This project linked various aspects of learning in schools: it conveyed democracy education, enabled the use of new media in school English lessons, adressed topics relevant to young adults, and enabled practical language learning and intercultural education. In the first project cycle in 2012, there were about 100 schools and approximately 2000 students. Two further project cycles followed, in time for the 2016 and 2020 U.S. presidential elections, with steadily increasing numbers of participants. In the final cycle, for the 2024 U.S. election, there were more than 8,000 registered students from 350 schools across Germany.

The participating classes were introduced to the topic of the U.S. election via a learning and communication platform. They explored the topic using various materials (about individual states, candidates, the electoral system, speeches and publications, campaigns), communicated with each other in English, examined posts in social media applications such as blogs, YouTube channels, postings on X/Twitter and other social media platforms, put their results up for discussion and simulated the presidential election online in advance of the US elections via the platform. Each teaching project lasted several weeks and was accompanied by teacher training and information events, as well as a joint closing event in Berlin for representatives of the winning classes in the final competition.

The specific research interest of the Leuphana University Lüneburg (Department of Didactics of English at the Institute of English Studies (IES) was to examine the U.S. Election Project. In addition, the Institute of English Studies contributed to the teacher training and to the project and material design. The focus was on media-enhanced content and language integrated learning, as well as on task-based foreign language learning with digital media for the development of learner agency. The research not only resulted in various professional articles by Prof. Torben Schmidt and Joannis Kaliampos, but also in Mr. Kaliampos' dissertation. The doctorate was supported by a doctoral scholarship from Leuphana University Lüneburg and in cooperation with the U.S. Embassy.

In summary, the U.S. Embassy and Leuphana asked how digital media can be used meaningful in foreign language teaching and specifically in the designed project. Furthermore, they addressed the question how foreign language learning, subject-specific learning and democracy education (topic: U.S. election, examination of the electoral system, history, candidates, etc.) can be specifically promoted in order to introduce the students to U.S. American (electoral) culture and to enable them to participate in media discourses.

For Leuphana, the collaboration was a very good opportunity for an intensive exchange with the U.S. Embassy on content and research, the joint design of teaching and learning contexts, and the co-design and research of a Germany-wide teaching project. The project also found its way into university teaching at Leuphana through discussions and conception of materials and project preparation. Through this, students could also benefit directly from the collaboration with the U.S. Embassy and gained important insights into the project.

It was financially supported by the U.S. Embassy in Germany.