Teaching takes you on a journey. Mine is currently winding its way through Higher Education in the fields of German and Translation Studies, but it began way back in the second year of my undergraduate degree when I completed my CELTA qualification. The experiences that followed helped lay the groundwork for the teaching I do today. I’ve taught in the UK and in Germany in higher education, at secondary level, and in the private sector.

Teaching is never a passive process – I – a lifelong learner – actively learn whilst I teach – from knowledge that is shared by my students to analysing learning, group dynamics, trends and tendencies. I encourage my students to look beyond the implicit hierarchy of staff and student and recognise that we are all learners, that we all have contributions to make and no matter your level of education you can contribute, you can share your ideas, and you can question. Teaching, as with learning, does not simply happen within the confines of the physical or virtual classroom, or indeed outside of it – it is in the everyday, it is in the way we conduct ourselves, in the way we encourage, inspire, nurture – we teach, we learn even when we show weakness, limitations, frustrations -indeed if we de-mystify teaching and learning – we benefit our students and ourselves. We foster trust, we encourage them to move beyond their comfort zones, to aspire, to achieve, to develop, to sate their desire for knowledge, as we also do ours.

Teaching:

German Memory and Identity

German Culture & Thought, including Modernism, Marx, Nietzsche, Gender Theory

Germany History (various, including 20th century German history)

German Literature, Film, Theatre, TV

Crime Fiction

Translation English > German; German > English

German Language (from beginner level upwards)

Politics, Culture and Society

European Studies

English for Academic Purposes

English as a Foreign Language (from beginner level upwards)

I also supervise research, translation and subtitling projects at BA and MA level and examine PhD viva upgrade transfers