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Describes an German in the elementary school program in Somerville, Massachusetts that is an example of university-school cooperation. (Author/VWL)

Discusses institutional constraints in the foreign language and intercultural learning process within the framework of an online collaboration project between a German and a U.S. university. Shows the benefits and constraints of such a collaboration and provides suggestions for the improvement of similar international computer-supported learning environments. (AS)

Discusses perspectives on the teaching of German grammar, with insight from the Genfer-DiGS research project. (Author/VWL)

Analyzes factors influencing the attitudes of secondary school teachers in Nairobi. Finds that, based on a field study and interviews, young male teachers suffered from relative deprivation in status and were therefore the least motivated and the most likely to leave the profession. Adds that direct working conditions didn't seem to have a significant influence on teachers' attitudes. (Contains 13 references.) (NB)

Presents an instructional model, using Kleist's story "Das Erdbeben in Chili" and Christa Wolf's novel Kei Ort. Nirgends" as a basis. The model clearly distinguishes itself from quantitative models and mediates solid literary knowledge through an inductive approach. Learning takes place in a multidimensional space that makes possible multiple connections between the pieces of the content to be learned.(DK)

Describes how German proverbs and idioms can be purposefully and efficiently incorporated into the German foreign-language classroom. Presents a holistic model with exercises on lexical approximations, semantic understanding, and pragmatic usage. Eighteen "vehicles" (chain reactions, association games) are introduced. (Author/VWL)

Discusses the relationship between planned languages and specialized technical languages, with particular reference to Esperanto, and analyzes its significance for several aspects of Eugen Wuster's (the founder of terminology science) work. (Author/VWL)

Laments the fact that the social strata model is still being used as the focal point of contemporary educational sociology and inequality research. Proposes models used in research on lifestyles and milieus conducted within the framework of empirical social research as alternatives. Provides two studies that illustrate these proposed methods. (DSK)

Analyzes the application of the principle of unity in different historical phases of the East German educational system. Argues that East German successes in reducing the number of socially underprivileged were always accompanied by a sharpening of the trade-off between educational equality and excellence, for which no solution was found. (DSK)

Discusses "universal solidarity" as the central concept of a pedagogical ethic committed to the needs of the coming generation and of social victims. Argues that attempts to define "universal solidarity" indicate that critical theory seeks to comprehensively represent the modern moral sphere. Proposes a definition of "universal solidarity." (DSK)

Observes that the demand for values education is generally accompanied by rational skepticism. Argues that critical rationalism does not intend to provide a basis for concrete value education, but to lay a foundation for the mediation of attitudes as the basis for individual decisions about which values to commit to. (DSK)

Presents an evolutionary-biological perspective on the course of human life. Discusses early development during the first few months of a child's life in the context of bonding with regard to the differentiation of diverse strategies of reproduction. Tries to integrate developmental-psychological knowledge and sociobiological assumptions. (DSK)

Interprets the persistent difficulties in revitalizing U.S. public education and in implementing "world standards" in the context of deep-seated conflicts in U.S. political culture. Argues that the conflict between individual liberty and equality is behind the polarization of imperatives such as "choice" and "equality" or "excellence" and "equity." (DSK)

Inquires into empirical, functional, and theoretical arguments made to substantiate theses of retreat, loss of meaning, or untimeliness of general pedagogics. Discusses recent propositions for reorganizing general pedagogics as a subdiscipline of educational science. Argues that general pedagogics could lead to new pedagogical interrelations if redesigned as constructive theory. (DSK)

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)

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 computer-supported instruction are discussed. (AP)

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 this possible and should lead to a new pedagogy of understanding. (AP)

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 difficulties. (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 specialist translation, as well as the determination of the modern translator's profile, are proposed. (AP)

Argues for the commencement of foreign-language instruction at the elementary school level or even at the kindergarten level. However, such instruction must consider the developmental stages of children of this age. Implications for early foreign language instruction are drawn from the similarities and differences between first- and second-language acquisition, as well as from developmental psychological insights. (AP)

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)

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 is encouraged. (AP)

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 for current and future German teachers. (AP)

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, but is rather the "right" to awareness of cultural borders. (AP)

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 people can do good with words. (AP)

Argues that the idea and doctrine of adult education is to be found in the writings of Comenius as a consequence of his concept of lifelong learning. Suggests that the idea of adult education is deduced from his concept of man and theory of education. Compares Comenius' concept of adult education to that of Plato. (DK)

Interviews and biographical sketches of 16 minority students and teachers of German at 3 universities and 1 school district are reported. The process of acquiring the language and becoming familiar with a foreign culture unites these individuals of otherwise diverse ethnicity, background, and experience. (Author/LB)

Presents a theoretical framework for an empirical analysis of subject matter based on conceptual definitions of instruction and schooling. Discusses relating a period of instruction and the subject matter to other facts such as the students' experiences, curricular regulations, and the teacher's didactic routines. Illustrates the "local topography" method with teacher education. (DK)

Discusses the limits to fitting aesthetic experiences into theories of education or curricula, claiming that this often results in aesthetic alphabetization. Contrasts this to the aesthetic education possibilities in art therapy. Beginning with a statement by Hugo von Hofmannsthal, theorizes about the existence of an aesthetic self-identity. (CH)

Discusses the major concepts of Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi's work, emphasizing the ways that other contemporary theorists influenced his work. Examines the application of his comprehensive philosophical systems to questions of pedagogy. (RW)

Questions how far individual schools can go to initiate intercultural work and deal with foreign students. Evaluates the efforts of an organization (the "Regionale Arbeitsstellen") designed to help foreign students and the intercultural activities of three schools. Concludes that possibilities do exist for schools to promote intercultural activities, but that the initiative should come from the individual schools. (GEA)

Summarizes the expansion of education in the West Germany up to 1980. Examines the progress of the 1980s in view of unemployment and growing difficulties on entering a profession. Among the findings are a decline in enrollment of 20-24 year olds and a growth in opportunities for the children of immigrants. (Author/GEA)

States the need for a close and continuous interrelationship between theory and practice in the reform of teacher education. Describes the guiding notions of a "uni-phasic" reform project which addresses problems of theory-based decision making and implementation in the reform process. (Author/GEA)

Examines the growing interest in the professional ethics of teachers and states that idealistic conceptions seem to be challenging realistic conceptions of the teaching profession. Analyzes the social function and significance of professional ethics and presents a developmental approach to teacher socialization and teachers' ethics. (Author/GEA)

Analyzes the Constance research project on teachers' attitudes toward school and instruction in terms of four analytical concepts which are often used to describe learning. States that these concepts are hardly taken into account by the study, and where they are, the results are questionable. (Author/GEA)

Reviews criticisms of the Constance research project on the shift towards conservatism in young teachers' attitudes. Concludes that Hansel's 1985 criticism remains speculative and empirically unsound, and that De Brabander's (1987) theoretical approach does not produce an adequate critique of the Constance questionnaire on teachers' attitudes toward school and instruction. (Author/GEA)

Explains that Wolfgang Brezinka's approach to a scientific system of education is one of few contemporary educational theories that includes both elements of the philosophy of science and conceptual analysis. Examines this theory and concludes that Brezinka's blueprint for a scientific system of education degenerates into fiction. (Author/BSR)

Examines survey and longitudinal studies that focus on West German adolescents' educational and career expectations. Results showed that failure in school, a downgrading in the school career, and an orientation toward educational and vocational careers which failed to meet either parents' or students' expectations resulted in psychosocial stress symptoms, psychosomatic disorders, and parent-child conflicts. (Author/BSR)

Differentiates the various semantic levels and dimensions of the concept of equal opportunity and examines whether the demand for equal opportunity in education will help eliminate inequality. (Author/BSR)

Analyzes significance of new information and communication technologies for university research and teaching, and consequences that its use has for research, teaching, and service/administration with reference to the discovery learning concept. The possibility of structural changes in service sector is noted together with lack of impact on research and instruction. (Author/MBR)

States that the traditional German "histories of pedagogics" are usually characterized as didactic and traditional. Argues that compared to historical research, they contain flaws in research techniques and inaccuracies in content. Advocates inquiry into the pre-modern history of education using contemporary theoretical and methodological standards of historical research. (Author/GEA)

Discusses whether the programmatics of educational science, as a course of study leading to a diploma, can still claim validity. Using social work as an example, the author claims that due to curtailment of the welfare state and revitalization of scientific rationality, the programmatic concept of this course of studies has lost its plausibility. (Author/GEA)

States that the enforcement of further education for nineteenth-century artisans has rarely been studied from the craftsmen's viewpoint. Asserts that only within this context can the resistance to scientifically generated vocational information be examined. Discusses various arguments in support of resistance to further education. (Author/GEA)

Claims that social work is a pragmatic response to schools delegating important functions to the family. Social work must provide assistance concerning school and should offer opportunities for stimulating leisure activities but not rely heavily on "external" resources. (Author/GEA)