Bridget Levine-West
My passion for teaching German and helping others hone their instructional practice began when I took part in an incredibly dynamic and lively language course at the Freie Universität Berlin over 15 years ago. Having previously experienced language learning as a rather mechanical activity that necessitated memorization and drills, experiencing an open, holistic, and what felt like a more “real” approach to language learning truly rocked my world. This one course set me on a lifelong journey as a language learner and, eventually, to serve as a language program director and teacher educator myself.
I got my Ph.D. in Germanic Languages & Literatures from the University of Pennsylvania, with emphases in film studies, language pedagogy and curriculum design. Since that time, I have been an Assistant Professor of German and Film at the University of Vermont, where I teach courses across the curriculum – from first-semester language/culture courses to senior capstone seminars. In my role as German Language Program Director I offer professional development opportunities to faculty and have led several curricular reform projects. Given my research specialties in German cinema and media literacy, I also offer courses in UVM’s Film and Television Studies Program.
With the aim of bolstering German education nationwide, I routinely offer workshops at professional conferences and educational institutions on topics related to language program direction, curricular design, genre-based instruction, multiliteracies approaches, and social justice pedagogies. While I enjoy sharing research and insights with colleagues that I have gleaned from my own scholarship and teaching, I most enjoy the lively exchange of ideas and best practices that emerges during these collaborative interactions. This emphasis on collaboration also undergirds my approach to published research, which most recently resulted in a co-authored German language and culture book and accompanying online materials, Augenblicke: German through Film, Media and Texts (AATG, 2021).
Throughout all stages of my education and career, I have benefited from the helpful suggestions and constructive feedback of mentors and peers. As a GEM, I am excited to “pay forward” the support I’ve received by offering workshops and continued trainings to help bolster the teaching and learning of German across the U.S. I look forward to working with colleagues interested in exploring new perspectives in the areas of curricular design, multiple literacies, collaborative learning techniques, reflection-based approaches, and more!