Ellen Crocker

Ellen Crocker is a Senior Lecturer Emerita in German at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). She retired in 2020 after contributing to the German department since 1981, focusing on curriculum development and teaching language courses. Her academic affiliations include the School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (SHASS) and the MIT Global Languages program.

Education:

• MA: Albert-Ludwigs-Universität, Freiburg, Germany
• BA: Skidmore College

Research & Contributions: Ellen Crocker is renowned for authoring and co-authoring two widely used German language textbooks: Neue Horizonte (with Dollenmayer and Hansen, published by Cengage) and the intermediate-level workbook Reden-Mitreden-Dazwischenreden (with Claire Kramsch for Heinle and Heinle). The latter’s iBook edition is forthcoming. Her work emphasizes communicative strategies and innovative pedagogical approaches in language education.

Awards:

• 2014: MIT Levitan Award for Excellence in Teaching
• 1994: American Association of Teachers of German/Goethe Institute Certificate of Merit

Grants & Fellowships: Crocker secured grants from the Max Kade Foundation, MIT Provost’s Fund, Marion and Jasper Whiting Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Humanities. These grants supported her research and curriculum development initiatives.