Beth Martin is a Teaching Professor of German and Coordinator of the Multi-Section German courses in the Department of World Languages and Cultures at Iowa State University. She completed her undergraduate studies with a double major in Biology and German at Wartburg College. Subsequently, she spent three years studying and working in Bonn, Germany, then completed her M.A. in German at The Pennsylvania State University. The focus of her graduate studies was the relationship between teaching methods and student motivation. She taught at the University of Maryland for several years while living in Heidelberg. She currently teaches beginning and intermediate levels of German at Iowa State and is interested in the role of creativity and story-telling in language classes. She is a co-advisor of the German Club and coordinator of German discussion groups such as Stammtisch and Plauderrunde.