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ERIC Number: EJ1159949
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2017
Pages: 15
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: EISSN-1756-1221
EISSN: N/A
Using Authentic Materials to Teach Varieties of German: Reflections on a Pedagogical Experiment
Abrams, Zsuzsanna; Schiestl, Simone Berchtold
Unterrichtspraxis/Teaching German, v50 n2 p136-150 Fall 2017
German is a language with multiple standard and non-standard varieties (Fagan, 2009). Yet L2 textbooks still favor one standard form, offering little information about other varieties of the language. In particular, Austrian and Swiss Standard German are underrepresented, and even when present, the language is often in a mixture of dialect and standard varieties. This is an important limitation, since students who embark on study abroad programs will inevitably be confronted by different standard forms and dialects in spoken language (Lam & O'Brien, 2014). In order to help learners develop an awareness of varieties of German so that they can succeed in L2 environments, it is essential to supplement textbook materials with other resources. This article describes a ten-week pedagogical experiment whose objective was to raise learners' awareness of several spoken varieties of German (standards and dialects) through the use of authentic materials. An attitude survey revealed that the 18 participants viewed learning about German as a multi-variable language positively. A critical review suggests, however, that not all teaching materials were equally effective in achieving the learning objectives.
Wiley-Blackwell. 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148. Tel: 800-835-6770; Tel: 781-388-8598; Fax: 781-388-8232; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A