Stefan Maier

stefan.maier@uni-erfurt.de

PhD student at the Chair of Applied and English Linguistics (Faculty of Philosophy)

Stefan Maier

PhD Project

My interest in motivation in foreign language learning (L2 motivation) arose from my work as a German and English language instructor: L2 motivation has proven to be a vital factor for language learning success, not just in my personal teaching experience, conversations with course participants and colleagues, but also in the research literature.
The doctoral project focuses on adult participants in work-related German courses. The reason for this is that, despite the growing interest in this population in recent years, relatively little is known about their motivation. The aim of the project is to explore and describe the context under investigation and to reflect on the extent to which existing theories from L2 motivation research can be applied here.

Curriculum Vitae

Academic

since 07/2022 Doctoral student

  • University of Erfurt, Germany
  • PhD project Motivation in L2 learning: A longitudinal study in different learning settings (supervised by Prof. Dr. Gila A. Schauer)

01/2022 Master of Education, Teaching degree for comprehensive secondary schools: English & German

  • TU Dresden
  • Master thesis Intention, action and outcome. A differentiated terminology for motivation in L2 contexts (German as a foreign language, supervised by Dr. Michael Dobstadt & Dr. Claudia Oechel-Metzner)

03/2017 Bachelor of Education, Teaching degree for primary and secondary schools: English & German

  • TU Dresden
  • Bachelor thesis The android as a character of reflection. Ash in the network of the Alien movie (Media studies & Modern German literature, supervised by Prof. Dr. Lars Koch & Dr. Tanja Prokic)

08/2007 – 07/2008 Foundation studies in Cultural and Social anthropology

University of Basel, Switzerland

06/2006 General university entrance qualification

Professional

09/2017 – 07/2019 DAAD Language Assistant

  • Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta, Indonesia
  • also mentor for exchange students and tutors as part of the International Study and Training Partnership (funded by the German Academic Exchange Service, DAAD) between UN Yogyakarta and WWU Münster

since 03/2011 Freelance instructor for L2 English and L1 & L2 German

  • Sprachstudio & Lernstudio Dresden,
  • Aachener Sprachsommer (SprAachen gGmbH & FH Aachen),
  • various providers of integration courses (Federal Office for Migration and Refugees, BAMF) in Erfurt and Dresden

11/2010 – 06/2017 Language classes for refugees

  • Deutscher Kinderschutzbund OV Dresden e. V.
  • trainer and, from 2015 onwards, program coordinator

08/2009 – 06/2010 Teacher (Ortslehrkraft) for L2 English and L1 & L2 German

  • Deutsche Schule Kiew, Kyiv, Ukraine
  • also tutor of high school classes 5 and 6

Research

Publications

(2022). Sprachliches Reclaiming als gesellschaftliche Präventionsmaßnahme. Ein Beispiel aus dem DaZ-Literaturunterricht [Language reclaiming as a social prevention practice. An example from the L2-German literature class]. In J. Schmidt,  & J. Thiemann (Eds.), Reclaim! Postmigrantische und widerständige Praxen der Aneignung [Reclaim! Post-migrant and resistant practices of appropriation] (pp. 165-180), Berlin: Neofelis.

(2021). Ästhetik und Partizipation. Anregungen für den Deutschunterricht aus der Verbindung von DaZ-Forschung und Theaterpraxis [Aesthetics and participation. Suggestions for German lessons at the intersection of German as a foreign language research and theatre practice]. In J. Standke (Ed.), Drama und Theater der Gegenwart. Literarisches Lernen und ästhetische Bildung zwischen Textanalyse und Aufführungsrezeption [Drama and contemporary theatre. Literary learning and aesthetic education between text analysis and performance reception] (pp. 179-196), Trier: Wissenschaftlicher Verlag.

(2020). [review on] Max Czollek (2018): Desintegriert euch! Kulturwissenschaftliche Zeitschrift, Perspektiven, kulturwissenschaftlichezeitschrift.de/beitrag/max-czollek-2018-desintegriert-euch/.

(2019). Zukünftige Selbstkonzepte von Fremdsprachenlernenden als Basis empirischer Motivationsforschung im DaF-Unterricht an der Hochschule [Foreign language learners’ future self-concepts as the basis of empirical motivational research in L2-German teaching in higher education]. Scientific Journal of German Language, Literature and Culture, 4 (4), 319-324.

Presentations

Inwiefern kann sprachliches Reclaiming im L2-Unterricht als soziale Präventionsmaßnahme eingesetzt werden? [To what extent can linguistic reclaiming be used in L2 instruction as a social prevention practice?], Interdisciplinary conference Reclaim! Postmigrantische Diskurse der Aneignung [Reclaim! Post-migrant discourses of appropriation] (University of Hamburg, Germany), 18th September, 2020.

Datenerhebung in der Unterrichtsforschung DaF. Einige Beispiele aus Indonesien [Data collection in German as a foreign language teaching. Some examples from Indonesia], Series Webinare für Indonesische Germanisten [Webinars for Indonesian German studies scholars] (DAAD regional office Jakarta, Indonesia), 14th May, 2019.

Wie Studierende in Lerntagebüchern Auskunft über ihre Motivation geben – und wie sich diese Daten zur Aktionsforschung eignen [How students provide information about their motivation in learning journals – and how this data lends itself to action research], 4th International conference of the Indonesische Germanistenverband (UN Yogyakarta, Indonesia), 29th September, 2018.