Atsuko Takahashi is originally from Shizuoka, Japan. She has more than 15 years of teaching experience between the United States and Japan. She emphasizes a direct, communicative method as well as student-centered class interactions. She creates curricula in linguistic, sociocultural and educational terms by integrating different theories and pedagogies in her Japanese teaching. Thus, her courses are designed to: 1) promote students' language skills, critical thinking and autonomy in learning Japanese; 2) help students develop a sense of intercultural sensitivity, awareness and understanding as they move into the global society; 3) create a learners’ community to support each other in in-depth learning experiences. By actively collaborating with the library resources and effectively using technology in her curriculum, she encourages students' learning beyond the classroom. In 2010, she was awarded a grant from the Association of Asian Studies to create a learners' Japanese book section in the Neilson Library at Smith. She also received the Mellon Grant for Innovative Language Teaching Fellowships at the Five Colleges and started a Five College Japanese Extensive Reading course in the spring of 2016 by collaborating with her colleagues in the Five Colleges. Her current research focuses on the pedagogical development between information literacy and language education, as well as evaluating metacognitive learning experiences in extensive reading. She enjoys teaching and learning as well as interacting with students and working with student organizations.