Thomas Stringer has been involved with English language teaching in Japan since 2008. He is a doctoral candidate (DProf TESOL) at the University of St Andrews, UK, a Fellow of the UK Higher Education Academy (FHEA), and a Specially Appointed Associate Professor at the Center for Multilingual Education of the University of Osaka, Japan. He is Editorial Assistant at both Professional Development in Education journal and Practice journal, and is Co-Editor-in-Chief of the St Andrews Journal of International and Language Education (SAJILE). Thomas is Social Media Manager for the IATEFL Learner Autonomy SIG, co-lead of the CILTER Learner Autonomy Hub, and also created the Language Learner Autonomy Research Portal. His research interests are on language learner and teacher development, focusing on autonomy, and his work has appeared in peer-reviewed international journals such as Research Synthesis in Applied Linguistics, Innovation in Language Learning and Teaching, Educational Action Research, and Learning: Research and Practice

Teaching overview

The University of Osaka

• Skill-Based Courses: Performance Workshop, Academic Skills
• Content-Based Courses: English Elective - Slang

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.