Irene Bibi was awarded her B.Ed. (German) from Kenyatta University and her M.A. in German Studies from the University of Nairobi, Kenya. She has vast experience in teaching and examining German on all levels (A1–C2) and training teachers as well as examiners of German at various universities and Goethe Institutes in Sub-Sahara Africa. Her M.A. thesis analysed the contribution of tourists from German-speaking regions of Switzerland to the Kenyan economy. Switzerland is a country she holds dear having spent four years of her childhood there as her father was pursuing his Ph.D. studies at the ETH (Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule, Zürich). Irene is interested in the use of modern technologies in Second Language teacher training programs, Teaching of German as a Foreign Language (DaF) to adult learners and Gender and Women Studies. Irene speaks her mother tongue Luhya, fluent Kiswahili, English and German and conversational French, and is looking forward to learning Spanish.
As a doctoral student in the Transcultural German Studies Program, Irene continues to teach German language and culture courses. Her research interest is in German Literature (Enlightenment, Romanticism), Second Language acquisition theories, Multilingualism, Second Language Teacher Pedagogy and Migrant Studies.
Irene is a Max Kade Fellow 2021-2022.