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Photo courtesy of Jordan Oxborough
An interdisciplinary researcher, Russell received special training at institutions such as ORISE in Oak Ridge, TN, and Colorado State University in Fort Collins, CO. He later served as a trainee at a directorate of the OECD in Boulogne-Billancourt, France, working on the intersection of radiation disaster recovery and public mental health.
Art courtesy of Craig Swan
Apart from his avocation as a singer-songwriter, Russell enjoys cooking, podcasts, and reading popular non-fiction. He now spends most of his free time doing some combination of those activities with his wife and son (now mostly making LEGO sets and singing the Power Rangers Theme Song).
Lab Director
Russell S. Kabir
Lab Director
Russell S. Kabir
Russell joined the faculty of the School of Education and Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences at Hiroshima University after receiving his Ph.D. (Psychology) there in 2020. He first began his journey in research under the mentorship of Dr. John J. Mulvihill as a member of the summer Gene Team at the University of Oklahoma's College of Medicine in 2008.
In his first foray in Japan, Russell studied abroad with Harvard Summer School 2009 at Waseda University in Tokyo, Japan, and graduated cum laude with bachelor’s degrees in biology and international and area studies from the University of Oklahoma in 2011.
Russell then spent time as an educator at elementary and junior high schools in snowy Akita Prefecture (depicted) from 2012-2014, before entering the Phoenix Leader Education Program's Social Recovery Course at Hiroshima University from 2014-2020.
Awards have included the International Future Leader Award at the Leading Graduate Schools Forum at Nagoya University in 2017, travel grants from Hiroshima University's Green Wing Educational Scholarship 2019 and the International Positive Psychology Association's Student Scholarship in 2019.
Recently, Dr. Kabir traveled to Brisbane, Australia, to accept the Early Career Award from the International Academy of Intercultural Research (IAIR) at the 2025 Joint Conference with the International Association for Cross-Cultural Psychology (IACCP).
In 2024, Russell was awarded the International Network of Universities (INU) Early Career Researcher Mobility Program travel grant. As Research, Economic Development, and Innovation (REDI) International Faculty Fellow, Russell is actively collaborating with Dr. Lindsey Harvell-Bowman and colleagues at James Madison University. For 2025, we have been awarded Phase 1 Seed Money Funding to grow our partnership.
In 2025, Russell joined the editorial board of Review of General Psychology, the APA Division 1 journal of the Society for General Psychology and Interdisciplinary Inquiry.
In 2026, Russell was named one of the recipients of the Association for Psychological Science's (APS) Rising Star Award, which he will receive at the conference in Barcelona Spain, May 28-30th, 2026.
Our Team
Lab Manager
Lab Manager
I am a first-year master's student in the Educational Design for Teacher Educators Program at Hiroshima University. My research focuses on the intersection between creativity and English language proficiency, with a particular emphasis on speaking skills.
I am interested in exploring how creative thinking influences second language learners’ ability to communicate effectively and how pedagogical approaches can nurture both linguistic and creative competencies. I have presented my work at several academic conferences and was honored to receive funding at one such event—becoming the first undergraduate student in Japan to receive this support.
I am committed to interdisciplinary research and value collaboration with scholars across fields such as applied linguistics, cognitive science, and education. As I continue my academic journey, I aim to deepen my understanding of how creative expression and language learning interact, while refining my skills as a researcher and contributing to innovation in language education.
I have presented data from my bachelor's thesis at JAILA, JASELE, and I am set to present related work for the master's program at the World Creativity Conference 2026 in Seoul, South Korea.
Soshi Uehara
Soshi Uehara
Keywords: creativity, bilingualism, language of thought hypothesis, research methods in linguistics, multilevel modeling
Graduate Students
Graduate Students
Seina Naito
Seina Naito
I graduated from the bachelor's program in English Language and Culture Education at Hiroshima University in March 2025.
I am now a master's student in the Educational Design for Teacher Educators Program at Hiroshima University in Japan.
In my graduate level work, I am interested in whether single-session workshops based on the ARCS model of instructional design can change foreign language enjoyment and fear of negative evaluation related to L2 English use in Japan.
Under Dr. Kabir's supervision, I am adapting behavioral tasks and making educational materials based on best practices in psychological support activities for anxious learners.
Keywords: fear of negative evaluation in English, ARCS model, foreign language enjoyment
Hayate Inaya
Hayate Inaya
I graduated from the bachelor's program in English Language and Culture Education at Hiroshima University in March 2026.
I am now a master's student in the Educational Design for Teacher Educators Program at Hiroshima University in Japan.
In my graduate level work, I am interested in whether instructional techniques can improve beliefs about English communication in Japan.
Under Dr. Kabir's supervision, I am adapting psychometric instruments about savoring beliefs, which I piloted in my bachelor's thesis. Next, I am aiming to improve items and activities using semi-structured interviews about past experiences relating motivation to go abroad with English.
I recently presented a poster coding this data at the ISSEP Preconference for SPSP 2026.
Keywords: L2 self-efficacy, positive psychology in SLA
Kohei Masaki
Kohei Masaki
I graduated from the bachelor's program in English Language and Culture Education at Hiroshima University in March 2026.
I am now a master's student in the Educational Design for Teacher Educators Program at Hiroshima University in Japan.
In my graduate level work, I am interested in whether instruction that integrates personalized peer feedback activities can improve writing self-efficacy factors and indices of grammar accuracy for EFL learners in Japan.
Under Dr. Kabir's supervision, I have already provided 45-minute on-demand grammar-focused workshops and evaluated peer feedback support activities with these tools, which I hope to improve and expand in implementations to achieve a larger sample size.
Keywords: peer feedback, L2 writing self-efficacy, accuracy, AI-assisted feedback
Undergraduate Students
Undergraduate Students
Atsuya M.
Atsuya M.
I am a senior majoring in English Language and Culture Education at Hiroshima University. I am interested in the factors that cause English learners to feel anxious when speaking.
Keywords: foreign language anxiety, speaking anxiety, communication apprehension, fear of negative evaluation
Sho I.
Sho I.
I am a senior majoring in English Language and Culture Education at Hiroshima University. I am interested in exploring effective ways to enhance learner motivation and self-efficacy/anxiety in the classroom with instructional tools.
Keywords: speaking anxiety, accuracy, AI-assisted feedback for rehearsal
Saki T.
Saki T.
I am a senior majoring in English Language and Culture Education at Hiroshima University. I am interested in effective approaches to creating activities for English writing among high school learners.
Keywords: motivation, foreign language anxiety, writing activities
Asahi K.
Asahi K.
I am a senior majoring in English Language and Culture Education at Hiroshima University. I'm interested in enhancing junior high school students' motivation for speaking and examining its relationship with the learning environment and affective factors.
Keywords: motivation for speaking, learning environment, classroom interactions, friendship, junior high school students
Runa K.
Runa K.
I am a senior majoring in English Language and Culture Education at Hiroshima University. I am interested in how textbooks can be used to promote meaningful communication activities in the classroom.
Keywords: textbook analysis, speaking and writing tasks, communication activity, task-based learning, classroom interaction
Tatsumi T.
Tatsumi T.
I am a senior majoring in English Language and Culture Education at Hiroshima University. I am interested in the connection between self-efficacy and EFL writing.
Keywords: writing support, AI-assisted feedback, self-efficacy, self-confidence
Moe K.
Moe K.
I am a senior majoring in English Language and Culture Education at Hiroshima University. I am interested in TBLT activities for pronunciation, anxiety, motivation, and intercultural communication.
Keywords: TBLT, pronunciation-related teaching, intercultural communication
Ayato S.
Ayato S.
I am a junior majoring in the Primary Education Teacher Training Program at Hiroshima University. I am interested in motivation changes for English learning connected to teaching practices and instructional management.
Keywords: English-related motivation, praise-based feedback, instructional strategies
Iroha K.
Iroha K.
I am a junior majoring in the Primary Education Teacher Training Program at Hiroshima University. I am interested in the role of intercultural learning in comparative approaches to peace education.
Keywords: peace education, comparative education
Lab Alumni
Soshi Uehara
Soshi Uehara
Bachelor's Thesis
Creativity Ratings and L2 Production in Experimental and Classroom Settings: A Validation and Pilot Implementation with Spoken and Written Task Types (2026)
Hayate Inaya
Hayate Inaya
Bachelor's Thesis
Investigating the Impact of Savoring Interventions on Self-Efficacy and Language-Specific Savoring Beliefs: A Pilot Study with Japanese EFL Learners (2026)
Kohei Masaki
Kohei Masaki
Bachelor's Thesis
Exploring the Effects of Peer Feedback on L2 English Writing Self-Efficacy and Accuracy Indices: A Comparison of On-Demand and In-Class Mediums of Instruction (2026)
Haruka Amitani
Haruka Amitani
Bachelor's Thesis
Corpus Analysis of English Grammar Example Sentences in Japanese High School Textbooks: A Comparison of Factors Reflecting Real-Life Language Use (2026)
Akitaka Iso
Akitaka Iso
Bachelor's Thesis
Development and Evaluation of Reading Strategy-based Instruction with Graphic Organizers: Attributing Reading Motivation Changes to Cause-and-Effect Diagrams (2026)
Takeru Yoshimura
Takeru Yoshimura
Bachelor's Thesis
Evaluating Affect Change from Warm-up Activities: “Who Am I” as Supporting Classroom Climate for English Language Lessons in Japan (2026)
Sora Okabe
Sora Okabe
Bachelor's Thesis
Strategies for Virtual Language Exchange: Examining the Influence of Culturally Rich Exercises on Cultural Intelligence Factors with Language Learners (2026)
Seina
Naito
Seina
Naito
Bachelor's Thesis
Exploring the Relationship between Fear of Negative Evaluation in the English Classroom Context and Motivation Factors from Self-Determination Theory (2025)
Ayumu
Hirata
Ayumu
Hirata
Bachelor's Thesis
Examining Associations Between Working Memory, Language Proficiency Background and Elicited Imitation in English (2025)
Shoma Hashimoto
Shoma Hashimoto
Bachelor's Thesis
Examining Associations between English Classroom Anxiety, Speaking Self-Efficacy, and Willingness to Communicate with Speaking Scenarios in Japan (2024)
Ryota Matsunobu
Ryota Matsunobu
Bachelor's Thesis
Thematic Analysis of Self-Efficacy and Communication Accommodation: An Interview Case Study of Japalish as Pronunciation Pressure in English Education (2024)
Fumiya Kohama
Fumiya Kohama
Bachelor's Thesis
Evaluating the Task-likeness of High School English Textbook Communication Activities in Japan: Rubric-based Ratings and Inter-rater Reliability (2024)
Lab Affiliates
Meret Budde
Osnabrück University
Lauren Jones
National Sun Yat-sen University
Johanna Beck
Osnabrück University
Xi Zhao
Beijing Language and Culture University
Olayinka Orimogunje
University of Ilorin
Aisha Nakitto
Makerere University
Siyao "Beth" Chen
Tokyo University of the Arts
Mukhlisa Rajabova
Hiroshima University
Gahl Liberzon
University of California, Irvine
Matthew Loomis
Central Michigan University
Collaborating International Educators
Prof. Shizuka Tatsuzawa
Prof. Shizuka Tatsuzawa
Prof. Yanjun Yan
Prof. Yanjun Yan
Prof. Weng-Tink Chooi
Prof. Weng-Tink Chooi
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