Brecht in der Ferne: Transkulturelle Resonanzen im theaterpädagogischen DaF-Unterricht Senegals

Joerg Martin Hartmann

doi:10.33178/scenario.19.2.3

Authors

Joerg Hartmann Goethe-Institut Senegal

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.33178/scenario.19.2.3

Keywords:

Theater Pedagogy, Translanguaging, Postcolonial Pedagogy, Brecht in context, Senegal

Abstract

This qualitative case study examines the educational potential that unfolds when Bertolt Brecht's didactic plays (Der Jasager/Der Neinsager) are used in German as a foreign language lessons in Senegal not as literary artefacts, but as a starting point for performative teaching and learning. Based on a qualitative triangulation of interviews (n=9), surveys (n=60) and participant observations at four Senegalese schools, the article analyses the transcultural negotiation processes of the participating students. The results show that the performative appropriation of the play created transcultural spaces of resonance in which the young people turned the historical text into a mirror of their own lives. In addition to linguistic and intercultural competence, the process strengthened the participants' self-efficacy and critical thinking in particular. The study concludes that theatre pedagogy-based approaches are a powerful tool for cultural self-assurance and educational innovation in postcolonial educational spaces.

Author Biography

Joerg Hartmann, Goethe-Institut Senegal

Joerg Martin Hartmann is a German language education expert at the Goethe-Institut Senegal. His work focuses on performative approaches in foreign language teaching, intercultural learning, and the contextual adaptation of educational formats in Sub-Saharan Africa. He holds master’s degrees in German Studies and International Education Management and has previously worked as a DAAD lecturer in Cameroon and as a university lecturer for Media Studies in Germany.

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