Common Sense and Paradigms

Abstract

Such paradigmatic rote learning did not and still does not produce any speaking ability,' nor does it provide insights into the dynamic character of languages.' Although we have gained a deeper understanding of the nature and function of languages and of the process of language learning, our elementary German textbooks still abound with paradigms that bear a most uncomfortable resemblance to Latin tradition.2 Paradigms using Latin sequence and categories make the German structure appear unnecessarily complex. The intent and purpose of grammatical descriptions in elementary foreign language instruction is, after all, to promote insights into the patterns of the target language. Common sense requires that the structures of German be presented as simply and concisely as possible, based on contrastive analysis of German and English and according to the language-inherent principles of German. Since German morphology is more complex than English, it should be analyzed in such a manner that its complexity is minimized by adequate summarizations instead of Latin paradigms which, by their sequence and extensiveness, give the impression of an endless variety of forms.