About

As a former high school teacher of English and History, I strongly believe in the importance of bridging the gap between current research and approaches in foreign language learning and pedagogy and their practical application in today’s language classrooms.

Why do we need literature in today’s language classrooms?

One of the main focuses of my academic research and output is exploring how 21st-century literacies, particularly the reading of literature, can be integrated and fostered in the modern English Foreign Language Classroom.

The main motivation behind my research is to open up new possibilities for teachers to use literature in the English Foreign Language Classroom. Both in lower secondary education and in further education, from vocational school to university.

Teacher Education

My particular focus is on developing strategic teaching concepts to better integrate different texts and genres into the classroom. For that reasons I have collaborated in material design with the big school publishers in Germany over many years.

Methods and materials for the reading classroom

In doing so, I am strongly orientated towards a student-centered approach and collaborative learning environments. Therefore, I develop teaching concepts for modern genres such as graphic novels, but also new approaches to classical literature such as Shakespeare’s plays.

At present I am working on an open-access textbook for teaching active and multimodal approaches to Shakespeare in the 21st century language classroom which integrates ready-to-use and adaptable OER material for practical classroom application.