Staff profile

Biography

I am an Assistant Professor (Education) in the Centre for Foreign Language Study (CFLS) at Durham University, where I serve as Director of Strategy and lead the German language provision.

Prior to joining CFLS, I worked as a DAAD Lecturer in the School of Modern Languages and Cultures at Durham University. I have taught German as a foreign language in higher education since 2014, including at Leipzig University, Stellenbosch University and the University of Leeds.

Following undergraduate studies in English and German, I completed a bi-national MA in German as a Foreign Language at Leipzig University and Stellenbosch University. My early scholarship focused on curriculum design, intercultural learning, cultural studies, and the role of literature in language teaching and learning.

My current work explores the role and value of languages in higher education, institution-wide language provision, curriculum innovation, assessment and feedback, graduate attributes, employability, and the strategic positioning of language learning within universities.

Leadership and Educational Development

As Director of Strategy for the Centre for Foreign Language Study, I provide strategic leadership for curriculum development, assessment, educational innovation and the long-term sustainability of language provision. My work includes leading curriculum and assessment reform, supporting institution-wide approaches to quality enhancement and contributing to strategic discussions on the future of language learning in higher education.

Within CFLS, I have led initiatives relating to assessment and feedback practices, marking criteria and quality indicators, portfolio-based assessment, graduate attributes, language-learning pathways, and the responsible integration of AI into language education. I am particularly interested in ensuring that language provision remains innovative, sustainable and responsive to both student and institutional needs.

Beyond Durham, I contribute to the wider language-learning community through my roles as a DAAD Ortslektorin, Goethe-Institut Examination Coordinator and Certified Examiner, and External Examiner for the language centres at King's College London and the University of Essex.

Academic and Professional Roles

• Director of Strategy, Centre for Foreign Language Study, Durham University (2024-present)
• Lead for German Language Provision, Centre for Foreign Language Study
• DAAD Ortslektorin (German Academic Exchange Service)
• Goethe-Institut Examination Coordinator and Certified Examiner
• External Examiner, King's College London Language Centre and the University of Essex (2023-present)

Esteem Indicators

• Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA)

Scholarship Interests

• Languages in Higher Education: the role, value, sustainability, and strategic positioning of language learning within universities.
• Institution-Wide Language Provision (IWLP): cross-curricular language learning, internationalisation, and widening participation.
• Curriculum Design and Innovation: CLIL, multidisciplinary approaches, authentic assessment, and innovative language pedagogies.
• Assessment and Feedback in Language Learning: continuous assessment, dialogic feedback, reflective practice, metacognition, and critical engagement with AI.
• Intercultural Learning and Critical Interculturality: intercultural communication, critical cultural awareness, and global citizenship.
• Graduate Attributes and Employability: the contribution of language learning to transferable skills, professional development, and graduate outcomes.

Conference and Workshop Presentations

Recent conference and workshop presentations explore languages in higher education, institution-wide language provision, curriculum resilience, intercultural learning, assessment and feedback, AI in language education, graduate attributes, employability and educational leadership.

• 2026. Language Capital and Beyond: Repositioning Language Courses within Students' Academic Pathways. Language Capital Conference, University of Law (with Anna Johnston).
• 2026. Beyond the Peripheral: Designing Resilient Language Pathways for Students in Higher Education. Durham University Teaching and Learning Conference (with Anna Johnston).
• 2026. Reconceptualising Assessment Practices and the Value of Portfolios. MLAC Scholarship Lab.
• 2026. Defining and Advancing Scholarship: Building a Culture of Scholarship in MLAC. MLAC Scholarship Lab (with Anna Johnston).
• 2025. From Plato to Platform: Enhancing German Writing Skills through an AI Conversation Tool. DAAD Workshop, University of Cambridge.
• 2025. Crossing Campuses, Creating Brands: Applying the Action-Oriented Approach to German Language Learning through Inter-University Collaboration. Durham University Teaching and Learning Conference (with Zhanna Kozmenko-Ihssen).
• 2024. Exploring the Impact of Generative AI on Modern Language Learning in Higher Education. Durham University Teaching and Learning Conference (with Aziza Zaher et al.).
• 2023. Implementing the Intercultural Reflection Team Method in the Context of German as a Foreign Language. Intercultural Competence and Global Citizenship Conference, University of Exeter (with Sabrina Link).
• 2023. Ein Vorschlag zur praxisorientierten Umsetzung der Intercultural Reflection Team-Methode im DaF-Unterricht. Annual Conference of the Gesellschaft für Interkulturelle Germanistik, Utrecht University (with Sabrina Link).
• 2023. Bridging the Gap: Sustainable Collaborations in Language Education in the North East. MLAC Work in Progress Seminar.
• 2021. Student-Produced Podcasts as an Assessment Tool in Higher Education. MLAC Away Day.

Publications and Educational Resources

Publications

Link, S. and Lewis, L. (2025). Implementing the Intercultural Reflection Team Method (iRT) in Teaching German: A Telecollaborative Project Proposal. German as a Foreign Language (GFL), 1, pp. 144-165.

Wichmann, L. (2015). An neue Sprachufer übersetzen: Zur Didaktik der Literarizität und dem Potential eines erweiterten Übersetzungskonzeptes im Kontext von Deutsch als Fremdsprache (Master’s thesis, Stellenbosch University). SUNScholar Repository. https://scholar.sun.ac.za/items/a7d73912-8eb4-496b-ab18-ec8cf6319352

Educational Resources

Co-developer of the Goethe-Institut's U-Häppchen teaching resources, a series of interactive teaching materials designed to introduce secondary school students to business and professional contexts through German. The resources promote communicative and creative language learning while exploring topics such as entrepreneurship, marketing, innovation, and workplace culture. Developed in collaboration with Christiane Günther and Zhanna Kozmenko-Ihssen.

• Cultural studies in the context of German as a Foreign & Second Language
• Didactics and methodology
• Postcolonial theory/literature
• Potential of literature in language teaching
• Student-produced Podcasts in language learning

Journal Article

• Towards sustainable assessment formats in language teaching: testing integrated skills with portfolio-based tasks
  
  Coderch, M., & Lewis, L. (2024). Towards sustainable assessment formats in language teaching: testing integrated skills with portfolio-based tasks. Enhancing Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, 1, 87-96. https://doi.org/10.62512/etlhe.2