Keynotes
Prof. Dr. Jörg-Matthias Roche, emeritus professor of German as a Foreign Language at Ludwig Maximilian University Munich, associate professor at the German-Jordanian University Amman, scientific director of Deutsch-Uni Online (DUO), and director of the International Research Center Chamisso (IFC). His research focuses on language acquisition, multilingualism, intercultural communication, academic language, and the didactics of German as a foreign and second language. His current research and development projects include action-oriented language acquisition and teaching for different target groups, the foundation of a cognitive language didactics, the development of a serious-games-based language proficiency assessment procedure for children, the development of a language test for foreign medical professionals, the development of quality standards for vocational language teaching and teacher training, as well as the education and training of refugees and asylum seekers, particularly in a professional context
Prof. Dr. Karin Kleppin, after holding a professorship in the didactics of German as a foreign language and French, was a professor of language teaching research at Ruhr University Bochum and scientific director of the Center for Foreign Language Education. She is also a professor in the Master’s program in German as a Foreign Language (DaF) at the German Jordanian University in Amman. She has worked as a lecturer in several countries (China, France, Morocco) and has gained extensive international experience in the training and professional development of DaF teachers. Furthermore, she has contributed to a curriculum development project (framework plan for DaF) and several test development projects (TestDaF, educational standards for French). Her current research focuses particularly on the development of learning and testing tasks, assessment criteria, error analysis and correction, tandem learning, and language learning counseling.
Prof. Dr. Zeynep Kalkavan-Aydın teaches and conducts research at the University of Education Freiburg at the Institute for German Language and Literature in the field of German as a Foreign and Second Language. She leads the Master’s program in German as a Second and Foreign Language (DaZ/DaF) as well as the binational Master’s program in DaF (Medellín/Colombia). Her areas of expertise and research focus on second language acquisition (particularly in the context of German/Turkish), heritage language instruction (LiMU study), didactics of DaZ, DaF, and multilingualism, literacy/language acquisition in multilingualism, and linguistic education in subject-specific contexts. Additionally, she is active in the network of the transnational educational project Master’s in DaF in cooperation with the German Jordanian University, Amman, and leads the “International Postgraduate School,” which started at GJU in 2021 (funded by the DAAD/Federal Ministry of Education and Research).
Sabine Hellwig is a Senior Portfolio Manager at Cornelsen Verlag in Berlin, responsible for a comprehensive portfolio in German as a Foreign and Second Language. As a trainer, dvct-certified coach, and Somatic Experience (SE)® student, she focuses primarily on personal coping with changes and their impact on the human nervous system in a digital, AI-driven world. Sabine has international experience in training instructors for German as a Foreign and Second Language.
- Systemic Coach (dvct-certified) & Trainer for Digital Transformation
- Experienced Trainer for German as a Foreign and Second Language (worldwide)
- Somatic Experiencing (SE)® Student – Intermediate Level
- 10+ years of experience in conceptualizing digital applications and user-centered product development
- M.A. in Marketing Communication
Marje Zschiesche-Stock has extensive international experience as a lecturer and trainer in a variety of institutions and educational organizations, where she has taught German language and culture at all levels and for all age groups. She trains German teachers worldwide and supports them in succeeding in digital learning environments and using state-of-the-art methods in second language teaching. She works as an international training consultant for Cornelsen Verlag.
- Experienced DLL Trainer and Examiner (Goethe-Institut, worldwide)
- 10+ years of experience as a lecturer for DaF and digital media, including at the Goethe-Institut Toronto and the Royal Conservatory of Music, Toronto
- M.Ed. & State Examination in English and German Studies (Georg-August University Göttingen)
Dr. Kathrin Kunkel-Razum studied German Studies and History at the University of Leipzig from 1978 to 1982 and then continued her academic studies with a PhD in Lexicology/Phraseology, which she successfully completed in 1986. During this time, she worked as a research assistant at the University of Leipzig. After her doctorate, she transitioned to the editorial field and worked as an editor and deputy editor-in-chief of the “Zeitschrift für Germanistik” from 1986 to 1991. In 1991, she moved to Spain, where she taught German Linguistics as a lecturer at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid until 1994. After a stay in London, she returned to Germany and worked as a lecturer in German as a Foreign and Second Language in Heidelberg in 1996/97. At the same time, she completed further training as a PR consultant with the German Public Relations Society (DPRG). Since 1997, she has worked as an editor in the Duden editorial team, initially in Mannheim and later in Berlin. In 2016, she became the head of the Duden editorial team, a position she held until 2024.
Prof. Dr. Karin Aguado studied German as a Foreign Language at the University of Bielefeld, where she also completed her doctorate. In 2002, she habilitated with a thesis on the topic “Imitation as an Acquisition Strategy. Interactive and Cognitive Dimensions of Foreign Language Acquisition.” Since 2006, she has been a professor of German as a Foreign and Second Language (focus: Foreign Language Teaching and Learning Research) at the University of Kassel. Her main research interests lie in the psycholinguistics of foreign and second language acquisition (especially the development of foreign language speaking proficiency and individual factors in L2 acquisition—particularly “age,” “language learning aptitude,” and “attention”), the investigation of the role of input and interaction in L2 acquisition, and the focus on empirical research methodology. Currently, she is leading several research projects, including a study funded by the Hessian Ministry of Science and Art (HMWK) to investigate and promote the pronunciation competence of adult DaF learners whose first languages are Dari and Farsi. She has published numerous articles on the topic of “chunks,” authored various handbook articles related to language teaching and learning, and is a co-editor of several edited volumes on empirical foreign language didactics. Additionally, she is leading a subproject within the “Quality Initiative Teacher Education” on the topic “German as a Second Language and Subject-Integrated Language Education.”
Prof. Dr. Marion Grein is a didactician and language teaching researcher, currently teaching at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz. After completing her high school education at the German School Tokyo, she studied Comparative Linguistics at Mainz, where she obtained her Master’s degree in 1990 and her PhD in 1998. Her habilitation in the field of linguistics took place in 2006 at the University of Münster, focusing on a language comparison between German and Japanese. Her second habilitation in the field of DaF/DaZ (German as a Foreign Language and Second Language) focused on self-learning experiences through immersion and was completed in 2010. Her research interests include neurodidactic approaches, language teaching research, language promotion, virtual teaching, artificial intelligence, and more. Since 2011, she has been leading the Master’s program in German as a Foreign Language and has also served as a consultant for various organizations.
Prof. Dr. Martina Nied Curcio is a professor of German Linguistics at the University of Roma Tre in Italy (Associate Professor, with national accreditation as a full professor). Her research interests include the didactics and methodology of teaching German as a foreign language, language and cultural mediation, multilingualism education, lexicography (dictionary usage research, contrastive linguistics, valency, phraseology). She has been active in teacher training and professional development for German as a foreign language in both Germany and Italy, collaborating with the Goethe Institutes and the Ministry of Education. She is also a co-author of DaF (German as a Foreign Language) textbooks, including DaF Kompakt and Kurs DaF. Since 2014, she has served as the national coordinator of the Erasmus Mundus master’s program European Master in Lexicography (EMLex) in Italy and has been a member of its board since 2019.