Mr Christian Mossmann

Senior Lecturer in German (E&S)

2453

01392 722453

Overview

Current roles:
Senior Lecturer (Education & Scholarship) in German
Language Coordinator for German in the Language Centre
Mental Health Champion

Office:
Room 316, Queen's Building

Overview:
I teach German language to undergraduate students of German in all years, with a focus on ab initio and oral language teaching, and convene the modules MLG1052 and MLG2052. In addition, I am involved in the university's Language Centre as Language Coordinator for German.

I am the Exeter contact for the European University Tandem (EUniTa) project and if you're interested in finding a tandem partner for online language exchanges, please sign up at www.eunita.org
Being affiliated with the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), I am also happy to advise on funding opportunities to study in Germany and conduct the online language test OnSet for DAAD applicants.

Research

My research and scholarly interests include:

- Language Teaching Pedagogy in the 'postmethod condition'

- Innovative approaches to language teaching, incl. e-learning and e-assessment

- Fostering language acquisition and intercultural communication through tandem exchanges / telecollabation

- Language policy, esp. medium of instruction policies

- Mindfulness-based approaches to learning and teaching

I regularly attend conferences and workshops and have presented at the following conferences:

July 2021: Paper given at the 14th Congress of the International Association of German Studies at Palermo University, on 'Fostering Learner Autonomy, Reflection and Multilingualism in Authentic Communication Contexts through the European University Tandem (EUniTa) Project' (together with Katharina Müller, Goethe University Frankfurt)

June 2019: Poster presented (together with Sonia Cunico) at Education Conference, University of Exeter.

January 2019: Paper given (together with Sonia Cunico) at the AULC 'Linguistic transitions: towards languages for life' Conference at King's College London on 'The EU-Funded EUniTa Project: A European Language Tandem for all Students'.

November 2018: Invited paper given (together with Sonia Cunico) at the Graduate School of Education, University of Exeter, as part of the Language and Education Network on 'Using technology to foster autonomous and intercultural learning in authentic language tandem encounters - The European University Tandem (EUniTa) Project'

June 2018: Paper given at InnoConf2018 at the University of Liverpool (together with Anke Bohm and Veronika Koeper-Saul) on ‘The European University Tandem Project – An integrated online platform to foster intercultural language exchanges across Europe (and beyond)’

May 2018: Paper given (together with Anke Bohm) at the annual German Academic Exchange Service summer seminar at Cumberland Lodge, Windsor Great Park, on new developments of the European University Tandem (EUniTa) Project.

June 2017: Conference organised at the University of Exeter: 'Innovative and Reliable Approaches to Language Assessment and Test Design in Higher Education', 23 June 2017. The conference formed part of the EU-funded European University Tandem Project (EUniTa).

June 2016: Paper given at the 3rd Colloquium on Innovation in Modern Languages Education at the University of Bristol: "From Interpreting to Powerpoint Karaoke: Diversifying the Advanced Oral Language Syllabus to Engage and Motivate Learners (and Teachers)"

June 2016: Invited paper given (together with Anke Bohm) at the annual German Academic Exchange Service summer seminar at Cumberland Lodge, Windsor Great Park, on the topic of tandem learning and international collaboration ('Internationale Zusammenarbeit im E-Tandem: Ein praktischer Erfahrungsbericht zum European University Tandem Projekt')

August 2015: Paper given at the 13th Congress of the International Association of German Studies at Tongji University, Shanghai on the topic of e-learning and e-assessment ('Das Potential der Virtuellen Lernplattform Moodle zur Vermittlung von Deutsch als Fremdsprache mit Fokus auf dem Üben und Testen von Grammatik und Vokabular')

June 2015: Roundtable contribution (together with Ulrike Zitzlsperger, Hugh Landsman and Gerard Owen) at the Second Colloquium on Innovation in Modern Languages Education at the University of Exeter on 'Fostering Language Learning on the Year Abroad: An E‐Learning Project Designed by Students for Students'

June 2015: Paper given at English & Multilingualism in 21st Century Europe Conference at Maynooth University on 'English-Medium Instruction in German Higher Education in the Context of Internationalisation and Language Policy – Challenges, Chances and Controversies'

January 2015: Paper given (together with María Lafuente) at the LLAS E-Learning Symposium at the University of Southampton on 'Using Moodle Quizzes for Technology-Enhanced Language Learning and Assessment'

June 2014: Paper given and acted as panel chair at the First Colloquium on Innovation in Modern Languages Education at the University of Bath

May 2014: Paper given at conference at the University of Leeds on 'Innovative Language Teaching at University: Enhancing student performance'

June 2013: Poster presented at conference at the University of Manchester on 'Innovative Language Teaching and Learning at University: Enhancing the Learning Experience through Student Engagement'

December 2010: Coorganised the annual meeting for DAAD-Lektoren and Sprachassistenten in the UK and Ireland at Cumberland Lodge, Windsor Great Park.

January 2010: Paper given at the induction seminar for new DAAD-Lektoren and Sprachassistenten in the UK and Ireland at Cumberland Lodge, Windsor Great Park.

My publications on language teaching pedagogies and language policy include:

Forthcoming: Co-editor of volume on Trends, Perspectives, and Practices of Ab Initio Language Teaching (forthcoming with UCL Press)

2019: Article published with A. Bohm and V. Koeper-Saul on: The European University Tandem project – an integrated online platform to foster intercultural language exchanges across Europe (and beyond). In Becerra, Nelson; Biasini, Rosalba; Magedera-Hofhansl, Hanna; Reimão, Ana (Eds), Innovative language teaching and learning at university: a look at new trends (pp. 53-61). Research-publishing.net. https://doi.org/10.14705/rpnet.2019.32.902

2017: Article on the potential of using Moodle for practicing and assessing grammar and vocabulary: Das Potential der virtuellen Lernplattform Moodle zur Vermittlung von Deutsch als Fremdsprache mit Fokus auf dem Üben und Testen von Grammatik und Vokabular. In: Conference Proceedings of the 13th World Congress of the International Association of German Studies, Peter Lang.

2016: Article published on: English-medium and bilingual instruction programmes in German higher education in the context of internationalization and language policy. In: Multilingualism and English in Twenty-First-Century Europe: Recent Developments and Challenges, ed. by Clive W. Earls. Intercultural Studies and Foreign Language Learning Series. Oxford: Peter Lang.

2013: Article published on: Drop in language degree courses at British universities: What causes the decline and why there is some reason for hope. Published in newsletter of the Academic Cooperation Association, 10/2013.

Research collaborations

Since October 2015 I have been the Exeter lead for the EU-funded 'European University Tandem (EUniTa) project, an international collaboration with six other universities (Barcelona-Blanquerna, Frankfurt, Florence, Liverpool, Paris-Sorbonne, Poitiers): www.eunita.org

Between 2019 and 2022 I co-edited a volume on Ab Initio Language Learning and Teaching, together with Dr Ulrike Bavendiek (Liverpool), Silke Mentchen (Cambridge) and Dr Dagmar Paulus (UCL).

Since 2021 I am part of a project funded by the DAAD Cambridge Research Hub for German Studies, organising a series of workshops on 'Perspectives on ab initio teaching and learning' together with Silke Mentchen (Cambridge) and Dr Ulrike Bavendiek (Liverpool).

Since 2021 I have been part of an international working party on using portfolios in language teaching, chaired by Dr Bärbel Kühn (Bremen) and Gabriela Schmidt (Japan).

Teaching

I teach German language for Modern Languages and Cultures undergraduate students across all years and contribute to the cultural module MLG1020 Made in Germany. I am module convenor for MLG1052 and MLG2052, personal academic tutor and marker for the year abroad modules.

Modules taught

Biography

I joined the Department in 2007/08 as a DAAD-Sprachassistent and subsequently was the DAAD-Lektor from 2008/09 to 2012/13. I am currently Senior Lecturer (Education & Scholarship) in German and Language Coordinator for German in the university's Language Centre. I am a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and hold a University of Exeter ASPIRE Senior Fellowship.

Originally, I am from south-west Germany where I studied English, Film Studies and Foreign-Language Adult Education at the University of Trier, with a study abroad period at the University of Stirling. Being interested in (and a firm believer of) international exchanges, I attended summer schools in Nancy, Tallinn and Vienna, did a work placement in Ontario, Canada, and was a guest teacher in the English language summer camp of Tsinghua University in Beijing in 2012. I also organised DAAD-funded study trips to Germany and organised DAAD-funded cultural events, such as panel discussions and film screenings on a range of cultural topics.

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