Search

This paper describes the developmental phases of the digital TestDaF and shows how the new task types and the digital test administration strengthen the relationship to the context of higher education institutions in Germany and to the CEFR. The contribution deals extensively with the test construct, the test format, and the different types of tasks used in the reading, listening, writing, and speaking sections. Innovative approaches and methods of performance assessment and scoring are discussed as much as their practical implementation. Finally, the paper presents some perspectives of future studies on the digital TestDaF and elaborates on relations to contemporary language testing research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Der vorliegende Beitrag fokussiert den Wandel und die Neuerungen innerhalb der Germanistik der Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) anhand eines Abrisses über die lokalspezifischen Entwicklungslinien des Studiengangs seit den 1980er Jahren. In den späten 2000er und den aktuellen 2010er Jahren waren und sind die lokalen Entwicklungen stark von den Auswirkungen der 2008 ausgebrochenen Wirtschaftskrise geprägt, die Spanien mit besonderer Härte getroffen und durch die damit verbundenen Stellenstreichungen auch das aktuelle Unterrichtskonzept der Germanistik und des DaF-Unterrichts der UAB beeinflusst hat. Nach Erläuterungen zu diesem Unterrichtskonzept werden abschließend die Herausforderungen und Perspektiven im Bereich der künftigen instituts- und lokalspezifischen Curriculumplanung erläutert. This paper focusses the changes and innovations within the German program at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) by describing the program's local development trajectories from the 1980 s onward. Since the late 2000 s and the current 2010 s these development trajectories have been characterized by the effects of the economic crisis in 2008, which hit Spain drastically and has, due to staff cuts, also influenced the current German program's teaching concept. After a description of this concept this paper focusses on the challenges and prospects regarding the local curriculum design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Das Studium in Schweden und somit auch das Deutsch- bzw. Germanistik-Studium sieht eine Wissenschaftsorientierung von Beginn an in allen Bereichen der Lehre vor, d. h. auch in Lehrveranstaltung zu Sprachfertigkeit und zur Landeskunde der deutschsprachigen Länder. Der vorliegende Beitrag beschreibt zunächst diese spezifischen Hintergründe, um sich sodann mit der Frage auseinanderzusetzen, wie die Lehre der Landeskunde an schwedischen Universitäten stärker wissenschaftsorientiert gestaltet werden kann. Einblicke in Curricula und Unterrichtspraxis sowie Daten aus einem kürzlich abgeschlossenen Dissertationsprojekt verdeutlichen zudem das Potenzial kulturwissenschaftlich orientierter Landeskunde-Ansätze für eine explizite Wissenschaftsorientierung. In Sweden, university studies and hence also German Studies require research-based teaching on all levels. This even includes regular language courses and courses on Landeskunde, i.e. on culture, history and society. This paper describes the specific context of German Studies in Sweden and demonstrates how seminars on Landeskunde can be developed in an even more research-oriented way. By analysing existing curricula and specific teaching practices as well as by utilising results of a recently completed PhD project this paper delivers new insights into teaching German at Swedish universities and illustrate the learning potential of a cultural-studies-based concept of Landeskunde for research-oriented teaching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Die Erwartungen der Arbeitgeber bezüglich der Fremdsprachenkenntnisse, die steigende Mobilität in der Arbeitswelt, die Spezialisierung der Arbeitsfelder sowie internationale Projekte haben dazu beigetragen, dass die Nachfrage nach fachspezifischen Fremdsprachenkenntnissen steigt. Das größte Problem stellt der Mangel an qualifizierten DaF-Lehrern Maskuline Personenbezeichnungen werden im ganzen Beitrag im generischen Sinne verwendet und beziehen sich sowohl auf weibliche als auch auf männliche Personen. dar, die imstande wären, den Erwartungen der Lernerzielgruppe zu entsprechen. Als Reaktion auf den steigenden Bedarf an Fachsprachenlehrern wurde im Institut für angewandte Linguistik an der Adam-Mickiewicz-Universität in Poznań ein neues Studienprogramm konzipiert, um künftige Fachsprachenlehrer auszubilden und mit einem adäquaten Instrumentarium auszustatten. Im vorliegenden Beitrag wird die neue Konzeption mit einer genauen Beschreibung der angebotenen Fächer vorgestellt. Als Einführung wird eine Skizze des Status des Deutschunterrichts und der Germanistik in Polen präsentiert. Darauf aufbauend werden die möglichen Karrierechancen für Germanistikabsolventen in Polen dargestellt. Den abschließenden Teil der Überlegungen bildet eine Meinungsbefragung von Studenten der Spezialisierung zur Beurteilung des neuen Angebots der Universität. Employers' expectations of foreign language skills, increasing mobility in the working world, the specialization of fields of work, and international projects have contributed to a rise in the demand for specific language skills. In most cases, this leads to dissatisfaction with their professional careers. In response to the growing need for language teachers, a new study program was developed at the Institute for Applied Linguistics at Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań to train future language teachers and provide them with an adequate set of tools. The present paper presents the new concept with a detailed description of the subjects offered. As an introduction, a sketch of the status of German literature and German studies in Poland is presented. Based on this, potential career opportunities for German-speaking graduates in Poland are outlined. The paper concludes with a discussion of students' assessment of the university's new program. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the specifics of the general and business language training in the modern business services industry in Poland. The primary research objective is to determine the relevant characteristics of the outsourcing branch in the internal, general and professional training. These are relevant in terms of adapting, updating or modifying German as a foreign language-oriented teacher training in German Philology studies in Poland. Thus innovative, contemporary tailor-made didactic solutions, methods, means and techniques can be implemented, and graduates can be provided with more efficient professional language training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Artificial Intelligence (AI) as a disruptive technology is not only changing our everyday life and the business world, but also the way we learn and generate new knowledge. Such breakthrough disruptions by new technologies are also taking place in the fields of foreign language learning. The focus of this paper is on AI-based applications that have an impact on the writing skill. This paper is structured to guide from general concepts to concrete ones. In the first section, a short overview of the possible applications of artificial intelligence in foreign language teaching is given. The second section focuses on writing with the help of AI-based applications for text generation. In the third section didactical-methodical considerations are formulated for the use of AI-based applications for text generation in GFL teaching. The paper finishes with a reflection which outlines conclusions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Starting from the role of listening comprehension in foreign language teaching, this paper illustrates the importance of phonological competence in general and prosody in particular in facilitating the auditory decoding process. Subsequently, the new phonological control scale in the companion volume of the CEFR is presented, which, in contrast to the previous scale, also emphasises the suprasegmental aspects of language. These are crucial in the receptive phase to break down the flow of language into smaller units of meaning, which are easier to process in short-term memory and thus support the decoding process. Finally, micro listening exercises are shown, created with authentic material and designed to promote receptive prosodic competence in German as a foreign language. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With increasing migration and mobility, German at the workplace has become an important topic in the field of German as a foreign Language/German as a second language. Vocational language skills can be measured with the help of various tests for the profession. The Goethe-Test PRO: German for professionals (GTP) is one of those tests that provides evidence of vocational language skills. This article first deals with the vocational orientation, the test format and the adaptive test procedure of the GTP. The second part of this paper is devoted to the description of its psychometric quality. Finally, the results are discussed with regard to the relevance of vocational tests for German as a foreign language. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents a study in which analytical and holistic ratings of participants' performances in the writing section of the digital TestDaF were investigated. It was investigated what influence the rating procedure has on the participants' results and to what extent the results of two different procedures are comparable. In the first study phase, performances were rated analytically by experienced raters, on each of six criteria using a 6-level grading scale. In the next phase, nine raters from the first (analytical) phase of the study applied the new (holistic) scale in assessing the same performances. In both (analytic and holistic) phases of assessment, differences in the quality of the ratings were examined according to both rating methods, and both inter-rater and intra-rater reliability were calculated separately for both rating methods. The analyses showed no significant differences between the rating methods in terms of rater behavior. However, the use of the holistic method tended to result in lower ratings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a competency- and needs-based approach to exam preparation. The influence of test objectives, format and task types on the creation of teaching materials is shown on the basis of the digital TestDaF. For this purpose, learning materials are described that are geared towards the development and training of communicative competencies. The aim is to go beyond pure format training in exam preparation and thus achieve positive washback effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Der Beitrag beschreibt den Prozess der Umstellung eines Deutschprogramms an einer japanischen Universität auf ein konsequent aufgabenbasiertes Curriculum. Es werden die Erfahrungen, Probleme und Ergebnisse dieser Veränderungen aus der Sicht der beteiligten Lehrenden dargestellt. Im Anschluss an einen kurzen Überblick zur Situation des Deutschunterrichts in Japan werden zunächst die Gründe für die Entwicklung des neuen Programmes aufgezeigt sowie die theoretischen Überlegungen, die ihnen zugrunde lagen. Im Zentrum des Beitrags stehen die im Verlauf von vier Jahren zutage getretenen und zu bewältigenden Konflikte sowie das gemeinsame Ringen der Lehrenden um Lösungen. Die Darstellung schließt mit einem Blick auf bisher erreichte Ergebnisse. In this paper we describe the implementation of a strictly task-based curriculum in a German language program at a Japanese university, illustrating the experiences, challenges and results from the point of view of the teachers involved. After a brief overview of the situation of teaching German at Japanese universities in general we explain the reasons leading to the development of the new program as well as the underlying theoretical considerations. The focus of this article is on the conflicts, which emerged over the course of the four years since the implementation of the task-based curriculum, and the combined efforts of the teaching staff to find solutions. Finally, we present an overview of the achievements to date. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Der Beitrag führt in die Entstehungsgeschichte, die Inhalte und den fachdidaktischen Ansatz dieses multimedialen Fort- und Weiterbildungsprogramms ein, das an Traditionen reflektierten Erfahrungslernens anknüpft. Die weltweite Nutzung sowie unterschiedliche Nutzungsformate werden vorgestellt. Berücksichtigt werden auch Modelle der Integration von DLL in die Lehrerausbildung, wie sie in Kooperationsprojekten zwischen dem Goethe-Institut und lokalen Universitäten entstanden. Besondere Beachtung finden die Praxiserkundungsprojekte, ein zentrales Element des Programms. Ihr Potenzial sowie ihre Herausforderungen werden auf der Basis bisheriger Forschung und einer aktuellen Befragung von Tutoren und Multiplikatoren kritisch erörtert. In this paper, the authors introduce the Goethe Institute's most recent program for in-service education of teachers of German. The history of this multi-modal program, its conceptual foundation and its content are explained, as well as various formats of program delivery in different parts of the world. In addition, the authors present models of integrating DLL into current pre-service teacher education programs, as they have developed in a number of cooperative ventures between the Goethe Institute and local universities. Since classroom action research projects constitute a core component of the program, the authors discuss its potential and challenges for teacher development based on some initial empirical research and a current worldwide survey of DLL tutors and teacher educators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Der Beitrag führt in die Entstehungsgeschichte, die Inhalte und den fachdidaktischen Ansatz dieses multimedialen Fort- und Weiterbildungsprogramms ein, das an Traditionen reflektierten Erfahrungslernens anknüpft. Die weltweite Nutzung sowie unterschiedliche Nutzungsformate werden vorgestellt. Berücksichtigt werden auch Modelle der Integration von DLL in die Lehrerausbildung, wie sie in Kooperationsprojekten zwischen dem Goethe-Institut und lokalen Universitäten entstanden. Besondere Beachtung finden die Praxiserkundungsprojekte, ein zentrales Element des Programms. Ihr Potenzial sowie ihre Herausforderungen werden auf der Basis bisheriger Forschung und einer aktuellen Befragung von Tutoren und Multiplikatoren kritisch erörtert. In this paper, the authors introduce the Goethe Institute's most recent program for in-service education of teachers of German. The history of this multi-modal program, its conceptual foundation and its content are explained, as well as various formats of program delivery in different parts of the world. In addition, the authors present models of integrating DLL into current pre-service teacher education programs, as they have developed in a number of cooperative ventures between the Goethe Institute and local universities. Since classroom action research projects constitute a core component of the program, the authors discuss its potential and challenges for teacher development based on some initial empirical research and a current worldwide survey of DLL tutors and teacher educators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Learning a musical instrument such as the flute requires the mastery of certain acquisitional steps. The same applies to the acquisition of German as a foreign or second language as widely demonstrated by second language acquisition research. The paper argues that it is inacceptable that the didactics of German as a foreign or second language has been consistently ignoring these findings in a way that also contradicts the CEFR the German translation of which, as shown, leaves much to be desired. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The analysis of video and audio recordings of spontaneous daily routines in early childhood education exemplifies and confirms already known strategies of pedagogical professionals in dealing with children's multilingualism. The strategies are evaluated from the perspective of linguistics and pedagogy. The documented interactions were transcribed, translated and analyzed in German and Turkish, whereby the paper breaks open the often stated black box kindergarten, at least linguistically. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes recordings of lessons that had to be digitised at short notice due to the pandemic. The data is taken from German lessons at the B1+ level for refugees interested in studying, which took place with the help of the web conferencing tool Cisco Webex. The evaluation of the data focuses on the different views of the lessons on the participants' screens and the resulting didactic consequences, on the transition from silent to cooperative work and on how teachers react to learners' questions and mistakes. The analysis of a longer sequence also shows how the transition from working on a form-focused exercise to free discussions of topics relevant to the learners' proceeds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Job-related language skills in German are an important topic in today's educational policy - not only concerning integration within Germany (German as a Second Language), but also abroad (German as a Foreign Language). This is especially true in China, where the dual vocational system, which was introduced 35 years ago, is booming now, with some major German companies acting as trainers (e. g. BMW, Daimler, Schleich, Siemens and others). Consequently, at vocational schools and for in-company trainings, there is a growing need for suitable materials in order to teach German as a technical and job-related language. This paper presents the bilingual textbook German Language for Automobile Production in China (A2-B1), developed by students of the MA program "Intercultural German Studies / German as a Foreign Language" at the University of Göttingen in co-operation with the Goethe-Institut Beijing and the Association for German as a Foreign and Second Language (FaDaF). These materials are meant for courses at Chinese vocational schools or for in-service trainings). This paper focuses on the following aspects: the general framework and implementation of the project, the concept and didactic features of the textbook (textbook structure, regionalization and target group, the concept of functional multilingualism, scenario didactics and intercultural learning in technical and job-related language education), its sustainability and generally the adaptability of collaborative activities like textbook development to different contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper offers an overview over the different and partially contradictory positions regarding the definition and implementation of historical material within German as a Foreign Language textbooks and teaching. The paper presents different approaches to the topic as well as their implications in the classroom. It also outlines key areas for further research. The paper is based on my MA thesis of the universities Leipzig and Stellenbosch. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the example of formative evaluation data collected from the Chinese-German double degree program in mechanical engineering at the Chinese- German Technical Faculty in Qingdao (China), this paper discusses opportunities and challenges of integrating content and language learning as well as ways of optimizing preparatory and academic German language courses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, I will first review the history of advanced training for Chinese German teachers in the first phase (from 2006 to 2009) and the second phase of the development of the Department German Studies in China. The current situation of the young Chinese German teachers is presented and analyzed by the result of a research based on the newly founded departments of German Studies from 2000 to 2009 at 40 universities. This is also considered to be an argument for the second phase (2010-2017) of the advanced training, namely that the training courses should be aimed at special fields of German Studies. After the report on the second phase of the advanced training, I try to evaluate the impact of the training courses by analyzing comments in video interviews as well as e-mail surveys in 2016. By comparing the results conducted with the same target group in 2009 and 2017, the continuous impact of the teacher training can be brought to light. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper first introduces the 2 plus 3 program at the ZUST. Then the author probes into the question what the greatest difficulties are, despite of the apparent attractiveness of the double degree program. The results of a questionnaire show that both the intercultural differences and the lack of vocabulary significantly complicate the students' daily learning. To overcome the abovementioned difficulties, effective measures have already been taken in German lessons. The German language teaching experience in ZUST suggests that application orientation in German lessons is the key to its success. In the end, further considerations for improving the program are briefly explained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the future of German Studies in China. After an introduction sections on the history and the contemporary situation of German Studies in China are given. The focus is on perspectives for the future, such as e. g. the growth of German Studies, publication opportunities, the structure of the broader concept of German Studies, and the situation of prospective future professors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

German Studies in China is a new-born academic field where philological education takes the first place and focuses on training of language specialists. With far-reaching economic reforms and the intensification of China's cooperation with German-speaking countries, the philological German Studies oriented on language education has been slowing to meet the new demands of the labor market and falling gradually into the crisis. Based on the training profile of students majoring in German Studies, this paper examines the crisis and further discusses the ways of modernizing Chinese German Studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper focuses on teacher training of German as a foreign language in China. On the background of a long historical development and the tendency to speak multiple languages at present, teaching German language is experiencing a boom in China today. At the same time the adaptation to the great need of qualified teaching staff, the improvement of teaching content and methods of learning as well as the use of modern teaching methods are important factors for sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Until recently it was assumed that people who have successfully completed an integration course at level B1 (CEFR) possess the linguistic competence required for vocational training. However, educational providers have had to realize that this is not the case, which is why the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees has started to fund German courses for vocational purposes. This paper intends to explore the gap between level B1 (CEFR) and the linguistic requirements of vocational training by drawing from language acquisition research as well as from empirical evidence characteristic for the linguistic demands of vocational training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

General academic vocabulary in its controversy-oriented use is characteristic for scientific communication and plays a crucial role in the acquisition of academic text-competence. On the basis of a corpus-linguistic analysis, the paper demonstrates how scientific controversy manifests itself in linguistic routines of general academic verbs. It is shown how controversy-related conventions of academic communication and the linguistic routines by which they are realized could be imparted by means of the identified routines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reading Competence is the basic prerequisite for the students to be successful during their education and in the profession of teaching; therefore, reading competence must be developed. This paper aims to present a model course to develop reading competence of the students registered for German Language Education programs, and to measure empirically the model course's effectiveness on the development of those students' reading competence. For this end, an experimental research model including an experimental group and a control group was used. A reading comprehension test taken from the German Language Test (DSH) for admittance to university was given to the experimental and control groups (pretest-posttest design) to assess the reading competence in this study. At the end of the study, thanks to "developing reading competence in combination with reading and writing", the model course designed by the researcher, the reading comprehension test given -- in a pretest-posttest design -- to the experimental and control groups showed a significant difference between the two groups in favor of the experimental group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has been widely held that the differences between academic language and languages for special purposes are marginal. This paper attempts to demonstrate, however, that academic varieties are the result of ausbau with respect to genuinely academic purposes. It is shown that two such ausbau areas are of special importance for the didactics of German as a foreign academic language: ordinary academic language, i.e. linguistic devices pertinent to the business of academic research as such, irrespective of the area of research; and eristic structures, i.e. linguistic devices pertinent to the handling of the precariousness of new academic knowledge within a competitive community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]