Germana Eckert

Dr Germana Eckert is an Education Focused Lecturer at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS), Faculty of Design and Society. She serves as a Lecturer in the TESOL and Applied Linguistics Program and the Initial Teacher Education Program, while also working as a Tutor in the Australian Language and Culture Program and as Education coordinator for the UTS U@Uni Academy.

Dr Eckert holds a Bachelor of Arts (Languages) from the University of Sydney (1989-1993), a Master of TESOL from UTS (2001-2003), and completed her PhD at UTS in 2022. She also holds a CELTA certificate from Hammersmith and West London College (1995).

Her research focuses on plurilingualism, languaging practices in educational contexts, Systemic Functional Linguistics applications in classrooms, translanguaging perspectives, and linguistic hegemony. She employs Bourdieusian conceptual frameworks in her analysis of language education policies and practices. Dr Eckert is particularly interested in how discourses around language and language practices frame and position teachers in the Australian education system.

Dr Eckert's work examines the positioning of English and languages other than English, including community languages, in the Australian school system. Her research demonstrates the richness of linguistic resources of international educators across school sectors through critical discourse analysis of educational documents.

• Course Commendation (2019)
• ECR CDI Grant (2024)

As an educator, Dr Eckert teaches across various subjects including Language Teaching Methodology, Literacy and Numeracy across the Curriculum, Professional Experience, Classroom Talk, Language Development, and Academic Literacies in TESOL. Her teaching emphasizes Systemic Functional Linguistics, scaffolding, genre-based approaches, technology-enhanced learning, and diversity & social justice issues in education.

Dr Eckert is fluent in Italian and German, and her work aligns with UN Sustainable Development Goals for Quality Education (Goal 4) and Reduced Inequalities (Goal 10).