Faculty Excellence at UMUC

Interviewer:

Please tell us about yourself—what made you decide to teach at UMUC? What kind of work do you do when you are not teaching at UMUC?

Linda Schmitt

After having taught children and teenagers for several years in a suburban Milwaukee school system, I moved to Germany for personal reasons and immediately started applying to teach at the college level through the military. I was fortunate to almost immediately receive a contract from UMUC here in Germany. Twenty-four years later I still feel fortunate to be teaching for UMUC!

I am very much interested in introducing others to the area where I live, the Rheingau. I give tours and wine-tastings at a local former monastery as well as in Eltville, the city where I reside. I also do translating for the monastery and for the Hessian State Winery.

Interviewer:

How would you describe your teaching style or philosophy? What experiences or person(s) have influenced your style or philosophy?

Linda Schmitt

If you come into my classroom you will experience a student-oriented environment. I interact with my students by providing them with "context models" so that they can then speak about themselves and about the topics we are discussing. Thus, I give them the tools and the opportunity to immediately use what they are learning so that they can then communicate with each other in both structured and unstructured situations. Such pair work and group dynamics as this make for a feeling of accomplishment, and I know that I can provide my students with this feeling from the first moment they walk into my classroom.

I believe my strongest ability in teaching a foreign language is the methodology itself. This is why I especially enjoy teaching the beginning levels. The students come to me as a blank slate, and I know I can help them to "learn how to learn" German as well as helping them experience the language itself. 

Through almost forty years of teaching I believe that my emphasis upon the above-mentioned teaching style is the best approach to learning a foreign language. I can see it in my students’ faces when they come to class and tell me that they were able to communicate with "real Germans" after having had perhaps just a few weeks of German language experience. This is what I continually learn from my students, to experience through them the newness of being in a foreign country where they can grasp the opportunities that exist to use the language they are learning. 

My style of teaching has been influenced by the foreign language courses (French, Italian, and Spanish) I have been taking over the past several years in adult continuing education classes. These experiences serve as a constant reminder to me of what it is like to be a student in a foreign language class—quite an eye-opener!

Interviewer:

What do you think it is about your teaching style that appeals to students?

Linda Schmitt

I think my teaching style is typical of the way all foreign language classes are taught in that almost all activities are student-centered. The instructor does not lecture as such but rather sets up situations where students are constantly participating, either with the instructor or with each other. In general, this method of learning is appealing to students.

Interviewer:

Do you teach face-to-face, online, or both?

Linda Schmitt

I am presently teaching only face-to-face courses. From 1997 until 2002 I also taught online and was the first instructor in the UMUC system to teach German classes online.

Interviewer:

Please tell us about your chosen discipline-i.e., what made you interested in the area initially? What do you do to stay current in your discipline? What do you like best about teaching in your discipline?

Linda Schmitt

As a high school student I was an exchange student here in Germany and immediately fell in love with the people and the culture. I came to understand that learning German means not only learning the language but also having the opportunity to experience this culture in a way that one cannot if one does not know the language. While living in the states and teaching German, I tried to come back here as often as possible in the summer in order to take courses as well as travel. The opportunity to actually move here in 1986 was a dream come true!

I attend as many professional meetings as possible in order to keep up-to-date. I read professional magazines and spend much time looking through text materials to get new ideas and keep current on new teaching methodologies and technologies. I also research web sites that introduce language materials in order to find new patterns (charts, exercises, etc.) for introducing grammatical concepts to my students.

The fact that I am teaching a language in a country in which it is spoken is an incredible opportunity. We German instructors here in the European Division have a great advantage in this regard; we can help our students to gain immediate use of what they are learning in a college classroom

Interviewer:

What is the most challenging to you in teaching in this area? What teaching strategy do you use when you encounter the challenge? Are there any special challenges in teaching this subject matter online?  If yes, please explain what could be done to meet the challenges.

Linda Schmitt

For most of my students, learning German is the first foreign language experience they have had in their lifetimes. My main challenge in this regard is to help them not only to learn the language but to aid them in the "how to's" of learning a language.  Indirectly, the students learn more about their own native language too.

Interviewer:

What suggestion would you give to students who are interested in majoring or working in your discipline?

Linda Schmitt

Take every opportunity to use what you learn in order to immerse yourself in the countries in which the language is spoken.  Realize that you must learn not only the language itself but also about its historical and cultural underpinnings so that you can participate consciously in our multi-cultural world.    

Interviewer:

In your opinion, what makes UMUC the college of choice for students?

Linda Schmitt

UMUC bends over backwards to help students on an individual level. Because we have a  unique "clientele" here in Europe, we are ready and able to help students develop programs that fit their personal needs.

Interviewer:

In your opinion, what makes UMUC the employer of choice for future faculty members?

Linda Schmitt

UMUC instructors have the opportunity to work with adult learners in an atmosphere of academic freedom. It also gives us the opportunity to travel and to live in various cultures while feeling as if we are serving our country in ways we are professionally able to.

Interviewer:

What suggestion would you give to new faculty who are interested in teaching in your discipline at UMUC?

Linda Schmitt

You would be a German instructor living and working in a German-speaking country with the ability to expose your students to as many elements of German language and culture as possible. What more could you ask for!