German Teachers Research Articles

Lacking bridges and apprehensive tensions: The impact of emotions and contextual factors on German L3 teachers’ perceptions and grammar teaching practices

This article reports the findings of a multiple-case study on four teachers of German as a third language (GL3) at a Swedish lower secondary school (year 7). To gain a better understanding of third language (L3) teachers’ pedagogical perceptions and practices about grammar teaching to young beginners, teacher emotions are used as a theoretical frame. The data consist of individual interviews, lesson observations and immediate post-observational oral reflections that are analysed qualitatively using thematic content analysis with narrative features. The study points out the links between emotions and contextual factors inside and outside the classroom – such as time, workload, colleagues’ teaching practices as well as the motivation and attitudes of the students – and shows how these interrelatedly have an impact on teachers’ thinking, beliefs and instructional decision-making. Also, three narratives about teaching grammar are laid out, where the teachers themselves are passionate but at the same time display apprehensive emotions in the fear of their students not liking it as much. The findings indicate that teacher emotions about grammar – such as the tension between passion and apprehension – exert important influence on L3 teachers’ grammar teaching practices and beliefs. Based on this, it is suggested that bridges are needed between grammar teaching in first language (L1) and L3, since the pedagogical content knowledge and the positive teacher emotions about grammar in teachers of GL3 might be powerful assets that colleagues of other language subjects could also benefit from.

ONLINE vs. FACE-TO-FACE group coaching to promote teachers mental health: an exploratory field study in German teachers

IntroductionOnline formats provide promising and low-threshold options for mental health coaching. However, research on online mental health interventions compared to traditional face-to-face interventions remains scarce. In the present study, the established prevention tool “Teacher Group-coaching Program” (TGP) was applied in both the original face-to-face setting as well as online. TGP focuses on promoting mental health in teachers by strengthening relational skills using the Balint group technique. This technique roots back to a psychoanalytic approach to explore the emotional aspects of (stress inducing) professional relationships. The current study aimed at comparing the satisfaction with and effectiveness of TGP between both settings.MethodThe sample consisted of 104 teachers who voluntarily chose between face-to-face (n = 51) and online (n = 53) setting. In a pre-posttest design, participants completed questionnaires before and after the intervention. Additionally participant's satisfaction with the program was assessed during and after TGP.ResultsIntervention effects did not differ significantly in terms of mental health, general life satisfaction and emotional distancing between TGP online and face-to-face. In line with previous research, there was a pre-posttest improvement for mental distress and the ability to distance oneself for both groups, which did not differ significantly between face-to-face and online setting. Satisfaction with the program was rated high in both settings, suggesting similar acceptance.DiscussionAlthough, the absence of an effect is not the evidence of equality of the groups, the present study highlights the potential of online admissions of mental health interventions as possible alternatives and additions to traditional face-to-face programs, especially when in-person meetings are not feasible. Specifically, it shows evidence that the Balint group technique can also be applied successfully by trained experts in the online setting.

Is it in their words? Teachers' enthusiasm and their natural language in class-A sentiment analysis approach.

Teacher enthusiasm is an undisputedly important characteristic of teachers, with demonstrated positive effects on student outcomes. Existing research typically operationalised teacher enthusiasm via trait-based teacher- or student ratings. Strikingly little is known about how teachers' trait enthusiasm manifests in their actual in-situ classroom behaviour. Some findings have been reported regarding teachers' nonverbal behaviours, but the links between teacher enthusiasm and teacher language are unknown so far. The present contribution fills this research gap by applying lexicon-based sentiment analysis to quantify teachers' emotional tone from transcribed teacher utterances obtained from video recordings of full mathematics lessons (45 min). N = 19 secondary school mathematics teachers and their N = 393 students participated in our study. We realised the sentiment analysis using Remus etal.'s emotion lexicon SentiWS (v2.0, 2019). We obtained both teacher self-reports and student ratings to assess teachers' enthusiasm, shown habitually (trait), and during the videotaped lesson (in situ). Regarding trait enthusiasm, teachers' own, but not the students', ratings were positively linked with teachers' verbally expressed sentiment in the videotaped lesson, specifically its positive valence. Regarding in-situ enthusiasm, associations were even larger but also did not reach significance for the student ratings. This is the first study to employ sentiment analysis on transcripts of German teachers' in-class talk. Besides the quantitative links between teacher enthusiasm and their language, it also provides qualitative insights on positive emotional teacher talk in mathematics.

ПРАКТИЧНО-ДОСЛІДНИЦЬКИЙ ПРОЕКТ ЯК ІНСТРУМЕНТ ДОСЛІДНИЦЬКОГО НАВЧАННЯ У ПІДГОТОВЦІ ВЧИТЕЛІВ НІМЕЦЬКОЇ МОВИ

The article highlights the concept of research-based learning and analyses its implementation in European higher education institutions. It is found that pedagogical universities in Ukraine lack the necessary tools for the development of research skills in future teachers. There is also a lack of empirical research on research-based learning. These factors have led to the relevance of this article. The article presents one of the forms of implementation of research-based learning in the international curriculum "DLL - Learning to Teach German" for the training of future teachers of German. This programme is implemented with the support of the Goethe-Institut at the Mykhailo Kotsiubynskyi VDPU. The article describes the framework of implementation and the results of observations and empirical analysis of the development of students' competences. Research and reflective learning in the context of the DLL programme is carried out through the implementation of a practical research project (PRP). The emphasis is on the study of one's own teaching activities, observation and indepth reflection. It is noted that the implementation of the PDP poses certain challenges for students due to their lack of teaching experience and unfamiliarity with independent research. This context serves as the basis for a practical study based on the analysis of individual documentation of research projects completed by students over the last three years. The aim is to check the level of students' ability to reflect on their own experiences and to identify ways of improving their teaching practice. For a more in-depth analysis, five aspects of reflection were identified, distinguishing between PDRs based on their own teaching and those based on observation. The use of qualitative textual analysis, deductive and inductive approaches allowed us to draw conclusions and suggest ways to improve students' preparation for undertaking such research.

Teaching how to build bridges between languages

The article presents examples of activities and tasks used during classes devoted to plurilingual education at the Centre for Foreign Language Teacher Training and European Education of the University of Warsaw. In the first part of the paper, the context in which future teachers of languages are educated at the Centre is described. The description focuses on the Plurilingual and Pluricultural Education course and the Integrated Language Didactics course, which enable students to become acquainted with the pluralistic approaches to languages and cultures and to further develop their plurilingual and pluricultural competence. These courses are an integral part of the programme of study at the Centre and it is assumed that the students will use the knowledge and skills acquired while attending them in their future work at school in order to facilitate the teaching and learning of languages. The second part of the paper is devoted to activities and tasks presented during the 10th International Conference of the EDiLiC Association. They include an awakening to languages activity, conducted as part of the Plurilingual and Pluricultural Education course at the Centre, and tasks used during the Integrated Language Didactics course for pre-service teachers of English and German or English and French.

Empowering MGMP of Central Maluku German Language in Developing AKM Literacy Instruments

The German Language MGMP (Musyawarah Guru Mata Pelajaran) empowerment program in Central Maluku has a clear goal in the development of literacy AKM (Minimum Competency Assessment) instruments. The program begins with an introduction to what an AKM instrument is and its importance in measuring literacy skills in German. Participants were introduced to the framework and methods of AKM instrument development. This community service program aims to: (1) improve the skills of German language teachers in Central Maluku in developing literacy AKM instruments; (2) increase collaboration among teachers and build networks and cooperation to create active and connected German language teachers, and allied teachers, so that they can share experiences, resources, and best practices. The methods used are: (a) initial observation; (b) plan development; (c) online and offline face-to-face approach with teachers; (d) training; (e) evaluation. This activity is carried out face-to-face directly (offline) and indirectly (online). The results achieved from the Central Maluku German Language MGMP empowerment activities in developing literacy AKM instruments show that these efforts have succeeded in improving teacher competence in designing and implementing assessment instruments. The training and workshops not only strengthened teachers' understanding of AKM, but also enriched German teaching methods, encouraged collaboration between teachers and cognate teachers and resulted in the exchange of ideas and best practices in learning.

Competence beliefs using technology in school and teaching - How can we use variance and covariance to identify teachers’ profiles?

This study aims to cluster teachers based on their professional digital competence beliefs using Latent-Profile-Analysis (LPA) and to examine relations to teacher and school characteristics. We also explore the significance of two approaches to varying the variance-covariance-matrix (VCM). Data from n = 698 German teachers was used. We identified a relatively low, medium, and relatively high profile. The means of competence beliefs and the links to teacher and school characteristics between both approaches differed. Across analysis, however, higher age, lower interest, and being female predicted the probability of being in the relatively low profile relative to the other profiles.

Teachers’ beliefs and experiences regarding collaboration across language subjects

ABSTRACT In schools worldwide, there are increasing expectations for teacher collaboration across subjects. However, despite the potential benefits for students and teachers of viewing language subjects as interrelated, limited research has explored how meaningful collaboration across different language subjects can be undertaken. Addressing this gap, this study investigates language teachers’ experiences with and perspectives on collaboration across language subjects. Data were generated from focus group discussions with teachers of Norwegian, English, French, German, and Spanish in four Norwegian secondary schools and analysed through reflexive thematic analysis. The analysis revealed that teachers had limited prior experience in this area but recognised several potential benefits, such as increased language awareness and a more holistic understanding of languages. However, teachers’ suggestions for collaboration mainly focused on sharing ideas and coordinating tasks, whereas deeper forms of joint work are likely necessary to achieve lasting learning effects. Moreover, teachers lacked knowledge of each other’s subject curricula, whereas a crucial starting point for effective collaboration would be for teachers to become familiar with the contents of all language subject curricula in school. Finally, the analysis suggests that effective collaboration requires active leadership support to address practical challenges and develop a shared understanding of what collaboration may entail.

Comparison effects on self- and external ratings: Testing the generalizability of the 2I/E model to parents and teachers of academic track school students

BackgroundAccording to the 2I/E model, social, dimensional, and temporal comparisons represent key determinants of students' academic self-concepts. However, it is unclear to what extent these assumptions also apply to external ratings of students’ self-concepts and abilities provided by central socializers. AimsThis study aimed to examine the extent of generalizability of the 2I/E model to different parent and teacher ratings simultaneously for the first time. SampleParticipants were 545 ninth-grade students from academic track schools in Germany, their parents, math teachers, and German teachers. MethodsWe investigated the joint effects of social, dimensional, and temporal comparisons on student self-concepts, parent and teacher ratings of student self-concepts, and parent and teacher ratings of student abilities in math and German using structural equation modeling. ResultsOur results strongly support the assumptions of the 2I/E model for student self-concepts, as we found strong social, moderate dimensional, and small temporal comparison effects in both domains. For parent ratings of student self-concepts and abilities, we found strong social and—except for parent German ability ratings—moderate to small dimensional comparison effects. For teacher ratings of student self-concepts and abilities, results showed only strong social comparison effects in both domains. Temporal comparison effects were not found for either parents or teachers. ConclusionsGiven the lack of temporal comparison effects on parent and teacher ratings, this study's findings question the generalizability of the 2I/E model to external ratings. However, they point to interesting discrepancies regarding social and dimensional comparison effects on parent and teacher ratings.

Science teachers' beliefs about teaching and learning related to content and procedural goals

AbstractScience teachers' beliefs about teaching and learning are a vital component of teachers' professional competence and are often assumed to impact classroom practice. To date, these beliefs have been predominantly investigated regarding teaching and learning in general or for a particular science subject (e.g., physics). It remains to be determined whether these beliefs are similar across different goals within a subject. The study reported addresses this question by investigating and comparing beliefs about teaching and learning regarding two prominent main goals of science education: content goals that refer to scientific phenomena, laws, theories, and disciplinary core ideas and procedural goals that refer to scientific procedures and practices. To that end, data from 170 German teachers were collected in 2019 and 2020 with an online questionnaire. After modeling the data and assessing the quality of measurement via Rasch analysis techniques, subsequent t‐tests were employed to compare beliefs. Results reveal that science teachers' beliefs vary between both main goals. For instance, teachers believe that achieving procedural goals requires primarily doing science with lesser relevance of discussing and elaborating with students explicitly the rules and strategies for engaging appropriately in scientific practices (e.g., control of variables strategy). In contrast, teachers believe that for achieving content goals, explicit instruction about corresponding conceptual knowledge is of higher relevance. Furthermore, the analysis reveals differences in teachers' beliefs about their own abilities. Teachers typically believe they are more able to teach and deal with content goals compared with procedural goals. The differences reported may help to understand research on teachers' classroom practice and can inform teacher training and professional development.

The theory of syntactic groups (J. Fourquet): A new approach to grammatical terminology

The paper aims to present the specificity of Fourquet’s syntactic group theory and to show how it fi ts into his didactic and pedagogical approaches as well as his linguiti c research in general. Fourquet challenges traditional grammar, the French approach to the German language system, and emphasises the need for a new perspective on language teaching, by moving away from the concept of word towards the concept of group. Syntax is also linked to semantics and even pragmatics. This is Fourquet’s undeniable contribution, albeit it is largely ignored today. The article also explains to what extent Fourquet’s group theory is innovative and discusses the current impact of the theory on German teaching in France. Fourquet’s works in French and German are also be analysed from this perspective.

TEACHER TRAINERS’ BELIEFS ABOUT THE PLURICENTRICITY OF ENGLISH AND GERMAN Pilot results from two Hungarian universities

The present study investigates the beliefs of teacher trainers at Hungarian universities about the pluricentricity of English and German as foreign languages. The results of the pilot phase are based on the analysis of two semi-structured interviews with one lecturer each from two Hungarian universities from 2023. The analysis also includes a comparison of the results with 37 previous interviews conducted between 2020 and 2022 with 21 English and German teachers and 16 language learners in Hungary. The interviews were analysed using the Taguette software, in a qualitative content analysis framework, by setting up a coding frame with 13 codes. The main research question was how the university instructors’ beliefs about pluricentricity relate to those of the language teachers and language learners. The results show that there are far more similarities than differences, and that university instructors appear to be more open to pluricentricity than their colleagues in public education, but more conservative than language learners. The pilot nature of the study means that, in addition to presenting the preliminary results, I have also drawn methodological conclusions which will be very important for the continuation of the study, i.e. for the addition of further university instructors to the sample.

The Acquisition of Error Competence and the Value of (learning from) Errors in Teacher Education from the Perspectives of Teachers in Finland and Germany

Teachers' everyday error management in the classroom is one important aspect of their professional competence. This comprises conceptual knowledge about (the learning potential of) misconceptions and student errors, adaptive attitudes and orientations about errors as learning opportunities, and adaptive classroom management in error situations. The purpose of this study was to explore whether teacher education prepares teachers to meet these expectations and where teachers gain these facets of error competence. We analyzed 27 problem-centered interviews with Finnish and German teachers of different subjects and different school forms. Using MAXQDA, the data were coded into six categories, ranging from informal learning experiences to formal learning situations during teacher training. We identified various experiences and attitudes in the teachers' narratives. Our findings indicate that from the teachers' points of view and recollections of experiences, teacher education in both countries provides few intentional learning opportunities for developing professional error competence.

Mental health literacy in German teachers – What do they know? What do they need?

Abstract Background Preventing mental health problems and promoting mental wellbeing is the aim of school-based mental health literacy (MHL) programs. Previous research suggests that good MHL (knowledge and skills regarding mental health, resilience, and help-seeking) helps people to take good care of their own and others’ mental health and use support-services. In this context the MHL of teachers is highly relevant, as they act as role models and interact with affected pupils on a regular basis, for which certain knowledge and skills are necessary. In this study, we therefore seek to investigate the level of MHL in German high-school teachers as well as their exposure to impaired students and their desire for further education on pupils’ mental health. Methods The data are collected as part of an effectiveness study of a school-based intervention to strengthen MHL (BEWARE), which was developed by our working group. We collect data from teachers who are involved in BEWARE as coaches as well as from those not directly involved (n ≈ 300). Data collection takes place online at three measurement timepoints (6 months apart each). For the analysis presented here, data of the first measurement timepoint with respect to MHL, skills in handling affected students and wishes for additional education on pupils’ mental health are included. Results As the data collection is still ongoing, statistical analyses are not yet completed. We will present data on the current state of knowledge on MHL in German teachers as well as their abilities to deal with affected pupils and their wish for further education. In addition, we will relate the number of affected pupils they teach to depict the relevance in their daily life at school to the above-mentioned measures. Conclusions The acquired data and respective analyses will give us important insights about the objective and subjective need of MHL training in schoolteachers (based on assessed knowledge and their reported wish of additional education). Key messages • Our study will give us important insights about the objective need of MHL training in high-school teachers based on assessed knowledge. • Our results will depict which formats of training teachers would prefer for additional education on pupils’ mental health, which will be a valuable basis for the development of future programs.

The Application of Flipped Classroom Teaching Model in German Reading Teaching

The flipped classroom teaching model is the product of the information age. German teachers in colleges and universities should actively carry out flipped classroom teaching, make micro-lessons according to the teaching focus of reading class, upload micro-lessons to online teaching platform and scientifically guide students to preview before class; Actively carry out online live teaching, discuss with students the content of micro-lessons, text topics, and carry out deep reading teaching; Actively carry out online tests to test the effect of online German reading teaching; Carry out offline precision teaching to answer questions for students and improve their German reading comprehension; With the help of online teaching platform to carry out after-school extended learning guidance, publish group German reading tasks, and comprehensively improve the quality of German reading teaching in universities.

Zum Stand des Fachs Cultură și civilizație an rumänischen Universitäten

Abstract Culture and civilization is probably one of the most discussed areas in foreign language didactics. It is taught both implicitly in the teaching of German as a foreign language and as an independent subject in university teaching. It is also offered at many Romanian universities as part of German-language degree courses. Especially in subjects in which prospective teachers and translators are trained, culture and civilization occupies a special position because it plays the undisputedly important role of imparting cultural knowledge about the target language country, which is seen as the second component in foreign language acquisition alongside linguistic knowledge. While foreign language lessons usually deal with everyday cultural topics, university courses on culture and civilization tend to focus on geography, history, politics, media, art and/or economics, usually according to the respective focus of the department where the culture and civilization course is offered. This article deals with academic research on the subject of culture and civilization at Romanian universities after 1995, specifically with the objectives and methods for teaching culture and civilization, the organization of encounters in culture and civilization lessons and possible subject catalogs.

Playful Dramatizations – Doing German the Nordic Way

Nordic perspectives on playful learning have been defined by values and preconceptions associated with play in schooling. However, playful learning also emerges in specific ways as part of the patterns of relations that form classroom teaching and learning. Patterns can be understood as sociomaterial relationships in practice that create rhythms which become constitutive for specific teaching and learning practices (Sørensen, 2009). In the paper, I identify and trace ways in which specific patterns are created by multiple relationships that enable and hold together playful learning activities. With a focus on patterns of relations, I draw on performative understandings of playful learning which are holistically defined by complex sociomaterial relationships. The paper explores how these patterns enact Nordic ways of doing playful learning that are defined by both specific materialities, moods, and rhythms of doing language learning in secondary schooling. The paper builds on observations and interview data from a project in which teachers and students from three Danish schools experimented with playful learning in the school subjects English and German. In the project, experimentation and didactic development were enabled through action learning processes involving the participating teachers and the researcher. Experiments were scaffolded through use of the platform Drama Studio, where students can create animated stories using avatars in multimodal drama production. The paper focuses on a specific case in which the teaching of German became part of doing hygge as a seasonal mood in the classroom during an unusually long, four-hour German session. In the dynamics of enacting German as hygge, multiple relationships emerged that both held together and transcended the apparently delineated activity of doing German through Drama Studio.

Job demands and resources of information and technology use among teachers in Germany

Some teachers associate Information and Communication Technology (ICT) use with additional stress, which is investigated under the term technostress. Other teachers seem to be able to utilize the advantages and potentials of ICT. The extent to which advantages of ICT positively impact teachers’ health has mostly been neglected in previous studies, as well as the interplay of ICT-related factors. The study aims to compile influencing factors of ICT use on teachers’ health and to gain knowledge on the role of the benefits of ICT. Furthermore, information about the interplay of factors is to be obtained. The group concept mapping (GCM) method was used with 14 in-service German teachers from different school types. They compiled, sorted and rated factors related to teachers' health in the context of ICT use. The sorted factors were structured using non-metric multidimensional scaling, and cluster analysis. Seventy-eight unique factors were generated and divided into 9 clusters. The resulting concept map (CM) provides an overview of the various factors influencing the health of teachers using ICT and gives information about their interplay. In addition, the teachers rated clusters related to the positive effects on teachers’ health as more important than those related to negative effects. The results suggest that future studies should consider the positive effects of ICT on teachers' health more extensively. Limitations concerning the chosen method, sampling, and the need for further research are discussed.

Policies and Practices for Cultivating Innovative Teaching and Intercultural Competence in German Teacher Education

Policies and Practices for Cultivating Innovative Teaching and Intercultural Competence in German Teacher Education

Determining the Metaphorical Perceptions of German Teacher Candidates Regarding the Concept of Artificial Intelligence

Abstract Considering the importance of individualised learning, artificial intelligence tools can effectively create an environment where students can learn by using them both in lessons and on their own, and enable students to learn a foreign language more effectively and permanently. The aim of this study is to examine the thinking worlds and thought patterns of prospective German teachers about the role of artificial intelligence in language teaching and learning and their views on the concept of artificial intelligence. The starting point of this study is the question of which metaphors prospective teachers use when talking about the concept of artificial intelligence. The questions of the study are as follows: 1. with which metaphors do pre-service German teachers express artificial intelligence? 2. How do pre-service German teachers define their metaphors related to the concept of artificial intelligence? 3. Under which conceptual categories are these metaphors categorised in terms of common characteristics? The participants of the study consisted of 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th year prospective teachers studying at the Department of German Language Teaching, Faculty of Education, Faculty of Foreign Languages Education, Trakya University. The data were collected by qualitative data analysis method. Firstly, Student Information Form was given to the students and what is metaphor was explained by giving examples of metaphor. Then, the students filled out an opinion form consisting of semi-structured questions. This form consists of two parts, in which short demographic information about the students is asked and the open-ended question ‘artificial intelligence is like ...., because...’ is asked. Metaphor analysis technique was used to analyse the data. The data obtained were interpreted by categorising the metaphors used by the prospective German teachers.