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Wakako Pennington joined the ELI in 2014 as a tutor, and it did not take long before she was a full-time member of the ELI faculty. In her current faculty position as an academic development specialist, Wakako has taught at nearly every level at the ELI, with a primary focus on intermediate-level classes. Prior to joining the ELI, Wakako taught English in Japan at the university, high school, and elementary level. Additionally, Wakako is a teacher of teachers, having led intensive teacher training courses for elementary and secondary school teachers at Seinan Gakuin University in Japan.
With a B.A. in Law from Kyushu University in Japan and an M.S. in TESOL from Temple University, Wakako not only brings her teaching expertise to the ELI’s classrooms, but she also uses her understanding of and connections within Japan to serve as the ELI’s Japan liaison/program coordinator. In her program development, Wakako communicates with partner schools and agencies to build Japanese recruitment, coordinates special programs for Japanese students, and councils Japanese students during their time at the ELI.
Wakako’s research interests are on applying critical thinking theory to ESL/EFL instruction and on developing student’s academic listening and note-taking skills. Wakako completed the University of Oregon’s E-Teacher Scholarship Program in Critical Thinking in the EFL Curriculum in 2011, and she has also published and presented on her research topics in both the U.S. and Japan.
Contact Wakako Pennington: wakapen@udel.edu