Publik press release from 27.07.2016: Kassel professor unanimously re-elected as President of the World Association for Language Awareness

Prof. Dr. Claudia Finkbeiner, an English and American studies specialist from Kassel, has now been unanimously confirmed as President of the Association for Language Awareness (ALA) in Vienna. The election took place during the ALA's biennial congress from July 19 to 22, 2016.
The host university was the Vienna University of Economics and Business; the meeting of almost 300 international language researchers from 40 countries was organized by Prof. Dr. Martin Stegu. Prof. Finkbeiner has been teaching and researching at the University of Kassel since  1998 at the Chair of Foreign Language Teaching and Learning Research and Intercultural Communication.
The congress entitled "Languages for Life: Educational, Professional and Social Contexts" dealt with first, second and foreign language acquisition as well as multilingualism. The ALA is an established international network of researchers. With more than two hundred lectures and workshops, the conference encouraged an exchange of ideas on research projects and practical implementation in the field of language awareness and cultural awareness, reports Finkbeiner.
New questions included how languages can be used effectively in international business processes and what role language awareness plays in forensic linguistics, for example in asylum recognition procedures. A particular focus was placed on language awareness in a professional and economic context. According to Prof. Stegu, this topic is highly relevant for economic processes in a globalized world. The role of language in the discourse and negotiation of migration processes was also a topic. Prof. Finkbeiner organized an international symposium on this topic in cooperation with Prof. Dr. Andrea Young (Strasbourg), Prof. Dr. Joanna White (Montreal) and Dr. Sabine Lehner (Vienna). "In light of the events of recent days, this topic is more important than ever," explains Finkbeiner.  
The fact that participating scientists from Turkey left in a hurry was viewed with concern by the newly elected President. Against the backdrop of current events, she pointed out the importance of academics from all over the world standing together for internationally recognized free research and teaching.
The international networking of the University of Kassel was clearly demonstrated at the ALA congress: in addition to Prof. Dr. Claudia Finkbeiner, Kassel Romance philologist Prof. Dr. Bernd Tesch and three doctoral students were in Vienna. Numerous colleagues from partner universities in the USA, Canada, Great Britain, Spain and Turkey also took part.

Photos of Prof. Dr. Claudia Finkbeiner are available to editorial offices on request.
Contact:
Prof. Dr. Claudia Finkbeiner
University of Kassel
Faculty of Humanities and Cultural Studies
Professorship for Foreign Language Teaching and Learning Research, Intercultural Communication
Kurt-Wolters-Straße 5, 34125 Kassel
Tel.:  561 804-3353
E-mail: cfink@uni-kassel.de