ELLeN Project

Teachers, future teachers, teacher educators and anybody else interested is invited to attend a multiplier event by the ELLeN project on June 17th, at Goethe University Frankfurt. The event will include a presentation of IO2, a book of interviews with neurodivergent people and stakeholders at inclusive schools, conducted by university students, a prentation by Aleksander Kanuerhase, and an exchange on the topics of neurodiversity in EFL teaching and in teacher education. Registration is possible via email: r.dieckhoff@em.uni-frankfurt.de.

An event on the topic of “Neurodiversity in a capitalist era”, organized in a a cooperation between consortium partners in Vienna and Ghent, will take place on June 13th, 14:30 CEST. To register for the free online event, which will feature a keynote by Alicia Broderik from Montclair State University, please click here.

On May 8th 2023, the project consortiuum met in Frankfurt to discuss current work and upcoming events. Key topics were the publication of IO2 (a book of interviews), finishing of IO3 (a lessons-learned report on inquiry based learning in teacher education), design decisions regarding IO4 (a multimedia material for teacher education), and our key messages for IO5 (accessible multimedia summaries of project results).

J. Bündgens-Kosten presented the ELLeN project on Friday, April 28th 2023, at an event hosted by Goethe University’s “Forschungsnetzwerks zur Erforschung von Behinderung und Inklusion” (Research Network for the Study of Disability and Inclusion). In this network, researchers from different fields engage in debate about current research and its dissemination.

On July 1st, Assistant Prof. Dr. Carolyn Blume from TU Dortmund received the “IDEAward” teaching award for her ELLeN-based seminar “Exploring Digitally-Mediated English Usage Among Neurodivergent Learners“. In this seminar, teacher education students interviewed neurodivergent individuals, practicing their research skills while also learning more about the language-learning related needs and experiences of autistic individuals and people with dyslexia and AD(H)D.

The seminar, which was co-taught with Dr. Judith Bündgens-Kosten from Goethe University Frankfurt, drew on input by all ELLeN participants, and featured guest lectures by Aleksander Knauerhase, as well as by Prof. Dr. Michelle Proyer and Prof. Dr. Geert Van Hove. In her acceptance remarks, Carolyn Blume explicitly thanked the many neurodivergent individuals who served as interviewees and who have made this seminar possible.

On May 28th and 29th, the project team met at the University of Vienna, to discuss work progress and next steps. Due to the COVID19 pandemic, this was the first face-to-face meeting for the consortium.

One key element of the ELLeN project is the development material that can be used to address the topic of “Neurodiversity in the EFL classroom” in teacher education, drawing on Inquiry Based Learning methods. This winter term, material and concepts will be trialled at University of Vienna, University Dortmund and Goethe University Frankfurt. Several dozen students will work with the material, providing valuable feedback that will be used for future revisions.