Teaching — and learning — more than a language

In a UM-Dearborn German course classroom, Lecturer Liana McMillan doesn’t just teach the language. She also plays Beethoven and Bach, introduces German Renaissance painters and discusses German philosophers and the impact they continue to have in politics and science.

“She gives a comprehensive view on the language and culture — and why knowing this matters. She’d spend the first half of a lesson playing German classical music and explaining music theory, showing us Renaissance paintings and discussing art history, and going through the history of German architecture. Then we’d spend the second half of the lesson learning German,” says Zenon Sommers, a spring ’22 graduate who minored in German. “She’s the best professor I’ve ever had. That says a lot because many of my UM-Dearborn professors were excellent.”

In addition to teaching in the classroom, the 20-plus-year UM-Dearborn educator also influences her UM-Dearborn students — like Sommers, Taylorann Lenze and Ellie White — to get out into the world. McMillan is an advocate of international experiences. And, for eight consecutive years, German language-focused students at UM-Dearborn have lived, worked and studied in Austria through the Fulbright Austria program. German is the official language of Austria.

Each student — starting with Lenze in 2016 — has mentioned McMillan, along with German Professor Emerita Jackie Vansant, as the catalyst for stepping out of their comfort zone and applying to become an English teaching assistant in Austrian high school-level equivalent classrooms. Vansant retired in 2020.

“They changed my life,” Lenze said of her professors in 2016. “I had no idea that there were so many possibilities out there for me. I thought travel was for wealthy people to go on cruises. It didn’t cross my mind that you could travel for education and research and there was financial help out there for you to do it.” Lenze, who taught in Vienna during her Fulbright, graduated in 2016 and now works for the U.S.-based organization Council on International Educational Exchange.

Sommers, who returned from Austria in June after two years of Fulbright Austria awards, lived in Vienna and traveled throughout Europe. He now has friends he can visit in Austria, Italy, Switzerland, Romania and more. And he taught more than 500 students about the English language and American culture while there.

“It was an amazing experience and my students and I learned from each other,” Sommers says. “My students were curious about the American political system and what it’s like to live here. I learned that people don’t learn English just to talk to Americans and Brits — it’s not about us. They learn it to talk to everyone; it’s the most spoken language in the world. It’s very influential in many cultures. The English language is so much bigger than us. It was humbling to see that.”

This year, Amber Festian and Zachary Redfield — both spring ’24 graduates and former tutors in UM-Dearborn’s Kochoff Language Lab, which McMillan directs — are heading to Austria. They start their Fulbright experiences this month. Festian, who is teaching at two schools in Vienna’s suburbs now through May, says she heard about the award from McMillan.

Festian also talked with Dearborn Wolverines who have been through the program to learn more. “Professor McMillan told me about the German courses at UM-Dearborn and that there was this amazing cultural exchange opportunity,” Festian says. “Because we have a history , I met someone studying in Austria on a Fulbright and saw someone applying to become one in my first year.”

Festian already had experience working with kids as a ski coach, served as a long-time language tutor and had an interest in international relations. She says the Fulbright Austria program sounded like a perfect fit, so she focused on learning German and applying for the program.

“When I first came to UM-Dearborn, I didn’t know living in another country would be my goal. I just knew I liked learning about other cultures and language heavily affects culture, so it makes sense to learn the language to better understand the culture,” says Festian, who’s taken Spanish classes since seventh grade, but hadn’t taken German courses until college. “I wanted to continue taking German because I liked the challenge of learning a new language and because Professor McMillan made it so interesting. Now I’ve graduated and am moving to Austria. I’m so excited. If it wasn’t for UM-Dearborn, my life would look very different.”

Festian says the experience will be fulfilling on a personal and professional level. The international studies grad is considering a career in international teaching or international non-governmental organizations.

McMillan says she encourages the Fulbright Austria program because it pays student living expenses, offers free continuing education opportunities in Austria and is designed to provide time for personal pursuits. “Students also come back with their German cemented and polished to near-fluency. Our German students are well prepared to participate in this competitive program; we’ve had a Fulbright teaching assistantship recipient every year for the last several years — and all our students who applied won a position,” she says.

Sommers says he saw the quality of his German courses first-hand while traveling to Germany with his family during his first year of college. Sommers’ mom needed to go to the emergency room while traveling, and he communicated with the doctors using his German. “After seeing how much I had learned with only four months of German, I thought: how much more will I be able to do with four years?”

Sommers says McMillan’s impact on his education began before he earned his high school diploma. Meeting McMillan in the hallway after a campus-visit event for the Honors program, Sommers told her that he had an interest in the ancient Greek language. Sommers, who plans to enter seminary school next year, says he wanted to read the New Testament in the original language. McMillan replied that they didn’t have a Greek option, but talked about being able to read original texts from prominent German philosophers and religious leaders like Immanuel Kant and Martin Luther if he took German. She then invited Sommers, a dual-enrolled student, to sit in on a Tuesday night German class.

Meeting her at a campus visit where she was promoting language learning, Sommers told her that he had an interest in the ancient Greek language. He plans to enter seminary school next year and wanted to read the New Testament in its original form. McMillan let him know UM-Dearborn doesn’t teach Greek, but told him he could read original texts from prominent philosophers like Karl Marx and religious leaders like Martin Luther if he took German. She then invited Sommers, a dual-enrolled student, to sit in on a Tuesday night German class.

“You think about moments that change your life — that was one of them. Students were talking to each other in German and she was sharing how art, history and religion were shaped by German culture. It was exciting,” Sommers says. “It’s why I pursued the language. It’s how I was able to live in Austria for two years. Now I have friends around the world and I’ve learned to better see points of view from different perspectives.”

McMillan, who has a graduate degree in German literature from UM-Ann Arbor and was drawn to German studies because of its rich history and cultural influence, says learning about other countries and cultures does more than teach about another place — it teaches students about themselves.

“I’m so proud of my students,” she says. “The teaching Fulbright in Austria offers a unique and wonderful opportunity to broaden horizons and life experience by living in another culture — one that is steeped in art, architecture and music. The practical teaching experience gained is useful in itself and a plus for any resume, but the international experience is even more so.”

For more information about German courses or the Fulbright Austria program, reach out to McMillan.

Story by Sarah Tuxbury