Didactics

Department of Romance Languages

The didactics of French and Spanish language and culture deals with questions of multilingual and multicultural education in school and extracurricular contexts in teaching, research and international cooperation.
Theories of cognition, culture and language acquisition as well as theories of educational psychology form the basis. On this basis, teaching and learning processes in foreign language teaching are analyzed and contemporary action-oriented teaching methods for teaching and learning foreign languages are designed.
A special focus is placed on reflective teacher training. Students are involved in innovative learning settings and teaching projects that incorporate digital media as well as action-oriented and drama pedagogical methods.
Qualitative methods are predominantly used in research. Students are systematically introduced to the planning and implementation of their own research projects and gain insights into empirical working methods in foreign language didactics.

News from the professorship

11.11.2025

Exceptional cooperation project with Rent-a-Prof

In the summer semester of 2025, a regional comprehensive school and the Romance Department of the University of Siegen carried out an extraordinary cooperation project as part of the Rent-a-Prof project.

Under the direction of Prof. Dr. Dagmar Abendroth-Timmer, the Year 7 pupils worked intensively with the Japanese paper theater Kamishibai - a mixture of image, language and theater.

On the first day of the project, the young people visited the Audimax at the University of Siegen. After introductory and improvisational games, the university team presented the first part of the story "The Visit" by Antje Damm - in several languages and with interactive questions. The students reacted creatively and developed initial ideas for a sequel.

The second project day took place at the comprehensive school. In small groups, supported by the students, they created their own Kamishibai pictures and multilingual texts. At the final performance in the assembly hall, the groups presented their individual sequels - full of imagination, in many languages and with self-made butais.

The feedback was consistently positive:

"I found it really varied and learned a lot!"

"The Kamishibai was the best!"

Certificates and small 3D-printed souvenirs marked the end of a project that impressively demonstrated how schools and universities can learn from each other.