Dr Karine Zbinden

I grew up in Lausanne, on the sunny shores of Lake Geneva,  Switzerland, where I graduated in French, English and Russian languages and literatures.

Modern Foreign Languages, culture(s) and translations are lifelong interests of mine. I came to the Bakhtin Centre here at the University of Sheffield to pursue my interest in the connections and intellectual debates arising from the dialogue of cultures and wrote my PhD on Russian thinker Mikhail Bakhtin, in particular on the transformations his thought encountered when it was translated into French and English. I then pursued my research still here at Sheffield with a postdoctoral project on French intellectual Tzvetan Todorov.

I have taught French language and culture, first at Oxford Brookes University, then in the School of Languages and Cultures here, and moved to the Modern Languages Teaching Centre to take up the position of French Coordinator in 2021.

I am passionate about sharing my interest in languages, especially in sharing the richness and quirks of my mother tongue, and I am always amazed at how learning a new language can transform our own worldview and open up new  horizons. 

I have taught and designed courses in French from Absolute Beginner to Proficient levels. 

And I also practice translation. I am particularly interested in using translation in language teaching as a way of deepening understanding and command of the target language (and sometimes of one's own!) and of its creative potential.

The latest developments in GenAI provide us with fantastic opportunities but also with some challenges. I am currently exploring with our Proficient and Higher Proficient students some of the advantages and drawbacks of using GenAI for language learning.

I look forward to meeting you and teaching you on one of our modules!