Kathrin Koppe

As a dedicated senior lecturer in German at Georgia Tech, I have strived to foster an engaging and inclusive learning environment, emphasizing communicative competence and cultural literacy. My teaching philosophy centers on active student participation and innovative pedagogical approaches, including the integration of technology and project-based learning.
One of the fundamental components of my teaching approach is to pick up the learner where they are. I evaluate the students’ language proficiency level and build on this knowledge to connect previously learned material with new ones. This strategy allows students to build a web of knowledge, which further facilitates the acquisition of new vocabulary and grammar. I avoid overwhelming students with too much material, as it can lead to confusion, frustration, and discouragement. I strongly believe that learning a foreign language should be an enjoyable and exciting experience, and I plan my lessons accordingly.
Learning a foreign language can be an overwhelming and daunting task to any adult learner. The Georgia Tech students who enroll in German classes do so with diverse backgrounds and for different reasons and motivation. In addition, we must take the individuality of each learner into account. Keeping all this in mind, I want my teaching approach to be inclusive of everyone attending. Especially in the first classes of a beginner’s level, I try to ease the anxiety and reservations that students may have by demonstrating how much German they may already know. In every first class of the semester, I introduce myself in German with simple phrases giving information about myself, such as place of residence, place of origin, marital status, and family members incorporating numbers. Students quickly realize how much they already understand. I utilize this moment of euphoric recognition to create a stress- and anxiety-free atmosphere in the classroom.

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