Meike Wernicke

Dr. Meike Wernicke

Assistant Professor

she / sie / elle

Biography

I am an assistant professor in the Department of Language and Literacy Education at UBC. As settler on xʷməθkʷəy̓əm territory, I recognize my relationship to colonialism and the institutional and societal structures that continue to dispossess the First Peoples of this land. As a settler I welcome the opportunity and responsibility to listen, learn and act in support of Indigenous sovereignty and work towards transforming Indigenous-settler relations in Canada.

My scholarship is situated at the intersection of teacher education and language learning and teaching, and centers on the ideological and discursive workings of language as these relate to education policy, the construction of knowledge and the identities of language learners and teachers. My research examines multilingual approaches in primarily French language teacher professionalization and curriculum development, the centering of Indigenous languages in second language teacher education, and critical intercultural studies in language education more broadly.

In my work, I draw on critical perspectives and decolonizing approaches in conjunction with discourse analytic research methodologies to advance equitable language practices in initial teacher education and teacher professional learning.

My teaching and program supervision include the French Master of Education in Modern Languages, a hybrid program for in-service FSL teachers, and the Institut de Français – UBC à Québec, a summer program for French language teachers in Quebec City. Courses I teach and coordinate in English and/or French include:

LLED 352: Teaching and Learning French as a Second Language in Multilingual Settings: Elementary | Enseignement et apprentissage du français langue seconde en milieu multilingue à l’élémentaire

LLED 353: Teaching and Learning English as an Additional Language – Elementary | L’enseignement et l’apprentissage de l’anglais langue additionnelle à l’élémentaire

LLED 489: Applied Linguistics for Teachers |La linguistique appliquée dans l’enseignement du français

LLED 520: Theory and research in second language teaching |Théorie et recherche reliées à l’enseignement des langues secondes

LLED 521: Critical Intercultural Studies : Theory, research and practice | Enseignement interculturel : théorie, recherche, et pratique

LLED 590  Graduating Paper/Project | Mémoire/Projet final

Projects

2023-2024: Centering the Indigenous Languages in Canadian Multilingual Education

This project centers on relationship-building within an emerging network of Indigenous and non-Indigenous educators, researchers, and community practitioners who are interested in either advancing the reclamation of their Indigenous languages or to better support these revitalization efforts across official and heritage language education programs in Canada. (SSHRC Connection Grant, co-applicant)

2022-2024: A narrative inquiry into the multilingual lives of French language teacher candidates

This study examines how French language teacher candidates understand their linguistic identities in relation to their emerging instructional practices and professional identities, as well as the challenges and supports in validating a multilingual identity as French language educators in Canada. (SSHRC Insight Development Grant, PI)

2020-2021: Fostering diversity in scholarship and teaching in a global university community

In this study we asked how does internationalization relate to linguistic diversity in the university context, specifically the documented constraints faced by linguistically and culturally diverse populations in English-medium higher education settings. (SSHRC Explore Grant, PI)

2020-2022: Identifying Requirements and Gaps in French as a Second Language (FSL) Teacher Education: Recommendations and Guidelines

This two-year research project involved a partnership with researchers at the University of Ottawa and the University of New Brunswick with the aim to identify ways to better equip new FSL teachers for success in the early stages of their careers. (Canadian Heritage, co-applicant)

2018-2021: Engaging Second Language Teachers in Intercultural Learning: Towards Greater Self-Awareness and Agency

This study investigated critical and decolonizing approaches to engaging with intercultural learning in language education with pre-service and in-service FSL teachers in British Columbia. (Hampton Grant, PI)

Selected Publications

Wernicke, M. (2023)

L’insécurité linguistique dans l’enseignement du français langue seconde: De quoi parle-t-on? OLBI Journal, 13, 199–222.

Culligan, K., Battistuzzi, A., Wernicke, M., & Masson, M. (2023)

Teaching French as a second language (FSL) in Canada: Convergence points of language, professional knowledge, and mentorship from teacher preparation through the beginning years. Canadian Modern Language Review. Advance access. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3138/cmlr-2022-0059

Kunnas, M., Masson, M., & Wernicke, M. (2023)

Stories and counter-stories from French second language researchers. Glottopol-Revue de sociolinguistique en ligne, 39, 212-230. https://doi.org/10.4000/glottopol.4039

Wernicke, M., Masson, M., Arnott, S., Le Bouthillier, J., & Kristmanson, P. (2022)

La rétention d’enseignantes et d’enseignants de français langue seconde au Canada: au-delà d’une stratégie de recrutement. Éducation et francophonie, 50(2). https://www.erudit.org/en/journals/ef/2022-v50-n2-ef07743/1097033ar/

Wernicke, M. (2022)

« M’améliorer, c’est pour le reste de ma vie »: L’importance d’une culture professionnelle dans la formation à l’enseignement du français. In R. Léger & G. Brisson (Eds.), La francophonie de la Colombie-Britannique: Éducation, diversité et identités. Les Presses de l’Université Laval.

Wernicke, M. (2022)

“I’m Trilingual – So What?”: Official French/English Bilingualism, Race, and French Language Teachers’ Linguistic Identities in Canada. The Canadian Modern Language Review, e20210074. https://doi.org/10.3138/cmlr-2021-0074

Wernicke, M. (2021)

Four ‘moments’ of intercultural encountering. Teaching in Higher Education, 26(7–8), 1130–1140. https://doi.org/10.1080/13562517.2021.1911988

Wernicke, M., Hammer, S., Hansen, A., & Schroedler, T. (Eds.). (2021)

Preparing Teachers to Work with Multilingual Learners. Multilingual Matters.

Wernicke, M. (2020)

Orientations to French Language Varieties among Western Canadian French-as-a-Second-Language Teachers. Critical Multilingualism Studies, 8(1), 165–190.

Wernicke, M. (2020)

Language Teachers on Study Abroad: A Discourse Analytic ‎Approach to Teacher Identity. International Journal of Society, Culture & Language, 8(2), 1–16.

Wernicke, M. (2020).

Constructing “other” identities as French second language teacher. In N. Rudolph, A. F. Selvi, & B. Yazan (Eds.), The complexity of identity and interaction in language education (pp. 43–61). Bristol, UK: Multilingual Matters.

Wernicke, M. (2019).

Toward Linguistically and Culturally Responsive Teaching in the French as a Second Language Classroom. TESL Canada Journal, 36(1), 134–146.

Van Viegen, S., Wernicke, M., & Zappa-Hollman, S. (2019).

On reconceptualizing linguistic and cultural boundaries in Canadian universities. TESL Canada Journal, 36(1), vi–xxi.

Wernicke, M. (2018)

Plurilingualism as agentive resource in L2 teacher identity. System, 79, 91–102. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2018.07.005

Wernicke, M., & Talmy, S. (2018)

Interaction in qualitative questionnaires: From self-report to intersubjective achievement. Applied Linguistics Review, 9(4), 513–537.

Arnott, S., Brogden, L., Faez, F., Péguret, M., Piccardo, E., Rehner, K., Taylor, S., Wernicke, M. (2017)

The Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) in Canada: A Research Agenda. Canadian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 20(1), 31–54.

Wernicke, M. (2017)

Navigating native speaker ideologies as FSL teacher. Canadian Modern Language Review, 73(2, 1–29).

Wernicke, M. (2016).

Hierarchies of authenticity in study abroad: French From Canada versus French from France? Canadian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 19(2), 1–21.

Wernicke, M. & Bournot-Trites, M. (2011)

Introducing the CEFR in BC: Questions and challenges. Canadian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 14(2), 106-128.

Wernicke, M. (2010)

Study abroad as professional development for FSL teachers. Canadian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 13(1), 4-18.