English Teacher Education - ETE

Born and raised in Bremen, I then studied to be a teacher of English and French in Göttingen, spending some time abroad in Canada, Turkey and France. My PhD dealt with the question of how to reflect on gender with literary texts in foreign language teaching. I completed my teacher training and then worked as a teacher for English and French at two comprehensive schools in and around Göttingen before returning to the university there as a lecturer and postdoctoral researcher. Since December 2019 I have been professor for Teaching Anglophone Literature and Cultures here at the University of Bielefeld and member of the English Teacher Education team. Research interests: Teaching literature and culture, more specifically: teaching about gender and other cultural categories of difference with literary texts, language learning beyond the classroom (online and offline), mediation, drama education and critical cultural learning.  Recently I've been working on:  Editing a journal issue on Global Englishes (link) Organizing a conference on cultural learning (unterrucht_kultur_theorie II. Kulturelles Lernen interdisziplinär weiterdenken: Fremdsprachenforschung, Kulturwissenschaften, Erziehungswissenschaften, 21.-23-.2.24 in Bielefeld) making teaching more didactically sustainable  and much more  Cool facts about me: Plurilingual commuting mom of (soon) two.

I was born and raised in Thessaloniki, Greece, where I also completed my teacher education. I did an Erasmus semester in Bielefeld and then came back to finish my MA in British and American Studies. I did my PhD at the University of Cologne (supervised by professors J.A. Panagiotopoulou /G. Balzer), looking into teachers’ perspectives of critical literacies internationally. Visiting schools in Canada, Scotland and Finland and talking to teachers about their ideas of the Critical, changed the way I see myself in and out of the classroom. In my postdoc now, my priority is understanding how to best listen to students and center their perspectives in and out of the classroom. 
My main interests in research and teaching lie in  the field of critical literacies. More specifically, I am interested in approaching social justice issues (racism, sexism, climate etc.) with a variety of analog and digital materials (Instagram you say? Definitely!). In doing so, my main concern is the development of a safe, comfortable and fun environment for all students to thrive!
In my courses, we will engage with a lot of deconstructive and reconstructive methods to help future students (and ourselves) become engaged, democratic citizens.

I grew up in a village close to Gießen (Hesse), where I studied to be a teacher of English and Spanish. I completed my teacher training in Stadthagen (Lower Saxony) and taught my subjects at a comprehensive school. After my studies, I developed a PhD project in which I investigated how speaking competencies are fostered in German secondary school English classrooms. Additionally, I worked as a lecturer at the universities of Gießen and Hildesheim with a special emphasis on preparing students for and supervising them during their practical phases. Since 2022, I have been part of the ETE team at Bielefeld University, where I teach language practice classes, ELT, as well as linguistics and literary studies classes geared towards aspiring primary school teachers of English.

Hi there. I am Janine Perlik and I once was a primary school teacher, but at the moment I am able to spread my knowledge and experiences among you as I am part-time delegated to university. The rest of my time I am spending with my family, especially my children. My way up to this point did not take me very far, as I was born and raised in Detmold. I studied here at Bielefeld University to become a Primary School teacher for English (amongst tons of other subjects we have to cover in primary school). Someday I was through with everything and since 2016 I was part of a wonderful teaching staff at a primary school in Herford. And right in the middle of my second parental leave, I had the opportunity to join another brilliant team - the ETE team (again) at Bielefeld University (which I already knew a bit due to several Lehraufträge since 2018. 

I was born in Bad Oeynhausen, a small town near Bielefeld, and I have been living here my whole life. From age 12 on, when I first started tutoring younger students, people have been telling me that I would be a teacher one day. After trying to fight it for a couple of years, I finally accepted my fate and studied English and Biology at Bielefeld University to become a teacher (Gym/Ge). During my work at school, it quickly became clear that I made the right choice. However, I had always played with the idea to one day do my PhD and come back to teach at uni. Thanks to Lotta and Peter that day came quicker than expected. I have been working at Bielefeld University as LfbA since November 2024 and have been teaching classes surrounding the practical term. During my studies I have always been interested in social issues, more specifically the relationship of diversity and equity, so now I am working on my dissertation about Social Justice Education.

Fun fact: I am also a licensed horse-riding instructor, which came in handy during my time abroad in Canada. I love spending time with horses, and I also hope to become a dog mom soon. Actually, while we’re at it, I would like to have a whole farm with all kinds of animals - donkeys, lamas, highland cows, ducks, chickens… I want them all :).

Originally, I'm from Leipzig / the countryside of Saxony. I studied to be a teacher of English and German at the University of Halle-Wittenberg, spending a semester abroad at Newcastle (UK). After my studies, I taught my subjects at a comprehensive school with an inclusive profile at Halle (Saale) and acted as the form teacher for a year 8 class. I started my university career in media linguistics with a PhD thesis on the history of personal blogging, and moved to English language teaching (digital literacies!) from there. I taught English linguistics and German didactics at various universities before settling for English Language Teaching at Bielefeld University in 2016.
Research interests: classroom interaction in the context of cooperative learning, social media algorithms as well as conspiracy theories online, the role of Global Englishes in English Language Teaching.
I'm part of the coordinating team of the Netzwerk Inklusiver Englischunterricht (link) and I co-chair the panel “Mediendidaktik & Medienkompetenz” of the German Applied Linguistics Association (GAL) (link).
Recently I’ve been working on editing a conference volume on “Canons for 21st-century Teaching” (link) and a journal issue on Global Englishes Language Teaching (link). I'm trying to wrap-up my post- doc project, using tremendous amounts of coffee along the way ;-)
Cool facts about me: Dad of four Hobbits with a slight tendency to nerdiness when it comes to languages, Harry Potter, and dystopian novels. Commuting by bike because hope dies last.

(I'm the oldest, so I have the longest biography)

This is my alter ego, the carping grammar-&-usage pedant Auntie Alligator. She hatched from an egg with “no would in the if-clause” scrawled across it and slithered out from under a pile of old proficiency tests in my office. 

I, however, was born in South Africa – I’m descended from first-wave British settlers - and grew up in Pretoria in the darkest days of apartheid. My first degree was a BA and then a postgraduate Honours year in English at Rhodes University, Makhanda (formerly Grahamstown). By now I'd turned 21, and spent 3 years teaching English at Moshoeshoe II High School, Matsieng village, in the mountainous Kingdom of Lesotho. My partner had refused to do military service under the apartheid regime and didn’t fancy prison, so we had to leave SA. In Matsieng, as privileged teachers, we were assigned a small house, but one with no water or electricity. There was a tap in the yard, and the loo was an outhouse with a bucket that was collected once a week. I had grown up a spoilt, privileged suburban whitey under apartheid, and living like a normal rural African person, having normal relationships with Black people and teaching Black learners, was a pivotal and transforming experience. 

In the early 1980s (now with a small child) we came to Germany, where my half-German partner had partly grown up. We wound up in Bielefeld, as he wanted to do a further degree at the beautiful university set in a dark and brooding forest he’d glimpsed whilst jobbing as a phone-book deliverer.
I learnt some German, discovered that my South African postgraduate degree was not recognised as an academic qualification, and started studying DaF here in Bielefeld and teaching evening classes as a freelance English teacher. A second child followed hard on the heels of my Magisterarbeit and at some point I found myself inadvertently teaching at the university and compiling long lists of incorrect English usage with the help of a fictional alligator.

My youthful career plan was to draw comic strips. That never materialised, so to compensate, my main research focus has been on using visual materials effectively in second language learning and teaching contexts - this is the topic of my PhD thesis. In my Magisterarbeit, I set out a bold new philosophy of picture stories designed specifically for the language classroom. The thesis is on a shelf in the university library but has failed so far to revolutionise the field.

Lately I have been working on ideas for using digitally-supported creative writing in the English Language classroom, thanks to the kindly persuasion of Dr Schildhauer.

A cool fact: the former King of Lesotho, Moshoeshoe II, he after whom the school in Matsieng was named, once gave us a lift into Maseru, the capital city. It meant we didn’t have to squeeze into a minibus taxi with 15 other people as usual for the 40 km trip.

Greetings everyone! I am a part-time abgeordnete Lehrkraft, which means that I teach both at an inclusive comprehensive school in Bielefeld and at university. Next to English, I also teach German and Pedagogy classes for years 5-13. Apart from that, I coordinate the Praxissemester at my school and support the teacher trainees during their Referendariat. 

My research foci and interests:
Due to my different positions, I am interested in interdisciplinary projects as well as bi- or multilingual teaching. Furthermore, as an enthusiast of audiovisual texts, I look for meaningful ways to integrate them into teaching units. Last but not least, I am always interested in new ways of tackling the challenges of a heterogeneous classroom. 

Lately I have been working on: 
Most of my spare time is dedicated to my dissertation that focuses on designing bilingual modules for Pedagogy classes. Another upcoming article will present opportunities how to include the TV series “The Handmaid’s Tale” in English lessons for the Qualifikationsphase.

Cool (?) facts: 
Before my time at university, I used to be a bank clerk and am thus somewhat familiar with the “real world of work out there” apart from the educational system. From September to February, lots of my Sundays are dedicated to the wonderful game of American Football. 

I am actually from Bielefeld (believe it or not) and grew up in Brackwede. I studied interior design for a while (actually wanted to do game design), but then realized that I wanted to keep my passion for art/drawing/design as a hobby only. This is why I went for the second option I had always kept in mind and studied English and Biology to become a teacher at Bielefeld University.

To my surprise I got a job here at the ELT department in 2016 when I decided to pursue a PhD. My research investigated teacher, student, and curricular concepts of English and is linked to the Global Englishes paradigm. I completed my PhD in 2022 and now I have a permanent position, so I am here to stay and will most likely do so until I retire! :D

My research interests include:

· Global Englishes in ELT
· Language ontologies, ideologies, and attitudes · Digitalität and ELT, as well as inclusion and ELT ·Video games in ELT

Recently I have been working on a portfolio project in close collaboration with Ms. Manon Greenyer-Schüler from the Diesterwegschule and some of our team members (looks over to Pat). I am also very eager to focus on my next big research interest: using video games in and for ELT. I am in touch with the Bielefelder Netzwerk Gaming and we are currently trying to figure out how we could work together.

Facts about me: I have been a manga and anime fan for some 25 years now and I finally have the money to buy all the things I want. :D
I enjoy playing JRPGS (I am just gonna call them that here) and spraying (legally only of course) whenever I have the time to do so.

Hello! I'm Sevim, and I've been working as a WHK since April 2024. I'm currently pursuing my master's degree in education, with a focus on English and social sciences—two subjects I'm passionate about! Furthermore, I started my studies in the winter semester of 2021/22, and my love for languages has been a key part of my journey. I speak several languages and developed this passion early on, starting in primary school.

Since then, I’ve always dreamed of becoming both a teacher and an author (let's see how this will go :D). My research interests include social justice education, critical literacy, and exploring how to incorporate bilingualism and mother tongue languages into English Language Teaching. I’m especially curious about how multilingual environments can enrich learning experiences for all students.