An experimental first-year college German course offered at the University of Texas at Austin emphasized communication, with a complementary de-emphasis on morphologically correct forms in spoken or written production. A modification of the Total Physical Response method was used to orient the students, and at four weeks the emphasis was shifted to the primary objective of reading comprehension. Standardized reading and listening comprehension test scores for the group indicated that the students performed above the national norms; student motivation, attrition, and course preregistration rates were found to have improved significantly. The program has been extended into two third semester courses, one emphasizing aural comprehension and the other focusing on oral discussion of German literature. Research on the optimal schedule for introducing vocabulary and grammar concepts and for requiring production of morphologically correct forms in the first two semesters continues. Included in the text are a number of techniques and activities intended to help students understand a reading selection.(MSE)