Junior Professor Anne-Marie Lachmund - New Junior Professor for Didactics of Romance Languages

Anne-Marie Lachmund studied French, English and Italian as a secondary school teacher at the University of Leipzig, the European University Cyprus and the Université de Provence Aix-Marseille. Following her doctorate, she worked at the Universities of Leipzig, Constance and Potsdam as a Research Associate in Linguistics, Literature and Cultural Studies as well as in the didactics of Romance languages and English. At the same time, she worked as a teacher at various schools. From 2024 to 2025, she was a visiting professor in the Eleonore Trefftz program at TU Dresden and took over the Junior Professorship for Didactics of Romance Languages in the winter semester 2025/26.

Name: Junior Professor Anne-Marie Lachmund
Position/Professorship: Junior Professor of Didactics of Romance Languages
Institute/Faculty: Institute of Romance Studies, Faculty of Linguistics, Literature and Cultural Studies

What are your core research areas and research interests?
In my research, I am particularly interested in the digital transformation of foreign language teaching and learning. On the one hand, I look at the drivers and obstacles to the digitalization of schools and teaching; on the other hand, I focus on the use of digital media such as social media and explanatory videos to promote strategy and autonomy. Reading digital texts such as Instapoetry is a focus of my research. Very practice-oriented research by, with and for teachers is important to me and I always try to connect both perspectives - that of the learners who learn foreign languages and that of the teachers who design lessons - and to prepare the findings for the prospective teachers I train.

What was your most interesting or exciting research project?
Digital reading in a foreign language brings with it challenges that differ from analog reading, as it brings with it changed reading strategies and styles and reading promotion behaves differently, e.g. in-depth reading between scanning and scrolling requires special consideration. Digital reading has a particular impact on foreign language learners in the sense of 'beginners', who often have few linguistic resources at their disposal, but aspects of diclusion (= digital inclusion) and diversity (including neurodiversity) are also coming to the fore in general in view of increasingly heterogeneous classrooms. In order to sensitize prospective foreign language teachers to this, several reading tools for reading promotion were tested and empirically researched as part of a design-based research approach and criteria for functional use in the classroom were derived. The aim was and is to develop a guide for teachers to support pupils and their teachers when using reading tools.

What project are you currently working on?
My focus is currently increasingly on the changes in language learning and teaching as a result of the advent of generative artificial intelligence in schools. I would like to look at the impact of AI/LLMs on lesson design, which is why I am currently conducting a research project with trainee teachers on the design of teaching materials and planning of foreign language lessons with the help of AI. I also incorporate this into the teaching I offer when it comes to critically interpreting and analyzing cultural output (e.g. using bias, stereotypes) for foreign language teaching in order to train teachers' AI literacy.

What should not be missing on your desk?
A cup of (unfortunately cold) black tea. Preferably Earl Grey. A handwritten analog to-do list. And a small vase of early bloomers at the end of winter.

Do you have a favorite quote? If so, which one and who is it from?
"Soyons reconnaissants envers les gens qui nous rendent heureux. Ils sont les jardiniers qui font fleurir notre âme." (Marcel Proust)

What was the last book you read?
Sophie Gilbert (2025): Girl on Girl: How Pop Culture Turned a Generation of Women Against Themselves.

More information about you can be found on:

Homepage: https://tu-dresden.de/gsw/slk/romanistik/das-institut/Chairs/juniorprof-fachdidaktik

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/dr-anne-marie-lachmund-844723306

ResearchGate: https: //www.researchgate.net/profile/Anne-Marie-Lachmund

Digital Language Skills Network (DiSKo): https://tu-dresden.de/gsw/slk/romanistik/das-institut/Chairs/juniorprof-fachdidaktik/netzwerk-lexikalische-kompetenz?set_language=en