Yuko Goto Butler

About

Dr. Yuko Goto Butler is the Director of Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) and a Professor in the Educational Linguistics Division at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education (Penn GSE). Her professional expertise includes language assessment, cross-linguistic and cross-cultural learning and teaching, second language acquisition among young learners, bilingualism, and biliteracy. She serves as a consultant on language assessments for young learners at organizations such as Educational Testing Service (ETS), the Center for Applied Linguistics (CAL), and the Eiken Foundation in Japan. Dr. Butler earned her Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from Stanford University, where she also completed her M.A. in Linguistics. She has a background in Comparative Education from UCLA and an undergraduate degree in Asian History from the University of Tokyo. Her research focuses on second and foreign language development among children, investigating dual- and plurilingual development, and the professional development of language teachers working with young learners and adults. Her work adopts an ecological approach, examining environmental factors, internal cognitive and metacognitive factors, and their interactions in children’s language learning. She is particularly interested in ethical research and assessment practices involving children, emphasizing their autonomy and voice in the process. Throughout her career, Dr. Butler has contributed…

Research topics

• Pedagogy
• Psychology
• Social psychology
• Sociology
• Computer Science
• Mathematics education
• Political Science
• Library science
• Engineering
• Mechanical engineering

Selected publications

• Reconceptualizing Language Assessment Literacy: Where Are Language Learners?

  TESOL Quarterly · 2020 · 35 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding
  DOI

• Exploring the Idea of Task in the Context of the Young Language Learner Classroom

  ETS Research Report Series · 2024-12-01 · 29 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  Originating in adult education, the approach of task‐based language teaching (TBLT) has been promoted in young language learner (YLL) education. However, its application often encounters challenges due to varying interpretations of what constitutes a “task.” Previous research has repeatedly highlighted gaps in teachers' understanding of tasks, often reducing them to mere exercises rather than opportunities for genuine communication. A potential issue could be that some of the criteria of a task…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Listening And Young Learners

  2024-06-13 · 26 citations

  book-chapter1st authorCorresponding

  [FT]This chapter reviews the role of listening comprehension in an additional language (AL) among young language learners (defined as children up to the age of 12). The chapter begins with a discussion of the prominent part that listening plays in the development of children's first and ALs, followed by discussions relative to teaching and assessing an AL in formal educational contexts. Throughout, the chapter stresses that teaching and assessment of listening among young language learners need…

  PublisherDOI

• Self-assessment in second language learning

  Language Teaching · 2023 · 25 citations

  1st authorCorresponding

  Self-assessment (SA), as an activity for reflecting on one's own performance and abilities (Black & Wiliam, 1998), has been a topic of interest to educators over the years. Among second language (L2) educators, SA began growing in popularity in the 1970s and 1980s, when L2 educators’ focus shifted from analyzing linguistic systems to examining how learners learn a language. Many can-do statements and SA descriptors have been developed for L2 language learning, including SA grids aligned with…

  DOI

• Children's Additional Language Learning in Instructional Settings

  Multilingual Matters eBooks · 2025-05-13 · 2 citations

  book1st authorCorresponding

  This book provides an overview of additional language learning development and pedagogy among young children who are learning a language in addition to their home language(s). It integrates second language development theories and research findings with practice and will be invaluable to all those working with young language learners.

  PublisherDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Valentina Carbonara

  University for Foreigners of Siena

  36 shared

• Nettie Boivin

  36 shared

• Alison L. Bailey

  University of California, Los Angeles

  36 shared

• Chiou-hui Chou

  National Tsing Hua University

  36 shared

• Junko Matsuzaki Carreira

  Tokyo Keizai University

  36 shared

• Jiyoon Lee

  9 shared

• Kerry Pusey

  5 shared

• Yeting Liu

  5 shared

Awards & honors

• National Academy of Education’s Spencer Postdoctoral Fellows…
• 1999 Cognitive Studies in Educational Practice Award

Similar researchers at University of Pennsylvania

• Xinyin Chenh-70
• Rachel B. Bakerh-63
• Douglas A. Fryeh-36