Tao Zhang has been a Professor of Subject Didactics in the field of Chinese as a Foreign Language (ChaF) at the East Asian Seminar of Georg-August University Göttingen since October 2024. In her research and teaching, she focuses on various aspects of Chinese didactics and cultural mediation in language instruction. Previously, she worked at the universities of Chongqing, Tübingen, and Heidelberg, where she taught and conducted research in German as a Foreign Language (DaF), German and Chinese-language film, Chinese as a Foreign Language (from beginner to advanced levels), and the use of film in ChaF didactics.

She completed her PhD in 2016 at the German Seminar and the Institute of Media Studies at the University of Tübingen, also taking courses in Sinology. She obtained her Bachelor’s degree in German Studies, which included components of Sinology, in 2005 from Beijing International Studies University, and her Master’s degree in Film Studies in 2008 from Beijing Film Academy.

In addition to her university teaching and research experience, she has diverse additional qualifications and extensive teaching experience in language instruction (DaF/DaZ, ChaF, and Chinese as a heritage language) at various educational institutions, including Global IELTS School Beijing, Goethe Institute Language Center Chongqing, Deutsche Angestellten-Akademie Reutlingen, Volkshochschule Tübingen, and Chinese Language School Stuttgart. She also brings extensive examination experience, including at Telc and the Goethe-Institut.
Her research focus lies on the cultural dimension of language teaching, particularly in intercultural studies related to teaching Chinese and German. She investigates the use of media in foreign language didactics for Chinese and integrates film-related and intercultural elements to promote linguistic and cultural sensitivity. Additionally, she emphasizes the importance of multilingualism for global communication, especially in the context of Global Chinese and its varieties. She is actively committed to the continuous development of her teaching methods and promotes knowledge transfer through lectures, workshops, and film screenings that explore innovative approaches to utilizing literature, film, music, and other audiovisual media in the instruction of Chinese language and culture.

Focus: Use of Media in Foreign Language Didactics | Cultural Mediation in Language Teaching | Global Chinese | Multilingualism

Selected Publications:

• Zhang, Tao: Vom Premake zum Remake: Gender-Diskurse und intermediale Bezüge in den deutschen Verfilmungen von Erich Kästners Kinderromanen (Monographie), Reihe „Studien zur europäischen Kinder- und Jugendliteratur“, Universitätsverlag Winter, Heidelberg, 2018 (Gedruckt mit Unterstützung des Deutschen Akademischen Austauschdienstes).
• Zhang, Tao: 对“汉语作为外语”教学中电影和视频使用的进一步思考—结合“德语作为外语/第二语言”教学和跨语言外语教学的相关理论和实践 (Vorläufiger Titel: Film- und Videoeinsatz in der ChaF-Didaktik– mit Betrachtung der Impulse von DaF/DaZ sowie der sprachübergreifenden Fremdsprachendidaktik), Abstract angenommen und in Bearbeitung, 《中文教育与评价学刊》(Journal of Chinese Language Education and Evaluation, Hongkong, voraussichtlich 2025
• Zhang, Tao: Als wir noch jung waren…Filmische Coming-of-Age-Erinnerungen in der DDR und in der chinesischen Kulturrevolution an Filmbeispielen von „Sonnenallee“ (1999) und „In the Heat of the Sun“ (1994) (eingereicht), Susanne Marschall (Hrsg.): Erinnern – Vergessen – Speichern, Herbert von Halem Verlag, Köln, voraussichtlich 2024/2025
• Zhang, Tao: Gender-Diskurse und Kriegsthematisierung im intertextuellen Kontext der deutschsprachigen Verfilmungen der 1950er-Jahre von Kinderromanen Erich Kästners, Endmanuskript eingereicht (Sammelband über Erich Kästner-Medien/Werke in den 1950er-Jahren im Rahmen der Reihe “Kästner-Studien”, voraussichtlich 2024/2025, De Gruyter) Herausgeber: Dr. Sebastian Schmideler (Universität Leipzig).
• Zhang, Tao: Genderdiskurse im Animationsfilm Das doppelte Lottchen (2007), In: kjl&m –Kinder/Jugendliteratur und Medien in Forschung, Schule und Bibliothek, kopaed, München 2019. S.22-30.
• Zhang, Tao: An Overview of Recent Development of German Animation Industry (《德国动画产业近年发展情况概览》), Contemporary Animation 当代动画, Beijing, 01.2019, S.64-68
• Zhang, Tao: A New Trend of Contemporary German Film Industry in the International Context (《当代德国电影产业在国际语境下的新态势》), Contemporary Cinema 当代电影, Beijing, 02.2018, S.80-85
• Zhang, Tao: The Post-Youth of the Young Generation in the Contemporary German Cinema(《影像中的德国式后青春——当代德国青年电影导演的青春叙事及其社会语境》), Contemporary Cinema 当代电影, Beijing, 07.2016, S.112-117
• 8. Zhang, Tao: Die ‚Jugendzeit‘ und Generationenverhältnisse und -konflikte im aktuellen chinesischen und deutschen Film Eine vergleichende Analyse. In: Hille, Almut / Huang, Liaoyu / Langer, Benjamin (Hrsg.): Generationenverhältnisse in Deutschland und China. Soziale Praxis – Kultur – Medien. De Gruyter, Berlin/Boston 2016. S.229-250
• Zhang, Tao: Konservativ, innovativ oder pseudo-innovativ? Gender-Konstruktionen in der Kinderfilmserie Die Wilden Kerle. In: Exner, Christian/Kümmerling-Meibauer, Bettina(Hrsg.): Von Wilden Kerlen und Wilden Hühnern: Perspektiven des modernen Kinderfilms. Schüren Verlag, Marburg 2012, S.216-232