I am a UK-based academic specialising in applied linguistics and health communication. I lecture on Japanese language, post-war Japanese literature and translation, and I am also trained in patient interviewing for clinical research.
For the past decade, I have written this blog to reflect on my work in research and education and to share some of my personal joys, including cooking, baking and ikebana.
My research explores a wide range of materials, including narrative, media and literary works related to health and healthcare, as well as the verbal dimensions of real-life interactions between individuals and practitioners. I specialise in qualitative methodologies, particularly narrative perspective, discourse analysis, ethnography and interactional sociolinguistics.
I grew up in a family of healthcare workers. After studying linguistics at Tokyo Woman’s Christian University, I worked for a software developer in Tokyo. In 2013 and 2014, I studied international protocol at the Institut Villa Pierrefeu in Montreux, Switzerland. The sessions on intercultural communication and protocol were especially captivating. They deepened my understanding of communication styles across cultures, and of my own, and opened my mind to many new perspectives.
I completed my MA in intercultural communication and applied linguistics at the University of East Anglia (UEA) in 2016. The following year, I began my doctoral research in health communication at UEA, drawing together my academic and professional experiences. I completed my PhD in October 2020 and published my first monograph in 2022.
Since my time as a PhD student, I have been teaching Japanese and greatly enjoy sharing my experiences with students. While living in Japan, I studied and practised kimono dressing, tea ceremony, Japanese and Western floral arts, and a range of everyday cultural traditions. These cultural and linguistic elements are woven into my teaching.
Thank you very much for visiting my casual academic blog.
Katie K Kondo
