Emiko Konomi received her PhD in Linguistics from Cornell University. She was a member of the faculty of the School of Business Administration and Department of World Languages and Literature at Portland State University. Dr. Konomi has taught all levels of Japanese including business Japanese, and has extensive experience training Japanese-language instructors at various teacher-training programs in the US. Her dedication to quality teaching earned her the 2011 and 2015 John Eliot Allen Outstanding Teaching Award. Her academic research focuses on Japanese linguistics and pedagogy.