Elke Stracke

Elke is an experienced educator and researcher in the TESOL/Foreign Language Teaching programme in the Faculty. Prior to joining the University of Canberra in 2007, she held university teaching and research positions in New Zealand (University of Otago), Australia (Australian National University) and Germany (University of Münster). She teaches undergraduate and postgraduate coursework and research students.

Elke enjoys contributing to the University of Canberra's standing through her work within the Faculty as Associate Dean International (until 2014), Head of Discipline (2013) and HDR (Higher Degree by Research) students Convenor (2009-2011). She was also for several years an academic member of the University's Human Research Ethics Committee.

In the local context she supports the ACT Community Language Schools Association. She also acts as a consultant and trainer for CIT Solutions. An interesting current project in this context is the development and delivery of workshops for DFAT officers, who learn a new language for their overseas posting, with a focus on learning styles and strategies.

In the international context, Elke has worked as a consultant for the University of the South Pacific. This project was focused on the university's English testing and teaching programme. Elke is also Research Ambassador for Germany and mentor for the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD).

Areas of Teaching

Elke teaches a range of subjects in the TESOL/FLT programme, such as language acquisition, language teaching methodology, and sociolinguistics. Her teaching includes supervising Masters and PhD candidates in the areas of language education and applied linguistics.

Research Interest

Elke's research interests focus on:

• motivation, blended and independent language learning and their relationship with learner autonomy, and
• feedback and assessment, and peer learning in postgraduate supervision practice.

This research has resulted in a variety of outputs. Recent articles have appeared, for instance, in Teaching in Higher Education, the University of Sydney Papers in TESOL, and the Journal of English for Academic Purposes. Elke lately edited the book Intersections: Applied Linguistics as a Meeting Place (2014) that explores the connections between Applied Linguistics and other disciplines.