This essay focuses on advanced-level German instruction and advocates an open, flexible approach to integrating the recommendations of the much-discussed 2007 MLA report on "Foreign Languages and Higher Education." Specifically, language, literature, film, and cultural studies are combined to allow for the development of transcultural competence…

The essay recommends the incorporation of contemporary works in third-year courses at college level based on the redesign of two courses, "Advanced Conversation and Composition" and "GermanMedia." Curricular connections across the German studies major and focus on literacy skills can be enhanced through the systematic integration of recent…

Based on practical experience in a new online beginning German course sequence, the author of this essay argues that contemporary cultural developments associated with the emergence of new technologies, particularly computer-assisted language learning, provide new opportunities to theorize German Studies curricula from the beginning level onward.…

The authority of the monolingual native speaker, unchallenged until now, has been questioned recently because of postmodern and postcolonialist trends. It is now valid to view learners of German as border-crossers between cultures, as bilingual/bicultural individuals. Ownership of the German language is neither a birthright nor an acquired right,…

We humans do have a gift for bringing friendliness to this world, and this ability directly challenges the lines that Brecht wrote in which "the friendliness in this world" amounts to little more than "two handfuls of earth." With examples and thoughts from linguistics, cultural anthropology, and literature, readers are invited to reflect on how…

Reviews the status of the German-as-a-foreign-language classroom and teacher education at the university level in Mexico, describing the teacher education course in the language center at the National Autonomous University of Mexico. Also discusses distance learning in the area of German teacher training, which creates educational opportunities…

Describes the new direction in Canadian continuing education for German teachers. Autonomous learning and collegial collaboration at the regional level are at the center of this re-orientation. At the national level, networking among regionally-active teacher groups that will lead to a new organizational structure and to new forms of cooperation…

Discusses word-formation in today's German and demonstrates through the use of several examples (e.g., ad hoc composites such as "re-unification," and "blue-helmet deployment") how words can be objects of linguistic analyses and carriers of cultural information. (AP)

The belief in the unambiguity of specialist texts relies upon a conception of translation limited to purely linguistic levels and a central concept of "stable meanings." From the recognition that specialist texts are, to a great degree, linked to cultural and situational contexts, criteria important for the realization and evaluation of…

The defining of colors is a very subjective topic and results in many misunderstandings, especially in translation from one language to another. The number and significance of color adjectives vary from culture to culture. The goal of this article is to explain the origins of such variations and to discuss examples of common translation errors and…

For teachers of German as a foreign language it's especially important to provide a new point of access to one's own world through the "view from the outside" and simultaneously to understand the foreign (learner) culture. Analysis of different life paths of Paul Zech (1881-1946) in Argentina and Henry Kreisel (1922-1991) in Canada makes…

Current methodologies of foreign language instruction have, for different reasons, proven to be lacking. This article makes a plea for computer-supported instruction that can efficiently take over purely cognitive and mechanical tasks (pronunciation and listening comprehension exercises, grammar and reading lessons). Difficulties that hinder…

"Deutsche Welle" broadcasts German television programs, which are becoming increasingly popular in the United States. Available around the clock every day of the year, these programs offer new and interesting opportunities to make German instruction lively and attractive. This report is concerned with practical considerations and is…

This article describes the German word game, Lex-Olympics, which provides students with an entertaining way to learn German vocabulary and grammar. Questions are presented in multiple choice format, and twenty different topics are available for three different levels of difficulty (beginning, intermediate, advanced). (AP)

Discusses the challenges and rewards of incorporating a course on the literature of the Holocaust into the undergraduate German curriculum. Focuses on informing interested faculty members of the issues involved in organizing such a course and on providing a syllabus and bibliography. A syllabus on the literature of the Holocaust is appended. (12…