Learning German at UW-Madison

How to form realistic expectations of

language learning progress and why
we ask you to do what we ask you
to do.

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Your Experiences
How did you learn English?
Do you know a FL other than German?
How did you learn this language?
How long did you learn (have you been
learning) this language?

Our Program Goals: How We

Measure Progress
You can express yourself on a greater
variety of topics
You can express yourself with more
precision and detail
You have an increased fluency/speed of
comprehension/production

Our Program Goals: How We

Measure Progress
You have a decreasing dependence on
listeners/speakers for successful
communication
You have an increasing repertoire of
language tools
i.e. Beginning: you can distinguish between a
request and a command
i.e. Intermediate: you can distinguish between
more and less direct speech

Our Program Goals: How We

Measure Progress
You develop language strategies which help
with language use (comprehension and
production) in real-life situations (without a
textbook, explanations or preparation, and
use little or no English)
Increasing comfort level with the language

Our Program Goals: How We

Measure Progress
You have increasing accuracy in
vocabulary, grammar,
pronunciation/intonation, text production
(i.e. in different genres) and social
conventions (pragmatics)
You have an increasing awareness of how
languages function - including grammatical
structure and social and cultural
connotations.

Our Program Expectations and

Goals: Year 1
You can talk about yourself and your needs
in predictable (scripted) situations
i.e. situations that would likely be encountered
by a student learner of German in a German
speaking country.

You can understand and interpret very

basically what goes on socially and
culturally in predictable (scripted) situations

Our Program Expectations and

Goals: Year 1
You gain an overview of the basics of
German grammar
How is German Grammar organized? (cases,
verb conjugations, etc.)
What are some basic contrasts? (what function
do the nominative, accusative, and dative cases
have?)
How is German different from English?

Our Program Expectations and

Goals: Year 1
You gain an overview of the basics of
German Grammar, cont.
What are some effects of these differences?
i.e. German has more case endings, so it is easier to
recognize the nominative and accusative cases
i.e. German nouns can occur in different places,
which indicates a certain message or emphasis

How do languages function? What purpose do

they serve?

Our Program Expectations and

Goals: Year 1
You acquire a basic stock of vocabulary,
which allows you to:
Talk about the topics previously outlined, both
as they pertain to you AND in conversations
about these topics pertaining to other people
Expand into greater detail later
i.e. we learn the 10 basic colors, but in order to talk
about a paining, you will need more colors

Our Program Expectations and

Goals: Year 1
Use very specific vocabulary and grammar
in very narrow and focused tasks (such as
quizzes) with a high degree of accuracy
i.e. in a quiz, if you are to select the correct
case, you should be able to do that with great
accuracy. This level of accuracy is not expected
in free and spontaneous speech.

Our Program Expectations and

Goals: Year 2
You will be able to talk in basic terms about topics
relevant to educated native speakers of the
German-speaking countries
Including history, politics, the environment and
literature.

You will achieve a deeper understanding of how

the history, geography and social structure of the
German-speaking countries relates to language use
In personal conversations, presentations, discussions,
and the language arts (film, literature and media)

Our Program Expectations and

Goals: Year 2
You will develop a firmer understanding of
how:
Grammatical structures relate to each other in
form
How do adjective endings resemble article endings?
How are the simple past, Subjunctive I and
Subjunctive II similar or different in their forms?

Grammatical structures relate to certain

functions
Why would you chose to use the passive over the
active voice, or the subjunctive over the imperative?

Our Program Expectations and

Goals: Year 2
You will increase your accuracy in narrow
and specified tasks such as quizzes
This is a review from Year 1

You will begin working on accuracy in

contextual (less narrow) tasks
i.e. writing texts and speaking freely

Our Program Expectations and

Goals: Year 2
You will expand your vocabulary for
greater detail and expressiveness (you will
have alternatives to the verb gehen, you
will paraphrase, and use synonyms and
antonyms as they occur in natural language
use
Synonyms in English:
A: Isnt it a beautiful day?
B: Yes, it is just gorgeous!

Our Program Expectations and

Goals: Year 2
Antonyms in English:
A: Wow, that is really difficult!
B: Youre right, it sure isnt easy!

Paraphrasing in English:
A: I find that really hard to believe!
B: You are right - it is incredible!

Our Program Expectations and

Goals: Year 2
You will begin to understand the essential
non-translatability and cultural
embeddedness of language:
Elusive meaning (It means what it means only
in context)
i.e. How would you describe, paraphrase, or
translate the word just?

That just isnt fair.

I think it was just punishment for what he did.
Hold on - he just came in.
Just give it to me and be done with it.

Our Program Expectations and

Goals: Year 2
The non-translatability of languages, cont.
Different prefered ways of expressing the same
thought
English: The obvious conclusion is that we did not
do a thorough enough job.
German: Man muss daraus offensichtlich schlieen,
dass wir nicht genau genug gearbeitet haben.
Notice: different subjects, verb vs. noun related to
conclusion and job, thorough, and a different
tense (simple past vs. present perfect)

Our Program Expectations and

Goals: Year 2
The non-translatability of languages, cont.
Cultural connotations:
What is a job in American English?
Good job! He does not have a job! That is not my job! He
signed up for on-the-job training.

In German
Der Job, Die Arbeit, Der Beruf, die Aufgabe, die Stelle

Our Program Expectations and

Goals: Year 2
What you should NOT expect to be able to do at
the end of Year 2 (and what we do not expect of
you)
Speaking or writing without hesitation
The ability to speak or write well (relatively accurately
and spontaneously) about a topic you have not
practiced
The ability to easily understand texts (spoken or
written) about which you have very little background
knowledge or which are written in a style other than
factual (i.e. sarcastic or satirical)

Our Program Expectations and

Goals: Year 2
What you should NOT expect to be able to
do at the end of Year 2, cont:
The ability to use low-frequency (unusual or
sophisticated) words spontaneously
The ability to use low-frequency words in
grammatically-accurate forms
See the language-learning theory of
connectionism

The ability to maintain high levels of

grammatical accuracy in context (i.e. when
writing an essay)

Our Program Expectations and

Goals: Year 2
What you should NOT expect to be able to
do at the end of year 2, cont:
The ability to understand or use ALL
grammatical forms equally well (accurately,
spontaneously) - some (i.e. subject verb
agreement) will develop faster than others
(most notoriously: subjunctives, passives,
relative clauses, and adjective endings)
The ability to carry on a conversation
independently of how good (proficient,
helpful, etc.) your conversational partner is

How We Teach and Why We

Teach This Way
At the UW-Madison and in the vast
majority of language programs throughout
the country, the Communicative Approach
to language learning is used.
This Approach to language learning has
been around since the early 1970s and was
developed in response to language learners
being able to analyze sentences, but unable
to communicate in the Foreign Language.

How We Teach and Why We

Teach This Way
The Communicative Approach is a
language teaching approach that has been
and continues to be the subject of research
studies in Second Language Acquisition
Basically, the Communicative Approach
says that you can only learn to do Y by
doing Y - not by doing X: You learn how to
communicate by communicating and not by
practicing paradigms.

How We Teach and Why We

Teach This Way
Learning to Communicate Requires:
Input (the teacher, other students, and even texts
talking to the learner)
Output (the learner producing meaningful language)
Interaction/negotiation for meaning
The back-and-forth of one party trying to communicate a
message and the other trying to comprehend it as intended, and
how the two go back and forth coming closer to arrive at a
common understanding.

Real tasks associated with real language functions

How We Teach and Why We

Teach This Way
Considerhowmuchinput,output,and
interactionittookforyoutobecomea
fairlyproficientspeakerofyourmother
tongue(firstlanguage).Comparethatto
howmuchinput,output,andinteraction
canhappeninacoursewhichmeets15
16weeksasemester,250minutes/week,
with24orsostudentsandoneteacher.

How We Teach and Why We

Teach This Way
Considerhowrealthetaskofaskingfor/getting
atreatisforachildascomparedtohowreal
thetaskofanimaginaryshirtatafictitious
store,supposedlyinacountrywhichmany
havenevervisited,isforstudentswholearnthe
languageinaclassroom.
Trytothinkofwaystomaximizeyour
exposuretoinputandyourabilitytoproduce
outputandinteract.

How We Teach and Why We

Teach This Way
Communication requires not only
knowledge of grammar and vocabulary, but
also knowledge of the social context and the
culture.
Imagine for a minute that you are lost and need
directions. Now, imagine the reaction of a
German-speaking adult who may be able to
assist you if you address this individual with
du.

How We Teach and Why We

Teach This Way
Communication requires knowledge of how
certain functions one wishes to accomplish (i.e. to
make a polite request) relate to certain forms
Ich htte gern ein Glas Wasser.
vs. Gib mir ein Glas Wasser.

Language is creative and meaning does not neatly

correspond to one single specific form.

How We Teach and Why We

Teach This Way
Example:Youarehotandwouldliketheother
personintheroomtoagreetoopenthewindow.
Youcanchoosefromdifferentoptions,depending
onhowwellyouknowtheperson,yourstatus
relativetotheotherpersonsstatus,howurgentthe
situationis(e.g.,youaresufferinganasthmaattack
ascomparedtoyouaremildlyuncomfortable),
whosehouseitis,etc.Youcanvarywhatyousayin
forcefulness,directness,andpoliteness.Youcan
mentionthewindowornot.Youcanreferto
yourselfortotheotherpersonorneither.Youcan
makeastatementorexclamationoraskaquestion.

How We Teach and Why We

Teach This Way
Openthe[*#@]window!
Forgoodnessssake,pleaseopenthewindow!
Wouldyoupleaseopenthewindow?
Iamdyinghere!
Myfacemustbered.
Arentyouhot?
Dontyouthinkitshotinhere?
Itseemsitsabitwarminhere.

How We Teach and Why We

Teach This Way
Language can be represented in the form of
rules but only with serious limitations.
Rules are shortcuts and abstractions.
Where there are rules, there are exceptions
(language changes, develops, and constantly
eludes neatness, especially in the most
frequently used expressions)
Much of the language has not been and might
not ever be captured in hard and fast rules.

How We Teach and Why We

Teach This Way
Language can be represented in the form of
rules but only with serious limitations.
Rules are shortcuts and abstractions, cont.
Some rules are so complicated that they come
close to being useless as rules.
Where does one place the particle doch?
How does one use like in American English?

How We Teach and Why We

Teach This Way
Although we can represent some of
language in rules, that does not mean this is
how we learn it. We can represent a route
we are going to take on a map, but that is
very different from actually walking the
route.

How We Teach and Why We

Teach This Way
We can represent some rules, cont.
Some rules are very complex and require so
many sub-rules that it is difficult to use the
language (especially in speaking) if one were to
try it simply by applying the rule/s
(remember adjective endings?)

How We Teach and Why We

Teach This Way
We can represent some rules, cont.
Grammar rules are applied more successfully to
certain words (those used more often) than to
others.
Few people have problems conjugating er geht but
many more have problems with er kneift.
According to the Connectionism Theory, if there
were hard and fast rules, this difference shouldnt
occur.

How We Teach and Why We

Teach This Way
We can represent some rules, cont.
Most people can only focus on one rule or a few
rules at a time. Actual language use requires the
application of many different rules at the same
time. It is easier to conjugate er kneift in a
fill-in-the-blank test than use it in a sentence or
a composition. Thus, accuracy in quizzes is
easier to achieve than accuracy in essay writing
(consequently, we expect higher accuracy on
quizzes)

How We Teach and Why We

Teach This Way
We can represent some rules, cont.
Learners do not simply add and retain rules as they
learn. Old rules get adjusted or seemingly forgotten.
The nominative might make sense until you hear of the
accusative and the accusative is then fine until the
dative comes along. Since rules need to work together
in actual language use, learning a new rule will affect
the rule system. We present an overview of the rule
system in Year1, so that you can orient yourself and
Review un Year 2 (and 3 and 4).

How We Teach and Why We

Teach This Way
Spiral Learning

How We Teach and Why We

Teach This Way
U-shaped Learning

How We Teach and Why We

Teach This Way
We can represent some rules, cont.
Rules are learned (understood and retained for future
application) more readily when learners uncover them
themselves - in other words, when learners read or hear
language first and then either look for or, better yet,
discover (induce) a rule, it will promote their learning
more than someone first telling them about a rule and
then showing how it applies in a context.
Inductive Learning (evidence before the rule) is more
beneficial than deductive learning (rule before the evidence)

How We Teach and Why We

Teach This Way
We can represent some rules, cont.
When people learn their mother tongue, they
are sensitive to rules (and later, exceptions) but
they do not consciously apply them. Most
cannot even give a rule of their language until
someone teaches them about such rules in
school - much later than when they actually
become proficient in the language.

How We Teach and Why We

Teach This Way
Strategiesareimportantinbothlearningandusing
alanguage.Learningstrategiesinclude
memorization,motivatingselftalk,andpracticeof
variouskinds.Languageusestrategiespertainto
bothproducing(writingandspeaking)and
comprehending(listeningandreading)languages.
Theyincludeparaphrasing,repeating/rereadingor
askingforrepetition,andguessingatthemeaningof
wordsincontext.Strategiesenablelearnersto
functionmoreindependentlyandmakedowith
whattheyknow.Thisskillisessentialinreallife,
whenonehastocommunicatewithoutthe
immediateaidofatextbook,ateacher,or
dictionary.

How We Teach and Why We

Teach This Way
Onedoesnotlearninastraightlineoraconstantly
risingcurve(orsimplyaddrules),howwellone
performs(e.g.,howfastonecantalkorhow
accuratelyonewritesortalks)dependsonanumber
ofotherconsiderations,besideshowwellone
knowstherule.Factorsincludehowmuchtime
onehastoplan,rehearse,and/orreviseones
languageproduction;howfamiliarthetopicis;how
muchonehastoproduceatatime;howcomfortable
onefeelsinthesituation,etc.

How We Teach and Why We

Teach This Way
It is difficult to track progress or growth
in knowledge in a definitive way.

Language teaching relates to the

science of second-language
acquisition
Second-language Acquisition is a
theoretical as well as empirical research
field.

To Learn More About SLA

To Learn More About SLA

Visit UW-Madison websites:
www.sla.wisc.edu and
www.languageinstitute.wisc.edu
Go on-line, including a UW-Madison
library data base LLBA

To Learn More About SLA

LLBA:
goto:http://www.library.wisc.edu/
clickonsecondline(EResourceGateway)
pickLforLLBA
clickLLBA
begine.g.,keywordsearch;youmightuseterms
suchascommunicativelanguage,accuracy,
connectionism,accuracy,noticing,rule
basedlearning,vocabularyorlexicalaccuracy,
orlanguageteachingtoreadmoreaboutmanyof
thetopicstoucheduponhere

To Learn More About SLA

Visit the websites of relevant professional
and/or research organizations:
www.actfl.org[AmericanCouncilontheTeaching
ofForeignLanguages]
www.aaatg.org[AssociationofAmericanTeachers
ofGerman]
www.aaal.org[AmericanAssociationforApplied
Linguistics]
www.aausc.org[AmericanAssociationof
UniversitySupervisorsandCoordinators]

To Learn More About SLA

Read (on-line or hard copy) one of the many, many
professional/research journals:
AmericanAssociationofLanguageProgramSupervisorsand
Coordinators(AAUSC)AnnualVolumes
(Heinle&Heinle)
ADFLBulletin
AnnualReviewofAppliedLinguisticss
AppliedLanguageLearning
AppliedLinguistics
AustralianLanguageMatters
AustralianReviewofAppliedLinguistics

To Learn More About SLA

Journal List, cont.

Babel
Bilingualism:LanguageandCognition
BrainandCognition
CanadianJournalofAppliedLinguistics/Revue
canadiennedelinguistiqueappliequee
CanadianModernLanguageReview
CollegeESL
ComputerAssistedLanguageLearning(CALL)
Cognition

To Learn More About SLA

Journal List, cont.

Didactica(LenguayLiteratura)
ELTJournal
EUROSLAYearbook
FoliaLinguistics
ForeignLanguageAnnals
Fremdsprachenunterricht

To Learn More About SLA

Journal List, cont.

GenderandEducation
InterculturalEducation
InternationalJournalofAppliedLinguistics(INJAL)
InternationalJournalofBilingualism
InternationalReviewofAppliedLinguistics(IRAL)
ITL,ReviewofAppliedLinguistics
IssuesinAppliedLinguistics
IssuesinLanguageLearning

To Learn More About SLA

Journal List, cont.
JahrbuchDeutschalsFremdsprache
JournalofEnglishforAcademicPurposes
JournalofExperimentalPsychology:Learning,
Memory,andCognition
JournalofPragmatics
JournalofResearchinReading
JournalofSecondLanguageWriting

To Learn More About SLA

Journal List, cont.

LanguageAwareness
LanguageCommunication
Language,Culture,andCurriculum
LanguageandEducation
LanguageandInterculturalCommunication
(Journalof)Language,Identity,andEducation
LanguageLearning
LanguagePolicy
LanguageinSociety
LanguageTeachingResearch

To Learn More About SLA

Journal List, cont.

ModernLanguageJournal
Mosaic
Multilingua
PraxisdesneusprachlichenUnterrichts
ReadingandWritingQuarterly
ReadingPsychology

To Learn More About SLA

Journal List, cont.
SecondLanguageResearch
StudiesinSecondLanguageAcquisition
(SSLA)
System
DieUnterrichtspraxis/TeachingGerman

To Learn More About SLA

Journal List, cont.

TESLCanadaJournal/RevueTESLduCanada
TESOLJournal
TESOLQuarterly
WorldEnglishes

Questions?

Questions for discussion

What were your first impressions of your
first German class at UW?
What do you really like about your German
class?
What do you not like so much about your
German class?
After listening to this presentation, why do
you think your TA teaches as s/he does?
What can you do to succeed in your German
class at UW-Madison?