Argues for a comprehensive approach toward teaching German as a second language in response to students' needs to acquire a global perspective. Rather than stressing only syntax, grammar, and vocabulary, German language education should also attempt to teach sensitivity to, knowledge of, and insight into German culture. (JL)

Suggests the following methods for improving university-level German language education curricula: reduce skill-development time through immersion programs, adopt Zertifikat Deutsch als Fremdsprache as the proficiency standard for advanced students, and include literature from a variety of liberal arts disciplines in the reading materials for…

Suggests that the declining enrollment in German courses in the southern and western United States illustrates the need to promote German language education. Teaching assistants should be trained in public relations methods; a model is provided for including such training in existing methods courses. (25 references) (JL)

Argues for a progressive method of teaching German attributive adjective endings based on textbook analyses, other techniques, and tasks involved in processing these endings. The progressive method first presents the weak endings and introduces their cases, then presents strong endings as a special form of the der- words. (Author/JL)

Reviews the terminological, methodological, and pedagogical confusion present in the German textbooks of the past 15 years, and proposes an improved terminology for teaching 4 basic grammatical components: strong verbs, mixed verbs, declensions, and the subjunctive. The new terminology is based on the principle of rational simplicity. (21…