Beate Weidner

Dr. Beate Weidner is a researcher and curator at the University of Duisburg-Essen, Faculty of Humanities, Institute of German Studies. She maintains an active research profile with numerous publications and leads significant projects focused on spoken German and language education. Her office is located at Universitätsstraße 2, Room R11 T05 C46, 45141 Essen, with consultation hours by appointment.

Dr. Weidner's research interests center on spoken German, interactional linguistics, conversation analysis, and their applications to German as a Foreign Language (DaF) and German as a Second Language (DaZ) teaching. Her work bridges theoretical linguistics with practical language pedagogy, focusing on how authentic spoken language can be incorporated into language instruction. She investigates multimodal communication in media contexts, particularly in television formats like cooking shows, and explores pluricentric approaches to teaching German varieties from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.

Her recent publications (2021-2024) demonstrate a strong focus on authentic spoken language data and its didactic applications, with particular attention to communicative practices, interactional consolidations, and the integration of spoken language research into language teaching. She frequently collaborates with colleagues like Susanne Günthner, Wolfgang Imo, and Katharina König on edited volumes and research projects.

Dr. Weidner co-leads the MIWF project "Platform Spoken German – authentic everyday interactions for research and practice in the field of DaF and DaZ," which develops teaching materials based on authentic spoken German interactions. This project addresses a significant gap in language teaching materials, which traditionally focus on written German norms rather than authentic spoken usage. The project creates accessible teaching units based on video recordings of native speakers, transcribed using conversation analysis methods.

She has taught numerous courses including "Empirical Methods in Interactional Linguistics," "Mass media communication," and "Grammar in Interaction," demonstrating her commitment to training future language educators in interactional linguistics approaches. Her teaching portfolio reflects her research interests in spoken language, media communication, and the practical application of linguistic theory to language instruction.