Why Learn a New Language? Insights from Learners of Japanese in HK & Beyond

# Why Learn a New Language? Insights from Learners of Japanese in Hong Kong and Beyond

The session is part of an ongoing English talk series in Tokyo held in collaboration with Hosei Unicersity and the HKU Alumni Network of Japan. It opens with research insights from Kazuyuki Nomura on language learning, followed by a cross-disciplinary discussion exploring what language learning reveals about how we see ourselves, relate to others, and make sense of the world. Moving beyond practical usefulness, the conversation reflects on language as a way of thinking, connecting, and experiencing life differently.

📅 Date: Saturday, 18 April 2026
🕒 Time: 15:00–16:30
📍 Venue: Global Lounge, 2F Ouchiyama Building, Ichigaya Campus, Hosei University

About the speaker:
Dr Kazuyuki Nomura is an applied linguist specialising in multilingualism, language learning motivation, and identity in Hong Kong and East Asia, with a focus on learners of Japanese. Drawing on fieldwork-based research, he theorises motivation as emotional distance management in his recent publication. Dr Nomura graduated from the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

Sign up here: https://forms.gle/xh7V5iX9qbDzH6Gu8

Hope to see you there! :)