German-speaking Research Articles

Challenges Faced by Prospective German Language Teachers During Their Teaching Practice: A Case Study of Necmettin Erbakan University

The development, welfare and peace of a society are directly proportional to the quality of education. In a country with a good education system, the society is also in good condition. One of the essential components of effective and high-quality education is the teacher. The education programs in which teachers are trained are also crucial, as teachers have numerous responsibilities, such as fostering societal development, cultivating skilled human resources, and transferring the culture and values of society to future generations. In these educational programs, the Teaching Practice course holds particular significance. Because this course is the first step of prospective teachers to professional life. In this study, an attempt is made to uncover the potential problems encountered by 21 students who took the Teaching Practice course during the 2022-2023 academic year, as well as any solutions they proposed. This study is analysed through content analysis. The results of the study show that 38% of the 21 pre-service teachers did not experience any problem in the teaching practice, while 62% of them experienced various problems in this process. These problems are such as issues with their supervising teacher, advisor faculty member, self-caused problems and collaboration between the faculty and school. Additionally, teacher candidates offer some solutions to these problems. Notable suggestions include shifting the teaching practice to lower grades instead of the final year, reducing practice hours by 3, holding regular meetings with stakeholders, and conducting awareness-raising meetings for teacher candidates by relevant coordinatorships.

Esther Gad – eine aufgeklärte Jüdin als Akteurin der Haskala in Breslau. Feministische Perspektiven

Abstract The article presents a close reading of a poem which was written by the local Jewish writer Esther Gad for the occasion of the Jewish Wilhelm School’s inauguration in Breslau on March 15, 1791. On this basis, it offers a feminist perspective on the Jewish Enlightenment: Esther Gad was the first Jewish woman who emerged as a writer in the German language, but the Haskalah did not provide her with suitable conditions for her emancipation as a female Jewish author, as it was restricted to learned men proficient in Hebrew.

Лингвокультурные аспекты семантики диалектной лексики (на материале островных немецких говоров в Сибири)

Island German dialects that exist in certain regions of Russia and partially retain the status of the everyday family language in Russian German families are a unique linguistic phenomenon from the point of view of the history of the development of the German language and its regional variants and language contacts as factors of influence on the language system. Island German dialects develop in a foreign language environment, preserving many archaic language elements. The aim of the study is to present aspects of the study of dialectal vocabulary in a new perspective, from the standpoint of linguoculturology and historical semantics, based on the accumulated scientific experience in German studies and dialectology of various languages. As the linguocultural aspects based on the material of German dialects outside the main language area have been developed in German studies fragmentarily, the scientific novelty lies in the approaches to the consideration of the semantics of vocabulary of island German dialects in terms of its significance as a representative of the linguoculture of Russian Germans and substantiates the need to consider island variants of the German language in an interdisciplinary aspect. As a result of the analysis of theoretical aspects of cultural linguistics and dialectology, an attempt is made to show what ethnoculturally significant information is reflected in the semantics of dialect units, and to determine the perspective of further dialectological research in the field of island German dialectology.

Permainan Uno Stacko dalam Keterampilan Berbicara Bahasa Jerman

Abstract. This study aims to know the planning, implementation, and results of applying the Uno Stacko game in the speaking skills the students of SMA Negeri 1 Gowa. The research data consists of two types data, namely qualitative and quantitative. Qualitative data were obtained through observation and analyzed using descriptive methods. Quantitative data were obtained from the results of German speaking skill tests and were analyzed using percentage techniques. The results obtained in the first cycle reached 50,2% and in the second cycle reached 78%. This means that the Uno Stacko game can improve the German speaking skills of SMA Negeri 1 Gowa students.Keyword: Uno Stacko, speaking skill, German language.

Kemampuan Menyimak Teks Bahasa Jerman

Abstract. This study aims to determine the level of ability to listen to German language texts for class XII students at SMA Negeri 8 Makassar. This study uses a quantitative descriptive method. Data collection uses a written test or objective test which consists of multiple choice, true-false and questionnaire. Furthermore, the data were analyzed using percentage techniques. The population in this study were class XII students at SMA Negeri 8 Makassar, which consisted of 4 classes with 144 students. The sample of this research was students of class XII IPA 3 as many as 33 students who were selected using purposive sampling. The results of this study indicate that the ability to listen to German language texts for class XII students at SMA Negeri 8 Makassar is in the sufficient category (65%).Keyword: Language ability, Text, German Language

Kemampuan Membaca Memahami Dongeng Berbahasa Jerman “Frau Holle”

Abstract. This study aims to determine the ability to read and understand the German fairy tale "Frau Holle" of Class XII students at SMAN 8 Makassar and the factors that influence the ability to read and understand German fairy tales for class XII students at SMAN 8 Makassar. This study uses a quantitative descriptive method. Data collection using written tests and questionnaires. Data analysis using percentage technique. The population in this study were students of class XII IPA 1, XII IPA 2 and XII IPA 3 at SMAN 8 Makassar. The sample in this study were 32 students of class XII IPA 3 at SMAN 8 Makassar. The results of this study indicate that the ability to read and understand the German fairy tale “Frau Holle” for class XII students at SMAN 8 Makassar is in the very good category (87.5%). There are two factors that influence the ability to read and understand the German-language fairy tale "Frau Holle", namely the supporting factors that come from within the students themselves and from the availability of German books at school and the inhibiting factors in the form of the attitude of intelligence of students who think that German language is difficult and external factors, namely the school environment.Keyword: Ability, Reading, Understanding, German Fairy Tales

Model Pembelajaran Team Assisted Individualization dalam Keterampilan Menulis Bahasa Jerman

Abstract. The purpose of this study was to determine the improvement in writing skills of German language texts for class XI students of SMAN 3 Makassar through the application of the Team Assisted Individualization model. This type of research is classroom action research which consists of two cycles with each cycle consisting of two meetings. The subject of this research is class XI MIPA 3 SMAN 3 Makassar. There are two types of research data, namely qualitative data and quantitative data. Qualitative data were obtained from teacher and student observation data, while quantitative data were obtained from students' writing tests. The results of students' text writing tests in cycle 1 obtained an average of 3 and experienced an increase in cycle II with an average value of 5. The results of this study indicate that the application of the Team Assisted Individualization model can improve the German writing skills of class XI students of SMAN 3 Makassar.Keyword: Implementation, Writing, Team Assisted Individualization model

Elements of German culture: An analysis of German language textbooks in Indonesian universities

Elements of German culture: An analysis of German language textbooks in Indonesian universities

Automated Scoring of Scientific Creativity in German

ABSTRACTAutomated scoring is a current hot topic in creativity research. However, most research has focused on the English language and popular verbal creative thinking tasks, such as the alternate uses task. Therefore, in this study, we present a large language model approach for automated scoring of a scientific creative thinking task that assesses divergent ideation in experimental tasks in the German language. Participants are required to generate alternative explanations for an empirical observation. This work analyzed a total of 13,423 unique responses. To predict human ratings of originality, we used XLM‐RoBERTa (Cross‐lingual Language Model‐RoBERTa), a large, multilingual model. The prediction model was trained on 9,400 responses. Results showed a strong correlation between model predictions and human ratings in a held‐out test set (n = 2,682; r = 0.80; CI‐95% [0.79, 0.81]). These promising findings underscore the potential of large language models for automated scoring of scientific creative thinking in the German language. We encourage researchers to further investigate automated scoring of other domain‐specific creative thinking tasks.

AN OVERVIEW AND ANALYSIS OF SILENT SOUND TECHNOLOGY

‌Nowadays whenever we are in a crowd or there was a to much background noise around us then it is very difficult to communicate or interact over the phone, but now we have an awesome solution on this problem that is ' silent sound technology ' it is a gift for those who lost their voice but wish to speak over the phone. this technology is produced by the Karlsruhe institute of technology, Germany and it will be available soon in the market. Silent sound technology is also known as ultrasonic sound or ultrasonic communication enables the transmission of data through inaudible sound waves. in this technology it detects every lip movement and convert it into the sound signal neglecting all background noise. without using real audio it is a visual interpretation of lip, mouth and face. So basically it reads our lip. This technology is available in English, German and French language, but not in language like Chinese because different tones hold different meanings in Chinese language. it use to allow silent calls and we can share our personal information like PIN , password or secret information to trusted one without knowing any other. it is also use in the Military for the secret missions. According to the researchers the technology have 99% efficiency only 1% possibility that it was produce a incorrect voice and upcoming 6-7 years the normal peoples are also use this technology because it launching very soon. Keywords : silent sound technology, electromyography, image processing.

Whose language counts?

Abstract This position paper makes a critical intervention in one of the mostly salient sociolinguistic debates of the recent years, that of the integration of multilingual speakers in language ideological research. Although many scholars now recognize the need for decentering the ideal(ized) ‘monolingual native speakers’, they remain the default norm in language ideological research. Indeed, despite our efforts to dismantle our own language ideologies as linguists, the implicit focus on native speakers and monolinguals proceeds to the erasure or invisibilization (Irvine & Gal 2000) of multilinguals. Drawing on research on gender-inclusive language as well as my own empirical study on L2 speakers of German, I show why integrating a higher variety of language users is necessary—not only on ethical grounds, but also on theoretical ones. Altogether, this paper presents the challenges language ideological research still faces despite ongoing efforts to tackle multilingualism and offers possible solutions for language ideological research to become truly inclusive.

What does linguistic structure tell us about language ideologies?

Abstract This paper examines how bilingual and monolingual German speakers’ language use reflects underlying linguistic ideologies. I present a corpus study on bilingual and monolingual German speakers, focusing on phonological, lexical, and discourse pragmatic features. The data suggest that bilingual speakers use more markers of formal language and fewer markers of informal language in formal communicative situations than monolingual speakers. I argue that this is due to monolingual ideologies and standard language ideologies, particularly influencing these formal settings in bilingual speakers. These ideological patterns may lead to linguistic pressure in bilingual speakers to align with the monolingual majority, a phenomenon related to majority language anxiety. Complementing the corpus analysis, semi-structured interviews with bilingual speakers provide personal insights, further illuminating how linguistic ideologies shape their linguistic choices and social experiences.

A Contrastive Study of Resultative Constructions in Albanian and Other Languages

In the last two or three decades, linguists have paid great attention to certain ways and means of expressing result, especially in English and other Germanic languages, but also in Neo-Latin and Slavic languages, as well as in Chinese, Japanese, Korean and the like. As Zhang (2009) notes, resultative constructions have a prominent place in contemporary linguistic studies, because they shed light on the nature of relationship between semantics and syntax. They have been examined not only based on the syntactic composition, but also on the structure of argument and lexical semantics. Formal analysis instruments, as well as functional and cognitive ones have been already used. However, the last word has not yet been said, since there are many other languages where the concept of result and the elements used to express it have not been examined deeply enough. This is especially true for languages spoken outside the Eurasian continent, but also for languages within this area, including Albanian. The following study is focused on different syntactic patterns by which the concept of result is codified in several languages belonging to different families, with the belief that this analysis will help to determine the position of Albanian language amidst these languages concerning resultative constructions in general. Received: 21 March 2024 / Accepted: 28 May 2024 / Published: 5 May 2024

Identifying gaps in healthcare: a qualitative study of Ukrainian refugee experiences in the German system, uncovering differences, information and support needs

BackgroundThe 5.8 million Ukrainian refugees arriving in European countries must navigate varying healthcare systems and different and often unknown languages in their respective host countries. To date, there has been little exploration of the experiences, perceived differences, information and support needs of these refugees regarding the use of healthcare in Germany.MethodsWe conducted ten qualitative interviews with Ukrainian refugees living in Germany from February to May 2023, using Ukrainian, English and German language. The transcribed interviews were analysed using the qualitative content analysis method according to Kuckartz and Rädiker with the MAXQDA software.ResultsIn general, participants consistently had a positive experience of the German healthcare system, particularly regarding the quality of treatments and insurance. Differences have been reported in the structure of the healthcare systems. The Ukrainian healthcare system is divided into private and state sectors, with no mandatory insurance and frequent out-of-pocket payments. Pathways differ and tend to focus more on clinics and private doctors. General practitioners, often working in less well-equipped offices, have only recently gained prominence due to healthcare system reforms. Initiating contact with doctors is often easier, with much shorter waiting times compared to Germany. Interviewees often found the prescription requirements for many medications in Germany to be unusual. However, the mentioned differences in healthcare result in unmet information needs among the refugees, especially related to communication, navigating the healthcare system, health insurance, waiting times and medication access. These needs were often addressed through personal internet research and informal (social media) networks because of lacking official information provided during or after their arrival.ConclusionsDespite the positive experiences of Ukrainian refugees in the German healthcare system, differences in the systems and language barriers led to barriers using healthcare and information needs among refugees. The dissemination of information regarding characteristics of the German health care system is crucial for successful integration but is currently lacking.Trial RegistrationGerman Clinical Trials Register: DRKS00030942, date of registration: 29.12.2022.

On the relationship between complexity of primary occupation and L2 varietal behavior in adult migrants in Austria

Abstract This article explores for the first time the relationship between occupational complexity (operationalized using the complexity measures indicated in the Dictionary of occupational titles) and adult migrants’ second language (L2) sociolinguistic repertoires in the Austro-Bavarian naturalistic context. We analyze the data of 36 adult migrant L2 German speakers who participated in a virtual reality experiment involving interactions with a dialect-speaking and standard German-speaking interlocutor, the goal being to capture participants’ interpersonal varietal behavior, that is, their addressee-relational, differential use of standard German, Austro-Bavarian dialect, and mixture varieties. Bayesian multinomial mixed-effects models reveal that participants with occupations requiring more handling and physical precision work are predicted to employ dialect varieties more often, but exclusively in interaction with the standard German-speaking interlocutor. A person-centered visual-quantitative analysis additionally facilitates insights concerning which migrants deviate most notably from group-level patterns, and how these deviations may relate to the complexity of their primary occupation. More generally, this study paves new ground with respect to how we can operationally define and capture the complexity of occupational status, and moreover sets out a new direction for research questions investigating how career-related differences impact on (L2) language variation and use.

Virtuelle Metamorphosen - Zur Subversion der Selbstoptimierung in Kevin Kuhns Roman Hikikomori

Kevin Kuhn’s novel Hikikomori is a postmodern Entwicklungsroman. In this essay, I read the novel as a subversion of the neoliberal paradigm, which manifests itself in an omnipresence of self-optimisation options, that the protagonist Till is constantly encouraged to take advantage of. By withdrawing into his room and creating a collaborative online world, Till rejects the cult of individuality modelled by his plastic surgeon father and his interior designer mother. Rather than going on a scheduled journey of self-enhancement around the world, I will argue that it is his virtual journey that attempts self-realisation. However, this rejection of a Weltanschauung based on economic principles comes at the price of exclusion from the analogue world, which bears many parallels with one of the most famous 20th century German language novellas: Franz Kafka’s Die Verwandlung.

EMOTIONS THROUGH THE PRISM OF GERMAN PAREMIES

The article explores the concept of human emotions as a dynamic, systemic, socio-psychological phenomenon with distinct linguistic-cultural specificity and national characteristics. The choice of this research topic is driven by a perceived spiritual crisis affecting humanity in general, and the German ethnic group in particular, as well as by an anthropocentric approach to contemporary linguistic issues. The German language is seen as peripheral in many research contexts. The hypothesis underpinning this study suggests that a spiritual crisis is linked to a lack of inner harmony, arising from cognitive dissonance. From a theoretical perspective, cognitive dissonance should encourage individuals to engage in cognitive processes, enhancing their understanding of the world and their place within it. This process includes critical examination of received information and validation of its truth. Discomfort caused by mental dissonance can be resolved by changing behaviors or beliefs, controlling emotions, revising values or conflicting ideas, or increasing emotogenic knowledge.The article emphasizes that the definition of emotion remains open-ended, with its interpretation often tied to specific philosophical teachings, biological, somatic, psychological, cognitive, eclectic, or linguistic theories. The primary objective of the study is to establish a paradigm of the most typical emotions experienced by the German people over many centuries, as evidenced by paremias (proverbial expressions). Emotions that are codified in texts more than three times are identified as typical. Despite significant contributions from philosophers, psychologists, ethnographers, historians, sociologists, linguists, and philologists to the study of emotions, many aspects remain unresolved, particularly with respect to emotions in texts and paremias. Through this research, the concepts of "emotion," "emotion in text," and "emotion in paremia" are clarified. The study also provides a brief overview of the German way of life during the 8th to 18th centuries, offering examples of explicit and implicit emotions, as well as their variants. Additionally, emotional patterns and their variations are examined, distinguishing positive, neutral, negative, and undefined emotions based on semantic features. Ultimately, the article confirms the idea that there is a relationship between emotions and the cultural and spiritual experiences of an ethnic group.

Increasing of the interest for German language studying through acknowledgment of their customs and tradition

Each country is rich in its own customs and traditions. Our country as well, and our children get to know them from an early age. In the world there were many peoples who speak their own languages and respect their own traditions and customs. One of the ways to increase children's interest in learning a foreign language such as German is to introduce them to their traditions and customs. The biggest role to achieve this is ours, the teachers, because the children spend a large part of the day at school, and when they are at home doing their homework.

NATIONAL EXAMINATION SURVEY ON BLOOD PRESSURE OF OLDER AND VERY OLD PEOPLE IN GERMANY 2022-2023: WHY SELF-REPORTS, MEASUREMENTS AND MEDICATION DATA ARE NEEDED

Objective: The National Study on Health of Older People in Germany “Gesundheit 65+” aimed to provide up-to-date information on the health of older adults in Germany including blood pressure (BP) measurements at home by a study nurse. Design and method: Nationally representative examination survey of the population aged 65 years and older residing in Germany and with sufficient German language skills, using two-stage population registry sampling from 128 sample points from June 2022 to April 2023. Participation of physically or cognitively impaired persons was possible via proxy interviews and consent from legal representatives. Recruitment and data collection used a mixed-mode design. Three standardized blood pressure measurements at two-minute intervals were taken after 5 minutes rest with an oscillometric device (Mobil-O-Graph) using one of five cuffs according to upper arm circumference. The mean of the second and third measurement was used for analysis. Hypertension was defined as mean systolic BP (SBP) at or above140 mm Hg, or mean diastolic BP (DBP) at or above 90 mm Hg, or the use of antihypertensives (ATC-codes C02 antihypertensives, C03 diuretics, C07 beta-blockers, C08 calcium-channel blockers or C09 ACEI and ARB) in participants with self-reported hypertension diagnosis. Provisional weights account for unequal sampling and participation probabilities. Results: The “Gesundheit 65+” examination survey included 1,493 participants and 1,475 (98.8%) had successful BP measurements (763 men and 712 women aged 65 to 100 years). External quality control showed very good standardization of BP measurements in the home environment. Central BP data were available from 1,356 participants. Based on self-reported diagnoses alone the prevalence of hypertension would be 58.3% [95% CI 53.2-63.3] in men and 59.5% [53.8-64.9] in women. However, overall hypertension prevalence was estimated at 70.4% [65.8-74.7] in men and 72.3% [66.9-77.1] in women based on the study definition which combines self-reported physician diagnoses, standardized BP measurements and medication. Conclusions: Our study shows very good feasibility, acceptability and data completeness of standardized BP measurements using home visits. The prevalence of hypertension would be greatly underestimated in the absence of examination survey data with standardized measurements and detailed recording of medication.

The Knowledge of Malnutrition-Geriatric (KoM-G) 2.0 Questionnaire for Health Care Institutions: Cross-Cultural Adaptation into German, Czech, Dutch and Turkish.

It is necessary for nursing staff to have adequate knowledge of malnutrition in older people in order to provide high quality care. This study was conducted to update the Knowledge of Malnutrition-Geriatric (KoM-G) questionnaire to fit different settings and to cross-culturally adapt it to the German, Czech, Dutch and Turkish languages. In Part 1 of the study, the KoM-G questionnaire was updated and adapted for use in different settings. Content validation of the KoM-G 2.0 was carried out in a Delphi study with 16 experts. The final KoM-G 2.0 questionnaire consists of 16 items with a Scale Content Validity Index/Average of 94.5%. In Part 2, the English KoM-G 2.0 was cross-culturally adapted into the German, Czech, Dutch and Turkish languages. In the pilot test, between 96.9% (The Netherlands) and 97.8% (Austria) of the nursing staff rated the items as understandable. The KoM-G 2.0 is an up-to-date questionnaire with a highly satisfactory Content Validity Index. It was cross-culturally adapted into the German, Czech, Dutch, and Turkish languages, and the understandability was high. At the moment, the necessary comprehensive psychometric testing of the KoM-G 2.0 is in process. Afterwards it can be used to compare nurses' knowledge between various countries and settings.