Spotlight – Theresa Schenker
Ever since I can remember I wanted to become a teacher. It is no surprise perhaps – coming from a family of teachers – that my passion was always for pedagogy. Both my grandparents and my father were teachers for many years. In addition to teaching, my second passion has been for learning languages and discovering cultures. Through TV shows, films, music, and everything I heard about the USA, the English language and the American culture have fascinated me for years. When I had the chance to spend a year in Oregon for my junior year of high school, my love for languages and foreign cultures solidified and it was an easy decision when it came time to apply to college to choose a teacher education program. I originally wanted to become a teacher for German and English as a foreign language for high schools in Germany. During my M.A. program I had the chance to participate in an exchange program between my university in Jena, Germany and Michigan State University for one semester. In 2004, I attended MSU and taught German 101. It was the first time I had taught my native language to non-native speakers and I loved it from the start. I was thrilled when I was accepted into the PhD program for German Studies at MSU after I had completed my M.A. in Germany.
I have only the fondest memories of my PhD education at MSU. The program was comprehensive and prepared me extraordinarily well for an academic career. At MSU I was able to not only develop my pedagogical skills by teaching a variety of German classes, I was also able to work with the Community Language School to teach German for Kids and Teenagers classes and even develop a new program “German for Pre-Schoolers”. The German for kids summer camps were another part of my time at MSU that I enjoyed immensely. The experiences of working with such diverse age groups truly helped me gain a better understanding of how languages are learned and ultimately shaped my research interest in second language acquisition. I began researching how students learn German, not just in the traditional classroom, but through virtual exchanges. My interest in this area goes back to my own experiences of learning English. Back then, I had an American pen pal and I remember how much I was always looking forward to receiving a new letter in the mail. I learned so many new words from my pen pal, and now at MSU I began to research how these types of exchanges – now in the form of electronic partnerships through e-mail or videoconferences – can impact second language acquisition.
After completing my PhD at MSU I took a position at Yale University as Language Program Director and Lector of German. Having the chance to teach German at all levels, design new classes, create the entire curriculum, advise undergraduates, as well as train graduate assistants to teach German, makes this position diverse, exciting, and very rewarding. I have enjoyed working at Yale very much for the last four years, have further developed my research into second language acquisition through telecollaboration, and have also become involved with study abroad. My graduate education at MSU couldn’t have prepared me better for my job, and I am grateful for all the mentoring and training I received there. I am enjoying my time at Yale tremendously and am very happy that I was able to turn my passion into my career.
