Review of doctoral research in language education in Germany (2009–2013)

Abstract

This paper reviews a purposive sample of 23 doctoral dissertations in second language (L2) education, completed between 2009 and 2013 and published in Germany. From amongst all (approx. 70) relevant dissertations from this period, the following three broad thematic strands can be identified, for which a selection of exemplary dissertations was chosen to review: (1) Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL); (2) learning and teaching about culture in the language classroom; and (3) language teacher education. Categorization of themes was guided by a bottom-up approach, clustering thematically (rather than methodologically) similar works. We identify relevant topics and link these with trends in research methodology (qualitative/quantitative/mixed-methods). We also discuss the depth and breadth of these dissertations and situate their scholarly contributions within German and international research on language education.

Exploring the curriculum development in content and language integrated learning: A systematic review

“…1103 have been conducted to examine CLIL development. The issues addressed in these reviews have included: 1) theories for CLIL [10,11]; 2) CLIL implementation [12][13][14][15]; and 3) CLIL evaluation [1,16]. These works discussed CLIL CD piecemeal, and most of them provided syntheses of research using traditional (narrative) methods, with the exception of some recent studies, i.e.…”

Review of doctoral research in language education in Germany (2014–2018)

“…Research into both fostering and measuring intercultural competence continues to be a major focus of doctoral research in Germany (see the last review article for Germany (Doff et al, 2016)). Characteristic of the area of intercultural competence is its interdisciplinary focus, extending to the fields of history, cultural studies and psychology, as well as political, social and educational sciences.…”

“…As in the two previous reviews of dissertation research in Germany published in Language Teaching in 2011 (Behrent, Doff, Marx, & Ziegler, 2011) and 2016 (Doff, Königs, Marx, & Schädlich, 2016), we return to second language acquisition (SLA) research in a language community which is often overlooked by the international SLA research community. This is due to various factors, including that German is not read by a wide range of scholars, despite being the most commonly spoken first language (L1) of Europe (Eurobarometer, 2012, p. 10).…”