Foreign Language Course for General Education on the Basis of Learner’s Knowledge －Focusing on the case of a 〈Basic German course〉 at the H. University

Abstract

Foreign language courses for General Education generally suffer from poor conditions when it comes to the promotion of the communicative competence of learners. This is due to the predominance of frontal teaching, an insufficient number of lessons, different learner language portfolios, etc. However, learners present many advantages for language acquisition, e.g., the linguistic foundation provided by their mother tongue, their world knowledge, and their English learning experience. Therefore, the limits of the foreign language course for General Education may be overcome by the learners themselves. Thus, such courses should not focus on communicative competence, but rather should serve to strengthen the characteristics of General Education. Above all, motivating learners and promoting autonomous learning are the most important tasks that foreign language courses for General Education should strive to achieve.