LEARNING. TEACHING. TRANSFORMING.
DENIS WEGER
I work in the field of language teaching and learning research at the intersection between multilingualism research and research on teachers' professional development. My focus is on the language dimension of education in order to make teaching and learning processes as effective as possible for all students. Through my research and teaching, I contribute to more educational equality.
PROJECTS
Professional Development for Linguistic and Cultural Diversity through Teaching Abroad
In the context of increasing linguistic and/or cultural diversity in various education systems, teaching experience abroad is seen as a valuable opportunity to prepare pre-service teachers for this diversity. Programs such as ERASMUS+ and national language assistant schemes actively support such experiences. However, research on the impact of teaching abroad on the professional development of pre-service teachers remains limited and inconclusive. This project explores how teaching experiences abroad, particularly within the Austrian Language Assistant Program, influence the professional development of student teachers in addressing linguistic and/or cultural diversity. (Project in the application phase)
PUBLICATIONS
Developing Professional Competence for Translingual Instruction
Multilingual students are structurally disadvantaged in the monolingual German-speaking school system because they can only contribute one part of their multilingual linguistic competences into the teaching and learning processes. This dissertation extensively explores the question of how pre-service teachers in all subjects can be equipped with the necessary knowledge and skills in order to counteract this disadvantage.
Weger, D. (2022): Developing Professional Competence for Translingual Instruction - Münster/New York: Waxmann. [published in German] link
Language Biographical Experiences and Professional Action in the Tension between School Monolingualism and Individual Multilingualism
Teachers have to mediate between a monolingual school system and individual multilingual students. Using the example of a prospective teacher, this article illustrates that language biographical experiences serve as a reference point for professional action in this context.
Weger, D. (2024): Language Biographical Experiences and Professional Action in the Tension between School Monolingualism and Individual Multilingualism. Erziehung & Unterricht, 1-2/2024. [published in German]
Teaching Materials for Linguistic and Cultural Learning in the Salzburg Museum - Design Principles and Task Examples
In this conceptual contribution, some didactic design principles for teaching materials on language and cultural learning in the Salzburg Museum are presented and illustrated using task examples.
Weger, D., Bogensperger, T., Strasser, M., & Zauner, M. (2022): Teaching Materials for Language and Cultural Learning at the Salzburg Museum - Design Principles and Task Examples. Babylonia Journal for Language Education, (3), 92-97. [published in German] link
