Thomas Stringer has been involved with English language teaching in Japan for 16 years. He is a doctoral student in TESOL at the University of St Andrews, UK, a Fellow of the UK Higher Education Academy, and a full-time Instructor of English as a Foreign Language at the Language Center of Kwansei Gakuin University, Japan. He is currently Administrative Intern at Professional Development in Education journal, and co-editor of the Annual Research Report of the Language Center and the forthcoming St Andrews Journal of International and Language Education. His research interests are broadly on language learner and teacher development, with a particular focus on autonomy, and his work has appeared in peer-reviewed international journals such as Innovation in Language Learning and Teaching, Educational Action Research, and Learning: Research and Practice.

Teaching overview

Kwansei Gakuin University

• Content-Based Courses: Culture & Society: Great Britain, Language & Communication: Slang 
• Skill-Based Courses: Introductory English I & II, Intensive English, Spring Intensive English, Basic English, English Speaking and Listening 
• Test-Preparation Courses: IELTS

Konan University

• Content-Based Courses: English Regions, Global Topics, Life Topics, Science News 
• Skill-Based Courses: English for Business, Presentation, Listening, Speaking

Academic/Professional qualifications                                         

• Fellow of the UK Higher Education Academy (2023)
• MA TESOL (Distinction)- UCL Institute of Education (UK) (2016)
• BA Philosophy- The University of York (UK) (2008)

Other expertise

I have extensive teaching experience in Japan, and an advanced level of Japanese language ability:

• Japanese Language Proficiency Test N2 (CEFR B2) (2010)
• Important Relationships for Understanding the UK「イギリスを理解するための重要な関係」.Nishinomiya City Joint University Education Program: Guest Lecture (Japanese) (2019)
• Lessons Learned from "Emergency Remote Teaching": One Language Teacher’s Approach 「イマージェンシー・リモート・ティーチング」から学んだ教訓：ある言語教師のアプローチ」. Solo presentation (Japanese）(2021).

Other activities

I hold a Level 2 AcroYoga teaching license (2018), and have taught both English and Japanese language classes, workshops, and retreats in Japan, China, Myanmar, Greece and Germany.