Dr. Yuko Butler is the Director of Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) and Professor in the Educational Linguistics Division at Penn GSE. She serves as a professional consultant on language assessments of young learners at Educational Testing Service (ETS), the Center for Applied Linguistics (CAL), and the Eiken Foundation (Japan). She was awarded the National Academy of Education’s Spencer Postdoctoral Fellowship in 2004, studying East Asian perspectives on TESOL.

Originally from Tokyo, Dr. Butler earned her Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from Stanford University. She worked at their Center for Educational Research as a postdoctoral fellow, and jointly received the 1999 Cognitive Studies in Educational Practice Award for her research on the effects of metacognitive approaches to improve English as a Second Language (ESL) for language minority students. She then taught California’s Crosscultural, Language, and Academic Development certificate program at San Jose State University.

Research Interests and Current Projects

Dr. Butler’s research focuses on second language and bilingual language acquisition and learning, with emphasis on the role of cognitive, metacognitive, and socio-cognitive factors in language learning. Her interests include the role of metacognition in language learning and instruction, assessments to measure English language proficiency as well as “academic language” proficiency among learners and teachers, and cross-linguistic and cross-cultural learning, teaching styles, and strategies.

Dr. Butler is currently conducting research on English-learning students and their teachers in both the U.S. and East Asia, investigating second language and biliteracy acquisition. A recent project involves examining and comparing various issues that have emerged as a result of the recent introduction of English language instruction in elementary schools across various Asian countries. Her research for this project is focused on examining and assessing the qualifications of elementary school teachers who have been asked to teach English in select Asian countries. Dr. Butler studies how best to assess young learners’ second/foreign language proficiency and identify effective English learning/teaching methods and strategies given the cultural and social contexts in which instruction takes place.

Publications

Featured Books

English Language Proficiency Assessments for Young Learners

Gengo Towa Nanika – Kyoka Gakushu-Ni Hituyo-Na Gengo Nouryoku [What is Academic Language?: Language Abilities Needed for Academic Studies]

Globalization, Changing Demographics, and Educational Challenges in East Asia

Selected Publications

Butler, Y. G., Peng, X., & Lee, J. (2021). Young learners’ voices: Towards a learner-centered approach to understanding language assessment literacy. Language Testing, 38(3), 429–455.

Butler, Y. G. (2021). Researching with children as an opportunity for active and interactive learning: Lessons from a digital game design project. In A. Pinter and K. Kuchah (Eds.), Ethical and methodological issues in researching young language learners in school contexts (pp. 27–47). Bristol: Multilingual Matters.

Butler, Y. G. (2021). Assessment for young learners. In G. Fulcher & L. Harding (Eds.), Routledge Handbook of Language Testing (pp. 153–170). Taylor & Francis.

Butler, Y. G., & Iino, M. (2021). Fairness in college entrance exams in Japan and the planned use of external tests in English. In B. Lanteigne, C. Coombe, & J. D. Brown (Eds.), Challenges in language testing around the world (pp. 47–56). Springer.

Butler, Y. G. (2020). The ability of young learners to construct word meaning in context. Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching, 10(3), 549–580.

Butler, Y. G. (2020). Cognition and young learners’ language development. In M. Schwartz (ed.), Handbook of early language education. Springer International Handbooks of Education. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-47073-9_2-1

Butler, Y. G., & Sakurai, C. (2020). Developing a classroom-based language assessment of Japanese children who speak minority language in Japan: The dialogic language assessment. Language Assessment Quarterly, 17(5), 467–490.

Butler, Y. G., Lee, J., & Peng, X. (2020). Failed policy attempts for measuring English speaking abilities in college entrance exams: Cases from China, Japan, and South Korea. English Today.

Lee, J., & Butler, Y. G. (2020). Reconceptualizing language assessment literacy: Where are language learners? TESOL Quarterly, 54(4), 1098–1111.

Butler, Y. G. (2019). Common challenges in diverse contexts. AILA Review, 32, 178–186.

Butler, Y. G. (2019). Linking noncognitive factors back to second language learning: New theoretical directions. System. Doi: 10.1016/j.system.2019.102127

Butler, Y. G. (2019). Teaching vocabulary to young second- or foreign-language learners: What can we learn from the research? Language Teaching for Young Learners, 1(1), 4–33.

Butler, Y. G. (2019). Assessment of young English learners in instructional settings. In A. Gao (Ed.), Second handbook of English language teaching (pp. 477–495). Springer.

Butler, Y. G. (2019). Inviting children’s views for designing digital game tasks. In H. Reinders, S. Ryan, & S. Nakamura (Eds.), Innovation in language learning and teaching: The case of Japan (pp. 71–96). Palgrave Macmillan.

Butler, Y. G., Liu, Y. (2019). The role of peers in young learners’ English learning: A longitudinal case study in China. In M. Sato & S. Loewen (Eds.), Evidence-based second language pedagogy: A collection of instructed second language acquisition studies (pp. 145–167). Routledge.

Butler, Y. G. (2019). How teachers of young learners of English are educated in East and Southeast Asia: Research-based lessons. In M. S. Zein & S. Garton (Eds.), Early language learning and teacher education (pp. 17–38). Multilingual Matters.

Butler, Y. G. (2018). The role of context in young learners’ processes for responding to self-assessment items. The Modern Language Journal, 18, 1–20.

Butler, Y. G., & Le, V. (2018). A longitudinal investigation of parental social-economic status (SES) and young students’ learning of English as a foreign language. System, 73, 4–15.

Butler, Y. G. (2018). Gaming and young learners. In S. Garton & F. Copland (Eds.), The Routledge Handbook of Teaching English to Young Learners (pp. 315–319). Routledge.

Butler, Y. G. (2018). Young learners’ processes and rationales for responding to self-assessment items: cases for generic can-do and five-point Likert-type formats. In J. Davis et al. (Eds.), Useful assessment and evaluation in language education (pp. 21–39). Georgetown University Press.

Wolf, M., & Butler, Y. G. (Eds.). (2017). English language proficiency assessments for young learners (pp. 256). Routledge.

Butler, Y. G. (2017). The role of affect in intraindividual variability in task performance for young learners. TESOL Quarterly, 51(3), 728–737.

Butler, Y. G. (2017). Motivational elements of digital instructional games: A study of young L2 learners’ game designs. Language Teaching Research, 21(6), 735–750.

Butler, Y. G. (2017). The dynamics of motivation development among young learners of English in China. In J. Enever, & E. Lindgren (Eds.), Early language learning: Complexity and mixed methods (pp. 167–185). Multilingual Matters.

Butler, Y. G., Liu, Y., & Kim, H. (2017). Narrative development in L1 and FL: A longitudinal study among young Chinese learners of English. In M. P. G. Mayo (Ed.), Foreign language in primary school: Research insight (pp. 149–175). Multilingual Matters.

Butler, Y. G. (2017). Instructed SLA in East Asian contexts. In S. Loewen & M. Sato (Eds.), The Routledge handbook of instructed second language acquisition (pp. 321–338). Routledge.

For more publications, see Yuko Goto Butler’s publications