Dr. Ulf Schuetze
Position
Contact
Credentials
PhD (UBC)
Area of expertise
Germanic Studies, Second Language Acquisition, Psycholinguistics, Technology-enhanced Language Learning, Intercultural Communication
In general, I try to find a balance between teaching and research.
I teach courses on German as a second language, intercultural communication, foreign/second language pedagogy and research methodology. My approach starts with the student assisting her or him understanding language in terms of concepts, ideas, customs and behaviors. As of 2016, we have a brand new language program offering a strong integration of language to culture, guiding the student to comfortably communicate with native speakers, providing exchange opportunities as well as the opportunity to take the A and B level exams of the Common European Framework that are necessary to work and study in the European Union.
In regards to graduate studies, I have worked with several students in the area of second/foreign language acquisition as either supervisor, second reader or external reader at the Master’s and Ph.D. level. If you are thinking about graduate studies at UVic and have an interest in second/foreign language acquisition, please don’t hesitate to contact me. Graduate courses, I have developed are ‘New Media in Second Language Acquisition,’ ‘Intercultural Communication and Foreign Language Acquisition’, as well as ‘Language, Memory, and Identity.”
Together with my colleague Dr. Catherine Caws, I founded the Digital Language Learning Lab. It was funded with help of a CFI grant. Research carried out in the lab focuses on the interaction of learners with technology. In particular, I have worked in the area of CMC (computer mediated communication) pursuing the question of sustainability. I have conducted experiments using chats, forums and wikis to investigate how these tools might benefit the learner. Further, I have conducted a series of experiments analyzing online corrective feedback for grammar activities.
In research, I completed a long-term SSHRC (Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada) funded project in the area of psycholinguistics. Collecting data from hundreds of students at the beginner's level of learning another language, the project analyzed the relationship of working to long-term memory. The practical application was in the development of an online vocabulary program using spacing algorithms that is done in collaboration with Dr. Robert Blake at the Language Center at the University of California, Davies.
I am currently working on a new research project combining technology with psycholinguistics. It centres on the relationship of the neural network of attention to language processing. The particular focus is on the sustainability of virtual reality language programs.
I also work with the Canadian Association of Second Language Teachers to promote language learning with an emphasis on intercultural communication. Please see the video that was recently published and send to schools across Canada:
Books
German Grammar: Reviewed and Retold. London: Routledge, 2022. (with Lisa Süßenbach).
Language Learning and the Brain: Lexical Processing in Second Language Acquisition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2017.
Journal Articles
“Efficiency in second language vocabulary learning.” Die Unterrichtspraxis, 50(1), 2017, pp. 22-31
“Second language vocabulary acquisition: Male vs female learners and the role of words associated with emotion.” International Journal of Research Studies in Psychology, 5.4, 2016, pp. 15-26.
“Spacing techniques in second language vocabulary acquisition: Short-term gains vs long-term memory.” Language, Teaching, Research,19.1, 2015, pp. 28-42.
“Retention in SLA Processing”. CALICO Journal, 28.2, 2011, pp. 460-472. (co-author G. Weimer-Stuckmann)
“Virtual Vocabulary: Research and Learning in Lexical Processing.” CALICO Journal, 27.3, 2010, pp. 517-528. (co-author G. Weimer-Stuckmann)
“How do Female and Male Students Work with an Online Vocabulary Program?” Electronic Journal of Foreign Language Teaching, 7.2, 2010. pp. 210-221.
b. Computer Assisted Language Learning
“Practicing grammar online: Multiple choice vs Fill-in-the-blank.” Electronic Journal of Foreign Language Teaching, 15.1, 2018, pp. 55-65.
“Learning the subjunctive in German: with or without technology?” Electronic Journal of Foreign Language Teaching, 12.1, 2015, pp. 69-78. (Co-author: E. Lowey)
“Zur Nachhaltigkeit Neuer Medien im Fremdsprachenunterricht” [Sustainability of New Media in Foreign Language Teaching]. InfoDaF, 37.6, 2010, pp. 577-587.
“Motivation to write online: Chats and Forums.” German as a Foreign Language, 1, 2010, pp. 3-24. “E-Mail und Chat: Ablenkung, Nutzen?” [Email and chat: Distraction, Usefulness?] Zielsprache Deutsch, 36.2, 2009, pp. 69-81.
“Exchanging second language messages online: developing an intercultural communicative competence?” Foreign Language Annals, 41.4, 2008, pp. 658-671.
Book Chapters
“Supporting your brain learning words.”, in P. Ecke & S. Rott (Eds.), Understanding Vocabulary Learning and Teaching: Implications for Language Program Development. AAUSC Vol. 2018. Boston: Cengage, 2018, pp. 28-37.
“Assessing intercultural dialogue: The German ‘Wald’ and the Canadian ‘forest’”, in D. Palfreyman & D. McBride (Eds.), Learning and Teaching Across Cultures in Higher Education. Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan, 2007, pp. 213-228.
Lexical Processing
“Rehearsed, Recalled, Rewired: New insights into Second Language Vocabulary Learning.” Invited lecture at the University of California, Davis, Feb 2020.
"Language and the Brain: Theory and Praxis.” Invited lecture at the University of California, Davis, May 2018.
“Where and how are words processed in the brain?” Invited lecture at the University of Victoria, Feb 2017.
“Short- vs long-term memory: New insights from vocabulary studies.” Paper presented at the ACTFL (American Council on Teaching Foreign Languages) conference in Orlando, FL, November 2013.
“A tool to study vocab: Does usage impact outcome?” Paper presented at the CCERBAL (Canadian Centre for Studies and Research on Bilingualism and Language Planning) conference in Ottawa, Ontario, April 2012.
“Frequency and Spacing in short and long-term second language vocabulary” Paper presented at the CALICO (Computer Assisted Language Learning Conference) in Victoria, BC, May 2011. (co-presenter G. Weimer-Stuckmann)
“Wo ist denn das Wort geblieben?” [Where did that word go?] Invited lecture at the Volkshochschule Göttingen in Göttingen, Germany, July 2010.
“Spaced Rehearsal: Long-term vocabulary retention”. Paper presented at the annual CALICO (Computer Assisted Language Instruction Consortium) conference in Amherst, MA, June 2010. (co-presenter G. Weimer-Stuckmann)
“Do your really want to connect Cognitive Psychology, Psycholinguistics, SLA, and IT?” Invited Lecture at the Universität Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany, December 2009.
“Research and Learning with IT: SLA Lexical Acquisition.“ Invited lecture at Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, BC, July 2009.
“Lexical Processing: Methodology of Intervals.” Paper presented at the annual CALICO (Computer Assisted Language Instruction Consortium) conference in Tempe, AZ, March 2009.
Computer Assisted Language Learning
“The Catch 22 of Speech Recognition Software.” Paper presented virtually at the annual CALICO (Computer Assisted Language Instruction Consortium) conference, June 2021.
“Virtual Reality – the future of language learning?” Paper presented at ACLA/CAAL (Canadian Association of Applied Linguistics) conference in Vancouver, BC, June 2019.
“The Future of Language Learning.” Paper presented at ECLL (European Conference on Language Learning) in Brighton, UK, July 2018
“Teaching with a Virtual Reality App.” Paper presented at the SLP-7 (Second Language Pedagogies) conference in Victoria, BC, June 2018
“Why we need a Holodeck – language learning in the final frontier.” Invited lecture at the University of Victoria, Sept 2017.
“Practicing grammar online: Multiple choice vs Fill-in-the-blank.” Paper presented at the ED-MEDIA conference in Washington, D.C., June 2017.
“An online grammar toolbar.” Paper presented at INKE in Whistler, BC, Jan 2016.
"The effectiveness of task-types in online grammar learning in an intermediate German classroom." Paper presented at the annual CALICO (Computer Assisted Language Instruction Consortium) conference in Boulder, CO, May 2015.
“Learning from native speakers: with or without technology?” Paper presented at the Research in CALL conference in Antwerp, Belgium, July 2014.
"Teaching the Subjunctive using Intercultural Communication." Paper presented at the EuroCall Symposium in Tübingen, Germany, Feb 2011.
“Zur Nachhaltigkeit des Einsatzes Neuer Medien im Fremdsprachenunterricht.” [The question of sustainability when using New Media in Foreign Language Teaching] Invited lecture at the Goethe Institut in Seoul, South Korea, May 2010.
“Syntactic-Morphological Structures in Second Language Writing: ‘Wikis’ or no ‘Wikis’?” Paper presented at the Canadian E-Learning conference in Calgary, AB, June 2008.
“Online collaboration in SLA: What students really do?” Paper presented at the annual ACLA/CAAL conference in Vancouver, BC, June 2008.
“Live Chat / E-Mail in SLA: Two tools, two methods, one outcome.” Paper presented at the ED-MEDIA conference in Vancouver, BC, June 2007.
“Personal communication in second language chatrooms: The digital student generation”. Paper presented at the annual conference of the Canadian Association of University Teachers of German (CAUTG) in Saskatoon, SK, May 2007.
“Assessment in online second language dialogue.” Paper presented at the annual conference of the American Association of Applied Linguistics (AAAL) in Montreal, PQ, June 2006.