Beyond "Struwwelpeter": Using German Picture Books for Cultural Exploration

Abstract

In recent years, the inclusion of authentic texts in foreign language teaching has become an accepted practice due to the emphasis on communicative and content-based language instruction and more recently, the implementation of the ACTFL Standards for Foreign Language Learning. The goals of these approaches are to gain knowledge and understanding of other cultures, to develop insight into the nature of language, and to communicate with speakers of the target language. Authentic texts are ideal vehicles to fulfill these goals. They help students learn about the various aspects of the target culture through language which was intended for native speakers and thus provide excellent venues for not only studying real language use, but also for extrapolating beliefs and underlying values of the target culture. For these reasons, current textbooks for beginners include authentic materials such as cartoons, postcards, advertisements, graphs, letters, brochures, and scripts for films. For intermediate and more advanced language students, young adult literature has recently been added to the treasure trove of authentic texts. It has been used successfully in the German classroom as evidenced by frequent presentations at national conferences, the establishment of Anne Green's website for sharing teaching materials, and the many articles that have appeared in Die Unterrichtspraxis since the focus issue on Jugendliteratur in 1998. Young adult literature is appreciated as a rich resource because it offers students opportunities to increase their linguistic proficiency, aids cultural exploration, provides an introduction to literary analysis and appreciation, and increases students' reading enjoyment (Kast, Moeller, Moffit). The same claims can be made for authentic picture books, but up to now, few instructors have explored this genre for its usefulness in FL instruction, Struwwelpeter and Max und Moritz notwithstanding. For the last few years, I have experimented with German picture books as supplements to the topics in my intermediate college level textbooks. Since most second year German textbooks currently on the market in the US cover a wide array of cultural and historical issues (e.g., gender roles, world of work, environment, education, multicultural society, Nazi past), it was not difficult to find picture books that could be studied to add new perspectives and depth to these topics. I use them not so much for language acquisition or grammar practice as there are other texts (including textbook selections) that are better suited for those objectives; rather I find them to be ideal vehicles for cultural exploration. Picture books are authentic documents written for the intellectual and social education of the very young, and therefore provide unique opportunities for our students to study behaviors, beliefs, and values that the target culture holds dear. In this article, I want to share my experiences with reading German picture books in the intermediate language classes. First, I will briefly discuss the history of German children's books since 1945. Then, I will address advantages and possible problems related to using such books and provide practical suggestions for teaching them. In the end, using one specific book as example, I will demonstrate how these books may be taught. It is my hope that other educators will be encouraged to enlarge their methodological repertory and implement some of my suggestions in their classrooms.