“Beam me up” - teaching and learning German in virtual worlds (project DaF2L/Freiraum 2023)

The “DaF2L” project is funded by the Foundation for Innovation in University Teaching and offers an innovative learning program for international students at h_da and the EUT+ partner universities. The project, a collaboration between the Language Center (LC) and the Faculty of Media at h_da as well as Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU) under the project management of Dr. Stefanie Morgret (h_da LC) and Dr. Matthias Springer (LMU) in partnership with Prof. Dr. Paul Grimm (h_da Faculty of Media), aims to improve and expand the German language program offered for international students and at the same time to allow LMU students to acquire relevant professional skills.

With coursework based on the learning platform Deutsch-Uni-Online (DUO/g.a.s.t.) and virtual reality (VR) units, the “DaF2L” project is bringing a breath of fresh air and innovation to the German language programs. The VR applications are being created specifically for the project by two doctoral students from the Media Campus under the direction of Prof. Dr. Paul Grimm. In March 2025, students from LMU will sit in on the German courses in order to complete the practical part of their online tutor qualification, which is part of their Master's degree in German as a Foreign Language (GFL).

The “DaF2L” documentation will be available to view after the project is completed at the end of March 2026. Since September 2024, the new format has been introduced in three of the offered GFL courses and, in collaboration with staff from the Faculty of Media, continuously developed and the teaching approach optimized.