First Network Meeting of Language Centers at Schools of Higher Education in Berlin and Brandenburg
On July 1, 2022, the Language Center at the Freie Universität Berlin invited interested parties to the first network meeting of language centers at schools of higer education in Berlin and Brandenburg. The invitation was very well received: numerous staff members at the language centers of the Technische Universität Berlin, the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, the Freie Universität Berlin, the Berlin School of Economics and Law, the Hochschule für Technik und Wirtschaft Berlin (University of Applied Sciences), the University of Potsdam, the European University Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder), and the Wildau Technical University of Applied Sciences took part.
After an introductory round with brief presentations of the participating language centers, various working groups came together in a World Café to discuss online teaching, blended learning, the further development of self-study centers/media libraries, internationalization, academic language skills, and specialist languages. There was a lively exchange of ideas in the working groups, and the pandemic-related restrictions were a major topic. What lessons have been learned? Which possibilities of online teaching should definitely be preserved and maintained? What needs and requests do the students have? What experiences have teachers had regarding online examinations? Has the level in the language courses been kept up—in comparison with face-to-face courses? What could be improved?
There were numerous questions, but unfortunately the limited time frame did not allow for in-depth discussion. However, the importance of a regular exchange among the language centers became clear. In the future, these meetings will take place regularly at the language centers of the participating institutions.
Contact: Katrin Maximini
Published on 21 July 2022
At the network meeting, Zessko moderated the working group “Self-Study Centers/Media Centers at Language Centers: Where Are We Headed?” Zessko invites you to its mini-conference “The Self-Study Center as the Place to Meet—Learning Spaces Reconsidered,” on Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022.