Rate My Professor Gayathri Haththotuwa Gamage

Dr. Gayathri Haththotuwa Gamage is a Lecturer in Japanese in the School of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences at Murdoch University, Australia. She serves as the Academic Chair for the Bachelor of Arts (Japanese) major, guiding course plans and student academic progression. Her academic background includes a PhD completed in 2004 from the University of Queensland's School of Languages and Comparative Cultural Studies. The doctoral dissertation, "Maximising efficiency in the kanji learning task," was funded by the International Postgraduate Research Scholarship (IPRS) for 3.5 years. Gamage has previously been affiliated with Curtin University in the School of Education.

Gamage's research specializations include Japanese language education, second language acquisition, kanji learning strategies, perceptions of language learning, social media and language learning, and sociolinguistic aspects of South Asian migrant communities. Her contributions to the field are evidenced by peer-reviewed publications such as "Kanji learning strategies and language background of L2 Japanese language learners" (Asian-Pacific Journal of Second and Foreign Language Education, 2026), "Unlocking the art of kanji mastery: Decoding the journey of beginner L2 Japanese language learners" (Babel, Vol. 57, No. 3, pp. 10-16, 2024), "Kanji learning attitudes and self-directed learning by learners of Japanese" (Babel, 2011), "Perceptions of kanji learning strategies" (Australian Review of Applied Linguistics, Vol. 26, No. 2, 2003), and "Issues in strategy classifications in language learning: A framework for kanji learning strategy research" (2003). In her teaching portfolio at Murdoch University, she delivers Japanese language units including JPN102 and JPN202 Japanese 4, and leads experiential study tours to Tokyo, such as AST384, to enhance students' practical proficiency and cultural understanding in Japanese as a foreign language.