Dr. Karoline Wirbatz, substitute professor at the Institute of English and American Studies from winter term 2022/23 until winter term 2023/24, studied at the University of Western Sydney (Australia), where she obtained her PhD in 2014. Her PhD thesis investigated the developmental path of German first language acquisition focusing on the order of elements in speech and what is signaled by the ordering of constituents. Her current research focuses on early bilingual education in kindergarten and primary school contexts.
Karoline Wirbatz has previously worked at the universities of Western Sydney, Paderborn, Trier, Dortmund, and Münster. In addition to her academic work, she has worked as a substitute teacher at a primary school in Dortmund.

Research Interests

• Bilingual Education
• First, Second & Third Language Acquisition
• Classroom SLA
• Digital Language Learning & Teaching
• Professional Development of Teachers

Current Projects

• Curriculum 4.0 “See You on the Flip(ped) Side – Fostering Digitalization for Future English Teachers via Spotlights in a Digital Learning Environment" (Project Leaders: Prof. Dr. Frauke Matz, WWU Münster and Jun.-Prof. Dr. Julia Reckermann, WWU Münster)
• English and German Reading Competences of 3^rd Graders in Different EFL Programmes and the Influence of Different Variables (Gender, Age, Language Background, Migration Background, SES) (in cooperation with Jun.-Prof. Dr. Julia Reckermann, WWU Münster)
• English Competences of Children Attending a Bilingual Kindergarten Programme in Germany (in cooperation with Jun.-Prof. Dr. Julia Reckermann, WWU Münster)

List of Publications