recently began a doctoral program in Education at URI), I hope to learn even more ways to meaningfully evolve my identity as a teacher, and I am excited about that journey!
How do you relax after a long day of teaching?
Swimming! Being in the water really helps me relax and reset. I also like making matcha, or Japanese green tea, with whisk, which soothingly energizes me. Besides teaching full-time and being a part-time doctoral student, I am a mother of two school-aged children— life is busy. However, spending time with my family and friends over good meals and conversation is always restorative. I also co-manage our program’s social media handles with my colleague Dr. Hae Ree Jun. Follow URI Japanese on Instagram: @uofrijapanese and Facebook: @URI.Japanese .
Share your favorite place to go in Rhode Island? Why is this your favorite place?
My students already know this, but you can often spot me at Maruichi Japanese Grocery in Providence, which brings me back to Japan temporarily! Other than that, I really enjoy the food scene in Rhode Island, including Jahunger and Pho Horn’s!
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