Sascha Stollhans

Profile

I joined the University of Leeds in May 2022 as a Lecturer in Digital Language Pedagogies. Previously I taught German (as well as linguistics, translation and interpreting) at various universities and other institutions in the UK, South Africa and France, and have gained some experience working in the translation industry and as an educational consultant and teacher trainer. I am a member of the Working Group on Equity Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) matters for the Association for German Studies in Great Britain and Ireland.

Responsibilities

• Curriculum Redefined Lecturer
• Digital Education Academic Lead for the School of Languages, Cultures and Societies
• Outreach and Admissions with focus on ab-initio courses

Research interests

Language pedagogy and digital approaches to language teaching and learning

One of my main interests is the pedagogically grounded use of digital teaching and learning methods. I was one of the editors of an open-access book on innovative language teaching and have been working in particular on the use of audiovisual ‘screencast’ feedback. In one of my recent papers, I reflect on the effects of the pandemic on the delivery of language programmes and the digitsation of language teaching at UK universities; a topic that I plan to keep working on in the years to come.

Linguistics in language teaching and learning

I co-lead (with Anna Havinga from Bristol) the German strand of the Linguistics in Modern Foreign Languages Project, a national research project which investigates the potential of linguistics in school-based language teaching. I have also been interested in exploring the role of linguistic variation (dialects, colloquial language, forms of online communication etc.) in language teaching and learning.

Recent and upcoming talks and presentations

• Workshop: Gender-inclusive language in language teaching: opportunities for the classroom. University of Leeds Centre for Excellence in Language Teaching, 8 February 2023. More info and registration.
• Studying German in the (post-)digital age: pedagogical and linguistic reflections / Didaktische und linguistische Überlegungen zum Deutschlernen im (post-)digitalen Zeitalter. Invited keynote presentation at the German Studies Association of Ireland Annual Conference 2022, University of Galway, 5 November 2022. 
• Digital Language Pedagogies: the past, the present and the future. Invited keynote presentation at School of Modern Languages Teaching and Learning Conference 2022, Newcastle University, 1 July 2022.
• Changing language attitudes: linguistics in the languages classroom (with Michelle Sheehan, presenting joint work with Alice Corr, Anna Havinga, Peter Gillman, Jonathan Kasstan & Norma Schifano). Invited research talk, Language at Leeds, online, 1 June 2022.
• Linguistic diversity in the German language classroom / Sprachliche Vielfalt im DaF-Unterricht. Invited workshop the Goethe-Institut’s Virtual German Teachers’ Day Northwest Europe, online, 21 May 2022.
• The Digitisation Of Language Education – Lessons Learnt From UK Higher Education During The Pandemic. Invited keynote address at Shaping the Future of Modern Foreign Languages in Education, Institute of Government & Public Policy, online, 9 March 2022.
• Invited panellist at How languages divide gender: pronouns, prejudice and potential, John Murray Learning/Languages Acts and Worldmaking event, online, 27 January 2022.
• Audiovisual screencast feedback and its effects on writing skills / Audiovisuelles Screencast-Feedback: welche Auswirkungen hat es auf die Textproduktion von DaF-Lernenden? Annual conference of the Association for German as a Foreign and Second Language (Fachverband Deutsch als Fremd- und Zweitsprache), online, 5 June 2021.

Professional memberships

• Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA)
• Association for German Studies in Great Britain and Ireland (AGS)
• Forum for Germanic Language Studies (FGLS)
• Association for Learning Technology (ALT)
• European Association of Computer Assisted Language Learning (EUROCALL)

Student education

I enjoy teaching German language at all levels as well as various aspects of applied linguistics and language education. A substantial part of my role at Leeds involves work with the Curriculum Redefined project.

Research groups and institutes

• German
• Language pedagogy
• PRIA
• Language variation
• Language at Leeds
• Language acquisition