Amman- 11 April 2021
In her welcome, University President Prof. Dr. Manar Fayyad drew attention to the considerable strategic importance of the conference.
“The pandemic has taken away a lot from us, but what it has made us realize is how interconnected the world is, and how important international research and communication are! We at the GJU are proud of our hybrid identity, which draws on the best of both Jordan and Germany. ‘Deutsch als Fremdsprache’ is a vibrant meeting place, one that is particularly important to all of us – students, lecturers and administrators. The theme of our conference deals with issues that are not an additional luxury, they are at the heart of what we do as universities.”
Keynote speakers, were leading international experts in the field, and included - Prof. Karin Aguado (Universität Kassel), Prof. Ruth Albert (Philipps-Universität Marburg, em.), Prof. Hermann Funk (Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, em.) Prof. Claudia Harsch (Universität Bremen), Prof. Zeynep Kalkavan-Aydin (Pädagogische Hochschule Freiburg), Prof. Karin Kleppin (Ruhr Universität Bochum em.), Prof. Jörg Roche (Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München), Prof. Kathrin Siebold (Philipps-Universität Marburg) and Dr. Annegret Middeke (Universität Göttingen). In all there were 49 presentations by university lecturers, together with PhD candidates and Master’s students, representing universities from 16 counties (in Europe, North Africa, Asia). Usually a conference programme includes a tour of Jordan, designed introduce guests to its spectacular geographical environment, diverse history and vibrant contemporary culture. For this occasion, a film specially produced by Dr. Torsten Schaar was screened: Past Continous. The Living History of Jordan.
Topics covered in the conference explored trends in research and teaching German as a foreign and as second language, including the challenge of finding ways in which language acquisition can be enhanced in a digital environment. The conference demonstrated that, with careful research and implementation, learning spaces can be created, which ensure that the quality of Higher Education is not only maintained, but that it is taken to a new level. Selected papers from the conference will be peer reviewed and become part of a scientific publication, to reach a wider audience.
Since the first of these conferences in 2019, an international network of expertise has come into being. A significant new development was the official opening on 17th March, 2021, of the Postgraduate School / Graduiertenkolleg, in the School of Applied Humanities and Languages, a cooperative venture between the Pädagogische Hochschule Freiburg and the German Jordanian University. After an intensive selection process, six doctoral candidates have been accepted into the programme. This provides a very solid infrastructure for ongoing research.