Prof. Dr. Stefanie Frisch
Stefanie Frisch is Professor of Teaching English as a Foreign Language at Goethe-University Frankfurt. Her research focuses on skills development (speaking, reading, writing; including assessment), literary learning, technology-enhanced foreign language teaching and bilingual education.
Her previous academic positions include a professorship at the University
of Wuppertal and working as researcher/lecturer at the University of Koblenz.
She is a member of the editorial board of the journal Grundschule
Englisch [Primary English] and manager of the TEFL STEP programme (Student
Teachers of English School Placement Abroad).
During her junior professorship her research on bilingual science in primary school (BiLL NaWi) was funded by the DFG. She earned a doctorate from University of Wuppertal where she specialised
in literacy among primary EFL learners. She gained practical experience at
schools in Igersheim and Düsseldorf during her teaching traineeship and as a
teacher. She studied at the University of Education Heidelberg and - financed
by the Baden-Württemberg scholarship - at the University of Northumbria.
FFF-Network: The FFF network (Forschung zum frühen
Fremdsprachenlernen, German for: Research in early language education in
instructed contexts) consists of a group of researchers from Germany, Austria and
Switzerland. The members see early language education as part of basic
education. It is of such paramount importance for the education and upbringing
of future generations and for the common good in Germany, Austria and
Switzerland that it should be anchored in primary school from grade 1 onwards
if possible. (DGFF
position paper). More information can be found here: https://blog.studiumdigitale.uni-frankfurt.de/fff-netzwerk/
(Prof.
Dr. Stefanie Frisch)
Literary Learning in the Primary EFL Classroom (LiLe) (since 2018)
Team: Prof. Dr. Stefanie Frisch (Goethe University Frankfurt); Dr. Constanze Dreßler (University of Wuppertal); Prof. Dr. Annika Kolb (Pädagogische Hochschule Freiburg); Dr. Axel Wunderlich (Herder Schule Kassel)
Summary:
Picture books are a popular medium in the primary EFL classroom (see e.g. BIG-Kreis 2015: 27, 29). They are used to motivate children to learn the foreign language, to introduce new words and linguistic structures and to pave the way for intercultural learning (see e.g. Elsner 2010: 119; Frisch 2015: 224f.).
So far, little is known about whether English picture books can be used to initiate early literary learning. Based on a theoretical model (Alter/Frisch 2018; Diehr/Surkamp 2015), the project investigates to what extent picture books can contribute to the development of literary competence and which principles should be taken into account in English classes.
Literacy in Primary School (LiPS)
Project lead: Prof. Dr. Stefanie Frisch and Prof. Dr. Bärbel Diehr (until 2021)
Project duration: since October 2007
Summary
It is evident that learners at the primary school level are eager to utilise the English writing system as soon as they have identified its functional purpose. It is therefore assumed that quasi-simultaneous literacy in German and English can promote the acquisition of written language in general. However, in the absence of adequate instruction, learners may develop a phenomenon known as "invented phonation," which refers to an incorrect pronunciation based on German phonation, and may also lose the joy of reading. In the domain of writing, learners may develop their own conventions for English spelling (invented spelling) if they lack access to the standard English spelling system.
The primary objective of the LiPs study is to examine pivotal questions pertaining to the acquisition of reading and writing skills in English language education at the primary school level. The study aims to delineate theoretically grounded and empirically informed models for quasi-simultaneous literacy, with a particular focus on the domains of reading and writing in English language lessons. Additionally, it seeks to establish a foundation for the development of standards at the end of the fourth grade.
EFL Writing in Primary School (WiPS)
Project lead: Stefanie Frisch
Summary:
In secondary school English teachers criticise the limited results of fifth graders' writing competences and they used to claim playful methods of teaching English in primary school for it (Böttger 2009: 20). Within the last ten years the teaching of English in primary schools has developed from playful to outcome oriented programmes (Frisch 2017). Learners are expected to be able to write short and simple texts by the end of year 4 and writing therefore now plays a more important role than in its infant years (BIG-Kreis 2015: 29ff.). It is still discussed though whether learners should only copy familiar texts or whether learners can already express their own ideas in a written form. As a consequence, learners do not enter secondary schools with a lack but with different proficiency levels. As soon as learners get the chance to write (and not only copy texts) they make a lot of mistakes. Knowledge about developmental phases of writing acquisition is necessary to foster writing appropriately and to make a contribution to a smooth transition from primary to secondary school.
The aim of the WIPS study (Writing in Primary School) is to investigate the quantity and quality of young EFL learners' writing competences. Two writing tasks were developed and used in eleven classes (N=189). The results of the analysis of the learner texts are cautiously interpreted as evidence suggesting that primary school EFL writers need to get theory-informed opportunities for practicing writing (not only copying) to develop productive writing skills.
Automated Writing Feedback
Team:
Prof. Dr. Stefanie Frisch (Didaktik des Englischen)
Prof. Dr. Claudia Schrader (Lehren und Lernen mit digitalen Medien)
Dr. Stephan Tilgner (KI4BUW - DigiData)
In the project ‘Automated Adaptive Writing Feedback’, we are working together on the topic of automatically generated attributional feedback on short texts written by students in English. In a first step, parameters of formal and content-related text quality, consisting of spelling, lexis, grammar, coherence, task fulfilment and ingenuity, are continuously tracked and analysed using AI methods. In addition, the pressure parameters of the digital pen are recorded when the texts are written, which, based on preliminary work, can be used as indicators of learning and performance emotions displayed in the process. The relationship between the two – cognitive and affective – parameters in different forms is determined.
The findings from the first step will be used in a second step to support the design and use of automatically generated feedback that is adaptively aligned with the performance in terms of text quality and the emotional states of the students. The feedback will be empirically tested in different combinations.
Based on this, recommendations for feedback formulations and design will be derived in a third step, in order to promote students' ability self-concept, to balance suboptimal emotional states and thus to optimally support students in their learning process.
Communities of Practice NRW für eine innovative Lehrerbildung (COMeIN):
Lead : Prof. Dr. Stefanie Frisch
Team: Paulina Lehmkuhl,
Student Assistants: Daniela Domnik-Meyer (2022-2023), Ben Hof zum Ahaus (2023-2024)
2019-2023: Member of the CoP Foreign Languages in the project COMeIN – Communities of Practice. NRW für eine innovative Lehrerbildung
The aim of the project was to develop and evaluate teaching concepts for English classes in which digital media are used to promote English-language skills. In addition, the project examined the contribution that English classes can make to promoting digital skills.
DFG Projekt: Bilinguales Lehren und Lernen - Effekte auf die naturwissenschaftliche Kompetenz
The aim of the research project was to investigate the scientific competence of bilingual (German-English) compared to monolingual (German) taught fourth graders in North Rhine-Westphalia. In bilingual primary school science classes The aim of the research project was to investigate the scientific competence of bilingual (German-English) compared to monolingual (German) taught fourth graders in North Rhine-Westphalia.
In bilingual primary school, the same content-related goals are to be achieved as in monolingual primary school (see KMK 2013:6; MSW NRW 2011; BIG 2011: 17). Exposure to more English and working with authentic content that is relevant and motivating for the students is also intended to improve their English skills. The aim is to develop dual subject literacy (Vollmer 2005).
However, little is known about how the specifics of bilingual teaching affect the acquisition of scientific literacy and at what level scientific skills can be developed.
TEFL STEP Programme (Student Teachers of English School Placement Abroad)
If you study English at the Institute of English and American Studies with the aim of becoming a teacher of English, and if you are considering a stay abroad as one of the practical components of your Lehramts degree, then you have found your way to the right place on the web.
Every year around June (the exact dates are to be found on the IEAS blog) applications may be made for a place on the STEP programme. For more information visit the Going Abroad section on the IEAS homepage (Teaching Degree English, Praxissemester England and Ireland).
Stefanie Frisch is Professor of Teaching English as a Foreign Language at Goethe-University Frankfurt. Her research focuses on skills development (speaking, reading, writing; including assessment), literary learning, technology-enhanced foreign language teaching and bilingual education.
Her previous academic positions include a professorship at the University
of Wuppertal and working as researcher/lecturer at the University of Koblenz.
She is a member of the editorial board of the journal Grundschule
Englisch [Primary English] and manager of the TEFL STEP programme (Student
Teachers of English School Placement Abroad).
During her junior professorship her research on bilingual science in primary school (BiLL NaWi) was funded by the DFG. She earned a doctorate from University of Wuppertal where she specialised
in literacy among primary EFL learners. She gained practical experience at
schools in Igersheim and Düsseldorf during her teaching traineeship and as a
teacher. She studied at the University of Education Heidelberg and - financed
by the Baden-Württemberg scholarship - at the University of Northumbria.
FFF-Network: The FFF network (Forschung zum frühen
Fremdsprachenlernen, German for: Research in early language education in
instructed contexts) consists of a group of researchers from Germany, Austria and
Switzerland. The members see early language education as part of basic
education. It is of such paramount importance for the education and upbringing
of future generations and for the common good in Germany, Austria and
Switzerland that it should be anchored in primary school from grade 1 onwards
if possible. (DGFF
position paper). More information can be found here: https://blog.studiumdigitale.uni-frankfurt.de/fff-netzwerk/
(Prof.
Dr. Stefanie Frisch)
Literary Learning in the Primary EFL Classroom (LiLe) (since 2018)
Team: Prof. Dr. Stefanie Frisch (Goethe University Frankfurt); Dr. Constanze Dreßler (University of Wuppertal); Prof. Dr. Annika Kolb (Pädagogische Hochschule Freiburg); Dr. Axel Wunderlich (Herder Schule Kassel)
Summary:
Picture books are a popular medium in the primary EFL classroom (see e.g. BIG-Kreis 2015: 27, 29). They are used to motivate children to learn the foreign language, to introduce new words and linguistic structures and to pave the way for intercultural learning (see e.g. Elsner 2010: 119; Frisch 2015: 224f.).
So far, little is known about whether English picture books can be used to initiate early literary learning. Based on a theoretical model (Alter/Frisch 2018; Diehr/Surkamp 2015), the project investigates to what extent picture books can contribute to the development of literary competence and which principles should be taken into account in English classes.
Literacy in Primary School (LiPS)
Project lead: Prof. Dr. Stefanie Frisch and Prof. Dr. Bärbel Diehr (until 2021)
Project duration: since October 2007
Summary
It is evident that learners at the primary school level are eager to utilise the English writing system as soon as they have identified its functional purpose. It is therefore assumed that quasi-simultaneous literacy in German and English can promote the acquisition of written language in general. However, in the absence of adequate instruction, learners may develop a phenomenon known as "invented phonation," which refers to an incorrect pronunciation based on German phonation, and may also lose the joy of reading. In the domain of writing, learners may develop their own conventions for English spelling (invented spelling) if they lack access to the standard English spelling system.
The primary objective of the LiPs study is to examine pivotal questions pertaining to the acquisition of reading and writing skills in English language education at the primary school level. The study aims to delineate theoretically grounded and empirically informed models for quasi-simultaneous literacy, with a particular focus on the domains of reading and writing in English language lessons. Additionally, it seeks to establish a foundation for the development of standards at the end of the fourth grade.
EFL Writing in Primary School (WiPS)
Project lead: Stefanie Frisch
Summary:
In secondary school English teachers criticise the limited results of fifth graders' writing competences and they used to claim playful methods of teaching English in primary school for it (Böttger 2009: 20). Within the last ten years the teaching of English in primary schools has developed from playful to outcome oriented programmes (Frisch 2017). Learners are expected to be able to write short and simple texts by the end of year 4 and writing therefore now plays a more important role than in its infant years (BIG-Kreis 2015: 29ff.). It is still discussed though whether learners should only copy familiar texts or whether learners can already express their own ideas in a written form. As a consequence, learners do not enter secondary schools with a lack but with different proficiency levels. As soon as learners get the chance to write (and not only copy texts) they make a lot of mistakes. Knowledge about developmental phases of writing acquisition is necessary to foster writing appropriately and to make a contribution to a smooth transition from primary to secondary school.
The aim of the WIPS study (Writing in Primary School) is to investigate the quantity and quality of young EFL learners' writing competences. Two writing tasks were developed and used in eleven classes (N=189). The results of the analysis of the learner texts are cautiously interpreted as evidence suggesting that primary school EFL writers need to get theory-informed opportunities for practicing writing (not only copying) to develop productive writing skills.
Automated Writing Feedback
Team:
Prof. Dr. Stefanie Frisch (Didaktik des Englischen)
Prof. Dr. Claudia Schrader (Lehren und Lernen mit digitalen Medien)
Dr. Stephan Tilgner (KI4BUW - DigiData)
In the project ‘Automated Adaptive Writing Feedback’, we are working together on the topic of automatically generated attributional feedback on short texts written by students in English. In a first step, parameters of formal and content-related text quality, consisting of spelling, lexis, grammar, coherence, task fulfilment and ingenuity, are continuously tracked and analysed using AI methods. In addition, the pressure parameters of the digital pen are recorded when the texts are written, which, based on preliminary work, can be used as indicators of learning and performance emotions displayed in the process. The relationship between the two – cognitive and affective – parameters in different forms is determined.
The findings from the first step will be used in a second step to support the design and use of automatically generated feedback that is adaptively aligned with the performance in terms of text quality and the emotional states of the students. The feedback will be empirically tested in different combinations.
Based on this, recommendations for feedback formulations and design will be derived in a third step, in order to promote students' ability self-concept, to balance suboptimal emotional states and thus to optimally support students in their learning process.
Communities of Practice NRW für eine innovative Lehrerbildung (COMeIN):
Lead : Prof. Dr. Stefanie Frisch
Team: Paulina Lehmkuhl,
Student Assistants: Daniela Domnik-Meyer (2022-2023), Ben Hof zum Ahaus (2023-2024)
2019-2023: Member of the CoP Foreign Languages in the project COMeIN – Communities of Practice. NRW für eine innovative Lehrerbildung
The aim of the project was to develop and evaluate teaching concepts for English classes in which digital media are used to promote English-language skills. In addition, the project examined the contribution that English classes can make to promoting digital skills.
DFG Projekt: Bilinguales Lehren und Lernen - Effekte auf die naturwissenschaftliche Kompetenz
The aim of the research project was to investigate the scientific competence of bilingual (German-English) compared to monolingual (German) taught fourth graders in North Rhine-Westphalia. In bilingual primary school science classes The aim of the research project was to investigate the scientific competence of bilingual (German-English) compared to monolingual (German) taught fourth graders in North Rhine-Westphalia.
In bilingual primary school, the same content-related goals are to be achieved as in monolingual primary school (see KMK 2013:6; MSW NRW 2011; BIG 2011: 17). Exposure to more English and working with authentic content that is relevant and motivating for the students is also intended to improve their English skills. The aim is to develop dual subject literacy (Vollmer 2005).
However, little is known about how the specifics of bilingual teaching affect the acquisition of scientific literacy and at what level scientific skills can be developed.
TEFL STEP Programme (Student Teachers of English School Placement Abroad)
If you study English at the Institute of English and American Studies with the aim of becoming a teacher of English, and if you are considering a stay abroad as one of the practical components of your Lehramts degree, then you have found your way to the right place on the web.
Every year around June (the exact dates are to be found on the IEAS blog) applications may be made for a place on the STEP programme. For more information visit the Going Abroad section on the IEAS homepage (Teaching Degree English, Praxissemester England and Ireland).
News
25 February 2026: 3rd FFF Network meeting. The focus will be on pre-service primary English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teacher education, research funding, and research methodology (systematic review). If you would like to join the network and attend the meeting, please send an email to fff-netzwerk@uni-frankfurt.de. You can find more information on the work of the FFF network on the website.
18 February 2026: English Afternoon for Primary School Teachers (teacher training)
English teachers at primary schools, L1 English students and trainee teachers are warmly invited to take part in this teacher training event. Participants can choose two workshops from a selection of six on the topics of writing tasks, escape games, bilingual science lessons, picture books, cultural learning and digital learning. Registration is via the following page:
ATFLY 2025
On 19 and 20 June 2025, more than 260 researchers, teachers and students from 46 countries exchanged ideas on current research in early foreign language learning. After welcoming remarks by Prof. Dr. Viera Pirker (Vice President for Studies and Teaching at Goethe University Frankfurt am Main) and Prof. Dr. Birgitta Wolff (Rector of the University of Wuppertal), participants were able to choose from a diverse programme of presentations on topics such as virtual exchange projects, assessment, task-based language teaching and literacy. Programme
11 February 2025: Prof. Dr. Stefanie Frisch (English Language Education) and Prof. Dr. Roland Ißler (French Language Education) welcomed 54 students from Toulouse. The meeting came about through a collaboration between Perrine Gourio (University of Toulouse) and Prof. Dr. Stefanie Frisch, who both enable students to participate in a seminar on virtual exchange projects. The purpose of the visit was to intensify the collaboration and to plan further cooperation projects. The possibilities of a bilateral agreement between the Goethe University and the University of Toulouse and internships at French and German schools were explored.
