Maja Skender-Lizatovic

Dr Maja Skender-Lizatovic is a Lecturer in the School of Education, Language and Psychology at York St John University. She holds an MA and PhD from Ochanomizu University, Japan, specializing in Japanese language education and applied linguistics. Prior to this role, she taught Japanese at institutions in Croatia (University of Zagreb) and Japan (Sophia University, Senshu University, etc.). Her research focuses on discourse analysis, pragmatics, and conversation analysis applied to language education, particularly examining direction-giving interactions between native speakers and learners. She teaches modules including Japanese Communication, Semantics and Pragmatics, and Forensic Linguistics.

Education: MA and PhD in Applied Linguistics from Ochanomizu University, Japan; earlier degrees in Indian Studies, German Literature, and Japanese Studies. Research interests include listener response development through peer interaction, structural elements of direction-giving discourse, and cross-cultural communication dynamics. Her work bridges theoretical linguistic analysis with practical language teaching methodologies.