Peter Ecke is Professor of Second Language Acquisition and German and teaches courses on applied linguistics, second language acquisition, multilingualism, intercultural communication, testing and assessment, and German language and culture. He is a faculty member in the Interdisciplinary Ph.D. Program in Second Language Acquisition and Teaching. His research interests include second and third language acquisition, vocabulary acquisition, language attrition, bilingual speech including lexical errors and word finding problems, the effects of study abroad on language and intercultural competence development, and the learning and teaching of German in the United States. Below is a list of representative research areas and publications. More information about Peter Ecke can be found on Research Gate, ORCID, Google Scholar or Academia.
Selected Publications
Vocabulary acquisition and lexical production in multilingual speakers
Ecke, P. (2022). Grammatical gender and article use in beginning learners of German. In. D. Ayoun (Ed.), The acquisition of gender: Crosslinguistic perspectives (pp. 127-156). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI.
Ecke P., & Hall, C.J. (2021). Bilingual aspects of the Ontogenesis Model: Parasitic connections at all levels of representation? Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 1–2. DOI.
Ecke, P., & Hall, C. J. (2021). The Parasitic Model: Lexical acquisition and its impact on morphosyntactic transfer. Linguistic Approaches to Bilingualism, 11(1), 45-49. DOI.
Ecke, P.. & Rott, S. (Eds.) (2018). Understanding vocabulary learning and teaching: Implications for language program development (AAUSC Volume 2018). Boston, MA: Cengage. Open access.
Ecke, P., & Rott, S. (2018). Vocabulary learning and teaching: Variables, relationships, materials, and curriculum development. In P. Ecke & S. Rott (Eds.), Understanding vocabulary learning and teaching: Implications for language program development (AAUSC Volume 2018) (pp. 1-9). Boston, MA: Cengage. Open access.
Shishkin, E., & Ecke, P. (2018). Language dominance, verbal fluency, and language control in two groups of Russian-English bilinguals. Languages, 3(3), 27. Open access.
Ecke, P. (2015). Parasitic vocabulary acquisition, cross-linguistic influence, and lexical retrieval in multilinguals. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 18, 145-162. Abstract.
Ecke, P. (2015). Was (oft lustige) Fehler und Wortfindungsprobleme über Wortschatzlern- und Verarbeitungsprozesse enthüllen. [What (often funny) errors and word finding problems can reveal about word learning and processing. In M. Löschmann (Ed.), Humor im Fremdsprachenunterricht (pp. 95-111). Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang. Abstract.
Ecke, P. (2009). The tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon as a window on (bilingual) lexical retrieval. In A. Pavlenko (Ed.), The bilingual mental lexicon: Interdisciplinary approaches (p. 185-208). Bristol: Multilingual Matters. Abstract.
Hall, C. J., Newbrand, D., Ecke, P., Sperr, U., Marchand, V., & Hayes, L. (2009). Learners’ implicit assumptions about syntactic frames in new L3 words: The role of cognates, typological proximity, and L2 status. Language Learning, 59(1), 153-202. Abstract.
Ecke, P. (2008). Cross-linguistic influence on word search in tip-of-the-tongue states. TESOL Quarterly, 43(3), 515-527. Abstract.
Language attrition and forgetting
Ecke, P., & Hall, C. J. (2013). Tracking tip-of-the-tongue states in a multilingual speaker: Evidence of attrition or instability in lexical systems? International Journal of Bilingualism, 17(6), 734 – 751. Abstract.
Ecke, P. (2008). Die Kosten der Mehrsprachigkeit: Zeit und Fehler bei der Wortfindung. [The costs of multilingualism: Time and errors during word retrieval] Babylonia, 16(2), 26-30. Abstract.
Ecke, P. (2004). Language attrition and theories of forgetting: A cross-disciplinary review. International Journal of Bilingualism, 8(3), 321-354. Abstract.
Language and intercultural competence development during study abroad
Ecke, P. (2022). Quantitative study abroad research: Challenges and recommendations. In J. McGregor & J. Plews (Eds.), Designing second language study abroad research (pp. 23-42). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. Abstract.
Ecke, P. (2020). Wahrnehmungen von Nationalkulturen und Lernfortschritten im kurzfristigen Auslandsstudium amerikanischer Studierender in Deutschland. In C. Altmayer, C. von Maltzan & R. Zabel (Eds.), Zugehörigkeiten: Ansätze und Perspektiven in Germanistik und Deutsch als Fremd- und Zweitsprache (pp. 121-140). Tübingen: Stauffenburg. Abstract.
Ecke, P. (2014). The effects of study abroad in the German-speaking world: A research review. Die Unterrichtspraxis: Teaching German, 47(2), 121-139. Abstract.
Ecke, P. (2013). US-amerikanische DaF-Studenten im kurzfristigen Auslandsstudium: Meinungen und Einstellungen gegenüber Vertretern der eigenen und der fremden Kultur. [US students of German in short-term study abroad: Opinions and attitudes about members of own and other cultures.] In C. Fandrych, A. R. Galván Torres, W. Heidermann, U. Pleß, & E. Tschirner, (Eds.), Text, Diskurs und Translation im Wandel. Transformationen in der lateinamerikanischen Germanistik (pp. 167-176). Tübingen: Stauffenburg Verlag. Abstract.
Ecke, P. (2013). Designing and running a short-term study abroad program in Germany: Guidance for new program directors. Neues Curriculum, 1-27. Abstract.
Badstübner, T., & Ecke, P. (2009). Students’ expectations, target language use, and perceived learning progress in a summer study abroad program in Germany. Die Unterrichtspraxis: Teaching German, 42(1), 41-49. Abstract.
Assessment in and of second language programs
Al-Bahlani, S. M., & Ecke, P. (2023). Assessment competence and practices including digital assessment literacy of postsecondary English language teachers in Oman (37 pages). Cogent Education, 10(2), 2239535. https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2023.2239535
Ecke, P. (2020). Assessment in a learner-centered conversation class. In E. White & T. Bucher Barbosa da Silva (Eds.), Classroom assessment for language teaching: Challenges, choices, and consequences (pp. 101-139). Cambridge Scholar Publications. Abstract.
Ecke, P. (2019). Planning and assessing group (video) projects in foreign language classes. In E. White & T. Delaney (Eds.), Handbook of research on assessment literacy and teacher-made testing in the language classroom (pp. 126-139). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. DOI: 10.4018/978-1-5225-6986-2.ch007 Abstract.
Ecke, P. & Ganz, A. (2015). Student analytics as part of the longitudinal evaluation of language programs. In N. Mills & J. Norris (Eds.), Innovation and accountability in foreign language program evaluation (pp. 62-82). Boston: Heinle, Cengage Learning. Abstract. (A presentation based on this article can be found on YouTube.)
Ecke, P. (2012). Assessing culture learning and intercultural competence development. In Diógenes Cândido de Lima (Ed.), Language and its cultural substrate: Implications for a globalized world (pp. 109-124). Campinas, SP: Pontes Editores and Vitória da Conquista, BA: Edições UESB. Abstract.
The learning and teaching of German in the United States
Ecke, P. (2020). Deutsch als Fremdsprache in den USA: Forschungsschwerpunkte aus Die Unterrichtspraxis/Teaching German. Zeitschrift für Interkulturellen Fremdsprachenunterricht, 25(1), 911-917. Open access.
Ecke, P. (2015). Kinderfernsehsendungen im Unterricht Deutsch als Fremd- und Zweitsprache – Lächerlich oder lustig? In M. Löschmann (Ed.), Humor im Fremdsprachenunterricht (pp. 75-93). Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang. Abstract.
Ecke, P. (2013). Deutschunterricht und Ausbildung von DaF-Lehrern und Germanisten in den USA. In F. Grucza & J. Zhu (Eds.), Akten des XII. Internationalen Germanistenkongresses Warschau 2010: Vielfalt und Einheit der Germanistik weltweit, Band 18 (pp. 251-257). Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang.
Ecke, P. (2011). The state of German in the United States: A statistical portrait and a call for teachers. German as a Foreign Language, 12, 55-83. Abstract.