In 2018, I joined the University of Chicago, where I teach German language and culture from the novice to advanced levels, including the full Intensive Course sequence. My relationship with German began early: when I was forty days old, my family emigrated from Iran to Germany, and I was raised in Heidelberg with German as my first language. Growing up between cultures has given me not only native fluency, but also a deep, lived understanding of the nuances, histories, and cultural dynamics that shape the language. This background continues to inform my teaching and allows me to guide students into both the linguistic and cultural dimensions of the German-speaking world.
I completed my undergraduate studies in German at Shahid Beheshti University in Tehran and earned a graduate degree in German Translation Studies at the University of Tehran. After moving to the United States in 2012, I completed a second M.A. in Germanic Studies at Purdue University, where I also taught introductory German courses and directed the German Culture Club. In 2016, I joined the Goethe-Institut Chicago, where I continued to teach until 2020. Across these institutions, I have been able to cultivate a multilingual, intercultural pedagogy grounded in inclusivity, intellectual rigor, and meaningful engagement.
At the University of Chicago, I design curricula that merge communicative, cultural, and experiential learning. As part of the intensive sequence, I developed the second and third quarters of the course under the name Deutschlandreise—a pedagogical journey through cities of cultural, political, and literary significance. The course integrates authentic media, historical archives, virtual explorations, and structured debate to deepen students’ intercultural awareness and interpretive skills. A central component of the course is the creation of a semester-long comic handbook, in which students develop an evolving storyline and a cast of characters week by week. Each chapter of their comic draws on newly learned linguistic structures and cultural content, allowing students to grapple creatively with global themes such as immigration, integration, alienation, climate change, and the lasting legacies of World War II. Through this multimodal project, students practice narrative building, visual literacy, and critical cultural reflection while strengthening their German proficiency in meaningful, highly engaging ways.
In 2024, I also designed and launched Deutsch im Alltag, a data-driven second-year course built from a two-year domain analysis focused on how students actually use language while studying, living, or working abroad. Co-developed with Dr. Maeve Hooper, the course prepares students to navigate real-world intercultural experiences by engaging with themes such as cultural norms, identity, social integration, values, and everyday life challenges abroad. Rather than relying on traditional textbook models, the course integrates authentic materials, reflective practice, growth-based assessment, and task-based projects that mirror real communicative demands. Deutsch im Alltag represents a new curricular direction for our program—one that merges linguistic proficiency with intercultural competence and global citizenship.
In addition to teaching, I coordinate cultural and social programming for students interested in the German language and serve as the faculty sponsor of the German Club. I design events that build community, spark intellectual curiosity, and encourage students to engage with German beyond the classroom through creative, collaborative activities.
My scholarship and pedagogical innovation increasingly focus on the intersection of artificial intelligence and language education. I am deeply interested in how AI can expand access to personalized practice, enhance communicative fluency, and transform feedback and assessment. This work includes developing custom GPTs for language learning, including Prof. LexiVerse, a conversational AI tutor for German; designing a personalized AI holographic tutor; and authoring a forthcoming pedagogical book, Revolutionizing Language Education with ChatGPT: A Comprehensive Guide for Enhancing All Four Language Skills Across All Proficiency Levels.
Current initiatives include a multi-year domain analysis research group on language use abroad, the development of a new LSP curriculum, the creation of a psychology-and-German course (“Psycho-Cultural Exploration”), and continued testing and refinement of ManiVerse, my reflective language-learning game.
I am also a leading practitioner of growth-based assessment in language programs. In my courses, I have transitioned away from traditional points-based grading toward descriptor-based evaluations that emphasize progress, reflection, metacognition, and linguistic risk-taking. I have presented nationally on ungrading and assessment redesign, including at ACTFL and the Chicago Language Symposium.
Beyond my current AI-related work, my research encompasses domain analysis for study-abroad language use, cross-cultural communication, songs and multimodal texts in language pedagogy, and the role of belief systems, mythology, and religious history in German and Persian literature. I have written and presented on how cultural worldviews shape translation, how mythological narratives inform identity, and how language instruction can meaningfully integrate cultural narratives to foster deeper understanding.
I regularly present nationally at ACTFL, MWALLT, NEALLT, LARC-MWALLT-ECOLT, the Chicago Language Symposium, and international pedagogy conferences, and my forthcoming publications focus on AI-enhanced language learning, growth-based assessment, and intercultural curriculum design.
Across all of these areas—from curriculum design to AI integration to intercultural scholarship—I am driven by a commitment to creating rich, interactive, learner-centered environments that empower students to engage boldly with language, culture, and the world.
Intellectual Profile
Shiva Rahmani is an innovative language pedagogue whose work bridges curriculum design, generative AI integration, assessment reform, and intercultural education. Her contributions span instructional design, creative learning environments, technology-enhanced pedagogy, and cross-institutional collaborations. She specializes in German language instruction, teacher training, growth-based assessment, and the pedagogical use of AI for communicative language learning.
Curriculum Design, Program Development & Pedagogical Innovation
She developed a new curriculum for the second and third quarters of the Intensive German sequence at the University of Chicago, titled Deutschlandreise, which restructured the reading, writing, speaking, listening, and grammar curricula for enhanced accessibility and student success. She later redesigned the entire first-year German program in collaboration with Dr. Maeve Hooper, integrating the derdiedas platform—first piloted in her course—to create a unified, modernized curriculum centered on high-frequency vocabulary and communicative competence.
Her course Kunst und Kultur (Art and Culture) introduced students to German identity, culture, and global issues through authentic materials, comics, and intercultural discussion. In 2021, she designed Germany Heute (Germany Today), an intermediate course focusing on contemporary politics, culture, immigration, and debates shaping modern Germany.
She designed and developed the College’s German Language Competency Assessment, used to fulfill the University’s language requirement for students entering with prior knowledge of German. She additionally created an intermediate-level LSP curriculum (Language for Specific Purposes) and a new course at the intersection of psychology and culture titled Psycho-Cultural Exploration: Unraveling Identity through a German Lens.
Her most recent curriculum innovation is Deutsch im Alltag (2024), a data-driven, intercultural course developed through a two-year domain analysis with Dr. Maeve Hooper. The course prepares students for living, studying, or working abroad by integrating cultural values, norms, societal expectations, communication styles, and real-world linguistic tasks.
AI-Enhanced Pedagogy, Custom GPT Development & Research Initiatives
Rahmani is a nationally recognized leader in the integration of generative AI into language teaching. She has delivered invited workshops and talks at Princeton University, the Lauder Institute at UPenn, ACTFL, MWALLT, DePaul’s Language Symposium, the International Symposium on Languages for Specific Purposes, and the Princeton Consortium for AI.
Her recent projects include:
- Development of a personalized AI holographic tutor for language acquisition, part of her AI research and grant proposals.
- Creation of multiple custom GPTs, including Prof. LexiVerse, a pedagogical assistant for German learners aligned with ACTFL proficiency standards and growth-based methodology.
- A pedagogical handbook currently in final revision:
Revolutionizing Language Education with ChatGPT: A Comprehensive Guide for Enhancing All Four Language Skills Across All Proficiency Levels. - Research on growth-based assessment, descriptive feedback models, and the movement away from traditional grading in university language programs.
- A two-year domain analysis research group investigating how language is used in authentic contexts during study/work abroad experiences.
- A study on formative assessment, fluency, and accuracy development in intensive language classrooms.
Her work positions her at the forefront of AI literacy, digital pedagogy, and equitable learning design in higher education.
Assessment Reform, Growth-Based Pedagogy & Teaching Excellence
In Intensive German III, she fully implemented growth-based assessment, replacing numerical/letter grades with descriptive, qualitative evaluations emphasizing reflection, progress, and linguistic risk-taking. She regularly gives talks and consultations on ungrading, including:
- Rethinking Grades: The Case for Ungrading in Language Education, CLC Pedagogy Talk (Feb 18, 2026).
- A roundtable presentation on ungrading at ACTFL 2025.
- Panel participation in Rethinking Grading at UChicago (Sept 2025).
- Engagement in ETGs on specifications grading, AI & teaching, and cross-language pedagogy.
She trains and mentors undergraduate teaching assistants and graduate instructors, offering guidance on pedagogy, lesson design, assessment, and classroom practice. Her mentorship extends to curriculum development, teaching observation, materials creation, and reflective teaching methods.
Workshops, Presentations & Conference Contributions
Rahmani has an extensive record of national and international presentations, including:
- Harnessing ChatGPT for Innovative Language Education (UPenn Lauder Institute; Princeton University; MWALLT 2024).
- Proficiency-Oriented Reverse Design (ACTFL 2023).
- Using Language for Experiences Abroad: A Domain Analysis (ISLSP–CIBER 2024).
- Integrating ChatGPT into Language Education (CLC Workshops, Perusall Exchange 2023).
- Using Memes to Promote Interaction and Collaboration (GETVICO 24; Chicago Language Symposium; NEALLT).
- Using Comics to Teach Cultural & Political Issues (NEALLT 2022; Symposium for Teaching with Technology; CLC Workshops).
- Rediscovering Listening in the Language Classroom (Brown University, 2021).
- Google Jamboard, Games & Digital Tasks in Language Instruction (MWALLT; ALL London; LCTL Symposium).
- Game-Based Teaching & Creative Task Design (University of Chicago CLC Workshops).
She has also presented internationally on translation studies, cultural belief systems, superstition, and intercultural communication.
Digital Projects, Media, & Online Learning Innovation
She created ProjectDeutschIG, an Instagram-based interactive lexicon where students post images, captions, and conversations using newly acquired vocabulary.
She also created DeutsCHIgUeberall, a YouTube channel providing students with a platform to narrate cultural experiences, cooking demonstrations, travel reflections, and language tasks using targeted structures such as the passive voice, past tense, or subjunctive.
In 2020, she developed success videos for the German intensive course, featuring student-generated tips for succeeding in remote intensive learning. These videos became a model for language promotion and advising and were featured by the UChicago Language Center.
She additionally created a landing page for the German program, expanding visibility and access for prospective learners.
Cross-University Collaboration & Community Engagement
During the pandemic, she organized virtual coffee hours bringing students together from Yale, Harvard, Brown, Princeton, Purdue, Loyola, BYU, Penn State, University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire, and Universidad del Norte (Colombia). These events fostered intercultural dialogue, linguistic exchange, and community-building during remote instruction.
She is currently involved in developing cross-university and cross-country conversation cafés, pedagogical blogs (Blogademia), and creative language experiences using digital tools, apps, and AI-enhanced interactions.
She sponsors the University of Chicago German Club and leads cultural programming, including the first-ever Fasching celebration on campus, movie nights, and coffee hours that increased participation by 260%.
Professional Training, Certifications & Qualifications
- Pursuing the Grünes Diplom (Goethe-Institut), the international standard qualification for teachers of German as a foreign language.
- Certified OPI Tester (ACTFL).
- Certified Goethe-Institut Examiner (Prüferzertifikat) for multiple proficiency levels.
- IRB-certified in Social & Behavioral Sciences (2022).
- Certificates from Goethe-Institut: Online Teaching Pedagogy, DLL 1, DLL 2, DLL 6.
- NFLC Digital Badge: Selecting and Adapting Materials for Online Language Learning.
- Excellence Graduate Teacher Certificate (Purdue Teaching Academy).
Early Scholarly Contributions
Her MA thesis at Purdue University (2014) examined superstitious and religious belief systems in Islamic cultures through the lens of Emine Sevgi Özdamar’s literary work.
In 2011, she presented research at the Annual Conference on Challenges and Necessities in Foreign Language Teaching in Tehran on cultural belief systems and their impact on translation.
Teaching
- GRMN 12001 Intensive German 1
- GRMN 12002 Intensive German 2
- GRMN 12003 Intensive German 3 (Deutschlandreise)
- GRMN 10200 4 Elementary German For Beginners
- GRMN 10201 Elementary German for Advanced Beginners
- GRMN 20100 Deutsche Märchen (3 sections)
- GRMN 20101 91 Deutschland Heute
- GRMN 20301 1 Kunst und Kultur
- GRMN 20102 2 Deutsch im Alltag