The FLA Writing Center tutors are postgraduates in or graduates of Sophia University programs. They have all gone through training to ensure they can offer the most in their tutorials. As most tutors are in the process of writing and researching themselves, they are in the ideal position to help other student writers with their writing needs.
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Akane
Experience in Japan: Born and raised in Yokohama city, I grew up seeing traces of Western technologies in my hometown introduced in the 19th century with the opening of the Port of Yokohama. Until recent years, I had always been fascinated by cultures and languages rather than outside of Japan. Over the years that I spent working and studying in Spain before resuming my undergraduate studies at FLA, I began to appreciate more of Japan's rich cultural heritage. I am looking forward to discovering what I have taken for granted in this beautiful country in the coming years. Academic Writing Experience: Having graduated from a public high school in Japan without any English writing experience, I struggled with academic writing when I started my undergraduate studies in 2016. Since then, the Writing Center has guided me through my journey to become a better writer. I am excited to pass on the knowledge from the tutors and myself to other FLA students for their development of writing skills. |
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Allysha
Experience in Japan: Being a third culture kid of Filipino and Japanese descent, I had moved back and forth from my home countries throughout my childhood. From 2012 onward, I have since lived in Japan while attending the International School of the Sacred Heart for my secondary education. In 2021, I started attending the FLA Program at Sophia University to pursue an international education while having a deeper appreciation of Japanese history and culture. Academic Writing Experience: While having been an avid writer my entire life, I began to seriously pursue academic writing throughout my years in secondary school. Not only had I taken the Advanced Placement programs for English Language and English Literature, but I utilized these writing skills in persuasive speech writing as a part of a Debate team. These skills have been further improved and reinforced under the FLA Core Program, as I continue to apply my love for writing in my studies. Although I have much more to learn about academic writing, I hope that I can support other students’ academic writing journey and share my love for written language with others. |
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Anke
Experience in Japan: After graduating with my Bachelor of Law at the KULeuven in Belgium, I moved to Japan in 2014 to do my Master of Cooperation Policy at Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University. After obtaining my Master's degree, I worked as a recruitment consultant for a global company in Tokyo for 2.5 years. Since I wanted to work in academia, I started my doctoral program at the graduate school of Political Science, Waseda University, in 2018. Academic Writing Experience: My university in Belgium offered mandatory classes on how to write academic papers in Dutch, French, and English. At Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University, I applied that knowledge when working for the Japanese Grant Aid for Human Resource Development Scholarship Program, helping students from disadvantaged backgrounds with academic writing, English, and style guidelines. I have been working for the writing center at Waseda University since spring 2021, supporting students with their papers, reports, presentations, and brainstorming. Tutoring gives me great fulfillment as I love helping students reach their academic goals. |
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Brenson
Experience in Japan: It was in 2018 when I first traveled to Japan, an eager tourist who was captivated by the beauty of Kyoto, Osaka, and Tokyo. A highlight of that trip was visiting Senso-ji in Asakusa and praying that the next time I land in Japan, I will then be a ryuugakusei. Two years later, that wish was realized. I returned in October 2020 as a research student at the Tokyo University of Foreign Studies. I entered Sophia University in the spring of 2022 as a Ph. D. student at the Department of Education, Graduate School of Comprehensive Human Sciences. One thing I am passionate about is teaching, and I am happy that I can practice this in Japan. Working as an English conversation teacher and a group leader for empowerment programs enabled me to interact with Japanese students, from elementary to university level. I am always excited to teach students and help them achieve their maximum potential. Academic Writing Experience: My bachelor’s and master’s courses at the University of the Philippines Diliman greatly honed my academic writing skills in English. I was trained to write essays, reports, theses, and other academic papers. My work as a teacher for ten years involved checking and providing feedback to students’ written outputs. I also gain valuable lessons and experiences by presenting at academic conferences and writing research papers. Perhaps my greatest achievement in this field at present is authoring Teaching Social Studies in the Elementary Grades, a textbook intended for college students majoring in Education. Given the opportunity, I hope to share my knowledge and skills with other students and help them make milestones in academic writing. |
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Ikuko
Experience in Japan: Being born in Japan and spending my childhood in Franklin, Tennessee, I was luckily exposed to different languages and cultures from an early age. Since returning to Japan around middle school, I was reminded of my country's rich culture. At the same time, having attended an international school until high school, I maintained my English skills, including academic writing. Given this, my former teachers suggested I further expand my English learning experience at Sophia University. Shortly after entering Sophia, I took a leave of absence to study in Los Angeles and partially work in Japan. As rewarding as this experience was, it also triggered my desire to engage in various fields of study. In 2020, I returned to Sophia university and had been extremely grateful for the opportunity to further strengthen my ground of knowledge. Academic Writing Experience: While I certainly have far yet to learn as a current FLA student, I have absorbed considerable writing resources from the previous compulsory courses. Surely, the classes have presented new challenges; however, they have pushed me further to acquire flexibility. By openly absorbing new materials, my writing process now embodies confidence and objectivity. Therefore, I believe the most motivational aspect of writing is the room to improve constantly. At the same time, the most challenging part may be accepting flaws and incorporating changes, as I, too, have struggled in the previous year. However, I hope to provide support and encouragement to make mistakes as I walk along with other students to discover further rewards in writing. |
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Jeehyun
Experience in Japan: In 2018, I came to Japan for my Ph.D. program. I joined the Graduate Program of Global Studies at Sophia University in the fall semester. In 2019, I taught Korean Politics, a course in the Department of International Affairs, at Temple University Japan. I worked as a research assistant for Professor Fahy for the first year of my Ph.D. Since December 2021, I have been working as a GPGS research assistant. Academic Writing Experience: My current Ph.D. work focuses on the concept of foreign aid and international cooperation. My doctoral dissertation explores the role of policy evaluation in foreign aid, especially in terms of improving aid effectiveness or aid impact. The central research theme is the politics of measuring the aid impact and evaluating the outcome. Before coming to Tokyo, I completed my Master's degree in public policy with a dissertation on a comparative study of foreign policies in the education aid sector. I have spoken at conferences about vaccine aid and global health development, policy making for resilience building, and social innovation policies. |
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Kaho
Experience in Japan: I was born and raised in Japan. I went to a Japanese private school in Tokyo and obtained a Bilingual Diploma of the International Baccalaureate (IB) in 2021. Academic Writing Experience: I have had several academic writing experiences in English before coming to Sophia. I began writing academic English in the International Baccalaureate (IB) program in middle and high school. I wrote on a wide range of subjects in the IB program and used various text types, which helped me transition to academic writing in the FLA. My experiences writing academic papers in English Composition I and II have been valuable because I learned about creating unity and coherence throughout the paragraphs, making persuasive appeals, and utilizing textual borrowing. However, as I acquired my own writing skills, I grasped the joy of written communication as I encountered new ideas and expressed my thoughts in my own words. Writing is now a tool for me, and it is one of my favorite skills to practice. |
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Kanae
Experience in Japan: I was born in Tokyo, Japan. When I was four years old, I moved to Utah with my family. After three years, we returned to Japan. After living in Tokyo for four years, my family moved to the US again, but this time to Virginia. We came back after four years. Since then, I have lived in Tokyo and enrolled in a public school for middle school and high school. I entered Sophia University in the spring of 2021. Academic Writing Experience: I had not taken a formal writing course during my stay in the US, so the first time I received proper education on writing was in high school in a course to prepare for university entrance exams. There, I followed templates and did not focus on any aspects other than finishing writing my essays in the given time. However, my understanding of academic writing changed after entering Sophia University and completing Composition I and II. Through the composition courses, I learned how to create unity and coherency. I also developed my writing skills for organization and clarity through revising my assignments. Since writing is a way to express one's ideas, I think it is crucial to be able to express oneself clearly. Therefore, we should all continue to learn and improve our writing skills. By assisting fellow FLA students, I hope I can learn and strengthen my own writing as well. |
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Miyu
Experience in Japan: I was born in Shiga and lived in Japan throughout my early childhood. After living abroad from 2007 to 2015, I returned to Japan during my final year of middle school. I came to Tokyo in the spring of 2019 for my BA at Sophia University's Faculty of Liberal Arts. I am currently majoring in Literature and hope to continue my academic studies at Sophia University for my MA degree. I am an enthusiast of Japanese Literature, with a few of my favorite authors being Murakami Haruki and Mishima Yukio. Academic Writing Experience: I have been passionate about English writing ever since taking IB English Literature in high school. My undergraduate studies in Literature require intensive academic writing and reading. Outside of class, I have experience working as a research assistant, where I managed research data, proofread drafts, and translated survey forms from English to Japanese. I went through rigorous writing training under FLA's Core Program, and with my memories of the program still fresh in my mind, I believe I can provide effective advice to students. |
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Vanessa
Experience in Japan: I was born and raised in Yokohama, but moved to central Tokyo to attend an international school from elementary to high school. I now attend Sophia University’s Faculty of Liberal Arts. Academic Writing Experience: I have always gravitated towards writing as a means of expressing myself, and enjoyed both writing essay assignments and publications for my journalism club throughout high school. However, it was not until taking FLA’s English Composition courses that I understood academic writing as a genre of its own. I have worked diligently throughout both English Composition 1 and 2, and believe that I have much empathy for the struggles of academic writing and ample advice to share with you. |
Do you have what it takes to be a writing center tutor?
FLA Writing Center Tutor Qualifications
Applicants should…
* Applicants must also have a ‘Working Permission’ and ‘Residence Card’.
Job Description
If you are interested in working as a tutor, please email the Writing Center (wrtng-c@sophia.ac.jp).
In your email explain why you want to work for the FLA Writing Center and how many semesters you will be able to work. In addition, attach a CV/resume, a recent writing sample for evaluation, and a prospective writing center tutor bio and photo in your application (see TUTORS section above for examples of tutor profiles) .
FLA Writing Center Tutor Qualifications
Applicants should…
- be Graduate Students or Alumni of Sophia University or exceptional undergraduate FLA students that have been encouraged to apply by their Core Program Professor.
- have advanced proficiency in spoken and written English.
- be comfortable providing feedback on students’ written assignments, essays, reports, and other papers.
- be friendly, supportive, and enthusiastic about providing academic advice to undergraduates (mostly first-year students).
- have a strong sense of responsibility.
- is reachable on email.
- be able to work at least two sessions a week for a minimum of two semesters (hours are flexible).
* Applicants must also have a ‘Working Permission’ and ‘Residence Card’.
Job Description
- Successful applicants will receive training and have the opportunity to observe experienced tutors.
- Writing Center tutors are expected to visit classes and introduce the Writing Center to students at the beginning of each term.
- Writing Center tutors are expected to assist with and facilitate writing center workshops.
If you are interested in working as a tutor, please email the Writing Center (wrtng-c@sophia.ac.jp).
In your email explain why you want to work for the FLA Writing Center and how many semesters you will be able to work. In addition, attach a CV/resume, a recent writing sample for evaluation, and a prospective writing center tutor bio and photo in your application (see TUTORS section above for examples of tutor profiles) .