{"title":"Decolonizing German Studies from outside and within","authors":"Yejun Zou","doi":"10.1111/tger.70007","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/tger.70007","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Although considerable attempts have been made to decolonize German Studies curricula in UK universities through an inclusion of German-language cultural artifacts of authors and artists from ethno-racially marginalized backgrounds, this kind of expansionist method––the endeavor to merely expand the canon of German Studies––does not suffice. While the decolonization of the canon of German Studies immensely increases visibility and representations of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) writers and artists who create in German, the theoretical methods through which these cultural artifacts are examined remain predominantly within the Euro-American academe. The combination of decolonized German reading lists with Eurocentric theoretical tools, I argue, create theoretical and pedagogical barriers in German Studies, which risks resuscitating the kind of power imbalance between German/European cultures and other cultures, against which initiatives for decolonizing German Studies seek to counteract. Focusing on pedagogical practices of Yōko Tawada's work in an advanced-level German literature course, I propose to address the issue of diversity and inclusivity both from the <i>outside</i>––the continuous effort to foreground German-language cultural artifacts created by BIPOC writers and artists––and from <i>within</i>––the re-evaluation and decolonization of theoretical tools by engaging with an integrative translingual approach that brings together resources of Western and non-Western languages.</p>","PeriodicalId":43693,"journal":{"name":"Unterrichtspraxis-Teaching German","volume":"58 1","pages":"45-57"},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2025-04-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144574222","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Two approaches to increasing opportunities for oral practice: Advanced L2 Sprachmentoren and an L1–L2 tandem program","authors":"Nick Henry, Matthias Warmuth","doi":"10.1111/tger.70006","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/tger.70006","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Given that meaningful interaction is, in many respects, the backbone of L2 acquisition, language programs have often promoted language exchanges, which connect L2 learners outside the classroom. The present paper discusses two such programs, the <i>Sprachmentoren</i> Program (SMP) and <i>Tandemprojekt</i> (TP), which were introduced to the German program at the University of Texas at Austin in response to the shift to online instruction in Spring 2020 and which continue to serve complementary roles. While the SMP connects beginning learners with advanced L2 speakers at the home university, the TP connects advanced learners with L1 speakers at a German university. This paper outlines the motivation and structure of each of these programs and then presents qualitative and quantitative data drawn from student surveys. These data broadly indicate that students find these programs useful and enjoyable because they provide an avenue to practice oral skills in a low-pressure environment. Moreover, data from the TP indicate that the program provides students with opportunities to develop cultural competence. Results also provide insight into how these programs can be administered effectively. The paper discusses the results for each program separately and together, focusing on the opportunities and challenges they afford.</p>","PeriodicalId":43693,"journal":{"name":"Unterrichtspraxis-Teaching German","volume":"58 1","pages":"94-110"},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2025-04-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144574246","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Deutsch als Zweitsprache und inklusive Bildung (2023)","authors":"Patricia E. Haberkorn","doi":"10.1111/tger.70004","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/tger.70004","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Der Sammelband <i>Deutsch als Zweitsprache und inklusive Bildung</i> bildet den dritten Band der von Marion Döll und Magdalena Michalak herausgegebenen Schriftenreihe „Deutsch als Zweitsprache – Positionen, Perspektiven, Potenziale.“ In sieben deutschsprachigen Kapiteln werden Schnittstellen und Zusammenhänge von Sprachheilpädagogik, Deutsch als Zweitsprache (DaZ) und Inklusion aufgezeigt und analysiert. Der Fokus liegt hierbei auf dem weiten Inklusionsbegriff, der im Gegensatz zum oftmals auf Schüler*innen mit Behinderungen begrenzten engen Inklusionsbegriff alle Schüler*innen umfasst, sodass der Sammelband Anregungen für die aktuelle Inklusionsdebatte bietet. Die Kapitel beschäftigen sich, den Forschungsstätten der Autor*innen folgend, sowohl mit dem schulischen Kontext in Deutschland und Österreich über Schulformen und Altersklassen hinweg und variieren in Theorie- und Praxisorientierung. Somit bietet der Sammelband Informationen für verschiedene Lehrkräfte, doch die Relevanz der Kapitel für den jeweiligen schulischen Kontext ist unterschiedlich. Als Zielgruppe des Sammelbands dienen neben Lehrkräften auch in Bildungsbehörden und an Universitäten beschäftigte Personen, die Inklusion und DaZ untersuchen sowie Curricula entwickeln und evaluieren. Die Einführung in den Band sowie die Einleitungen zu den jeweiligen Kapiteln machen den Inhalt auch Leser*innen mit keinem oder wenig Vorwissen zugänglich.</p><p>Der Sammelband gliedert sich in sieben Kapitel (exklusive Einführung), die wiederum vier Überthemen zugeordnet sind: ontologische und epistemologische Grundlagen, Diversität in der schulischen Praxis, Inklusion und DaZ in der Lehrer*innenausbildung sowie didaktisch-methodische Schnittmengen. Bei den Autor*innen handelt es sich vorrangig um Professor*innen und wissenschaftliche Mitarbeiter*innen an deutschen und österreichischen Hochschulen sowie um Kursleiter*innen und Lehrkräfte. Der Sammelband beginnt mit Dölls Kapitel <i>Zum Verhältnis von inklusiver Pädagogik, Migrationspädagogik und Deutsch als Zweitsprache</i>, in welchem sie die historische Entwicklung der Disziplinen skizziert und Parallelen und Unterschiede aufzeigt. Den Leser*innen wird dadurch der Einstieg in den Sammelband erleichtert, da die Geschichte der Disziplinen kompakt und verständlich als hilfreiches Hintergrundwissen für die übrigen Kapitel dient.</p><p>Es folgen zwei Kapitel, die dem Überthema <i>Diversität in der schulischen Praxis</i> zugeordnet sind. Hier zeigen sich Potenziale und Defizite des Sammelbands: Den weiten Inklusionsbegriff verwendend, bilden die Autor*innen beider Kapitel die Diversität in Schulklassen und Gesellschaft ab. Sie beschränken sich hierbei nicht auf DaZ-Lernende mit Einschränkungen und Behinderungen (= enger Inklusionsbegriff), sondern berücksichtigen verschiedene Merkmale (u.a. unterschiedliche sprachliche Ressourcen, Migrationshintergrund). So wird die Heterogenität in den Vordergrund gestellt. Zugleich wird jedoch kaum auf Doppel- oder Me","PeriodicalId":43693,"journal":{"name":"Unterrichtspraxis-Teaching German","volume":"58 1","pages":"146-148"},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2025-04-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/tger.70004","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144573963","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Resources about Switzerland for educators (2023)","authors":"Melanie Mello","doi":"10.1111/tger.70002","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/tger.70002","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":43693,"journal":{"name":"Unterrichtspraxis-Teaching German","volume":"58 1","pages":"155-157"},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2025-03-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144573630","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Social justice pedagogies: Multidisciplinary practices and approaches (2023)","authors":"Claire E. Scott","doi":"10.1111/tger.70001","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/tger.70001","url":null,"abstract":"<p>In their contribution to the edited volume <i>Social Justice Pedagogies</i>, German instructors Kathryn Sederberg and Magda Tarnawska Senel write that: “Including tools for action is a critical difference between teaching culture in the language classroom and social justice education in the language classroom” (Sark, <span>2003</span>, p. 174). Central to this book's intervention into the field of interdisciplinary pedagogy is its distinction between teaching about culture (a top-down process) and collaborating with students as they grapple with their own identities within and around overarching socio-cultural structures. These chapters collectively argue that, instead of teaching our students <i>about</i> German culture, we should cultivate an understanding of education as, to borrow editor Katrina Sark's own words, a “relational and contextual process” (Sark, <span>2003</span>, p. 5).</p><p><i>Social Justice Pedagogies</i> contains 19 chapters from contributors living in North America and Europe and working across the fields of German studies, communication, education, gender studies, film studies, social work, and fashion studies. The following chapters will be of particular interest to the readership of <i>Die Unterrichtspraxis/Teaching German</i> because they deal specifically with German studies topics: Chapter 3 (Holocaust education), Chapter 7 (connections between language and oppression), Chapter 11 (drama pedagogy), Chapter 12 (authentic texts/literary-based approaches), Chapter 13 (hip-hop music), Chapter 14 (podcasting), and Chapters 15 and 16 (virtual exchange programs).</p><p>One of this volume's unique features is the inclusion of reflection questions at the end of each chapter. Modeling the practice of generating active engagement and collaboration, these questions encourage the reader to consider their own background and pedagogical practices. These guided reflections were extremely helpful, especially in terms of relating practices from other fields to my work as a German language educator. For example, Sandra Niessen's chapter on teaching fashion history initially seemed to have little relevance to my classroom. However, her provocative question “how can you allow the other to become visible through fashion?” (Sark, <span>2003</span>, p. 266), prompted me to rethink how I introduce clothing vocabulary and to consider whether I am truly representing a global variety of styles of dress. While Niessen's more detailed discussion of post-fashion will likely never make it into my courses, her question allowed me to relate her insights to my own practice in ways I had previously left unexplored.</p><p>Indeed, this volume's greatest strength is its ability to offer both practical tips and theoretical insights, meeting its readers where they are and guiding them through pedagogical jargon (e.g., place-based learning and the flipped classroom). By explaining the theory, but remaining rooted in anecdotal classroom experiences, these ch","PeriodicalId":43693,"journal":{"name":"Unterrichtspraxis-Teaching German","volume":"58 1","pages":"143-145"},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2025-03-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/tger.70001","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144573631","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Glossen 49: Schlehweins Giraffe: 1. Wende Reader für den Unterricht","authors":"Cassandra Winkelman","doi":"10.1111/tger.70000","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/tger.70000","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Bernd Schirmer's novel <i>Schlehweins Giraffe</i> (<i>Schlehwein's Giraffe</i>) is an intriguing and creative narrative that details the life circumstances of an unnamed character representing members of the general population and their experiences in the <i>Wendezeit</i> (the years surrounding the German reunification in 1989/90). It should be included in lessons on this era due to the perspectives and events discussed that are often neglected in more commonly taught materials. <i>Glossen</i>’s <i>1. Wende-Reader für den Unterricht</i> (<i>1st Wende-Reader for the Classroom</i>) discusses <i>Schlehweins Giraffe</i>. The editors of <i>Glossen</i> are dedicated to creating a set of four readers, all centered on different novels. The resources are adaptable for intermediate-level to advanced-level German language learners at the undergraduate and graduate levels. The reader's materials are free and accessible online. Users, however, need to have a copy of <i>Schlehweins Giraffe</i>. Prior knowledge of the German Democratic Republic, the Federal Republic of Germany, and Germany between 1945 and 1995 is crucial in understanding <i>Schlehweins Giraffe</i>. Luckily, the provided resources help in approaching this complex subject.</p><p>The online materials cover a range of themes. The website has a preface, written by Janine Ludwig (Academic Director of the Durden Dickinson in Bremen Program and a co-editor of <i>Glossen</i>), for all four <i>Wenderomane</i> featured in the set of <i>Wende-Readers</i>. The foreword includes summaries of the four novels and additional materials for the classroom, such as a timeline of significant events in 1989/1990. The online platform also provides two additional pieces by Ludwig: One on the role and portrayal of time in <i>Schlehweins Giraffe</i> and one that discusses Bernd Schirmer's work, including his other novels. Ludwig compares and contrasts Schirmer's novels in the second text, focusing on time and memory. Users should be aware that these texts are long and do not come with pedagogical activities. They are intended for teachers to get an overview of the contexts in which the novel appears and is discussed. If instructors want to use these sources in class, it would be in the best interest of the learners to break down these sources into smaller parts, perhaps with discussion questions focusing both on the context and the students’ reactions. It is possible to break down these texts thematically and include them in the classroom discussion activities described below.</p><p>The <i>Wende-Reader</i> on <i>Schlehweins Giraffe</i> provides general information on the plot and structure of the novel, followed by a character chart and a timeline of the events in the story and current events of the time. The character chart clearly and effectively describes the main people and their relationships through colors and symbols, engaging visual learners and making the relationships more explicit. The chart can be changed","PeriodicalId":43693,"journal":{"name":"Unterrichtspraxis-Teaching German","volume":"58 1","pages":"152-154"},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2025-03-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/tger.70000","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144573390","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Quizlet (2024)","authors":"Nick Ott","doi":"10.1111/tger.70003","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/tger.70003","url":null,"abstract":"<p><i>Quizlet</i> is a versatile online platform that offers various interactive study tools (e.g., flashcards, quizzes, and games) designed to enhance learning and retention. With its user-friendly interface and extensive database of user-generated content, <i>Quizlet</i> has become a widely used resource in digital learning because it applies to learners across disciplines and institutional contexts, i.e., from elementary school to higher education. With regard to language learning, <i>Quizlet</i> complements the use of traditional textbooks and extends beyond their limits. While the platform has user-generated vocabulary sets that align with chapters of popular textbooks, such as <i>Stationen</i> and <i>Impuls Deutsch</i>, educators and students can also create personalized sets that align with specific learning goals.</p><p>No special knowledge of digital technology is required to use <i>Quizlet</i>. It is accessible to users with different levels of computer literacy. To sign up, new users need only provide their date of birth and desired username and password and agree to the terms and conditions. Once logged in, users can search for existing materials or create their own to quiz.</p><p>Teachers who consider integrating <i>Quizlet</i> into their instructional practices should be aware of its structured yet adaptable format. The platform allows users to organize study materials into sets, which can be categorized by subject, topic, or chapter. Primarily, <i>Quizlet</i> offers users customizable study tools (e.g., Flashcards, Learn, Test, and Match), audio pronunciation, and interactive gameplay (e.g., Quizlet Live, Blast). Basically, these features enable instructors to tailor study materials to meet their students' specific needs and preferences and to promote personalized and engaging learning experiences. However, recent changes to the platform now limit the amount of studying that users can do in the “Learn” and “Test” modes without a premium subscription (<i>Quizlet Plus</i>). When educators or their institutions subscribe to <i>Quizlet Plus for Teachers</i>, their students will gain access to unlimited studying, and instructors will be able to monitor student progress over time, among other features. A free trial of <i>Quizlet Plus</i> is available for 30 days.</p><p><i>Quizlet</i> pairs well with task-based instruction and blended learning methodologies. Teachers can design interactive tasks and activities for the classroom and beyond, encouraging active participation and fostering retention of learned material. For example, in the classroom, educators can engage their students in Quizlet Live, a free online game that facilitates practice as students compete in small groups and collaborate to find correct answers. Then, outside the classroom, instructors can assign free flashcard sets to introduce or review vocabulary, use individual quizzes to assess understanding of key concepts or organize review games to engage students in collabo","PeriodicalId":43693,"journal":{"name":"Unterrichtspraxis-Teaching German","volume":"58 1","pages":"158-159"},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2025-03-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/tger.70003","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144573391","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The history of German literature on film (2023)","authors":"Bridget Levine-West","doi":"10.1111/tger.12300","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/tger.12300","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Film adaptations of German literature occupy a significant place in German studies classrooms. They engage students with culture, provide a visual dimension to sociohistorical and sociopolitical aspects of German-speaking countries, and foster new strategies and literacies to support and enrich learning. While there has appeared an exciting range of publications on film adaptations in recent years, including a few focusing specifically on the pedagogical integration of film adaptations in the classroom (e.g., Cutchins et al., <span>2010</span>; Maiwald, <span>2015</span>), Christiane Schönfeld's <i>The History of German Literature on Film</i> (<i>HoGLoF</i>) represents a phenomenal new resource situating over 100 years of film adaptation production and reception in German-speaking countries within the broader contexts of shifting sociohistorical, sociopolitical, and technological developments. Whether approached as a whole or through individual chapters, the monograph proves an indispensable and enjoyable read for anyone seeking to uncover the rich, transformative interplay between written and cinematic narratives in German-speaking cultures.</p><p>Schönfeld's monograph provides a comprehensive treatment of German film adaptations from 1897 to the present. Building on insights from earlier edited collections (e.g., Rentschler, <span>1986</span>; Schönfeld & Rasche, <span>2007</span>), <i>HoGLoF</i> stands out for its coherence, depth, and narrative focus. This makes it an excellent choice as a textbook for German film studies survey courses or for period-specific units on topics such as “Early Cinema and Narrative,” “Fascism and Adaptation,” “New German Cinema: Auteurs and Adaptations,” or “Screening Post-Wall Literature.” Additionally, select chapters are well suited to enrich theme-based courses on gender, censorship, propaganda, children's literature, high versus popular culture, independent filmmaking, the German film industry, and transnational auteurship. Schönfeld's ability to seamlessly connect historical analyses with detailed close readings of pertinent films makes <i>HoGLoF</i> versatile and user-friendly. While the book is not explicitly designed to support language teaching, it nonetheless provides invaluable and ample material to inform the objectives, course design, and the scaffolding of classroom tasks and activities to foster students’ language abilities and deepen their intercultural competence through film. The monograph's breadth and depth make it an indispensable resource for anyone engaging with German film adaptations in an educational context, whether in English or German.</p><p>The book's structure follows a conventional film-historical trajectory, charting the relationship between German literature and film across nine chronologically arranged chapters. The study begins with an overview of single-scene adaptations of the Faust legend and other canonical literary borrowings that proliferated across Europe in the 1","PeriodicalId":43693,"journal":{"name":"Unterrichtspraxis-Teaching German","volume":"58 1","pages":"149-151"},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2025-01-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/tger.12300","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144574274","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Equitable placement assessment in undergraduate German programs","authors":"Lindsay Preseau","doi":"10.1111/tger.12301","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/tger.12301","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The placement assessment is many students’ first encounter with an undergraduate German program on their college campus. Students’ experience with a placement exam or process shapes their understanding of what language learning will look like in a college setting and, crucially, whether college language courses are for them. It is thus a crucial aspect of student recruitment. Despite their importance, placement exams are an understudied area for German and undergraduate language programs in the United States generally. Furthermore, most placement research is concerned with empirical and quantitative investigation of the development and accuracy of placement tests rather than students’ experiences of placement or placement assessment as a recruitment tool (Lord, <span>2022</span>, p. 102).</p><p>A large-scale survey of German undergraduate language placement conducted in the late 1990s revealed that most institutions used “years of experience” in previous high school German courses as the primary factor for student placement but that, in practice, these processes were often informal and involved a great deal of student self-placement (Eldridge, <span>1999</span>). Much has changed in the past quarter century, and there is a need for M.H. Eldridge's study to be replicated. What can be said with certainty, however, is that many institutions have now implemented some form of online placement assessment. My own experience as a language program coordinator suggests that other aspects of placement have not changed insofar as, in practice, students often engage in some level of self-placement as they are explicitly or implicitly guided to consider their placement exam score alongside previous high school experience and advisor or faculty consultation.</p><p>This contribution first investigates how common online placement assessments such as Avant PLACE may present a barrier to placement equity and student recruitment. Likewise, I will share some anecdotes that demonstrate how informal self-placement processes may unintentionally exacerbate these barriers. Finally, I will discuss the possibility of directed self-placement assessment as a compassionate, equitable alternative to standardized online tests and informal self-placement, contributing to more inclusive recruitment practices in undergraduate German programs.</p><p>Online placement exams are increasingly prevalent in undergraduate language placement. It is increasingly common that languages across campus pool their resources, thereby securing lower prices by contracting a single provider such as Avant or Emmersion to provide standardized placement assessment services. For this reason, even smaller German programs at small liberal arts colleges (SLAC) and regional institutions use these exams, even if only as one piece of a more holistic placement process. Critical, comparative scholarship on these platforms is a desideratum. Some institutions such as Ball State University, Michigan State Univers","PeriodicalId":43693,"journal":{"name":"Unterrichtspraxis-Teaching German","volume":"58 1","pages":"124-128"},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2025-01-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/tger.12301","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144574238","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The concept of form in language teaching and learning","authors":"Karin Baumgartner, Mathias Schulze","doi":"10.1111/tger.12299","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/tger.12299","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The concept of <i>form</i> is ubiquitous and used frequently and in different areas. The Merriam-Webster (n.d.) lists 18 different definitions for the noun <i>form</i>; some of these entries have additional meaning variants. It is no surprise that the concept of <i>form</i> is used widely in language education and in literary and cultural studies. Both journals of the American Association of Teachers of German—<i>The German Quarterly</i> and <i>Die Unterrichtspraxis/Teaching German</i>—offer an issue that explores <i>form</i> in German Studies and in the teaching of German from a variety of perspectives. For language teachers, spelling and grammar often come to mind when thinking about form. Particularly for applied linguists, the notion of focus on form versus negotiation of meaning has permeated the discussions of interaction in (communicative) language teaching. As the following three Research Articles, six Praxis Articles, and three Forum Articles show, however, <i>form</i> has many more facets and allows for perspectives on language, performance, learning, teaching, the arts, and many others.</p><p>This issue of <i>Die Unterrichtspraxis/Teaching German</i> leads with three Research Articles. In the first of these articles, “Racial literacy and performative pedagogies in the German theater practicum,” Morgan Koerner makes an argument for performing the process of students’ encounter with the literary form using theatrical means. He discusses a case study of a performance-oriented unit in a theater practicum course for German students at the B2 language proficiency level, which combined work on performing and staging poetry with a discussion of the Enlightenment's entanglement with White supremacy and scientific racism. The second article takes a different perspective on form and meaning. Exploring a form-meaning connection—conventional metaphors—that is a fundamental component of everyday communication but is often overlooked in the teaching of German, Jacob Lavoie's study highlights the interplay between students’ lexical knowledge and cross-linguistic differences in figurative language. The results of “Insights into metaphor (mis)understandings” underscore the necessity of nuanced instruction, especially in comprehending metaphors. Carolin Jolitz and Natacha Hélène Gilberte Mally focus on form in oral communication. Their article “The effects of deductive versus inductive pronunciation instruction in combination with captioned video on the acquisition of incongruent grapheme-phoneme correspondences in L2 German” shows that technology-enhanced teaching can help students overcome the orthographic interference in German pronunciation among English speakers.</p><p>For the Forum of this thematic issue, we invited short articles discussing approaches to teaching German grammar—as language form—at schools. In her Forum Article “Putting PACE into action in a high school German classroom,” Helen Miller discusses her application of the PACE (PACE ","PeriodicalId":43693,"journal":{"name":"Unterrichtspraxis-Teaching German","volume":"57 2","pages":"142-144"},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2024-11-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/tger.12299","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142758054","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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