Dr Jan Lutz Auracher

Lecturer

Office: AS4/0310

Tel: 6516 6453

Email: auracher@nus.edu.sg

Introduction Teaching Areas Current Research Research Interests Publication

Introduction

I studied German as a Foreign Language (GFL) – with Intercultural Communication and Neurobiology as minors – at the University of Munich. In 2007, I completed my studies with a dissertation about psycho-physiological reactions on literary style. From 2009, I taught German at Doshisha University in Kyoto (Japan) (and other Universities), before working for three years at the Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics in Frankfurt as a PostDoc researcher. Since March 2021, I have been working as Senior Lecturer for German at the National University of Singapore.

View my full CV.

Teaching Areas

German as a foreign language for beginner and intermediate level (A1 to B1-2). In my courses, I focus on project-based instruction. I understand language as a tool that enables interaction. Therefore, in order to use language meaningfully, there must first be a communicative intention. I see my task in supporting the learners' need to express themselves. In this way, the connection between the communicative goal and the linguistic means should be acquired and practiced. .

Current Research

Sound-Meaning Relations in Poetry: Together with collaborators from NUS as well as other universities, we study the relation between sound and meaning in poetry across languages and language families. This kind of research – often referred to as Sound Iconicity – has a long tradition, but only recently have scholars started to study its role in applied linguistics. Already in the early 20^th century, scholars discovered an intersubjective tendency to relate acoustic characteristics of phonemes to non-acoustic characteristics, such as size, brightness, or emotions. What is more, most of these sound-meaning associations have been found to be universal, i.e., independent of a certain language or culture. The objective of our research project is to identify such universal phono-semantic relations and to make them applicable for computational sentiment analysis, i.e., the detection of the mood or the emotional tone in texts. So far, pre-studies were conducted in German and Japanese, and we currently prepare further studies for Chinese, Spanish, and other languages. First results look promising, suggesting a statistically significant relationship between the frequency of phonetic features in texts and the way these texts are assessed by readers.

Closely related to this research project is another project on the role of sound iconicity for word learning. Similar studies have already been conducted with mimetics, that is, words which mimic the sound of an object or an action (e.g., the verb “to woof” which imitates the barking sound of a dog). However, sound-meaning associations can also cross sensual boundaries, for example, when we talk about a “high pitch” or a “dark sound”. Together with a colleague from Hungary, we test to what extend cross-modal associations can be used as a form of mnemonic supporting (for example) the acquisition of foreign language vocabulary.

My second research interest is on digital media in language classes. In a recent study, I collaborated with colleagues from Japan to survey the effect of COVID-19 and the anti-Corona measurements on the use of digital media for distant teaching. In contradiction to general expectations, Japan was very slow to implement new media into secondary and tertiary education. This has dramatically changed in spring 2020 when COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic. Our study asked lecturers of GFL (German as a Foreign Language) at Japanese Universities how they dealt with the sudden change from face-to-face to online teaching and how this experience affected their attitude towards digital media in classes. Surprisingly, a majority of lecturers reported an increased willingness to implement digital media into their teaching despite the massive increase in their workload. As a result, we predict that digital media will increasingly be used in GFL classes even after the pandemic.

Research Interests

My research interest comprises empirical studies in stylistics, computer-assisted language learning, and language iconicity. The aim of my research is to analyze the interaction between the linguistic surface of literary texts and the effect of a text on its readers. For my doctorate, I tested psychophysiological responses while reading suspense novels. Currently, I compare sound-meaning relations across languages of various language families.

Next to language iconicity, I am also interested in the digitalization of foreign language teaching. On the one hand, I study the attitude of lecturers towards digital media in language classes. On the other hand, I monitor the effect of the digitalization of foreign language classes on lecturers’ and students' motivation.

Publication

Recent Publications:

Sato-Prinz M, Zeilhofer L, Auracher J. Zufrieden durch das erste Corona-Semester? Das Sommersemester 2020 in der Rückschau deutscher Hochschuldozent*innen in Japan, German as a Foreign Language, 1(22), 2022: 68-97. http://www.gfl-journal.de/1-2022/Sato-Prinz.pdf

Auracher J, Sato-Prinz M, Zeilhofer L. Der Corona-Knick: Auswirkungen der COVID-19-Pandemie auf die Nutzung digitaler Medien im Deutschunterricht in Japan. Lektorenrundbrief LeRuBri, 55, 2022: 4-14. http://japanlektorinnen.com/media/Lektorenrunbriefe/LeRuBri55_final.pdf

Auracher J, Sato-Prinz M, Zeilhofer L. Auswirkungen der Coronapandemie auf die Einstellung von Dozentinnen und Dozenten zu digitalen Medien im Deutschunterricht in Japan. Deutschunterricht in Japan, 26, 2022: 86-106. http://www.vdjapan.org/pluginfile.php/897/mod_page/content/12/26_1-3_mokuji.pdf

Zeilhofer L, Auracher J, Sato-Prinz M. Arbeitsbelastung von DaF-Dozentinnen und -Dozenten in Japan während der Covid-19-Pandemie. Lektorenrundbrief LeRuBri, 54, 2021: 47-54. http://japanlektorinnen.com/media/Lektorenrunbriefe/LeRuBri54_final.pdf

Auracher J: Sound-meaning Relations in Japanese Tanka: Formant Dispersion of Vowels is Associated with Dominance and Activity. Scientific Study of Literature, 11(1), 2022: 3-34. https://doi.org/10.1075/ssol.21006.aur

Auracher J, Menninghaus W, Scharinger M. Sound Predicts Meaning: Cross-Modal Associations Between Formant Frequency and Emotional Tone in Stanzas. Cognitive science, 44(10), 2020: e12906. DOI: 10.1111/cogs.12906

Auracher J. Commentary on Tsur and Gafni: Methodological issues in the study of phonetic symbolism. Scientific Studies of Literature, 9(2), 2020: 229-238. DOI: 10.1075/ssol.19012.aur

Hoshi H, Kwon N, Akita K, Auracher J. Semantic associations dominate over perceptual associations in vowel-size Iconicity. i-Perception, 10(4), 2019: 2041669519861981. DOI: 10.1177/2041669519861981

Auracher J, Scharinger M, Menninghaus W. Contiguity-based sound iconicity: The meaning of words resonates with phonetic properties of their immediate verbal contexts. PLoS ONE, 14(5), 2019: e0216930. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0216930

Auracher J, Hirose A. The influence of readers' stereotypes on the assessment of fictional characters. Comparative Literature Studies, 54(4), 2017: 795-823. DOI: 10.5325/complitstudies.54.4.0795

Auracher J. Sound iconicity of abstract concepts: Place of articulation is implicitly associated with abstract concepts of size and social dominance. PLoS ONE, 12(11), 2017: e0187196. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0187196

Auracher J, Bosch H. Showing with words: The influence of language concreteness on suspense. Scientific Studies of Literature, 6(2), 2016: 208-242. DOI: 10.1075/ssol.6.2.03aur

Auracher J, Murata Y. Telekollaboration zwischen Studenten der Doshisha-Universität und der Universität München – Motivation, Design und Bewertung. Deutschunterricht in Japan, 18, 2014: 75-84

Auracher J, Albers S, Zhai Y, Gareeva G, Stavniychuk T. P is for happiness, N is for sadness: Universals in sound iconicity to detect emotions in poetry. Discourse Processes, 48(1), 2011: 1–25. DOI: 10.1080/01638531003674894