Akiko Davis Awarded Teacher of the Year by Georgia Association of Teachers of Japanese

KENNESAW, Ga. (Aug 10, 2022) — Akiko Davis, lecturer of Japanese in the Norman J. Radow College of Humanities and Social Sciences’ World Languages and Cultures Department, was awarded the Georgia Association of Teachers of Japanese (GATJ) 2022 College Teacher of the Year award this past Sunday, August 7th, 2022.

Founded in 1994, GATJ is a professional organization dedicated to providing the resources, support, and networking opportunities to ensure the promotion and quality delivery of Japanese language education and culture throughout the state. The organization comprises k-12 teachers, college instructors and faculty who are interested in promoting Japanese language education. The prestigious award is presented to one K-12 instructor and one college-level instructor annually. The awards were presented virtually this year during the annual Georgia Association of Teachers of Japanese meeting, which was sponsored by the Georgia Department of Education, the Japan-American Society of Georgia, and GATJ.

Davis joined KSU in 2015 as a part-time instructor and in 2019 became full-time lecturer with the WLC department. She actively engages in developing programs such as a virtual exchange program in partnership with a university in Japan, as well as thoughtfully incorporating project-based learning into her courses. She serves as a Japanese Culture Club advisor and supports student leaders in coordinating live and virtual cultural events each month.

Prior to joining KSU, Davis taught Japanese to high-school students on-line for four years for the Georgia Virtual School, as well as working for seven years as a translator and interpreter for a Georgia-based Japanese company. She subsequently went to work with Georgia Public Broadcasting’s distance learning program, Irasshai, where she plays a role in the program creation on the curriculum development team, as well as training part-time instructors.

Davis earned her master’s degree in Foreign Language Education from the University of Georgia. While working toward her degree, she worked as a teaching assistant teaching Japanese. She has taught Japanese and Japanese culture at Elon University in North Carolina, as well as having taught English at Futaba High School in Fukushima, Japan.

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