Curriculum vitae

Research Interests

• development of symbolic competence in the EFL classroom
• decolonial and antiracist perspectives on English Language Education
• critical language teacher education
• multilingualism
• virtual exchange and telecollaboration
• critical global citizenship education
• empirical classroom research

Publications

Research Monograph and Edited Volumes

Heidt, I. (contracted, manuscript submitted).Conflicting worldviews, ethical dilemmas, and symbolic power: An ethnographic study of teaching multilingual students in the German Bildungssystem. Bristol: Multilingual Matters. [series: Language, Education, Diversity]

Freitag-Hild, B., Heidt, I. (in preparation, 2025): Sachtexte und Bildung für nachhaltige Entwicklung: Welten erschließen. Der fremdsprachliche Unterricht Englisch

Book Chapters and Journal Articles

Heidt, I. (in preparation, 2025). Decolonial explorations: Unsettling language and race/ism in a 10^th-grade EFL classroom with teacher-learners. In S. Braselmann, A. Mihan, A. Wirag (Eds.): Rassismuskritischer Fremdsprachenunterricht. Themenheft der Zeitschrift für Fremdsprachenforschung, Heft 1/2025.

Heidt, I. (fothcoming, 2024). The color of my skin – Mit dem Bilderbuch ‚Sulwe‘ über colorism sprechen und in einem Dialog gegen Diskriminierung eintreten (Klassenstufe 5/6). In R. Römhild & C. Surkamp (Eds.): Themenheft „Languages and Literatures of Hope“, Der fremdsprachliche Unterricht Englisch.

Heidt, I., König, L., Louloudi, E., Merse, T. (forthcoming). Bericht Symposium 1: Kritische Fremdsprachenlehrer*innenbildung – Eine Einladung zur Vernetzung. In DGFF-Kongressband

Freitag-Hild, B., Heidt, I., Krengel, F., Surkamp, C. (in preparation). Cultural learning through virtual exchange: Objectives, concepts, and empirical findings.

Heidt, I., Freitag-Hild, B. (2023). Critical global citizenship education in the EFL classroom: Developing critical literacy and symbolic competence. In R. Römhild, A. Marxl, F. Matz, P. Siepmann (Eds.): Rethinking Cultural Learning – Cosmopolitan Perspectives on Language Education (pp. 99-114). Trier: WVT.

Heidt, I. (2023). Fostering critical language teacher education through autoethnography: Empirical insights into an EFL teacher candidate wrestling with raciolinguistic ideologies and embodied knowledge. In E. Wilden, L. Alfes, K. Cantone-Altintas, S. Çıkrıkçı, & D. Reimann (Eds.): Standortbestimmungen in der Fremdsprachenforschung (pp. 186-199). WBV.

Heidt, I. (2022). Fostering symbolic competence in the age of Twitter Politics: A teaching unit on linguistic and political emergencies for learners of English. Anglistik – International Journal of English Studies 33(3), 75-90. https://doi.org/10.33675/ANGL/2022/3/8

Heidt, I. (2022). When moral authority speaks: Empirical insights into issues of identity and authenticity in multilingual educational settings. In W. Stadler, L. Will & I. Eloff (Eds.): Authenticity across languages and cultures. Themes of identity in foreign language teaching and learning (pp. 165-180). Bristol: Multilingual Matters.

Bartosch, R., Derichsweiler, S., Heidt, I. (2022). Against „Values“? Komplexe Konflikte, symbolic power und die Aushandlung von Widerstreit. In L. König, B. Schädlich, C. Surkamp (Eds.): unterricht_kultur_theorie – Kulturelles Lernen im Fremdsprachenunterricht gemeinsam anders denken (pp. 73-90). Stuttgart: Metzler.

Heidt, I. (2020) Teaching language and culture as discourse through telecollaboration. In T. Giesler & J. Pfingsthorn (Eds.): Masters of Reflective Practice – Abschlussarbeiten in der Englischdidaktik (pp. 165-180). Trier: WVT.

Heidt, I. (2015). Exploring the historical dimensions of Bildung and its metamorphosis in the context of globalization. L2 Journal, 7(4), 2-16. https://doi.org/10.5070/L27425457

Scientific Lexicon Entries

Heidt, I. (forthcoming). Critical literacy. In C. Surkamp (Ed.): Metzler Lexikon Fremdsprachendidaktik. Ansätze, Methoden, Grundbegriffe. 3. aktualisierte und überarbeitete Auflage. Weimar: J.B. Metzler.

Heidt, I. (forthcoming). Symbolische Kompetenz. In C. Surkamp (Ed.): Metzler Lexikon Fremdsprachendidaktik. Ansätze, Methoden, Grundbegriffe. 3. aktualisierte und überarbeitete Auflage. Weimar: J.B. Metzler.

Scientific Communication / Wissenschaftskommunikation

Heidt, I. (13.02.2023): Schriftliches Interview in der Reihe ‚Neues aus der Universität Potsdam‘ zum innovativen Lehrprojekt Rassismuskritische Englischlehrer*innenbildung durch autoethnographische Reflexion und virtuellen Austausch:

In German: Ein Problem, viele Perspektiven – Wie Irene Heidt angehende Englischlehrerinnen und -lehrer einen kritischen Blick auf Rassismus lehrt.

In English: One Problem, Many Perspectives – How Irene Heidt Teaches Prospective English Language Teachers to Understand Racism from a Critical Perspective

Selected Conference Activity

Organization of Symposia, Conferences, Teacher Workshops

Workshop for EFL teachers Teaching Issues of Slavery and Racism in the US in Year 8, Senatsverwaltung für Bildung, Jugend und Familie, Berlin. May 16, 2024.

Klausurtagung Rassismuskritische Grundschuldidaktik im Kontext von Demokratiebildung, BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg. April 10, 2024.

Kritische Fremd*sprachenlehrer*innenbildung: Einladung zur Vernetzung, DGFF-Kongress. PH Freiburg. (co-chaired with Prof. Dr. Lotta König, Dr. Eleni Louloudi, Prof. Dr. Thorsten Merse). September 26 - 29, 2023.

Ethics and Politics of Language Teacher Education in an Uneven World, AILA World Congress, Lyon, France (co-chaired with Prof. Dr. Maggie Kubanyiova, University of Leeds, UK). July 17 - 21, 2023.

Controversy and Ethical Dilemmas in Multilingual and Multicultural Classrooms: Challenges and Choices, American Association for Applied Linguistics (AAAL). Virtual Conference. March 20-23, 2021. 

Papers Presented

Re-thinking Cultural and Linguistic Diversity in English Language Education from a Decolonial Perspective, AILA World Congress. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (invited presentation in the Research Network ReCAL organized by Dr. Paola Gamboa, Prof. Dr. Claire Kramsch). August 11-16, 2024

Förderung symbolischer Kompetenz im kultur- und literaturbasierten Englischunterricht: Macht, Widerstand und Transformation, Symposium: „unterricht_kultur_theorie II: Kulturelles Lernen interdisziplinär weiterdenken – Fremdsprachenforschung, Kulturwissenschaften, Erziehungswissenschaften“. University of Bielefeld. February 21 – 23, 2024. 

What Does it Mean to Decolonize English Language Education?, Roundtable discussion in the context of the research project “Kisugünewün – Approaches to Decolonise the Language Classroom”. University of Hamburg (invited by Prof. Dr. Silvia Melo Pfeifer). February 8, 2024.

Learning to Become a Critical EFL Teacher: Ethical and Political Challenges in Teaching Language as Symbolic Power on Issues of Race and Racism,AILA World Congress. Lyon, France. July 17 - 21, 2023.

Kritische Fremd*sprachenlehrer*innenbildung, 30. DGFF-Kongress. PH Freiburg. (together with Prof. Dr. Lotta König, Dr. Eleni Louloudi, Prof. Dr. Thorsten Merse). September 26 - 29, 2023.

The Challenges of Learning to Become a Critical EFL Teacher: Wrestling with Raciolinguistic Ideologies and Subject Positions in Autoethnographic Writing, 1. Online Netzwerktreffen Rassismuskritischer Fremdsprachenunterricht. Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena. March 28, 2023.

What Are We Teaching Languages for? Symbolic Competence, Uncertainty, and Literary Sense-Making in the EFL Classroom, Forschungskolloquium der Englischdidaktik. University of Hamburg. May 10, 2023.

Critical Language Teacher Education in an Era of Uncertainty through Autoethnographic Narratives and (Self-)Reflexivity, Conference: Reading Resistance - Widerstand und Kontroversität im Kontext gesellschaftlichen Wandels, University of Cologne, Germany. October 27-29, 2022.

An Autoethnography of an EFL Teacher-Learner‘s Habitus: Wrestling with Raciolinguistic Ideologies and Subject Positions, Conference: Wissen, Können und Handeln für den Fremdsprachenunterricht: Fremdsprachendidaktische Perspektiven auf (angehende) Lehrpersonen, Professions- und Wissensforschung. University of Wuppertal, Germany. September 12-13, 2022.

The Politics and Ethics of Teaching Multilingual Students in German Citizenship Education, ETHER (Ethics and Aesthetics for Encountering the Other). University of Leeds, UK. April 6, 2022 (invited by Prof. Dr. Angela Creese and Pof. Dr. Maggie Kubanyiova).

Teaching for Symbolic Competence in the age of Twitter Politics: Ecological and Sustainable Perspectives on Foreign Language Education, Anglistentag (virtual conference). September 19 -22, 2021.

What are we teaching languages for? Zur Bedeutung von symbolischer Kompetenz im Kontext von Digitalisierung und Globalisierung, 29. DGFF-Kongress (virtual conference). September 22 -24, 2021.

Between Politics and Ethics: Teaching Controversial Issues to Multilingual Students. American Association for Applied Linguistics (AAAL). Virtual Conference. March 20-23, 2021.

Against „Values“? Komplexe Konflikte, symbolic power und die Aushandlung von Widerstreit (co-authored with Prof. Dr. Bartosch & S. Derichsweiler), online symposium: unterricht_kultur_theorie. Kulturelles Lernen im Fremdsprachenunterricht. University of Bielefeld, Germany. January 14, 2021 (invited by Prof. Dr. Lotta König).

Lost and found in translation: Kulturelle Übersetzung (translation) und Umwertung (transvaluation) als Teil symbolischer Kompetenz?, Symposium: unterricht_kultur_theorie: Fremdsprachendidaktische Kulturvermittlung gemeinsam anders denken. University of Göttingen, Germany. July 1-3, 2019.

Reframing Global Citizen Education: Between Moral and Ethical Dimensions of Language Learning and Teaching, International conference: Educating the Global Citizen - International Perspectives on Foreign Language Teaching in the Digital Age. Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich, Germany. March 25-28, 2019. 

L2 Teaching Between Memory and History in a German Politics Class, American Association for Applied Linguistics (AAAL). Chicago, USA. March 24-27, 2018.

Mediating Sacred Truths in a German Ethics Class, American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL). Nashville, USA. November 17-19, 2017.  

Between Bildung and Haram in a German Ethics Class, American Association for Applied Linguistics (AAAL). Portland, USA. March 18-21, 2017.

The Current Discourse on the German Notion of Bildung in Europe, international conference: Europe in Discourse: Identity, Diversity, Borders. Athens, Greece. September 23-25, 2016.

Global Exchanges and Local Historicities in Telecollaborative Online Spaces: An Example from the EFL Classroom, AILA 7th Junior Researchers Meeting in Applied Linguistics. Winterthur, Switzerland. September 10-12, 2015.

Professional Service