SiLC - Sign Language in the foreign Language Classroom
What is necessary for bimodal-bilingual students to learn a foreign language successfully?
Mastering a foreign language, e.g. English, opens up global opportunities for participation and education and is of high social relevance. Even for bimodal-bilingual students, i.e. students who communicate in spoken or written and sign language, learning a foreign language is obligatory in order to obtain a school leaving certificate. In most cases, this is the foreign language English. For bimodal-bilingual students and their teachers, however, the teaching of foreign languages is associated with enormous challenges, since existing didactic approaches from the field of spoken language cannot be easily transferred to the situation of bimodal-bilingual learners. It requires a special consideration of communicative, social and also cultural needs.
Throughout Germany there is a lack of special training for teachers who will teach bimodal-bilingual students in a foreign language. Existing reports from the field indicate a great diversity with regard to the implementation of foreign language teaching, but there are no extensive research results so far that provide an empirical basis for didactic decisions in practice as well as impulses for the training of teachers.
The SiLC research group addresses this research gap with the following foci:
- Survey of the current state of foreign language teaching nationwide.
- Survey of learner and teacher experiences in foreign language teaching (motivation, needs)
- Investigation of cross-linguistic activation and processing of ASL and English in DGS- and German-competent learners
- Analysis of code-switching in foreign language teaching
- English language teaching in inclusion
- Collection of best practice examples
- Preparation of teaching materials
Networking with stakeholders from academia and practice.
The SiLC Network Meeting
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The third SiLC conference on bimodal-bilingual English teaching will take place from 28 to 29 November 2026, following the DFGS conference. The venue is the conference center in Hofgeismar near Kassel. Further information on registration will follow.
Twice a year, we organize the network meeting “Foreign language teaching with sign-language-oriented students” for stakeholders from research and school practice. Each meeting includes a theme-related keynote lecture followed by time and space for discussion and lively exchange.
An overview of the previous network meetings/conferences and the topics of the keynote lectures:
25.02.2026 - Digital tools in English teaching
17.09.2025 - Grammar teaching with the star table
19.02.2025 - Development of ASL materials (Monika Keller-Knörzer)
16./17.11.2024 - 2nd SiLC conference in Erfurt
28.02.2024 - English teaching in inclusive settings
06.09.2023 - Assessment
28.02.2023 - Learner experiences in foreign language teaching
17./18.09.2022 - 1st SiLC conference in Münster
16.03.2022 - (nationwide) - Unfortunately, the keynote lecture had to be cancelled at short notice due to illness. However, there was an intensive exchange in theme-specific small groups.
15.09.2021 - Insights into the results of a master’s thesis on the topic: English teaching with ASL signs in the special focus area of hearing communication (Ines Fister, Henriette Juche)
09.03.2021 - Experience report on learning ASL and English during a high school year (Fabian Pufhan)
→ Here is the link to the DGS video. https://drive.google.com/file/
Please contact us by mail at: silc-forschungsgruppe@uni-koeln.de
Members of the research group
Wissenschaftliche Mitarbeiterin Frau Dr. Urbann arbeitet seit dem 1.10.2021
Raum Brieffach Adresse Köln Sprechstunde
Dr.in Katharina Urbann
an der Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin.
➢ Zur Homepage von Katharina Urbann
Förderschullehrerin im Hochschuldienst
Raum 404 Brieffach 8 Adresse Klosterstr. 79b 50931 Köln Sprechstunde
während der Vorlesungszeit: montags 09.00-10.00 Uhr (online) und donnerstags 12.00-13.00 Uhr (online oder Präsenz).
Kristin Gross
➢ Projekt SiLC
➢ zur Homepage von Kristin Gross
Während der vorlesungsfreien Zeit: nach Vereinbarung per Mail.
Anmeldung über den folgenden Link: https://edupad.ch/p/80DSzhoeYQ
➢ Seit 2013 Lehrerin am rheinisch-westfälischen
Raum Brieffach Adresse Köln Sprechstunde
Melanie Kellner
Berufskolleg für Hörgeschädigte Essen
Melanie Kellner
Mail: melanie.kellner@mailbox.org