Scott Windham, professor of German in the Department of World Languages and Cultures, presented �鶹��Ƶ’s interdisciplinary German Studies board as a case study at the German Studies Association conference in late September.

Windham took part in a three-day seminar called “Re-envisioning the German curriculum, twenty years on.” The goal of the seminar was to chart the ways in which German and German Studies programs have evolved in the nearly twenty years since the Modern Language Association issued a call for dramatic curricular and programmatic change in 2007.

Seminar participants included �鶹��Ƶ, Georgetown, MIT, Princeton, Columbia, Emory, Arizona State, Waterloo, Arizona, Vermont, Franklin & Marshall, Furman and other highly-regarded German and German Studies programs. Participants discussed progress made over the past two decades and still-needed curricular, programmatic, structural, and administrative reforms in order to ensure the vitality of German and other language programs in the coming decades.

Windham’s contribution to the seminar was to position �鶹��Ƶ’s interdisciplinary German Studies board as a way to introduce interdisciplinarity into language programs in a structured and thoughtful way, and to boost the reach of language programs. �鶹��Ƶ’s German Studies board consists of 16 members from four schools, ten departments, and three staff units.

Scott Windham, professor of German in the Department of World Languages and Cultures, participated in a three-day seminar called “Re-envisioning the German curriculum, twenty years on.” The goal of the seminar was to chart the ways in which German and German Studies programs have evolved in the nearly twenty years since the Modern Language Association issued a call for dramatic curricular and programmatic change in 2007.

Seminar participants included �鶹��Ƶ, Georgetown, MIT, Princeton, Columbia, Emory, Arizona State, Waterloo, Arizona, Vermont, Franklin & Marshall, Furman, and other highly-regarded German and German Studies programs. Participants discussed progress made over the past two decades and still-needed curricular, programmatic, structural, and administrative reforms in order to ensure the vitality of German and other language programs in the coming decades.

Professor Windham’s contribution to the seminar was to position �鶹��Ƶ’s interdisciplinary German Studies board as a way to introduce interdisciplinarity into language programs in a structured and thoughtful way, and to boost the reach of language programs. �鶹��Ƶ’s German Studies board consists of 16 members from four schools, ten departments and three staff units.

In this program, known as USTA, English-speaking college graduates work as teaching assistants in Austria. The TAs support teachers in English classrooms, providing conversation practice, language instruction, and a first-hand perspective on US-American culture. The grant program is managed by the Fulbright Commission in Austria.

Granville, a sport management major with minors in German Studies and Business Administration, is working with future English teachers at a university in Klagenfurt in southern Austria.

In his spare time, Granville has been enjoying basketball and hiking, often with his students.

Sharp, who double-majored in German studies and art history, minored in history, and was �鶹��Ƶ’s first-ever German studies major, teaches at two schools in Vienna’s city center. There, she works with students aged 10-18 and assists during after-school programs. One of the schools is a high-performing UNESCO school, while the second is art focused, allowing her to make connections to her art history major. Sharp credits Assistant Professor of German Kristin Lange for notifying her about the opportunity and encouraging her to apply.

Both Granville and Sharp are members of the National German Honor Society known as Delta Phi Alpha.

Scott Windham, associate professor of German in the Department of World Languages and Cultures, chaired a panel on literacy instruction at the national conference of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages held in late November in Washington, D.C.

In the context of second-language instruction, literacy is defined as the use of language for purposes of social interaction—whether personal, professional, or public.

Windham and his co-panelists — Marianna Ryshina-Pankova of Georgetown University and Eckhard Kuhn-Osius of Hunter College — distilled a decade of theoretical and practical research into concrete teaching methods and strategies, with a particular emphasis on the role of grammar as a meaning-making resource.

The panel evolved from Windham’s research during his term as CATL Scholar in 2017-19.

The German National Honor Society, known as Delta Phi Alpha, was founded in 1929 and has over 300 chapters in the United States. �鶹��Ƶ’s chapter was founded in 2018 by Assistant Professor of German Kristin Lange.

This year’s inductees span 15 disciplines, including Architecture, Business, History, Music Performance, German Studies and Political Science. "The academic diversity of these top students shows that German has broad appeal," said Associate Professor Scott Windham. "Students from a wide range of majors have found serious academic and professional reasons to make German a part of their lives."

Delta Phi Alpha promotes the study of German language, literature, and civilization and offers chapter grants and student scholarships.

2019 Delta Phi Alpha Inductees:

Jack Dudich (Architecture)
Emily Poteat (History)
Anastasia Theoharis (Political Science)
Chris Pottorff (International Business)
McKenna Patterson (Accounting)
Divya Dewan (Finance; Marketing)
Claire Jones (Communications Design; Psychology)
Kristina Meyer (Religious Studies)
Justin Whaley (International Business Dual Degree)
Olivia Pellarin (International Business)
John Martinides (Finance) 
Carolyn Struyk (Marketing; Finance)
Hannah Strickland (Music Production & Recording Arts; Violin Performance)
Michael Kaether (Political Science; International and Global Studies)
Brogan Quick (Business Management)
Julia Towner (Music Performance; German Studies)
Cameron Birtcher (International Business Dual Degree)
Trevor Murrah (Political Science)

​The title of his talk was “Why we (still) need grammar instruction but (still) need to do it better: Grammar instruction and literacy in the L2 classroom.”

Grammar instruction and testing in second languages, according to Windham, needs to be brought into greater alignment with current research on grammar acquisition. This alignment will help students and instructors bridge the gap between structural study of the language (grammar and lexicon) and actual use of the language in reading, writing, listening comprehension, and speaking. In short, language instruction involves the teaching of transfer between formal structural study and applied use.

As part of his CATL Scholar project, Windham is investigating ways to use grammar tests and grammar homework as a space in which such transfer can take place.

Facilitating this transfer will let students use second languages in more literate ways, according to Windham. Studying grammar isn’t just about accuracy: Because grammar is the meaning-making system of a language, studying grammar increases students’ ability to create complex meanings.

This was the inaugural year for �鶹��Ƶ’s chapter of the honor society, which meant students and faculty could simultaneously celebrate the founding of the chapter and the induction of new members.

Instructor in German Kristin Lange, who oversaw the creation of the chapter, conducted the initiation after a short welcome from Associate Professor of German Scott Windham, who thanked the students for their commitment to the study of German—and for allowing the faculty to help them pursue their goals.

After the ceremony, Lange commented on the quality of the inductees and the variety of their majors. “Represented here are students from theater design to international Business, all of whom have pursued advanced proficiency in German,” Lange said.

The National German Honor Society, known as Delta Phi Alpha, was founded in 1929 and has over 300 chapters in the United States. The society promotes the study of German language, literature, and civilization and offers chapter grants and student scholarships.

2018 Delta Phi Alpha Inductees:

Andrew Fellows (International Business and Finance)

Anna Zwingelberg (Strategic Communications)

Austin Martin (International Economics)

Brittany Sadler (History)

Christina Kennedy (Creative Writing)

Crystal Sharp (German Studies and Art History)

Grayson Albers (Accounting)

Helen Leahy (International Business)

Jonathan Granville (Sport and Event Management)

Katherine Wolter (Marketing)

Katy Laser (International & Global Studies)

Maddy Wetterhall (Biology)

Mitchell Bergens (Theatrical Design and Production)

Olivia Kendrick (German Studies and International & Global Studies)

Sarah Collins (Strategic Communications)

Sarah Treger (International Business and Finance)

Tucker Obrey (International Business)

Xena Burwell (International Studies and Political Science)

Recent theoretical scholarship has touted the benefits of this unified curricular approach. Windham’s study provides evidence that these benefits are real: students in first- and second-year German at �鶹��Ƶ consistently reported that serious, sustained cultural study increased their levels of engagement, their willingness to continue studying German, and their perceptions of the relevance of German to their larger academic and career goals.

“Dr. Windham’s study validates the curricular turn we’ve taken in the Department of World Languages and Cultures,” says Brandon Essary, assistant professor of Italian at �鶹��Ƶ and associate chair of the department. “Even in introductory language courses, our students study the topics and ideas that engage us as scholars. That helps infuse a sense of intellectual vitality and excitement throughout the entire department.”

In the article, Windham gives an example of how this curricular approach works in first-semester German, a course in which the language barrier would appear to make serious cultural study and critical thinking impossible. On the first day of German 121, students learn enough German to describe their pre-existing impressions of Germany and the Germans. Students then gradually learn the language structures necessary to test the accuracy of their initial statements, by studying photographs, statistical data, and short videos and articles in German.

By the end of the semester, students write page-long essays comparing this real-world evidence to common (mis-)conceptions about landscape and cities, cuisine, social practices, holidays and festivals, language use, and so on. Some impressions (e.g. beer consumption) are corroborated by the evidence, while others are upended, and in either case, students are able to draw evidence-based conclusions about their presuppositions. By thinking critically about culturally-determined language use, social practices, and foreign ways of thinking, students pursue intercultural competency in the first semester of German.

This cultural-analytical approach continues throughout the first four semesters and beyond. By the end of fourth-semester German, students critically engage a variety of texts—which might include literary works, full-length films, and symbolically rich spaces such as the Brandenburg Gate—while also reflecting on the interplay between language, perception and cognition, and individual and national identities.

Essary says this curricular approach is one of the factors in German’s success. “�鶹��Ƶ boasts one of the few growing German programs in the country,” he says. “Enrollments are up 500% since the year 2000, course sections have increased from 3 per year to 10, the faculty has grown from one part-timer to two full-timers, and five courses have been added to the curriculum since 2002.”

Students and alumni increasingly use high-level German, from graduate degrees to RISE science research internships to Fulbright teaching stints to the Congress-Bundestag Exchange. “Curriculum doesn’t entirely explain these successes,” says Essary, “but it is a factor. When students are engaged intellectually from the first day of their language study, it sets them on a path. They can begin to envision a future in which they use that language.”

Schmidt was one of only 75 college graduates accepted into the highly competitive program, to which roughly 1,000 people apply. Travel expenses, a living stipend, and tuition are provided to each participant.

At the outset of the program, Schmidt attended an intensive language school in Cologne, building on the advanced German capacities she developed in multiple 300-level German courses at �鶹��Ƶ. At the end of her time in Cologne, Schmidt was rated at the C1 (advanced-high) proficiency level, making her eligible for disciplinary university study in German.

In September, Schmidt enrolled in the program (Audiovisual Culture and Communications) at the Otto-von-Guericke Universität Magdeburg. She took coursework on TV series, Marshall McLuhan’s media theory, microblogging, and 2D game development. All courses were taught in German.

In February, Schmidt began a five-month full-time internship at the in Magdeburg, running social media campaigns and accounts in German. She also completed 40 hours of volunteer work, a requirement of the program.

Schmidt reports: “I am thoroughly enjoying my time in Germany and am fortunate to have been selected for this program. While I’m not convinced that anything can fully prepare a person to move to a new country, I can say that the German program at �鶹��Ƶ provided me with a solid foundation. I came to Germany confident in my language skills and my understanding of German culture and history. That foundation has made all the difference.”

As part of the exchange year, Schmidt lives with a host family in Magdeburg. She arrived in time to attend a celebration festival for the Day of German Unity in early October, which celebrates German reunification in October 1990. The city is located in the former East Germany, and Schmidt reports lingering differences between the eastern and western halves of Germany.

“Kailyn’s successes are further evidence that knowing a second language benefits students’ careers as well as their intellectual development,” said Sophie Adamson, the chair of the Department of World Languages and Cultures. “Attaining strong proficiency in German created this wonderful opportunity for Kailyn.”

Katharine Fredricksen, a history major with minors in German studies and early childhood education, will work at two elementary schools in Vienna during the year.

In this program, known as USTA, English-speaking college graduates work as secondary school teaching assistants in cities and towns all over Austria. The TAs support teachers in English classrooms, providing conversation practice, language instruction, and a first-hand perspective on American culture.

Fredricksen notes that in addition to her minor in German Studies, which prepared her linguistically and culturally for life in a German-speaking country, she benefited most from the support of �鶹��Ƶ faculty and staff. She names the Fellowships office under Professor Janet Myers as an essential part of her success, as well as the encouragement of German studies faculty such as Associate Professor Scott Windham.

After her year in Austria, Fredricksen is considering work with Holocaust studies or Holocaust education, a field that would unite her interests and skills in history, German studies and education.