Ms Yukari Kondo

High school teacher

Tokyo Metropolitan School District, Japan

“’I’m so grateful to still have Philippa and Fiona in my life. Their support over the years has been amazing and my colleagues and I really feel like we’re part of a global teaching community... like a family…”

Philippa and Fiona have been my teaching mentors since 2017. They first inspired me during my professional development program in English language teaching at UQ in Brisbane. I’ve looked to them for guidance in my teaching career ever since.  During my course I learnt so much about bringing my textbook to life, using active learning, and helping my high school students to feel more confident using English. Their support to me and my colleagues in the Tokyo Metropolitan School District has always been amazing. More recently, they taught us about teaching online using Zoom. We discussed strategies to keep students motivated in the online classroom, using apps and warm up routines - and it really worked! We also met teachers from Chile at a GenQI workshop, which was so interesting. It made my colleagues and I really feel like we’re part of a global teaching community.   Over the years, Philippa and Fiona have become more than just my ‘teacher trainers’. They feel like my family! I’m excited to now be working with them as a consultant, supporting Global Educator Networking events (GenQI) and QI alumni to become the best teachers they can be.