Jürgen Meyer and Jiann-Chyng Tu (MLU Halle-Wittenberg)
This bifocal workshop will explore best practice strategies not only for understanding but also for managing misinformation and disinformation, as well as current issues related to artificial intelligence in EFL classrooms. After an introductory presentation of a range of thematic anchors, participants will have the opportunity to actively explore a few related themes in stations, including critically approaching authentic textbook materials and exploring assistive AI tools that can also be used in the teaching practice. A concluding interactive exchange among participants will reflect on their attitudes toward these topics, their practical relevance for the EFL classroom, and the insights gained during the workshop.
Jürgen Meyer completed his Habilitation in the field of English Literature, titled Textvarianz und Schriftkritik: Dialogische Schreib- und Lesekultur bei Thomas More, George Gascoigne und John Lyly (Heidelberg 2010). In 2014, he moved into the field of Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) and published the monograph Fachdidaktik Englisch: Fokus Literaturvermittlung – Eine hermeneutische Analyse von Lehrwerken der gymnasialen Oberstufe (Tübingen 2021). After several interim-professorships at the universities of Bielefeld, Erfurt, Konstanz, Paderborn and Vechta, he has joined the Anglo-American Literary and Cultural Studies team at the MLU Halle-Wittenberg since October. His main research areas are Coursebook Analysis, Media in the Digital EFL-Classroom, Teacher Professionalization in TEFL, as well as Cultures of Knowledge, Textual Criticism and Reader Response in Literary Studies.
Jiann-Chyng Tu is a lecturer and researcher in American literature and culture at MLU Halle-Wittenberg. He received his BA in German and English from Wake Forest University (USA) and his MA in American Studies (Literature and Culture) from Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, where he is also a doctoral candidate in American literature. Before joining MLU Halle-Wittenberg, he held teaching positions at universities in Berlin, Münster, Bamberg, Regensburg, and Augsburg. His research interests include African American literature and culture, multiethnic literature of the United States, transnational American studies, Black internationalisms, literary history, and food studies. Currently, he serves as one of the two postgraduate representatives to the advisory board of the German Association for American Studies (GAAS/DGfA).