Language History for Teaching and Learning German

Abstract

Various authors have proposed that instruc tors' knowledge of the history of a foreign language should facilitate their students' learning, and the literature on teaching German has been no excep tion (e.g., Hosford; Hosford and Rolfe; Smith; Wolff).1 This essay updates the rationale for in structors' usage of the history of the language in the German classroom. I summarize a sampling of his torical points from the literature that may be utilized in the classroom to introduce the reader to re sources. The paper then notes further language history points which could supplement the previ ous works, and I provide commentary on method ological concerns regarding language-history ex planation. An activity appears in the appendix which elaborates on the history of the German lan guage and may be used in the classroom. The examples and explanations discussed here will hopefully enrich learning the German lan guage for students and teachers and enlighten teacher trainers, textbook authors, and curriculum designers. Though this article should prove useful for teachers in the classroom, it cannot serve as a substitute in the long run for a full course or inten sive self study in the history of the German lan guage. Every teacher of German should have such exposure.2 While both secondary and postsecond ary students of German are potential target groups for the inclusion of language history in the class room, I assume that advanced-level leamers will be able to benefit more from the linguistic information than will beginning students.3