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President’s Profile
Michihiro Hirai
President, Hirai Language Services Inc.
Academic and Professional Titles
- Certified Professional Engineer (Gijutsuhi) （Information Technology）
- Master of Science in Engineering （MSE） （Moore School of Electrical Engineering, The University of Pennsylvania）
Education
September 1972 – August 1973
Moore School of Electrical Engineering, The University of Pennsylvania
April 1961 – March 1965
Department of Electronics Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, The University of Tokyo
Job History
December 2002 – present
President, Hirai Language Services
April 2018 – present
Trustee, Institute for Professional English Communication (IPEC)
April 2018 – March 2020
Part-time Lecturer, Inter Group Corp.
April 2013 – March 2017; April 2011 – March 2012; April 2008 – March 2010
Part-time Lecturer, Faculty of Science, Kanagawa University
October 2011 – March 2014
Part-time Lecturer, The Open University of Japan
April 2012 – March 2013; April 2010 – March 2011; April 2003 – March 2008
Professor (Tokunin), Faculty of Science, Kanagawa University
April 2009 – March 2013
Part-time Lecturer, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Waseda University
April 2005 – March 2016
Advisor, The Society for Testing English Proficiency, Inc. (Eiken)
February 2003 – March 2018
Advisor, International Language Centre (ILC)
April 1965 – June 2002 Hitachi, Ltd.
- Held various engineering positions including Senior Consulting Engineer (Fuku-gishi-chou), General-Purpose Computer Division (until February 1998) and also served as Director, Hitachi Institute of Foreign Languages (March 1998 – June 2002).
- Engaged in logical design and development of mainframe computers (processors), technical coordination for the export of mainframe computers, international as well as Japanese standardization of IT terminology, English documentation and training in the same, general management of a foreign language training center, and development of foreign language training courses
Experience in English (JE, EJ) translation： 48 years （since 1974）
Language Qualifications
Has amassed 54 top-grade English qualifications including Cambridge CPE Grade A, full score (990) in TOEIC®, full score in STEP BULATS (CBT), 1st Grade in Eiken, The United Nations Association of Japan’s Grade SA, National Licensed Guide, 1st Grade in Michigan-Waseda Technical English Proficiency (TEP) Test, 1st Grade in English Technical Writing, 1st Grade in Hon’yaku Kentei (both J-E and E-J), 1st Grade in Intellectual Property Translation (J-E), 1st Grade in Nissho Business English Test, American Translators Association (ATA) Japanese into English Translation Test, American Translators Association (ATA) English into Japanese Translation Test and The Japan Translation Association (JTA) Certified Professional Translator. （Certified as a Japanese record by Nippon-1 Net (日本一ネット) ）
See List of Michihiro Hirai’s English Qualifications.
Also holds a National Licensed Guide certificate in German.
Books
See Publications.
Other Publications （Committee activities）
- JIS X Series （Japanese Industry Standard in IT terminology）:
9 standards - JIS Z Series （Japanese Industry Standard in Dependability terminology）: 1 standard
- ISO/IEC 2382 Series （International Standard in IT terminology）:
7 standards
Academic and Industrial Associations
Member of: The Institution of Professional Engineers, Japan (IPEJ), The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) (Life Member), The Information Processing Society of Japan (IPSJ) (Life Member), The Society of Writers, Editors, and Translators (SWET), Japan Translation Federation (JTF), Japan Translation Association (JTA), Japan Association of Translators (JAT), The American Translators Association (ATA), The Japan Association for Technical Communication (JATEC), and The Japan Association for Language Teaching (JALT)
Presentations at Academic Conferences
- “General Overview of English Tests in Japan”
The Japan Association for Language Teaching (JALT) Hokkaido Conference 2016 （October 2016, Sapporo） - “Developing an ICT Reading Comprehension Course Using Authentic Materials”
ESP in Asia 7th International Conference (September 2015, Qingdao, China) - “Developing a Reading Comprehension Course in ICT Using Authentic Materials”
The Japan Association of College English Teachers (JACET) 54th International Convention（Kagoshima, August 2015) - “Developing a Reading Comprehension Course in ICT Using Authentic Materials”
ESP Kanto Study Group Meeting, The Japan Association of College English Teachers (JACET) （Choufu, Tokyo, June 2015） - “Creating teaching materials for ICT reading class”
Pan-SIG Conference, The Japan Association for Language Teaching (JALT) （Kobe, May 2015）
National Conference, The Japan Association for Language Teaching (JALT) （Shizuoka, November 2015）
- “Correlation between BULATS Speaking/Writing and TOEIC Scores”
Pan-SIG Conference, The Japan Association for Language Teaching (JALT) （Hiroshima, June 2012）
– The PDF file for this paper can be downloaded from JALT PanSIG Archive ウェブサイト (pp.118-125). - “Preliminary Can-Do Statements for Technical English”
IEEE Professional Communication Society Japan November 12, 2011 (Aizu) - “Preliminary Proposal of Can-Do Statements for Technical English”
ESP Kanto Study Group Meeting, The Japan Association of College English Teachers (JACET) （Toyosu, Tokyo, July 2011） - “Correlation between the STEP BULATS Speaking and TOEIC® Scores”
Pan-SIG Conference, The Japan Association for Language Teaching (JALT) （Nagareyama, May 2009） - 「ビジネス英語能力の適切な評価法」 (An appropriate approach to evaluating business English proficiency)
3rd General Assembly, International Society for Education (ISE) (Tokyo, August 2008) - “How to Publish a Self-study Book on Professional Presentations”
IEEE Professional Communication Society 2008 IPCC (Montreal, July 2008) - “How to Write English Self-study Books for Engineers”
Pan-SIG Conference, The Japan Association for Language Teaching (JALT) （Kyoto, May 2008） - “Correlation between the STEP BULATS Writing and TOEIC® Scores”
Pan-SIG Conference, The Japan Association for Language Teaching (JALT) （Kyoto, May 2008） - “How to Publish a Book on Professional English Presentations”
IEEE Professional Communication Society Japan Seminar Proceedings (Aizu-Wakamatsu, October 2007) - “The New TOEIC test: Understanding and Overcoming the Challenges
AND STEP BULATS: A Practical Test Suite That Makes Real Business Sense”
JALT Shinshu Chapter Seminar, The Japan Association for Language Teaching (JALT) （Matsumoto, January 2007）
— awarded Best of JALT 2007 Prize - “Clothes Make the Man”
9th Research Meeting, The Japan Language Testing Association (JLTA) （Fujieda, September 2005） - “Correlations between active skill and passive skill test scores”
Pan-SIG Conference, The Japan Association for Language Teaching (JALT) （Kyoto, May 2002） - 「英語表現における丁寧度」 (Politeness in English business communication)
155th Study Meeting, Japan Association for Practical English (JAPE) （Tokyo, May 2001） - “An Overview of the Hitachi S-3800 Series Supercomputer”
Supercomputer ’92 （by Mannheim University） （Mannheim, June 1992） - “An Overview of the HITACHI S-820 Supercomputer System”
Supercomputer ’89 （by Mannheim University） （Mannheim, June 1989）
Academic Papers
- “Adding Some Value to the Teaching of ESP”
The LLG SIG Newsletter (JALT Lifelong Language Learning Special Interest Group Newsletter), Vol.14, Issue 2 (October 2018)
The PDF version can be retrieved from this link (or this link). - “Milestones of a Life in Teaching”
The LLG SIG Newsletter (JALT Lifelong Language Learning Special Interest Group Newsletter), Vol.14, Issue 1 (May 2018)
The PDF version can be retrieved from this link (or this link). - “A general overview of English tests administered in Japan”
Shiken 21.1 (June 2017), JALT Testing & Evaluation SIG Newsletter (June 2017) (pp. 12-22)
An offprint of this article (summary of the author’s presentation at the JALT Hokkaido 2016 Conference in October 2016) can be downloaded from this link. - “Developing a Reading Comprehension Course in ICT Using Authentic Materials”
Annual Report of JACET SIG on ESP, Vol.18 (2016), May 2017 (PDF) (pp.34 – 37) (co-authored) - “Creating Teaching Materials (Writing a Book) for ICT Reading Classes”
The 2015 PanSIG Journal, May 2016 (PDF 版) (pp.65 – 70) - “A Proposed Set of Can-Do Statements for Technical English”
Annual Report of JACET-SIG on ESP, Vol.14 (2012), December 2012
(PDF) (pp.20 – 25) - “Correlation between BULATS Speaking/Writing and TOEIC Scores”
The 2012 Pan-SIG Proceedings, February 2013 (The Japan Association for Language Teaching (JALT), June 2012)
– The PDF file for this paper can be downloaded from JALT PanSIG Archive ウェブサイト (pp.118-125). - “Correlation between STEP BULATS Speaking and TOEIC® Scores”
Proceedings of the 8th Annual JALT Pan-SIG Conference, May 2009 - “How to Publish a Self-study Book on Professional Presentations”
IEEE Professional Communication Society 2008 IPCC Proceedings, July 2008 - “A systematic approach to writing EFL self-study books for engineers”
Proceedings of the 7th Annual JALT Pan-SIG Conference, May 2008 - “Correlation between STEP BULATS Writing and TOEIC® Scores”
Proceedings of the 7th Annual JALT Pan-SIG Conference, May 2008 - “How to Publish a Book on Professional English Presentations”
IEEE Professional Communication Society Japan Seminar Proceedings, October 2007 - “Correlations between active skill and passive skill test scores”
SHIKEN (JALT Test and Evaluation SIG Newsletter), Vol. 6 No. 3, September 2002 - “HDS Skyline Series: Marketplace Turns to the Mainframe with a Difference”
Hitachi Review, Vol. 45 No. 5, October 1996 - 「海外市場ニーズで再評価される大型メインフレーム」
Hitachi Hyoron, August 1996
— awarded Hitachi President’s Prize for the Best Paper of the Year