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The paper aims to propose a reflection on the importance of German varieties in the preparation of interpreters. Like many other languages, German is classified as a pluricentric language, i. e. a language officially spoken in more than one centre or nation. This makes it a very variegated language that boasts a multitude of both standard and non-standard varieties. The task of interpreters who choose German as a foreign language is therefore to be able to understand and translate into another language what is spoken by native speakers of German, many of whom, according to the previous statement, often speak different varieties. To do this, the interpreters' preparation must consider the inclusion of the different language varieties of both standard and non-standard German, especially at the level of auditory decoding, in order to facilitate the understanding of the message at a receptive level. Starting from the definition of a pluricentric language, this contribution will highlight the main difficulties of interpreters at the level of listening comprehension, most of which are found at the level of auditory decoding, before proposing training aimed at decoding the different varieties of standard and non-standard German realised through the use of new technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Info DaF: Informationen Deutsch als Fremdsprache is the property of De Gruyter and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article discusses various books on the topic of German as a foreign language for the workplace. The anthology "Der Betrieb als Sprachlernort" by Sander and Efing examines the significance of the workplace as a place for language learning. The monograph "Deutsch für den Beruf. Eine Einführung" by Niederhaus is a standard work in the field of professional and subject-specific German instruction. Another book covers various chapters on reading, writing, speaking, and listening in a professional context, as well as methodological and didactic approaches for language instruction. All of these books contribute to the enrichment of the field of German for the workplace. [Extracted from the article]

This paper deals with the role of listening skills in the process of learning English as a foreign language, developing language competences and improving the level of English knowledge for the needs of successful young people in a modern business environment. The broader thematic framework of this research is the development of integrated language skills in teaching English for specific purposes to business students of higher vocational schools in Serbia. In order to determine the role of listening skills in teaching, the following is examined: listening comprehension of professional, complex and long texts; the presence of the teacher as a source of auditory text; student motivation; the role of implicit extracurricular listening skills; the importance of using audio-visual content and exposure to authentic language material in the acquisition of the English language. The theoretical postulates were verified by the research results based on the questionnaire answered by the respondents – business students at the Belgrade Business and Arts Academy for Applied Studies. The results were quantitatively processed using the statistical method, and interpreted and analysed in relation to the theoretical concept presented in the work. Insights gained were used to draw conclusions and to further design and improve the research and teaching contents.

Our study explores the field of receptive bilingualism, a highly common phenomenon with respect to heritage languages—one that, despite its commonness, has been analyzed by few studies. We collected data from 10 receptive bilinguals of Polish as a heritage language in Germany, including data from interviews regarding language biographies, a battery of tests on language comprehension skills, and a single-word production task. The main focus of our study was the analysis of the receptive abilities of our 10 participants, with a specific emphasis on their level of listening comprehension of spoken text. We conducted an explorative correlation analysis with respect to the interrelation of listening comprehension with other parameters, such as single-word comprehension, sentence comprehension, single-word production, and the language choice of the participants' parents. The results indicate that all participants coped well with spoken texts up to level B1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). There was great variance in performance at levels B2 and C1, with some of the participants still performing very well. Their performance at levels B2 and C1 strongly correlated with the number of direct address instances in Polish by the parents during childhood and with single-word comprehension. Furthermore, the word production task generated the lowest outcomes of all tests, thus revealing a wide gap between receptive and productive abilities. Interestingly, the results of the word production task did not correlate with those pertaining to the listening comprehension of texts at levels B2 and C1. This finding underscores the fact that productive skills do not constitute a valid indicator of receptive abilities. In summary, our results demonstrate the special quality of receptive bilingualism and the need to avoid underestimating this specific status (e. g., in language classes). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Info DaF: Informationen Deutsch als Fremdsprache is the property of De Gruyter and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)