BIO
Tobias Barske serves as the assistant dean in the School of Humanities and Global Studies. Professor Barske received his master’s degree in Germanic Languages and Literatures at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and was granted his Ph.D. in German Applied Linguistics from the same institution in 2006 with an additional Certificate of Advanced Study in Second Language Acquisition and Teacher Education. Barske joined the Department of Foreign Languages at the University of Wisconsin Stevens Point as assistant professor of German and Applied Linguistics. He teaches German language, language teaching methodology, culture, and linguistics courses and also coordinates the foreign language teacher education program.
Professor Barske’s research interests include conversation analysis, specifically institutional talk, grammar and interaction, pragmatics, and sociolinguistics. His dissertation “Enacting the Roles of Boss and Employee in German Business Meetings: A Conversation Analytic Study of How Social Roles are Co-Constructed” investigates how participants of German business meetings collaborate to talk these events into existence. He currently researches the function of various modal and response particles in German including ok, so, and genau. In addition, he is interested in second language acquisition theory and pedagogy. Professor Barske has presented across the country including for the National Communications Association and the Conference of the American Council for Teachers of Foreign Languages.
AWARDS
- UW-Stevens Point, Academic Staff Excellence University Award (2023)
- UW-Stevens Point, University Excellence in Teaching Award (2009)
PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS
- American Association of Teachers of German, Board of Directors
- American Suzuki Foundation, Board Member
PUBLICATIONS
Barske, T. (2009). Same Token, Different Actions: A Conversation Analytic Study of Social Roles, Embodied Actions, and ok in German Business Meetings. Journal for Business Communication: Special Issue on Meeting Talk, 46(1): 120-149. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0021943608325748
The most effective (and only) way to acquire a language is if you are willing to make mistakes and learn from them. As a matter of fact, that applies to all learning.
-Tobias Barske
FUN FACT
When he was growing up, he wanted to be a train conductor.