English as a Medium of Instruction (EMI)
You bring the subject knowledge and we provide the language and intercultural competence so that you and your students can have the best possible communication.
- You choose the topic and we will be happy to help guide you individually or in a small group.
- We can help you practice scenarios such as giving lectures, fielding difficult questions, dealing with controversy, clearing up misunderstandings, and a variety of other topics.
- We are happy to help you edit your teaching materials (examinations, slides, worksheets) to an international English-speaking audience.*
- You could also invite us to your lecture to help gauge whether a particular area needs improvement.
English as a Medium of Instruction (EMI), colloquially known as teaching in English, constitutes a pivotal step in enacting and advancing the Internationalization strategy of the University of Stuttgart. As part of this effort, the Language Center’s EMI Navigator program supports instructors implementing their best teaching in English through an individualized and adaptable program.
In a preliminary meeting, the EMI team and the respective instructor determine specific areas of support that are particularly relevant to the upcoming course and the desired areas of individualized improvement.
Throughout the semester, individual coaching and feedback sessions assist in lecture preparation. In addition, the EMI team recommends suitable Language Center courses from the current offerings and provides asynchronous materials for self-study. The EMI team attends two to three lectures in order to observe the use of English. Instructors may provide course materials for evaluation and identification of possible systematic errors.
An online survey towards the end of the semester assesses the students’ perspective on English throughout the respective course and in their studies in general. The results of these lecture evaluations are shared confidentially with the instructor in feedback meetings, during which EMI support is continuously modified to best suit their needs.
Potential Objectives:
- Course Teaching in English
- Lecturing in English in a clear way (potentially improving/ adjusting accent)
- Checking comprehension and encouraging active participation in the classroom
- Communicating clear expectations (deadlines, project instructions, evaluation standards etc.)
- Giving effective feedback on oral and written projects using easy-to-adapt rubrics
- Adjusting course materials to English-speaking (international) students
- Editing slides/ presentation*
- Making your presentations accessible and understandable*
- Developing content-specific vocabulary lists
- General English support
- Describing equations
- Dealing with graphs, charts, and other visual information
- Describing processes
- Holding office hours
- Dealing with difficult questions
- Giving constructive feedback
- Teaching with intercultural competence
- Dealing with disagreement and avoiding potential controversy
- Setting clear academic integrity standards (plagiarism and fraud) for students of various cultural backgrounds
- Encouraging proper usage of citation practices at the institute
Please feel free to contact me, Gretchen Chojnacki-Herbers, if you have any questions.
Press Release | EMI Navigator Program
You can read the article of the University Communications of the University of Stuttgart about the EMI Navigator program here:
Teaching in English: Individual Coaching and Support for Lecturers at the University of Stuttgart
This offering is an opportunity for you to ask your burning questions about teaching in English, practice a version of your lecture, or role play student meeting.
Please write an email to Gretchen Chojnacki-Herbers to book an appointment for coachings, or individual consultations.
Visit us on our ILIAS page - EMI Navigator:
The Language Center offers a number of workshops that may also be interesting to you:
Workshops for PhD Students, Post-Docs, and Teaching Staff
Informationen for doctoral students:
Interdisciplinary qualification/ Überfachliche Qualifizierungsveranstaltung - Recommendation/ Empfehlung: 1-2 credit point(s)/ 1-2 Leistungspunkt(e) (LP)
See additional info for doctoral students:
Promotionsordnung 2019 (p. 6-7, §4 - (3) - 6.) & Promotionsvereinbarung (Fassung ab 01.10.2021) (p. 2, 4. Individuelles Qualifizierungsprogramm + p. 5, Anlage 2: Individuelles Qualifizierungsprogramm
You will receive a certificate of the Language Center after having successfully completed the PhD workshop. The Language Center cannot award ECTS credit for this workshop. Please contact your institute, professor, or faculty regarding whether they will recognize this workshop for ECTS credit.
Workshops for PhD Students, Post-Docs, Researchers, and Teaching Staff
1. Controller and data protection officer
Information concerning the controller and data protection officer can be found in the data protection declaration of the University.
2. Description of data
An uncoded email in clear text will be generated from the information you provide in the registration form. In order to contact you via e-mail and process your registration, we need all statements marked with a *.
3. Purpose
The form enables a simplified means of register for the above mentioned course electronically without an email program needing to be used.
4. Legal basis
The legal basis is Article 6 Paragraph 1 Letter e) GDPR together with Article 6 Paragraph 3 GDPR and § 4 of the State Data Protection Act (Landesdatenschutzgesetz).
5. Recipients
Your message is received by the head of the Teaching in English Center of the University of Stuttgart.
6. Storage duration
The personal data you enter in this form will be processed solely for the purpose stated and will be deleted after the period of processing. The length of time for which the email is saved by the end recipient depends on the process which subsequently takes place.
7. Consequences of non-provision, right of objection and correction
The use of the form is voluntary. You can also get in touch with the Language Center by telephone or personally during the office hours of Ms. Chojnacki-Herbers, M.A..
You are free to provide your name and email address in the form of a pseudonym when entering data, which means that the University cannot assign the information to a person. Should you not wish for your identity to be disclosed, it may then be the case that your matter cannot be processed.
8. Your rights
Information concerning your rights can be found in the data protection declaration of the University of Stuttgart.
* Pease note this is not a translation service. We help you adapt your lectures/ presentations/ slides/ scripts into English.
Gretchen Chojnacki-Herbers, M.A.
Academic employee (Teaching in English)
Coordinator for Arabic, Norwegian, Russian, Swedish
Daniel Schäuffele, M.A.
Academic employee