Schwemmer, Jun.-Prof. Dr. Katja
Junior Professor
Faculty of Humanities and Cultural Studies
Institute of Foreign Languages
English
Postal address (work): Keplerstraße 87, 69120 Heidelberg
Education
2018: Second State Examination for Primary School Teaching (Lehramt Grundschule), Baden-Württemberg
2016: Doctorate (Dr. phil.) in English Linguistics (advisors: Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Bernd Kortmann, Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Christian Mair), Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg
2012: First State Examination for Primary School Teaching (Lehramt Grundschule), Otto-Friedrich-Universität Bamberg
2010–11: ERASMUS scholarship, Swansea University, Wales
Professional Experience
Since 2023: Junior Professor of English Language and English Language Teaching (Didactics), Heidelberg University of Education (PH Heidelberg)
2020–22: Adjunct Lecturer, Department of English, Freiburg University of Education (PH Freiburg)
2017–22: Primary school teacher in Baden-Württemberg (parental leave:
2015–17: Postdoctoral Research Associate (Akademische Mitarbeiterin), English Department, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg
2012–15: Doctoral Researcher, DFG Research Training Group 1624 "Frequency Effects in Language", Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg
2013: Adjunct Lecturer, Department of English and American Studies, Otto-Friedrich-Universität Bamberg
2010–12: Student Assistant (English Linguistics, Psychology), Otto-Friedrich-Universität Bamberg
- Grammar and the role of chunks in the (primary) EFL classroom
- Applied Construction Grammar and usage-based approaches to language learning
- Bilingual education/CLIL with a special focus on early historical learning
- Young learners' encounters with extramural English in the digital wilds
- Education for democracy in the foreign language classroom
Note: Publications up to 2017 appeared under my maiden name, Katja Roller.
Edited Volumes
Schwemmer, Katja & Thurn, Anabelle (eds.) (in preparation) Historisches Lernen im Sachunterricht bilingual: Zur Verknüpfung von inhaltlichem mit fremdsprachlichem und mehrsprachigem Lernen [Bilingual Historical Learning in Primary Social Studies: Linking Content Learning with Foreign-Language and Multilingual Learning]. Supplement to the journal widerstreit sachunterricht, 2026.
Rymarczyk, Jutta & Schwemmer, Katja (eds.) (2025) LanguageS Learning: Research and Pedagogies on Bi- and Multilingualism / SpracheN lernen: Forschung und Fachdidaktik zu Zwei- und Mehrsprachigkeit. Berlin (et al.): Peter Lang.
Kasten, Erich, Roller, Katja & Wilbur, Joshua (eds.) (2017) Oral History Meets Linguistics. Fürstenberg/Havel: Verlag der Kulturstiftung Sibirien.
Monograph
Roller, Katja (2016) Salience in Welsh English Grammar: A Usage-based Approach. Freiburg: NIHIN Studies. (Doctoral dissertation)
Contributions
Schwemmer, Katja & Thurn, Anabelle (in preparation) Geschichtskultur im bilingualen Sachunterricht: Chancen für historisches und fremdsprachliches Lernen [Historical Culture in Bilingual Primary Social Studies: Opportunities for Historical and Foreign-Language Learning]. In: Schwemmer, Katja & Thurn, Anabelle (eds.) Historisches Lernen im Sachunterricht bilingual: Zur Verknüpfung von inhaltlichem mit fremdsprachlichem und mehrsprachigem Lernen. Supplement to the journal widerstreit sachunterricht, 2026.
The following entries were all submitted by Schwemmer, Katja, for: Kilian, Jörg & Rymarczyk, Jutta (eds.) WSK 16: Sprachdidaktik: Erstsprache, Zweitsprache, Fremdsprache. Ein Lern- und Konsultationswörterbuch mit systematischer Einleitung und englischen Übersetzungen [Language Teaching Methodology: First Language, Second Language, Foreign Language. A Learning and Reference Dictionary with Systematic Introduction and English Translations]. Berlin & New York: de Gruyter.
- (submitted) Anlautmethode [Initial-sound method]
- (submitted) Buchstabiermethode [Letter-spelling method]
- (submitted) Critical Period Hypothesis
- (submitted) Lautiermethode [Phonic sounding method]
- (submitted) TEFL
- (submitted) TESL
Rymarczyk, Jutta & Schwemmer, Katja (2025) Introduction: LanguageS Learning – Reasons for the capital "S". In: Rymarczyk, Jutta & Schwemmer, Katja (eds.) LanguageS Learning: Research and Pedagogies on Bi- and Multilingualism / SpracheN lernen: Forschung und Fachdidaktik zu Zwei- und Mehrsprachigkeit. Berlin (et al.): Peter Lang.
Schwemmer, Katja & Thurn, Anabelle (2025) CLIL with a Historical Perspective in Primary School: Scaffolding through Visual Aids from Historical Culture. In: Rymarczyk, Jutta & Schwemmer, Katja (eds.) LanguageS Learning: Research and Pedagogies on Bi- and Multilingualism / SpracheN lernen: Forschung und Fachdidaktik zu Zwei- und Mehrsprachigkeit. Berlin (et al.): Peter Lang.
Schwemmer, Katja (2025) Entgrenzung von Wortschatz und Grammatik? Chunks in Englischlehrwerken für die Grundschule [Dissolving the Boundaries between Vocabulary and Grammar? Chunks in English Textbooks for Primary School]. In: Kulovics, Nina, Mentz, Olivier & Raith, Thomas (eds.) Grenzen, Grenzräume, Entgrenzungen: Perspektiven in der Fremdsprachenforschung [Borders, Borderlands, Dissolutions of Borders: Perspectives in Foreign Language Research]. Bielefeld: Schneider bei wbv, 271–291.
Schwemmer, Katja & Thurn, Anabelle (2025) Mehrsprachigkeit als Schlüssel für historisches Lernen in heterogenen Klassen: Das Beispiel des komparativen Begriffslernens [Multilingualism as a Key to Historical Learning in Heterogeneous Classes: The Example of Comparative Concept Learning]. Lehren und Lernen 51:2, 34–38.
Schwemmer, Katja & Thurn, Anabelle (2024) Tagungsbericht: CLIL im historischen Sachunterricht: Perspektiven für inhaltliches und fremdsprachliches Lernen [Conference Report: CLIL in Historical Primary Social Studies: Perspectives for Content and Foreign-Language Learning]. In: Zeitschrift für Fremdsprachenforschung 35:2, 323–325.
Roller, Katja (2017) On Pits, Progressives and Probabilities of Use: Memories from Wales and Their Implications for Corpus-linguistic (and Historical) Research. In: Kasten, Erich, Roller, Katja & Wilbur, Joshua (eds.) Oral History Meets Linguistics. Fürstenberg/Havel: Verlag der Kulturstiftung Sibirien, 147–158.
Roller, Katja (2015) Towards the 'Oral' in Oral History: Using Historical Narratives in Linguistics. In: Oral History 43:1, 73–84.
Teaching Practice
Schwemmer, Katja (2024) Review: "Rhyme Crime". Grundschule Englisch 86.
Schwemmer, Katja (2024) Review: "Pete the Cat and the Perfect Pizza Party". Grundschule Englisch 86.
Schwemmer, Katja (2023) Happy birthday! Mit Mini-Dialogen die Sprechkompetenz fördern [Happy Birthday! Promoting Speaking Skills with Mini-Dialogues]. In: Grundschule Englisch 83, 14–15.
Haas, Stefanie & Torkler, René (eds.) (2021) Abenteuer Ethik Realschule Bayern, vol. 9. Bamberg: C.C. Buchner. (I am the author of the English-language pages.)
Haas, Stefanie & Torkler, René (eds.) (2020) Abenteuer Ethik Realschule Bayern, vol. 8. Bamberg: C.C. Buchner. (I am the author of the English-language pages.)
Torkler, René (ed.) (2019) Abenteuer Ethik Realschule Bayern, vol. 7. Bamberg: C.C. Buchner. (I am the author of the English-language pages.)
- 2026 (accepted, with Clara Reining): A Qualitative Study on the Importance of Education for Democracy in Primary Schools in Germany and the US – How (English) Teaching Can Make a Difference, 2nd ELLRA Conference, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
- 2026 (accepted, with Victoria Geller): Young learners' encounters with English in the digital wilds: Contexts, motivations, and the role of multilingualism, 2nd ELLRA Conference, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
- 2025: More than words: Wie chunks das produktive Sprechen im Englischunterricht der Grundschule unterstützen können [How Chunks Can Support Productive Speaking in Primary English Teaching], Research Day, PH Heidelberg
- 2025 (with Victoria Geller): Außerschulischer digitaler Fremdsprachenerwerb: Grundschüler:innen in den digital wilds [Out-of-School Digital Foreign Language Acquisition: Primary School Pupils in the Digital Wilds], 31st DGFF Congress 2025, University of Kassel
- 2025: Produktives Sprechen im Grundschulenglischunterricht: Die Rolle von chunks mit open slots in Lehrwerken [Productive Speaking in Primary English Teaching: The Role of Chunks with Open Slots in Coursebooks], 31st DGFF Congress 2025, University of Kassel
- 2025 (panel discussion, with Stefanie Frisch and Julia Reckermann): Welchen Beitrag leistet der frühe Englischunterricht zur Bildung für nachhaltige Entwicklung? [What Contribution Does Early English Teaching Make to Education for Sustainable Development?], 31st DGFF Congress 2025, University of Kassel
- 2025 (poster): Towards productive speaking? Chunks with open slots in primary English coursebooks, ATFLY Online Conference, Universities of Frankfurt, Leipzig & Wuppertal
- 2024: Beyond words: Formelhafte Wendungen im frühen Fremdsprachenlernen [Beyond Words: Formulaic Expressions in Early Foreign Language Learning]. Inaugural lecture, PH Heidelberg
- 2024 (invited): More than words: Grammar and language chunks in the primary EFL classroom, guest lecture at Europa-Universität Flensburg (online)
- 2024: The Role of Coursebooks in Learning Language Chunks in Primary English Education, Inaugural ELLRA Conference, Pedagogical University of Cracow
- 2024: A Constructionist Perspective on Primary English Coursebooks: The Role of Chunks, CALP 4 (Constructionist Approaches to Language Pedagogy), FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg
- 2024 (with Anabelle Thurn): Geschichtskulturelle Medien im bilingualen historischen Sachunterricht: Perspektiven für inhaltliches und fremdsprachliches Lernen [Historical-Culture Media in Bilingual Historical Primary Social Studies: Perspectives for Content and Foreign-Language Learning], conference "CLIL im historischen Sachunterricht: Perspektiven für inhaltliches und fremdsprachliches Lernen", PH Heidelberg
- 2023: Chunks im Englischunterricht der Grundschule: Ein konstruktionsgrammatischer Ansatz [Chunks in Primary English Teaching: A Construction Grammar Approach], 30th DGFF Congress, PH Freiburg
- 2023 (with Anabelle Thurn): Historisches Lernen im bilingualen Sachunterricht: Mit geschichtskulturellen Quellen zum Content & Language Integrated Learning [Historical Learning in Bilingual Primary Social Studies: Towards Content & Language Integrated Learning with Sources from Historical Culture], 32nd GDSU Annual Conference, PH Salzburg
- 2022: Rituale im Englischunterricht der Grundschule [Rituals in Primary English Teaching], Fachtag "Frühes Fremdsprachenlernen in der Grundschule heute", PH Freiburg
- 2016: Salience in Welsh English Grammar: On Usage Frequencies and Social Factors, Sociolinguistics Symposium 21, Universidad de Murcia
- 2015: A Frequency-based Approach to Salience in Dialect Grammar: The Case of Welsh English, ICAME 36, Universität Trier – winner of the John Sinclair Bursary for the best doctoral student presentation
- 2015 (with Bernd Kortmann): From Dialect Corpus to Interactive Open-access Database: FRED Online, international FRIAS & GRK 1624 Workshop "Oral History Meets Linguistics", Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg
- 2014: Welsh That Is: On the Relation between Salience and Frequency in Welsh English Grammar, 5th UK Cognitive Linguistics Conference (UK-CLC5), Lancaster University
2025: 17th Early Career Researchers' Conference of the German Association for Foreign Language Research (DGFF), PH Heidelberg
Organization (with C. Blume, D. Brotzmann, V. Geller, L. Lepelt & K. Vogt) and conference chair (with C. Blume and K. Vogt)
2024: "CLIL im historischen Sachunterricht: Perspektiven für inhaltliches und fremdsprachliches Lernen" [CLIL in Historical Primary Social Studies: Perspectives for Content and Foreign-Language Learning], PH Heidelberg
Organization (with A. Thurn)
Conference reports:
Lennert, Christina (2024) Tagungsbericht: CLIL im historischen Sachunterricht [Conference Report: CLIL in Historical Primary Social Studies], in: H-Soz-Kult, 14.09.2024,
Schwemmer, Katja & Anabelle Thurn (2024) Tagungsbericht: CLIL im historischen Sachunterricht: Perspektiven für inhaltliches und fremdsprachliches Lernen [Conference Report: CLIL in Historical Primary Social Studies: Perspectives for Content and Foreign-Language Learning]. In: Zeitschrift für Fremdsprachenforschung 35:2, 323–325.
Conference proceedings (in preparation, publication planned for 2026):
Schwemmer, Katja & Thurn, Anabelle (eds.) Historisches Lernen im Sachunterricht bilingual: Zur Verknüpfung von inhaltlichem mit fremdsprachlichem und mehrsprachigem Lernen [Bilingual Historical Learning in Primary Social Studies: Linking Content Learning with Foreign-Language and Multilingual Learning]. Supplement to the journal widerstreit sachunterricht, 2026.
Network that emerged from the conference:
Science Slams
2025 (invited): Why people sing when they speak, not only in Heidelberg but also in Wales, and what that has to do with our identity. Science Slam on the occasion of KIT's 200th anniversary, Das Fest, Karlsruhe
2023: Why not only Heidelberg locals but also the Welsh sing when they speak, and what that has to do with our identity. Science Slam of PH Heidelberg
Ich habe es ohne Fettdruck ausgegeben, weil ich nicht weiß, welche Stellen im Original fett waren. Sag mir kurz, welche, dann setze ich es entsprechend.
Courses
2025 (invited):