Emma Marie Birkmaier Explained

Emma Marie Birkmaier
Birth Date:June 1, 1908
Birth Place:Münich
Death Date:November 26, 1985 (age 77)
Death Place:St. Paul, Minnesota, U.S.
Other Names:Emma Birkmaier Kogl
Occupation:Educator
Known For:First president of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (1968)

Emma Marie Birkmaier Kogl (June 1, 1908 – November 26, 1985) was an American educator. Birkmaier taught at the University of Minnesota, and was founding president of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL).

Early life and education

Birkmaier was born in Münich, and raised in St. Paul, Minnesota, the daughter of Joseph Birkmaier and Marie Birkmaier. Her parents were both born in Bavaria. She graduated from St. Catherine College in 1928.[1] [2] She completed doctoral studies at the University of Minnesota in 1949.[3]

Career

Birkmaier taught Russian at the University of Minnesota High School in 1945.[4] She was a professor of German and language education at the University of Minnesota,[5] until she retired in 1973. "If students can't see any relevancy between what they're learning in language and their everyday lives, they could care less," she told a 1972 interviewer about her classroom strategies.[6]

Birkmaier was invited to speak to professional groups about education the Soviet Union during the Cold War.[7] She was a visiting professor at the University of Nevada in 1954 and 1955, and at the University of Kansas in 1958.[8] She was president of the Central States Modern Language Association. She was founding president of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) in 1968. St. Catherine University presented her with their Alexandrine Medal in 1969.[9]

Publications

Personal life and legacy

Birkmaier married fellow educator Rudolph Frank Kogl; he was born in Austria. Her husband died in 1983, and she died from leukemia in 1985, at the age of 77.[18] In 1980, the ACTFL established Emma Marie Birkmaier Award for Doctoral Dissertation Research in World Language Education.[19] [20]

Notes and References

  1. News: 1968-10-14 . Teachers to Hear Language Talks . 2024-09-02 . The Daily Oklahoman . 5 . Newspapers.com.
  2. College of St. Catherine. La Concha (1928 yearbook): 33. via St. Catherine University Digital Collections
  3. News: 1967-10-20 . Two from YHS to Attend Sparks Language Confab . 2024-09-02 . Mason Valley News . 6 . Newspapers.com.
  4. News: Reynolds . Virginia . 1945-09-05 . Conversational Russian Taught at High School . 2024-09-02 . The Minneapolis Star . 13 . Newspapers.com.
  5. News: 1963-08-24 . Six Women Named as Theologians . 2024-09-03 . The Minneapolis Star . 7 . Newspapers.com.
  6. News: 1972-05-30 . Teachers, Students Learn from Language 'Work-In'/Carol Johnsen . 2024-09-03 . St. Cloud Times . 21.
  7. News: McCluskey . Jim . 1957-11-22 . Education Important to Soviet, Speaker Says . 2024-09-03 . The Albert Lea Tribune . 5 . Newspapers.com.
  8. News: 1958-11-13 . Early Language Start; Classes Now Begin in Elementary Schools . 2024-09-03 . The Kansas City Times . 17 . Newspapers.com.
  9. News: Morris . Margaret . 1969-11-24 . About People . 2024-09-03 . Star Tribune . 20 . Newspapers.com.
  10. Birkmaier, Emma Marie. "Needs Before We Can Teach Russian Effectively at the Ninth Grade Level." Bulletin of the American Association of Teachers of Slavic and East European Languages 7, no. 2 (1949): 39-40.
  11. Birkmaier, Emma. Illustrative Learning Experiences: University High School in Action. University of Minnesota Press, 1952.
  12. Birkmaier . Emma Marie . September 1955 . The Core Curriculum: A Promising Pattern for the Education of Adolescents . The School Review . en . 63 . 6 . 330–333 . 10.1086/442230 . 0036-6773.
  13. Birkmaier, Emma Marie. "The Teaching of Foreign Languages" NEA Journal L (December 1961) 16 (1951): 17.
  14. Birkmaier. Emma Marie . December 31, 1962. Educational Leadership. 20. 4. 238=276. Modern Languages: Vehicle for the Humanities . 2024-09-02 . en.
  15. Birkmaier . Emma Marie . Lange . Dale L. . May 1968 . A Selective Bibliography on the Teaching of Foreign Languages, 1920–1966 . Foreign Language Annals . en . 1 . 4 . 318–353 . 10.1111/j.1944-9720.1968.tb00148.x . 0015-718X.
  16. Book: Wängler . Hans Heinrich . Deutsch unserer Zeit . Birkmaier . Emma Marie . Anderson . Keith . 1969 . Holt, Rinehart and Winston . 978-0-03-073085-6 . New York . de.
  17. Book: Arendt . Jermaine D. . Foreign Language Learning, Today and Tomorrow: Essays in Honor of Emma M. Birkmaier . Lange . Dale L. . Myers . Pamela J. . 2014-05-19 . Elsevier . 978-1-4831-8922-2 . en.
  18. News: 1985-12-03 . 'U' language expert Emma B, Kogl dies . 2024-09-02 . Star Tribune . Newspapers.com. 19.
  19. Web site: Emma Marie Birkmaier Award . 2024-09-02 . ACTFL . en.
  20. News: 2005-11-04 . UI graduate awarded for technology study . 2024-09-02 . Iowa City Press-Citizen . 2 . Newspapers.com.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Emma Marie Birkmaier".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2025, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.