Lisa Berkel-Otto

Lisa Berkel-Otto is a Researcher in the Department of Language Education and Multilingualism at the German Department of Ruhr University Bochum's Faculty of Philology. Since October 2017, she has been conducting research and teaching in language education with a focus on German as a Second Language (DaZ) and teacher training. She is actively involved in the DSSZ module (German for Students with an Immigrant Background), vocational field internships, and the Master's program in Empirical Multilingualism Research offered in cooperation with TU Dortmund University.

Dr. Berkel-Otto's research centers on scenario orientation in teacher training, language-sensitive teaching in subject contexts, and the education of newly arrived students. Her work examines linguistic and subject-specific learning in school environments, language assessment methodologies, and the professional development of teachers working with linguistically diverse classrooms. She has developed expertise in creating effective learning environments for students with immigrant backgrounds and training future educators to address multilingual classroom challenges.

Her scholarly output demonstrates consistent focus on practical applications of language education theory in teacher training. Recent publications highlight trends in scenario-based learning approaches, integration of language and subject-specific instruction, and professionalization of teachers working with newly arrived students in contexts of forced migration. Her research particularly addresses challenges faced by university lecturers in the DSSZ module and explores effective methods for developing linguistically responsive teaching competencies among pre-service teachers.

Dr. Berkel-Otto supervises vocational field internships including the "DaZ Summer School" and "Promoting social-emotional skills in DaZ lessons." She contributes to the certificate program in language support and German as a Second Language, which includes the DSSZ module, vocational internships, and learning sponsorships. Her work connects academic research with practical teacher education needs in increasingly diverse educational settings.

Within the Department of Language Education and Multilingualism, Dr. Berkel-Otto collaborates with colleagues at TU Dortmund University on the Master's program in Empirical Multilingualism Research and works with the Mercator Institute for Language Promotion and German as a Second Language. Her work contributes to the SOLIDE research group focused on scenario orientation in teacher training (https://solide.blogs.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/).