Julia Ruck
I’m originally from Austria and have recently moved back to the U.S., where I am currently teaching at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. Before that, I have been teaching German and Linguistics at Webster University, a U.S.-based university in Vienna, where I have also directed the German language coursework and the university’s Language Center. My primary teaching focus thus is in the context of higher education and adult education. I have taught German in the U.S., Austria, Uruguay, and Russia.
I have a Ph.D. in German Applied Linguistics with an emphasis on Second Language Acquisition from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and an M.A. in German as a Foreign/Second Language from the University of Vienna. I’m particularly interested in connecting linguistic and cultural learning, working with film, and critical pedagogy approaches.
I have been working in German language teacher training for many years, for instance, for the Austrian Ministry of Education (program Kultur und Sprache) and I serve in the IDV’s DACHL-Committee as an expert of the ÖDaF (the Austrian Association for German as a Foreign/Second Language). In my role as a researcher, teacher, and trainer, I find it very important to find ways to bridge theory and practice. That is, I really enjoy testing how theories can be applied in practice in different educational contexts; I try to have these experiences inform my coaching and my teacher training activities in order to support colleagues in making informed decisions for their own classes.