-I was born and raised in the suburbs of Philadelphia, USA, and grew up in a bilingual environment while attending both a local school and a Japanese supplementary school. My experience of being required to use “English only” in English education contexts led me to question the extent to which learners’ multiple linguistic resources are fully valued and utilized.
Currently, my academic specialization is in applied linguistics and English language education, with a primary research focus on Language Teacher Identity. In particular, I conduct qualitative and longitudinal research on part-time English instructors at Japanese universities. I am also interested in how teachers’ and learners’ multilingual repertoires and perspectives from World Englishes influence classroom practices and identity formation.
In recent years, I have also been learning Japanese Sign Language. Looking ahead, I hope to pursue research on the identities of Japanese Sign Language learners and on the role Japanese Sign Language plays when Deaf individuals learn English.
