English Language Instructors
Justin Foster Sutherland
Originally from South Africa, Justin Foster-Sutherland has been teaching English in Japan since 2007. He has taught at three local schools in Okinawa, including Kaiho high school where he taught Cross Cultural Understanding and an introduction to academic writing. He has taught junior high school students, Congolese refugees and even some retired folk. He has a masters in Education and his research focus is on vocabulary in English for Academic Purposes. He also graduated from WITS university in South Africa (the same university as Nelson Mandela and Sydney Brenner) with a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and Mathematics. He also holds a Certificate of English Language Teaching to Adults (CELTA) and follows Cambridge English Teaching methodologies and practices.
Monica Aguilar-Scion
Monica is a dedicated English language instructor with a diverse background in education, and a commitment to fostering cross-cultural understanding. With five years of teaching and tutoring experience at Okinawa Prefectural Haebaru Senior High School, and three other local high schools through the JET Program USA, a recipient of the US Embassy Tokyo and USJETAA organization’s Microgrant, and earning two TEFL certificates, she has honed her skills in English instruction and delivery. Additionally, she has made a significant impact as an English conversation tutor with several private students in Okinawa and also Hawaii-based programs such as the NICE Program at the University of Hawaii at Manoa and the Fujitsu-JAIMS Hawaii homestay program. Outside the classroom, Monica is a classically-trained musician, playing the viola in the Okinawa Symphony Orchestra and several orchestras and quartets in her native home of Hawaii. She is also a passionate volunteer, with recent volunteering experiences in the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup and the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. In 2013, she earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree and a Minor in Music (Ethnomusicology) with honors from the University of Hawaii at Manoa and an Associate in Arts degree in Liberal Arts with honors from the University of Hawaii at Leeward Community College. In the future, she aspires to further her studies with a graduate degree that incorporates education and the health sciences to contribute to community outreach efforts in disease prevention and wellness promotion education.