Tobias Barske

 
​Office: ​CCC 488C
​Email: ​tbarske@uwsp.edu
​Phone: ​715-346-4406
 

 
 
 

Biography

Tobias Barske is a native speaker of German. After spending his childhood in Riedenburg, Lower Bavaria, he lived in Jakarta, Indonesia for 5 years where he attended Jakarta International School. Before moving to the United States, Prof. Barske studied Geography and English at the Universität Regensburg in Germany. In 2001, he completed 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. In 2006, Prof. 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.

Prof. 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, Prof. Barske is interested in second language acquisition theory and pedagogy (e.g., teaching business German, the use of instructional technology in the language classroom, etc.).

In his spare time, Prof. Barske enjoys cooking, running, and playing Frisbee golf.

Education

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Ph.D., Germanic Languages and Literatures, 2006

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, M.A., Germanic Languages and Literatures, 2001

Universität Regensburg, B.A. equivalent, English Studies, 1998, Geography, 1999

Dissertation

“Enacting the Roles of Boss and Employee in German Business Meetings: A Conversation Analytic Study of How Social Roles are Co-Constructed”

Thesis Director: Dr. Andrea Golato

Recent and Forthcoming Publications

Barske, T. and Golato, A. (2010). German so: Managing Sequence and Action. Text and Talk,
30(3): 245-266.

Barske, T. (2009). Book Review: “Passwort Deutsch: Kurs- und Übungsbuch, Vol. 1-3,” Die Unterrichtspraxis, 42(2): 192-194.

Barske, T. (200). Passwort Deutsch: Kurs- und Ubungsbuch, Vol. 4-5, Die Unterrichtspraxis, 42(2): 199-201.

Anton, C., Barske, T., Grabowski, J., and McKinstruy, M. (2013). Mosaik: German Language and Culture (Col. 1-3). Vista Higher Learning, Inc: Boston, MA.

Anton, C., Barske, T., Grabowski, J., and McKinstry, M. (2013). Sag mal: An Introduction to German Language and Culture. Vista Higher Learning, Inc.: Boston, MA.

Barske, T., McKinstry, M. Schestokat, K., and Sokolosky, J. (2012). Denk mal! Deutsch ohne Grenzen (INtermediate German Tetbook). Vista Higher Learning, Inc.: Boston, MA.

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.

Barske, T. (2004). Der Zivildienst [CD-ROM]. In R. DiDonato. CD-Companion to Deutsch – Na klar! (4th ed.). Boston/Toronto: McGraw-Hill.

Barske, T. (2004). Mehr Farbe in der Politik [CD-ROM]. In R. DiDonato. CD Companion to Deutsch - Na klar! (4th ed.). Boston/Toronto: McGraw-Hill.

Barske, T. (2001). Book Review: “German for Starters,” Die Unterrichtspraxis, 34(1), 83-84.

Barske, T. & Golato, A. German so: Managing Sequence and Action. Text & Talk.

Barske, T. (under review). Zones of Interactional Transition in German Business Meetings: Resolving Interactional Trouble and Reestablishing Social Hierarchies. Research on Language and Social Interaction.

Barske, T. (under review). TCU-Final Intonation: A Conversation Analytic Study of How Employees Use Intonation to Deliver Reports Collaboratively in German Business Meetings. Journal of Pragmatics

Recent and Upcoming Conference Presentations

Betz, E. & T. Barske "Creating Spaces and Contexts of Reference: How Gestures Visualize Structure of Talk." Symposium on Reference in Interaction from a Cross-Cultural Perspective, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, April 6-7, 2012.

Barske T. "Sequence Closings in German Business Meetings: Negotiating Competing Courses of Actions through Eye Gaze," 3rd International Conference on Converstaion Analysis, Mannheim, Germany, July 5, 2010.

Barske, T. "Constructing Social Roles in German Business Meetings by Altering Repair Initiation," Association for Vusiness Communication, Antwerp, Belgium, May 27, 2010.

Barske, T. & Golato, A “German turn-initial so: Managing sequence and action,” Conference of the National Communications Association, San Diego, November 24, 2008.

Barske, T. “Eliciting Stories in Business Meetings,” Georgetown University Round Table 2008: Telling Stories, Washington, D.C., March 14-16, 2008.

Barske, T. “Same Token, Different Actions: The Significance of Embodied Actions in Describing the Use of ok,” Conference of the National Communications Association, Chicago, November 16, 2007.

Barske, T. “’Look Away, Ok, Moving On:’ Conversation Analysis and the Structure of German Business Meetings,” Humanities Forum, UWSP, November 8, 2007.

Barske, T. “The Significance of TCU-Final Intonation to the Production of Reports in German Business Meetings,” Conference of the International Pragmatics Association, Gothenburg, Sweden, July 14, 2007. Paper accepted but not funded by UWSP.

Barske, T. & Markee, N. “Repair during ZITs,” Conference of the American Association for Applied Linguistics, Los Angeles, April 21, 2007.

Barske, T. “What Happens If The Boss Is Wrong?: Challenging Social Roles in German Business Meetings,” Conference of the National Communications Association, San Antonio, November 18, 2006.

Barske, T. “Is ok Always ok: Performing Different Actions with the Same Word,” Invited Lecture, German Department & Linguistic Department, University of the Ryukyus, Naha, Japan, July 21, 2006.

Barske, T. “Meaning Versus Function of the German Particle e:.” Deutsches Seminar, UIUC, March 8, 2004.

Barske, T. “Identification as Part of Telephone Opening Sequences: A Conversation Analytic Discussion of the Sequential Consequences of Self-Identification versus Other Identification,” Conference of the American Council for Teachers of Foreign Languages, Philadelphia, November 23, 2003.

Barske, T. “Hello? Who’s There?: Identification in German Telephone Openings,” Deutsches Seminar, UIUC, February 13, 2001.

 

Pedagogy

Barske, T. "Bitte? S'il vous plait? ¿Por favor?: Teaching and Learning Request STrategies in a Second Language (Poster Presentation), "President's Summer, Madison, WI, April 14, 2011.

Barske, T. "Developing a Foreign Language Exploration Program with Limited Resources," Conference of the Wisconsin Association of Foreign Langauge Teachers, Appleton, WI, November 6, 2010.

Barske, T. & T. Leek "College, Curriculum, Communication (Poster Presentation)," Conference of the Wisconsin Association of Foreign Language Teachers, Appleton, WI, November 6, 2009.

Barske, T. “Integrating Chat Rooms in Foreign Language Classrooms,” Conference of the Wisconsin Association of Foreign Language Teachers, Appleton, WI, November 7, 2008.
 
Barske, T. “Language Related Episodes (LRE) in 2 Different Tasks Focusing on German Adjective Endings,” AGTC Seminar on the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL), UIUC, March 9, 2005.
 
Golato, A. & Barske, T. “The Use of Technology in the German Business Language Classroom,” CITES Seminar Series, UIUC, April 8, 2004.

 

Professional Workshops

Barske, T., K. Conor, L. Dunemann, & J. Manlick "Interactive Games and Activities to Engage your Students!," Conference of the Wisconsin Association of Foreign Language Teachers, Appleton, WI, November 4, 2011.

Barske, T. & J. Schueller "Clips für Klassen: Film- und Videomaterial im Deutschunterricht [Clips for Classes: Film and Video Materials in German Lessons]," Seminar for Teaching Assistans, Goethe-Institut, Chicago, September 30-October 2, 2011.

Barske, T., Fullard, K., Golato, A., & Lücke, M. “Berufskommunikation Deutsch-integriert,” University of Rhode Island, Kingston, September 19-21, 2008.

 
Barske, T., Licht, M., Schlaak, E., & Seidlitz, L. “’Let the Games Continue …’ - Workshop on Games in German Language Classrooms,” Conference of the American Council for the Teaching of Foreign Languages, Boston, November 19, 2000.

 

Courses Taught

  • First, second, and third-year German language courses, including study abroad
  • Business German
  • Conversation and composition courses
  • German culture courses
  • German for reading knowledge
  • Foreign Languages and ESL Teaching Methods courses
  • Foreign Language and ESL Teacher Training seminars
  • Introduction to Linguistics

Teaching Honors

2009 University Excellence in Teaching Award, University of Wisconsin Stevens Point

2003 Campus Teaching Award: Teaching Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching by Graduate Teaching Assistants, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

2003 LAS Teaching Award: Teaching Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching by Graduate Teaching Assistants, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

2001 Robert L. Stone Excellence in Teaching Award: Teaching Award for Outstanding Undergraduate Instruction, Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign