Chair of German Language Teacher Education – Intercultural German Studies

Head of the Chair

Deputy Head of the Chair

The Chair of German Language Teacher Education – Intercultural German Studies was established in 2006, coinciding with the transition of the Teacher Education Academy into the Faculty of Teacher Education. The Chair comprises seven faculty members whose instructional activities focus primarily on delivering the German language track within the Primary Teacher Education programme. This integrated undergraduate and graduate university programme has been offered at the Faculty’s Zagreb headquarters since the 2005/2006 academic year, qualifying primary school teachers for German-language instruction across the entire primary cycle (grades 1–8). The core areas of the German language track include language proficiency, linguistics and glottodidactics, German language teaching methodology, children’s and young adult literature in German, cultural and civilizational studies of German-speaking countries, and intercultural communication. An intercultural focus and a European dimension permeate every segment of the study track. This university programme was preceded by a four-year professional curriculum featuring an enhanced track in German Language Teaching (1997/1998 – 2007/2008).

Through specialised professional German courses and interdisciplinary modules in democratic citizenship education, interculturality, and multilingualism, the Chair’s teaching staff also contribute to the Primary Teacher Education programme (with modules), the Lifelong Learning and Adult Education programme, and both full-time and part-time undergraduate and graduate university programmes in Early Childhood and Preschool Education. At the postgraduate level, the Chair’s members teach in the doctoral programmes in Lifelong Learning and Educational Sciences and in the Linguistic, Literary, and Cultural Context of Early, Preschool, and Primary Education.

Whenever feasible, the Chair organises supplementary activities for German-language students, including group field trips, student exchanges, guest lectures by international scholars, and additional language-proficiency training. Key partnerships include collaborations with the Goethe-Institut Zagreb and the Private University College of Teacher Education (PPH Augustinum) in Graz.

Alongside their pedagogical duties, Chair members actively engage in research and professional activities, both independently and as principal investigators or researchers on scientific projects, and as participants in conferences, symposia, and workshops. Reflecting their respective research and professional areas, the Chair’s research interests encompass German studies, linguistics, glottodidactics, teaching methodology, political science, sociology, literary theory, literary history, and aspects of multilingual and intercultural education and communication. Chair members have led or contributed to numerous domestic and international projects. They have authored or co-authored several research monographs, dictionaries, textbooks, and journal articles, and have also served as editors or on the editorial boards of various publications and scholarly journals. Within professional societies and the wider public sphere, they actively advocate for the advancement of foreign language pedagogy, with a specific focus on German.

Teaching staff