Rate My Professor David Elmes

David Elmes serves as Associate Professor in the International Exchange and Language Education Center at the National Institute of Fitness and Sports in Kanoya, Japan’s sole national university dedicated to physical education. He earned his Bachelor of Education in English and Social Studies from the University of Lethbridge in Canada in 1989, following completion of general studies at Selkirk College in 1987. In 2005, he obtained a Master’s degree in Applied Linguistics from the University of Southern Queensland in Australia. Elmes has been teaching English at NIFS since 2010, where he focuses on communicative English instruction and intercultural competency development for sports students. Previously, he contributed to English language programs at institutions such as Hamamatsu University, as evidenced by his earlier publications there.

Elmes’ research specializations encompass English communication, intercultural competency, overseas study abroad and international education, language acquisition, and communication, with keywords including EFL teaching methodology, sports English, and coach-player communications. He has spearheaded short-term study abroad and internship programs under the StAI initiative, such as StAIH in Hawaii, StAIS in Sydney, and StAIC in Canada, aimed at enhancing students’ cultural awareness and global competence. Recent efforts include the Lunchtime English Communication Seminar (LECS, established 2023) for faculty development in English-medium instruction and the T.E.A.M. English support seminar launched in 2024. His key publications include “Beyond the Classroom: Cultivating Cultural Competency through Study Abroad for Students of Sport” (2025, with Toru Kunishige), “Understanding the Importance of Studying Abroad in the Acquisition of Intercultural Competency” (2024), “Measuring the Impact of a Daily Quiz System on Student Attendance and Study Habits” (2023), “Unveiling the Lexical Composition of Real-Time Sports Coaching Discourse” (2022), “Coach-Player Communications: An Analysis of Top-Level Coaching Discourse at a Short-Term Ice Hockey Camp” (2018), and “The Relationship between Language and Culture” (2013). Additionally, he co-authored the five-volume “It’s Good to Talk” EFL textbook series between 2006 and 2007. Elmes is a member of the Japan Society of Physical Education, Kyushu Physical Education and Sports Society, Japan Coaching Science Society, and the North American Society for the Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity. He has presented research at conferences including the 2018 International Symposium on Social Sciences and Management and the 2017 North American Society for the Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity conference.