Dr Ruth Whittle NTF

Photograph of Dr Ruth Whittle

Department of Modern Languages
Associate Professor
HeFI Fellow

Contact details

Telephone
+44 (0)121 414 3218
Email
r.whittle@bham.ac.uk
View my research portal
Address
Ashley Building
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B15 2TT
UK

As a student you may know me through a range of courses in Translation Studies, German Core Language courses, Languages for All and literature options in Women's Literature.

I am interested in students and their learning journeys, particularly in Modern Languages and have published papers and books on The Year Abroad, Students as Partners, and Staff and Students in the multicultural classroom.

Qualifications

  • PG Cert Coaching and Mentoring (Distinction), Newman University (Birmingham) 2020
  • HEFi Fellow 2025
  • National Teaching Fellow, HEA 2014
  • PhD 1989
  • MA 1985
  • Staatsexamen I 1985

Teaching

  • German Core Courses in all years
  • Courses on the Translation Studies Pathway
  • Sex, Seduction and Submission (Final Year)
  • Landmarks in European Literature (Year 1)
  • Supervision of dissertations in Year 2 and Final Year

Postgraduate supervision

I am interested in supervising theses dealing with narratives of (personal, gendered, professional, national) identities as well as on pedagogical aspects of teaching and learning, particularly the role of mindset and reflection in deep learning.

Find out more - our PhD German Studies  page has information about doctoral research at the University of Birmingham.

Research

My research is areas are in modern language pedagogy as well as women's studies, and I have widely published in these fields.

I am interested in theses dealing with narratives of (personal, linguistic, national, professional, gendered) identities as well as on pedagogical aspects of teaching and learning, particularly the role of mindset and reflection in deep learning.

Following on from my recent project "Teaching German in a Transcultural World" (2022/3) funded by the DAAD, I am again the Principal Investigator in a new project "Towards an Authentic (German) Language Classroom", which is also being funded by the German Foreign Office through the DAAD's Promoting German Studies in the UK and Ireland Programme (2025-2027).

Other activities

  • I am a member of the University’s Chaplaincy Engagement Committee and the Chaplaincy Committee.
  • Using essay feedback to improve your work (with Prof A Cavoski). Available on CAL Education Gateway

 

Publications

Recent publications

Book

Whittle, R (ed.) & Kalt, A 2024, The Routledge Handbook of German Language Teaching. 1st edn, Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429318627

Whittle, R & Sandra, S 2017, Preparing Modern Languages Students for 'Difference': Going beyond Graduate Skills, Peter Lang, Oxford, New York, London, Bern.

Klapper, J, Glöckel, K & Whittle, R 2011, Modern German Grammar - Third edition. Routledge.

Klapper, J, Whittle, R & Zojer, H 2011, Modern German Grammar Workbook - Third edition. Routledge.

Klapper, J, Dodd, W, Eckhard-Black, C & Whittle, R 2008, Modern German Grammar (Chinese translation). Routledge/Dalian University of Technology Press.

Article

Jenkins, L, Suleymenova, K, Buttner, A & Whittle, R 2023, 'Student mindset: emotional responses to the university learning journey', Education in Practice, vol. 4, no. 1, pp. 16-25. <https://intranet.birmingham.ac.uk/as/hefi/research-scholarship-development/scholarship-teaching-learning/hefi-journal/index.aspx#issues>

Chapter

Whittle, R & Whittle, R 2012, Die ‘Beheimatung’ der Frauen des Berliner Salons in der deutschen Literaturgeschichte. in Akten des XII. Internationalen Germanistenkongresses Warschau 2010 Vielheit und Einheit der Germanistik weltweit. Publikationen der Internationalen Vereinigung für Germanistik (IVG), vol. 5, Peter Lang, Oxford/Bern, pp. 157-161.

Whittle, R 2011, Karl Gutzkow in der deutschen Literaturgeschichte. in Impotenter Reflexionsschwelger oder‚ Ritter vom Geist’?.

Höhne, S & Whittle, R 2011, Völkisch-nationale Weiblichkeitsentwürfe bei Ludwig Geiger und August Sauer. in peer-reviewed conference volume August Sauer – ein Intellektueller in Prag im Spannungsfeld von Kultur- und Wissenschaftspolitik, Prag, Nov 2008, volume.

Book/Film/Article review

Whittle, R 2012, 'Kilchmann, Esther. Verwerfungen in der Einheit. Geschichten von Nation und Familie um 1840. München: Fink, 2009', The German Quarterly, pp. 700 words.

Whittle, R 2011, 'Review of...Annette KUHN, Historia, Frauengeschichte in der Spirale der Zeit. Opladen / Farmington: Barbara Budrich 2010', Journal of Contemporary European Studies, vol. 19, no. 1, pp. 139-141. https://doi.org/10.1080/14782804.2011.554202

Whittle, R 2009, 'Schwellenüberschreitungen: Politik in der Literatur von deutschsprachigen Frauen 1780-1918. Ed. by Caroline Bland / Elisa Müller-Adams. Bielefeld: Aisthesis 2007', The German Quarterly, vol. 82, no. 1, pp. 116-118.

Conference contribution

Whittle, R 2019, Can Students be Knowledge Creators? in C Goria, L Guetta, N Hughes, S Reisenleutner & O Speicher (eds), Professional competencies in language learning and teaching . research-publishing.net, pp. 121-131. https://doi.org/10.14705/rpnet.2019.34.920

Whittle, R 2012, Year Abroad Matters: Change Management for Students Going to a European Country. in Centre for Languages, Linguistics and Area Studies. LLAS Language Futures, Languages in Higher Education, Edinburgh, United Kingdom, 5/07/12.

Paper

Whittle, R & Sachse, D 2014, 'Promoting Graduate Skills in ML Students', Paper presented at LLAS Conference: Reshaping Languages in Higher Education, Southampton, United Kingdom, 9/07/14 - 10/07/14. <https://www.llas.ac.uk/sites/default/files/nodes/6700/Whittle-Sachee_LLAS_Conference_2014.pdf>

View all publications in research portal

Expertise

  • How students respond to transition (from school to university, from university to year abroad, from university to work) and how to support these experiences of transition