Saarland University of Applied Sciences

(Saarbrücken, Germany)







Third Saarbrücken Conference on Foreign Language Teaching 2015



Language Teaching between Aspiration and Reality -
Approaches - Methods - Objectives
(October 29th to 31st, 2015)


Prof. Dr. Dieter Wolff (Wuppertal, Germany) (Abstract und Biodata):
Die Fremdsprachendidaktik: Eine Disziplin im Spannungsfeld von Theorie (Anspruch) und Praxis (Wirklichkeit)

Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Teubert (Birmingham, United Kingdom) (Abstract und Biodata):
                    Foreign languages – new horizons







About the Conference Topic

In the domain of language teaching, one important objective consists in enabling learners to adequately master the respective foreign language within a reasonable lapse of time. In doing their utmost to achieve this objective, researchers and instructors aim at the highest possible efficiency and functionality of language teaching and language learning. However, experience shows that reality, i.e. the outcome achieved, does not always correspond to the formers’ aspirations and desires.

Within this framework, the following dimensions are of importance:
  • language instruction at schools and universities
    • its various types,
    • the preview and review of classes by teachers and students,
    • the various forms of teacher training,
  • language teaching in the context of supplementary adult education
  • autonomous language teaching, i.e. the various forms of language learning independently from any teacher,
  • further forms of language instruction which go beyond the framework described above.

All these dimensions of language instruction have the above mentioned objective, i.e. to lead language learners to the best possible outcome, in common, with aspirations from pupils, students and, last but not least, the society as a whole to be responded to. It is rather rarely observed that language learners obtain a high level of language proficiency up to a (near-)native competence. They may reach such a level by means of the methods employed and with the help of their teachers as well as textbook authors. In the majority of cases, however, learners hardly reach any level above the B1 or B2 bands of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. In these cases, there exists a considerable discrepancy between the aspirations of language methodology and the hopes it creates on the one hand and the facts of reality on the other. This discrepancy represents the overall topic of the Third Saarbrücken Conference on Foreign Language Teaching which will be held from October 29th to 31st, 2015, at Saarland University of Applied Sciences in Saarbrücken, Germany. Researcher, language instructors and are cordially invited to participate in this conference.

The discrepancy between the different aspirations and the reality of language teaching will be examined with respect to traditional and innovative approaches and methods, i.e.
  • linguistics and its (traditional or newly defined) role in language teaching,
  • the role and importance of methodology in view of the complexity of factors described,
  • the language to be taught and its general as well as specific dimensions (i.e. administrative, legal, or medical language),
  • the role of traditional and new media and the necessity of their adaptation to reality, and
  • the role of intercultural differences and conflict.

The Third Saarbrücken Conference of Foreign Language Teaching will be closely documented on the Internet and is available there under its title.

Registrations and submissions of talks can be submitted from the present moment on by sending an e-mail to the following address:

fremdsprachentagung@googlemail.com

or by filling in the registration form which you will find here.

Further formalities of registration will - for practical reasons - not be necessary.


Chairman and organisers are looking forward to your participation in the conference.



Sections

The following questions represent potential guidelines for this section and are merely to serve as an orientation to potential contributors. In principle, the section is open to any relevant topic or approach:
  • What linguistic approaches have been the most promising in foreign language methodology and foreign language teaching so far?
  • Are there any linguistic approaches which, according to recent research results, can be regarded as negligible?
  • Which linguistic approaches were unduly neglected in the past or have been so up to the present day?
  • What role did linguists play in the past so as to optimize foreign language teaching?
  • What role can be attributed to linguistics in a short- term or long-term perspective?
  • Is linguistics to be regarded as an independent discipline or as one thas – among other things - supports foreign language methodology?
  • Will linguistics have to rethink its positions and methods, or can it proceed as usual?
  • What is to be expected from linguistics in the future?
  • What internal and external prerequisites will linguistics need fulfill in order to remain competitive in the future?
  •  (…)
Talks:
Prof. Dr. Günter Schmale (Metz, Frankreich):
Interaktional-konstruktivistische vs. aktionale Ansätze für Fremdsprachenlehren und –lernen (Abstract)



Gerhart Hauptmann und Romain Rolland im „Dialog“ - Dimensionen des Textverstehens (Abstract)

Prof. Dr. Maria Thurmair (Regensburg, Deutschland)
Textsortenlinguistik für den Fremdsprachenunterricht (Abstract)



Zur Konstruktion von Selbstrepräsentation und Vertrauen in der Textsorte 'Über uns' in der unternehmerischen Kommunikation - Möglichkeiten der Didaktisierung im Deutschunterricht (Abstract)

Prof. Dr. Stefanie Haberzettl (Saarbrücken):
Bildungssprache im Kontext von Mehrsprachigkeit (Abstract)


Ein Plädoyer für das Übersetzen (Abstract)


Syntaktische Fingerabdrücke im fremdsprachlichen Output (Abstract)


Catherine Felce (Paris, France)
Konforme Satzeröffnung statt korrekter Verbstellung – Informationsstruktur und Kohäsion in Texten frankophoner DaF-Lerner (Abstract)


Dr. Elisabeth Venohr (Saarbrücken): Fehler, Abweichung oder einfach nur Stil? Korpusbasierte Analyse von Texten französischer Studierender in der Fremdsprache Deutsch (Abstract)


Prof. Dr Dirk Siepmann (Osnabrück) & Christop Bürgel (Osnabrück):
Das Corpus De Référence du français contemporain: Aufbau, Anwendungen, erste Ergebnisse (Abstract)



Section 2: Objectives and Methods in Foreign Language Teaching

The following questions represent potential guidelines for this section and are merely to serve as an orientation to potential contributors. In principle, the section is open to any relevant topic or approach:
  • What methods have proved to be the most profitable ones in foreign language teaching?
  • What methods have not been exhaustively explored and need to be further researched upon?
  • What objectives in foreign language didactics have been reached? What developments have they furthered?
  • What objectives have, in retrospective, turned out to be unrealistic?
  • What will foreign language methodology be like in the next decade? What central aspects will it be characterized by?
  • What role will autonomous learning play in the future? Will it gain or lose importance?
  • What will the teacher’s role be in the future?
  • What role should teachers play in foreign language methodology in the future?
  •  What role should and could pupils and students play for the future of foreign language teaching? Could and should they be involved in desirable developments?
  •  What objectives should foreign language methodology pursue in institutions other than schools and universities, such as community colleges and private educational institutions? Are there any  potential impulses for schools and universities, possibly  resulting from these objectives?

Talks:


Dr. Wolfgang Bufe (Saarbrücken):
Mehrsprachigkeit an der Grenze – Grenze der Sprachdidaktik (Abstract)

Dr. Karl-Heinz Eggensperger Potsdam):

Mehrsprachige akademische Lesefähigkeit formativ testen (Abstract)

Meretguly Gurbanov Ph. D. (Turkmenistan):
Teaching foreign Languages in the 21st Century: What? How? Why (Abstract) (Talk cancelled at short notice)

Mohammed Ateek (London, UK):
The Power of Extensive Reading in the EFL Classroom (Abstract)

Belén Carolina Muñoz (Concepción, Chile):
The Role of Focused Written Corrective Feedback to Enhance the Learning of English as a Foreign Language among Chilean Low-Proficiency Learners (Abstract) (Talk cancelled)
Ellipses and Fragments in Foreign Language Pedagogy and Translator Training (Abstract)
A Study in Perceptions of Native and Non-Native Englishes by German Learners (Abstract)

Hela Ajmi (Tunis, Tunisia):
Combining Blended-Learning to Classroom Teaching: Results of an Empirical Study (Abstract)

Prof. Elena Alexeevna Kalinina (Saratov Russia):
Teacher Training in Russia: Ways of Making the Process More Effective (Abstract)

Alternative Assessment in the ESL-Classroom – Chances and Challenges (Abstract)
Schlüsselkompetenzen und Sprachenlernen: Anwendung von Wikis im Sinne eines interdisziplinären, projekt- und kompetenzorientierten Unterrichts (Abstract)

Khalid Ziad (Mila, Algeria): The Relevance of a Genre-Based Approach to the Enhancement of Foreign Language Academic Literacy Development (Abstract)
Das Verhältnis von Linguistik und Fremdsprachenunterricht am Beispiel der deutschen sogenannten Abtönungspartikeln: ob, wann und wie sie unterrichtet werden und unterrichtet werden könnten (Abstract)
Die Interkomprehension im Sprachunterricht (am Beispiel slavischer Sprachen) (Abstract)

Marina Karapetyan (Yerevan, Armenia): How  to Generate Striking Examples for a Persuasive Essay (Abstract)

Ewagamang Phemelo (Aix-Marseille, France):
A Critical Analysis of Teacher and Learner Action in the French Foreign Language Classrooms of Botswana : Perspectives for an Effective and Contextualised Teacher Training (Abstract)
Bericht über eine explorative Studie zum medien- und medieneffektabhängigen Vokabellernen (Abstract)

Prof. Dr. Darja Mertelj & Dr. Jožica Zajc (Ljubljana, Slovenia): 
The Impact of a One-Week Teaching Internship on Pre-Service Student-Teachers’ Opinions about its Quality, their Mentors and their Workload (Abstract)

Edda Emich (Homburg/Saar): Diskrepanzen zwischen Muttersprachlern  und Nicht-Muttersprachlern als Dozenten bei der Vermittlung einer Fremd- oder Zweitsprache (Abstract)

Prof. An Vande Casteele (Brussels, Belgium):
Self-Repair in Spanish Language Learners’ Oral Discourse (Abstract)

Prof. Yasser Al-Tamimi (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia):
Toward Integrating Explicit Phonological Awareness in Arab EFL School Curricula (Abstract)

Prof. Dr. Frédérique Grim (Fort Collins (Co, USA):
Best Practices for Foreign Teacher Preparation (Abstract)



Section 3: Objectives and Methods in Language Teaching for Specific Purposes

In addition to the guidelines listed in Section 2, which, in principle, also apply to Section 3, the following questions (inexhaustively) hint at aspects that may be elaborated upon:
  • How can the “specificity”of the teaching of languages for specific purposes be defined as compared to the linguistic aspects involved?
  • Which language skills should be given priority to in the teaching of languages for specific purposes (LSP)?
  • Which language levels should be defined as prerequisites to be mastered by learners in the various contexts of the teaching of languages for special or specific purposes?
  • Should learners of a given language for specific purposes reach the same level of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) in all the four skills or should, can or may there be any differences in terms of certains skills and levels attained?
  • Which language structures should, in LSP instruction, be taught with priority so as to enable learners to adequately master the respective language within a reasonable lapse of time?
  • What are the theoretical aspirations concerning students’ mastery of languages for specific purposes as compared to their practical language skills required in business life?

Talks:

Fachkommunikation in Fremdsprachen – nutzen wir die Breite gut genug? (Abstract)

Umweltforscher erzählen auf Englisch über ihre Arbeit: Jugendliche erleben realistischen, politisch relevanten Gebrauch der Sprache - ein Projektbericht (Abstract)
(Talk cancelled)

Französische Wirtschaftsfachsprache an der Hochschule – Vorstellung einer Unterrichtsreihe aus dem Bereich Marketing (Abstract)

Prof. Dr. Ines Busch-Lauer (Zwickau):

Englisch schreiben im und über das Fach
Wie lehrt und lernt man das in den Technik- und Ingenieurwissenschaften? (Abstract)

Marion Werthebach (Bochum):

English for International Purposes - Fachenglisch für Studierende im Masterstudiengang Mechatronik an der Hochschule Bochum (Abstract)

Prof. Dr. O.V. Vasylieva & Prof. Dr. D.V Vasylyev (Kharkiv, Ukraine): 

Features of Linguistic and Communicative Components in Teaching Foreign Students at Ukrainian Medical Universities (Abstract)

Lisa Rotter (Saarbrücken):

Zur Förderung autonomen Lernens durch die Erstellung und den Einsatz
maßgeschneiderter E-Learning Materialien (Abstract)

Prof. Olga Averina (Berlin):

Biologische Fachtexte auf Deutsch lesen lernen: didaktische Möglichkeiten der Förderung rezeptiver Textkompetenz im akademischen Kontext (Abstract)


Betonungsfehler im Englischunterricht in der tertiären Bildung:
Eine empirische Untersuchung (Abstract)

Prof. Dr. Beate Lindemann (Tromsø, Norwegen):

CLIL an der Universität? CLILiG-Projekte für norwegische Wirtschaftsstudenten (Abstract)

Prof. Dr. Christine Sick (Saarbrücken):

Entwicklung einer mobilen Wortschatztrainer-App in Ergänzung des multimedialen Sprachlernprogramms TechnoPlus Englisch (Abstract)

Nadezhda Grishko (Saratov, Russland):

Projekte im erweiterten  Deutschunterricht an der Wirtschaftsuniversität 
als Mittel der Entwicklung von Schlüsselkompetenzen der Studierenden (Abstract)

Polonca Svetlin Gvardjančič (Ljubljana, Slowenien): Zur Leistungsbewertung authentischer Aufgaben im Fachsprachenunterricht - am Beispiel von Präsentationen (Abstract)


Dr. Mikaela Petkova-Kessanlis (Sofia, Bulgarien):

Unterhaltendes Informieren in Einführungslehrwerken (Abstract)



Work in this section can be characterized by the following questions which represent potential guidelines and are formulated in a deliberately provocative style. Similarly to all the questions mentioned above and below, they merely serve as an orientation to potential contributors and are by far not exhaustive. In principle, the section is open to any relevant topic or approach:

  • Is the present approach of communicative competence still unrestrictedly acceptable or should it be modified? If so, how?
  • How ‘communicative” can and should communicative competence be?
  • What is the present position of the pendulum that constantly swings between the extremes of the grammar translation method on the one hand and communicative competence on the other?
  • What is the today’s relevancy of communicative competence in relation to approaches like, for instance, informed monolingualism?
  • Which basic approach should modern language teaching follow: grammatical correctness or communicative spontaneity? Are there any other basic approaches which may also be of practical relevance in this context?
  • Which approach towards foreign language teaching  should be chosen so as to guarantee the best possible balance between communicative competence and linguistic correctness?
  • What account is taken of communicative competence in  the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR )? Is there any chance of improvement?
  • How can communicative competence be promoted / fostered in practical language teaching? Are there any new impulses that result from practical teaching?
  • How deeply is communicative competence rooted in the curricula of schools and institutions of higher education?
  • How is communicative competence currently examined and tested? Which chances of improvement or suggestions for practical teaching are imaginable?
  • Are there any contemporary approaches in the domain of communicative competence which have not received  due attention so far?
  • What further methods, approaches or methodological procedures are conceivable with regard to acquiring communicative competence in language teaching?
  • To what extent  can and may communicative competence be expected to be acquired nowadays when learning “exotic” languages such as Chinese or Russian? Which specific problems may arise in this area?
  • (...) 

Talks:

Prof. Dr. Matthias Ballod (Halle-Wittenberg): Motivation beim Erlernen einer Fremdsprache: Möglichkeit oder Notwendigkeit? (Abstract)
Kommunikative Kompetenz – Wirtschaftsethiker unter sich (Abstract)
Using Learner-Centered Task-Based Communicative Activities to Enhance Speaking Skills (Abstract)
Formation of Communicative Competence of Spanish Students in the Study of Russian Phraseology (Abstract) (Talk cancelled)
Lexikvermittlung im ausländischen DaF-Unterricht: Neue Impulse durch den handlungsorientierte Ansatz? (Abstract)

Prof. Dr. Darja Mertelj (Ljubljana, Slovenia);
Students’ Motivation and Perception of Success in Language Competitions in Slovenia - exemplified by Italian as a Foreign and Second Language (Abstract)
Tandem Learning as an Efficient Path to Communicative Competence? (Abstract)
On the Significance of Semantic Means of Subjective Modality as Elements of Communicative Competence (Abstract) (Talk cancelled at short notice)


Mitschreiben als grundlegende wissensverarbeitende Arbeitsform im akademischen Kontext: Stellenwert und praxisorientierte didaktische Ansätze auf den hochschulrelevanten Niveaus B2 und C1 (Abstract)




The following questions represent potential guidelines for this section and are merely to serve as an orientation to potential contributors. In principle, the section is open to any relevant topic or approach:
  • In what way has the meaning of the term intercultural competence changed since its introduction into foreign language teaching?
  • What is the potential and what are the limitations of intercultural competence in the process of learner sensitisation?
  • How satisfying is the present-day application of intercultural competence in research and teaching? What needs to be done presently and in the near future?
  • In what way have teaching methods changed over the past few decades with regard to sensitizing learners to developing intercultural competence?
  • How has the importance of intercultural competence in foreign language teaching changed over the past few decades? What trends are to be expected in the future?
  • Are there any new promising methods that can support the adoption of intercultural competence among learners at schools and universities?
  • What examples taken from practical teaching may be promising in this context?
  • What about the development and application of the notion intercultural competence in more or less “exotic” languages such as Chinese and Russian?
  •   (...) 

Talks:



Dr. Rudi Camerer (Frankfurt/Main & Saarbrücken, Germany):
Teaching intercultural competence in ELF (English as a lingua franca) (Abstract)

Dr. Florentina Alexandru (Bukarest, Rumänien):

Die Authentizität der interkulturellen Begegnung im Fremdsprachenunterricht (Abstract)

Krich Rajprasit (Bangkok, Thailand):

Integrating Cultural Awareness into the EFL Syllabus: A Lesson Learnt from Thai Tertiary Student (Abstract)

Prof. Dr. Jozsef Szakos (Hong Kong, China)

The Intercultural Turn in the Formation of Teachers of Chinese as a Foreign Language (TCFL) (Abstract)

Natia Ansiani (Tbilissi): Zum Umgang mit Fremdbildern und Stereotypen im Unterricht Deutsch als Fremdsprache (Abstract)


Dr. Inna Ganschow (Saarbrücken):

Deutsch-russischer Bilingualismus im universitären Unterricht: 
Wie macht man die “Sprache der Mutter” zur Muttersprache? (Abstract)

Prof. Dr. Mohammadreza Dousti Zadeh (Teheran, Iran): E-Learning als Grundlage des Deutschstudiums an iranischen Universitäten (Abstract)


Ishola Oluranti Oluyemi (Ibadan, Nigeria):
Bilingualism and its Implications for the Learning of English in Nigeria (Abstract)

Itsarate Dolphen (Khon Kaen, Thailand):
Learning a Foreign Language and Culture through Off-Campus Studies: 
A Strategy for Foreign Language Teaching (Abstract)

Alison Boardman (Kerry, Ireland):

Reflections on the Importance of Intercultural Competence for Classroom Teaching (Abstract)