Associate Professor
Dep. of Foreign Languages
McDaniel College

Tel: (410) 857-2462 
Fax: (410) 386-4629
E-mail: mesa @ mcdaniel.edu

Courses I teach:

In German:


In English:

Dr. Mohamed Esa

Personal Page: http://www2.mcdaniel.edu/german/pages
Starting July 1, 2007, I am the chair of the Department of Foreign Languages. I am also in charge of the German and Arabic sections at McDaniel College where I teach language, literature, culture, and business German classes. I am also the academic advisor of the German Club and Suite, and the Multicultural Student Association at the college. I love to take students on field trips to the Embassies of Germany, Austria and Switzerland, the Holocaust Memorial Museum and the Goethe-Institut Washington . During the January term, I organize study tours to German-speaking countries. My most recent study tour was in January 2004 to Central Europe. In 1995, I have started "German-American Day at McDaniel College," an outreach program with high and middle schools in Maryland, Washington, DC and Northern Virginia. In 1999, my advanced German students and I started an afternoon German Enrichment Program at William Winchester Elementary School in Westminster.

In April 2007, I received the "Ira Zepp Distinguished Teaching Award" at McDaniel College. In 2003, I received the AATG Merit Award from the Maryland and Metro DC chapter of the American Association of Teachers of German (AATG) as well. In 2003, I was named the Most Valued Professor (MVP) of the year by the Office of Multicultural Services and various multicultural clubs at McDaniel College. In 2000 I received the Certificate of Merit from the Goethe-Institut in the United States and the American Association of Teachers of German (AATG) for outstanding achievements in furthering and encouraging the study of German language and culture in the USA, and in 1999, I was awarded The Federal Republic of Germany Friendship Award by the ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany, Dr. Jürgen Chrobog, and

In Spring 2003, I have started teaching a class on "The Arab World," which now is being offered for the second year as part of the Honors Program at McDaniel College. In the Spring Break 2007 (marc 8-18th), I took a group of 26 students and community members on a "Study Tour of Egypt."

My teaching and research interests are in the fields of: Innovative Teaching Methodologies, Technology in the Classroom, Proverbs and Idioms, "Migrantenliteratur", German Women Writers, and German Novellas. In the summer of 2006, I taught the Deutsche Woche in Bar Harbor. The topic of the week long seminar was "Musik und Technologie im Deutschunterricht." At the 2005 and 2006 annual convention of ACTFL (American Council on Teaching Foreign Languages) and NECTFL (The North East Conference of the Teaching of Foreign Languages) I gave various presentations on "Islam and Muslims in Europe," "Islam in German-speaking Countries," "Rammstein in the German Classroom," "Arab-German Writers," "Rap Music and Fairy Tales," "Berlin im Lied," "Making your own music videos in the foreign language classroom," "Homodigitalis and iPodomeniacs: Student-Produced Film Projects." At the Internationaler Deutschleherer Tagung (IDT) (International German Teachers Conference, which takes place every 4 years, I gave a presenattion on "Wise Guys in the German Classroom." At the 2005 annual conference of the German Studies Association in Milwaukee, WI, I read a paper on "Arab-German Writers in the German Classroom" and at the annual conventions of ACTFL and NECTFL I gave various presentations at the 2004 annual convention of the North East MLA (NEMLA) in Pittsburgh, PA, in March, 2004, I read a paper on "From Sheherazade to Schami: Storytelling and Therapy." At the annual convention of the German Studies Association (GSA) in Washington, DC I gave a talk on "The Illusive Symbolism of the Bindestrich: Arab-German Writers, Storytellers, Artists, and Musicians". My most recent presentations at the Annual Conference of  ACTFL (American Council on Teaching Foreign Languages) were on "Die Wise Guys und die Prinzen im Deutschunterricht" (November 2003, "Die Wise Guys - Ein freches A-Capella-Quintett aus Köln am Rhein" and on "Milestones of German History: Music Videos in the German Classroom" (November 2001), "Rocking the German Classroom: Der Gezielte Einsatz" (November 1998), and "On the Air, On the Screen: Radio Shows and Video Productions in the Classroom" (November 1997). My most recent article "Viele 'Vehikel' f�hren nach Rom: Sprichwöter und Redensarten im Deutschunterricht" was published in Die Unterrichtspraxis, Volume 32, No. 1, Spring 1999.

For the last few years, I have also been offering training workshops for German teachers on how to effectively use German music in the classroom. Here are some examples:

  • Immersion weekend for German teachers at Dickinson College (March 2001)
  • Jump Start Summer Institute at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio (July 2001)
  • Michigan Foreign Language Association (October 2001)
  • ACTFL Annual Convention in Washington, DC (November 2001)
  • Train the Trainers at the Goethe-Institute Chicago (March 2002)
  • At the Northeast Conference on Teaching Foreign Languages hosted by the Goethe-Institut New York (April 2002)
  • Minnesota Chapter of the American Association of Teachers of German (AATG) (April 2002)
  • Deutsche Woche in Bar Harbor, ME (July 2002).
  • New Jersey Chapter of the AATG (September 2002)
  • Goethe Institutes Montreal, New York and Washington, DC (October 2002)
  • Indiana Chapter of the AATG (November 2002)
  • Western Pennsylvania Chapter of the AATG (April 2003)
  • Kenntucky Chapter of the AATG at the annual conference of the Kentucky World Language Association (KWLA) (September 2003)
  • Ohio Chapter of the AATG (November 2004)
  • San Diego Chapter of the AATG (March 2005)
  • Indiana Chapter of the AATG (November 2005)
  • Southern California Chapter of the AATG (February 2005)
  • San Francisco Goethe Institute Trainer Netwzwork (March 2006)
  • Alaska Chapter of the AATG (October 2006)
  • Maryland Chapter of the AATG (November 2005)
  • Massachusetts Chapter of the AATG and MaFLA (October 2006)
  • ACTFL Annual Convention in Nashville (November 2006) (Berlin im Lied)
  • NECTFL Annual conference in New York City (April 2007) (Rammstein im Deutschunterricht)
In November 2001 at the annual ACTFL convention in Washington, DC, I gave a presentation on the "Wise Guys," a German a cappella group from Köln am Rhein. I also was asked to supply practical exercises for three of their songs which were included in a special edition of "The Poet and the Poem," a one-hour radio program featuring the "Wise Guys" hosted by Grace Cavalieri. The CD: The Wise Guys - An A Cappella Group from K�ln am Rhein along with the exercises in PDF-format was published in June 2002 by the Goethe-Institute Washington and the American Association of Teachers of German (AATG). In October 2002, the "Wise Guys" will come back and give concert in six US cities. I'll be offering some workshops either before or after the concerts on how to use the songs of the Wise Guys in the classroom.  In March and July 2001, I also gave two workshops at Dickinson College and Miami University in Ohio on how to use modern German music in the classroom.  

I served as the 1st Vice-President of the Maryland Foreign Language Association (MFLA) for two years and in October 2004 became its president until 2006. I served as President of the Maryland Chapter of the American Association of German Teachers (AATG) from 1994 until 1999 and as Treasurer on the Executive Board of the Maryland Foreign Language Association (MFLA) from 1996 until 2000. I organized and hosted numerous workshops, immersion weekends, and conferences for German and other foreign language teachers. In December of 1998, we hosted a leadership conference on "The Future of German language Instruction in Maryland, Washington, DC and Northern Virginia", in March of 1999 the MFLA Spring conference on  "Technology in the Foreign Classroom: The Lesson Plan ..." and in March of 2000 "Technology in the Classroom: Enhancing Teaching and Learning in the New Millennium". The most recent German immersion weekend sponsored by the Goethe-Institut Washington was "WWW and the German Curriculum: Web Page Design and Learning Scenarios" (December 2001).  Another immersion weekend:  Bilder als Sprech- und Schreibanlass im Deutschunterricht" was offered in September 2000. I also helped organize the third part of the leadership conference entitled "Future of German: Extracurricular Enrichment Programs" which took place at the Goethe Institut InterNationes in Washington, DC on May 12, 2001. 
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