Adult learners of German at the Open University: Their knowledge of, and attitudes towards Germany

Abstract

This article describes research which sought to define the needs, motivation and objectives of adult students studying German at a distance with the Open University. Two objectives were to gauge how much knowledge about Germany the distance students gained over the study of a course, either directly from the materials or as a result of increased awareness of Germany and the Germans, and to look into the attitudes these students held towards Germans, both at the beginning and end of the course. Conclusions are drawn that distance students of German differ from students of other languages and distance students generally; that these adult students bring extensive knowledge of German and the Germans to their study, which they retain and build on over the course, and that they come to the course with already-formed attitudes to Germans which are scarcely modified by their study