Speaker
Description
In many classrooms I have experienced as both student and educator, learners are expected to conform to standardized norms, which reflect the culturally homogeneous nature of Japanese society. As a Filipino woman in Japan, I bring a different set of lived experiences. While working against persistent stereotypes surrounding Filipino women in Japan, I also encountered the assumption that I am a nonnative speaker despite English being one of the official languages of the Philippines. These assumptions were compounded by my struggle as a neurodivergent, which made navigating rigid academic and social expectations even more complex. At times, I felt pressure to mask aspects of my identity to align with dominant discourses in language education. This interactive presentation explores how I have come to see my multifaceted identities as a strength in language education. Through translanguaging pedagogy and empathy-based practices, I create classroom spaces where students can engage with English without having to set aside their identities. I will share practical strategies that affirm students’ diverse language experiences and allow them to draw from their full linguistic and cultural resources. At the center of my teaching is the belief that students bring not only their linguistic repertoire, but also emotion, memory, and identity into the classroom. By showing up fully as myself, I invite them to do the same. This presentation is also a call to action to inspire and empower fellow women of color in the field to embrace their lived experiences as valid, powerful tools in navigating and reshaping language teaching in Japan. In a system that often values uniformity, I offer an alternative: one rooted in authenticity, flexibility, and human connection.