松谷　優花

Ph.D. in Second Language Studies, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
M.A. in Language and Culture, Osaka University
B.A. in Philosophy, Kobe University

My return to Japan in June 2026 was bittersweet. I have fond memories of working with my students and colleagues during my time at the University of Pennsylvania, but I am excited to rediscover and appreciate Japan's four seasons, culture, and food, all of which I greatly missed during the approximately 14 years I spent studying and working in the United States.

I am an applied linguist specializing in writing pedagogy, curriculum development, sociolinguistics, and conversation analysis, although my academic journey has been somewhat unconventional. I have had opportunities to study in undergraduate, master's, and doctoral programs in both Japan and the United States, including three programs in each country. I have also studied or worked at three Japanese universities and four universities in the United States. These experiences have enabled me to develop comparative firsthand perspectives on higher education in the two countries, and they continue to shape my teaching and research.

Before joining GlobE, I was fortunate to gain more than five years of experience working with students from diverse linguistic and academic backgrounds in the United States. At the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, I worked as a writing center consultant and taught writing seminars for English language learners, as well as courses with a substantial writing component for advanced undergraduates. Most recently at the University of Pennsylvania, I taught writing seminars for first year students on multilingualism and AI in education. Through these experiences, I learned how to support students with different goals, needs, and levels of confidence as learners and writers.

My own journey across languages and cultures has taught me that steady effort, collaboration, and support from others can open paths that may not seem possible at first. Because I have personally experienced the challenges and the rewards of learning and participating in these diverse academic communities, I hope to create a classroom where all students feel comfortable pursuing their own intellectual interests and learning goals, while learning from one another and developing confidence in their own voices.

At the heart of my teaching philosophy is the belief that everyone, including me, is a learner-in-progress, with unique strengths as well as areas for further growth. I hope that together we can make our seminars supportive and collaborative learning communities where we create new knowledge and develop new skills to help make our lives and the world a little better, one step at a time.