A holistic experience in Berlin & Beyond: an Interview with Mr. Andreas Wiebel

Mr. Andreas Wiebel is an internationally experienced lecturer in German as a foreign language. He coordinates the immersive overseas study course ‘Berlin and Beyond’. By enrolling in this course, students have the opportunity to explore German history, language, and culture firsthand during visits to Berlin and other significant locations like Tübingen in a three- or four-week learning journey. 

Chenyang interviewed Andreas to delve deeper into this intensive trip to Germany.

Hi, Andreas. Thank you so much for your time. To start off, could you share your research interests and teaching experience with SOLL talk?

Yes. I am a teaching expert and a DAAD lecturer, selected by the German Academic Exchange Service. My main focus here is teaching, and I bring over 10 years of experience in teaching in higher education, not only in Germany but also in India and Vietnam, which has equipped me with a rich and international perspective on education. My research is always connected to my teaching experience. For example, I wrote papers about contemporary poetry in language learning, writing skills and street art in language learning. Most recently, I wrote a paper about the chances and challenges of digital media and artificial intelligence in language learning. 

Thank you for sharing your teaching and research experience. I’m also interested in what inspired you to develop the ‘Berlin and Beyond’ course and how you established relationships with German partner institutions to enhance the student learning experience.

By the end of 2022, I was asked if I could imagine myself setting up the first German Studies UMOS. Personally, I thought, yes, I can do that, and I want to do that, since it was going to be a chance for students to have an immersive learning trip in Germany.

This winter term (26 June 2024 to 16 July 2024) was the first German Studies UMOS. Then, I needed to work hard to set up a lot of partnerships. I got a first entrance through my colleague, Heather Benbow at the University of Tübingen and then one email led to another email, ending up with a nice collaboration with German high schools in Tübingen. Also, we went to Berlin, our second town for this UMOS learning trip. Thankfully, my organisation, the DAAD, has an office in the centre of Berlin, so we could use the resources over there to organise some learning activities.

Are there any specific prerequisites, such as German language proficiency, that students need to meet in order to participate in this subject?

Yeah, of course. Students need to go through an application process that includes filtering and registering for the entire procedure. The criteria weren’t too high; they only needed to have 25 credit points in German Studies or have VCE in German. In the end, 17 students came along in this winter term. That’s a really good start.

How long was this winter program, and how did students learn about German history, language, and society during their time abroad?

We had three weeks. Students could apply for scholarships to support their learning tour, such as the Global Mobility Grant offered by Unimelb and the Walter Mangold Scholarship from a private institution that one student applied for.

About learning content, there is a mixture of three categories – history and politics, language and literature, and culture and people. For these three aspects, students can benefit from a timeline-based approach to learning in three key periods: the 19th century, the 20th century, and the 21st century. One of the challenges for me as a subject coordinator was to filter and decide what could be included in the three categories. For example, on language and literature, we had workshops on dialects, like Swabian, a German dialect from the southern region. I also gave a lecture on the famous novel The Aesthetics of Resistance and organised visits to significant sites, such as the museum dedicated to Nobel Prize winner Hermann Hesse in Tübingen, the place where the great poet Friedrich Hölderlin lived, as well as Bertolt Brecht’s and Helene Weigel’s summer house at Schermützelsee – always linked to the reading of selected texts. For culture, we visited a theatre performance, had an intercultural cooking class, did wine and beer tasting, and had a guest lecture about Krautrock, an experimental and electronic form of rock from Germany. Just to mention a few things …

What do you believe are the most significant benefits this subject offers to students, both academically and personally?

Students could gain a holistic experience through this program. Our trips involved more than just visiting significant sites; they’re layered with deep insights. For example, students could learn about the history and contemporary aspects of Germany but also immerse themselves in the language through practical experiences. This isn’t merely theoretical knowledge; they learned the language while engaging in everyday activities like eating, drinking, swimming and cycling in Berlin, Tübingen and Buckow. This learning journey offers a comprehensive understanding of language, history, and culture, as echoed in the feedback from two students:

“A highlight of this trip for me was exploring Germany’s historical development. I learned about the time of the Hohenzollerns, the German Empire and the two world wars through to the Cold War. I realized how classical literature reflects the historical environments. I saw the development of literary works from Friedrich Hölderlin to Hermann Hesse and from Peter Weiss, and Bertolt Brecht to Anna Funder.”

“My level of knowledge of German language and culture has improved in a way that I don’t think any other experience would have provided.”

Also, many students noted in their reflections that the course helped them grow personally, particularly in time management. As this is a university subject with lots of assignments, they had to learn to organise their work efficiently, even while travelling on the train, as one of my students mentioned:

“The large number of activities we carried out meant that we had little time to write our assignments, but it was also an opportunity to improve our time management and help each other stay prepared for our next task.”

What challenges did students face and how were these issues addressed? Alternatively, what strategies did you use to support their well-being?

My colleague Leonetta Leopardi and I were very grateful. We didn’t have any major problems which could have happened. To support the students’ well-being, preparation is important. We had two pre-departure sessions for students to focus on, like, expectation management, what to do and what not to do. Also, we gave them a little cultural training on how to behave in certain situations. Second, communication is crucial, we had a WhatsApp group. All the time we communicated important information like where to meet and what kinds of help students needed. And then, a good group atmosphere was emphasised. Many friendships were developed on the tour. We encouraged the students to adopt the ‘four eyes’ principle, like ensuring that they knew their roommates’ or friends’ whereabouts and provided help or assistance when needed.

Overall, many students expressed that they had the best time of their lives, as everything was pre-organised, allowing them to enjoy one highlight after another without any worries. As the two attached photos above and below show, one was taken on the day of the last EM Germany match with Berlin-based subculture expert Bernd Skischally, and the other is our first group photo between the 1,000-year-old half-timbered houses in Tübingen.

Thank you, Andreas, for your time and for talking with me today.

Thank you, Chenyang.