TEFL Lab

“Many students and faculty members don’t even know what we have to offer,” say Anne and Keana, who support the TEFL Lab at the Institute for English Studies as student assistants, expressing their regret that their lab isn’t yet as well-known as they’d like it to be. Yet the T(eaching) E(nglish) (as a) F(oreign) L(anguage) Lab, established by Prof. Dr. Torben Schmidt, is not only a veritable treasure trove for all student teachers but also offers ideas and inspiration to anyone who teaches English in a school.

In the TEFL Lab, you’ll find many meters of shelves filled with textbooks ranging from elementary school through lower and upper secondary levels to materials for teaching English in vocational schools. But that’s not all: The two master’s students, Anne and Keana, have worked with Schmidt to compile a wide variety of additional materials: supplementary teaching resources, handouts for teachers, reading materials for elementary and secondary schools, educational games for all age groups, and picture books. All of these materials can be used independently of any specific textbook and have the potential to turn a “regular” English class into a truly memorable experience.

Every teacher can find exactly what they need in the Lab: For anyone doing a teaching internship, there are materials such as word and picture cards, hand puppets, and games that can not only be tried out in the Lab but also borrowed. In the future, the focus here will also be on technology and digital resources: Why not try using VR headsets in an English class? These can also be tested out in the TEFL Lab and, of course, borrowed as well. “Textbook publishers are also preparing a lot of digital materials that will soon be available to try out here,” say the creators of the TEFL Lab, who maintain constant contact with publishers so as not to miss any developments on the market.

Anne and Keana not only handle the organization of the TEFL Lab but are also always available during opening hours to offer advice and assistance. They know every book and every game on the lab’s dozens of meters of shelving and not only lend a sympathetic ear to students and teachers but also offer plenty of tips and recommendations for virtually any situation—whether it’s preparing lessons for a teaching practicum or designing a class session for a seminar. “If we’d known earlier what’s available here, it would have been great for our own teaching practicums,” they both agree. “The Lab is definitely a better option for lesson planning than ChatGPT.”

By the way, those with an interest in history will also find something to their liking in the lab: One shelf is reserved for old textbooks, which draw the occasional skeptical glance as you flip through them. But of course, the TEFL Lab also has the latest textbooks. “With the support of the publishers, we’ve just stocked up on the latest editions,” say Anne and Keana.

If you’d like to take a look inside the lab, you can do so on Instagram under “TEFL_lab” or just stop by during opening hours: The lab in room C1.123 is open Mondays from 11:00 am to 12:00 pm and Wednesays from 03:00 pm to 04:00 pm. Visits are also possible at other times, which can be arranged by emailing tefl-lab@leuphana.de.