Living Partnership - Teaching Mobility with the University of Nanterre

"Visiting one of our partner universities abroad as a guest lecturer is an idea I've had for quite a while," reports Sophie Forkel, lecturer in the French language department at Zessko. "This spring, my colleagues Elke Hirsch, Steffen Skowronek and David Meier told me enthusiastically of their own experiences during guest visits. – I am much obliged for that!" In mid-May, Ms. Forkel travelled to the Université de Nanterre near Paris – for two days of "exploratory talks."
She chose University Paris Nanterre because Ms. Forkel already offers a course for Nanterre law students in Potsdam, and Nanterre is one of the six universities in the university alliance EDUC. EDUC promotes the exchange between students and staff of the member institutions.

The Nanterre campus is easy to reach from Paris by regional trains – similar to reaching Potsdam’s Neues Palais campus from Berlin. The buildings date from the 1970s, and in summer a flock of sheep graze on the campus meadows.
Thanks to David Prickett’s mediation, Ms. Forkel was able to contact an Erasmus coordinator and teacher of English in Nanterre, who immediately signalled great interest in coming to Potsdam to find out how teacher training works here. Contacts with the Institute of English and American Studies were immediately established, and a visit could come about as early as this November.
For her own visit, Sophie and another two colleagues have set their sights on the second half of March 2023. A teaching unit in the French-German translation course as well as teaching units on the topic of reading strategies could be interesting for various groups, as German is offered as a major subject and also as a key competence in Nanterre.     

Getting a first impression of another campus and the structures and course offerings on site has been described by Sophie Forkel as quite enriching: "I had very pleasant encounters, and I am confident that something specific can be developed for 2023."
 

 Contact: Sophie Forkel

Published on 11 July 2022