Dr. Swenson is an emerita professor at Osaka Jogakuin University. She taught at Osaka Jogakuin for more than 30 years and has been a language teacher in Japan since the early 1980s, working in a variety of educational environments. She edited the JALT Journal from 1994 to 1998. She has published research in a variety of areas, including content-based instruction, computers and AI in education, study abroad programs, research methodologies, writing (writing programs, writing methods, writing centers), curriculum design and development, and motivation (including ethnocentrism, attitudes toward Japanese culture by L1 English speakers, and attitudes toward other cultures by L1 Japanese). Her current research focuses on content-based approaches to language teaching with an emphasis on media studies, Japanese media and media use in Japan, and efficient use of AI as a learning tool by Japanese EFL students.

Education
PhD, University of Colorado, Boulder