A New Model for Teaching Intermediate German at the College-Level

Abstract

Postsecondary instructors of German identify the intermediate course as one of the most difficult in the curriculum to teach. The textbooks and materials available for this level often do not adequately address the needs of a very heterogeneous group of students, many of whom have read little and written even less in German. Therefore, it may be time for departments and instructors to reevaluate their approach to teaching intermediate German by focusing even less on explicit grammar instruction and assigning more full-length literary texts such as novels and plays. This article introduces a new model for the course that will, it is argued, better prepare students for the more rigorous literature and cultural studies classes that lie ahead. At this author's institution intermediate German is a third-semester bridge course taught only in the fall. Students, who elect the class immediately prior to enrolling in an introductory literature or German studies course, traditionally fall into three groups: (1) those who have completed the college's year-long elementary German course; (2) first-year students who have had from two to six years of German in middle and high school; and (3) transfer students or those with advanced standing who have taken German at a Goethe Institute or at another college and may be resuming study of the language after a break of from one to three years. These three groups of students list several reasons for enrolling in intermediate German.1 Some merely wish to fulfill the college's language requirement.2 Others want to gain enough proficiency in the language to move on to advanced classes and event ally study in Germany. Planning an interesting and intellectually stimulating course for this ver diverse group of students is difficult at best. Due to personnel constraints intermediate German is the only non-elementary level class offered prior to the introductory literature or German studies course. Therefore, in an attempt to de-emphasize grammar and help students become more p oficient readers, writers, and speakers of German, the intermediate course was completely restructured in the fall of 1999. Students now read several longer literary works and write three or more drafts of five essays. There are no quizzes or final exam, and grammar is addressed only occasionally through use of excerpts from the readings under discussion that illustrate contextual use of specific grammatical structures. The course web site also features links to self-correcting grammar exercises that students may complete if they feel the need to review certain structures. Those students who want or need more explicit grammar instrucion are strongly encouraged to enroll in a special grammar tutorial,3 which they can elect concurrently with the intermediate course.