Willkommen: Deutsch für alle 2

task-based   ——     blended      ——   inclusive

Welcome to our second-year German language e-textbook Willkommen: Deutsch für alle 2, designed as Open Educational Resource, for learning German at the college/university level.

Just like our first year e-textbook, Willkommen: Deutsch für alle 2 follows the same principles:

• We are using a task-based approach, providing students with opportunities to communicate in German in a variety of contexts and situations, and to showcase their language skills throughout each unit by accomplishing a specific task.
• We are following a blended-learning format in which in-class (face-to-face) lessons led by an instructor alternate with online (self-paced) sessions that students complete on their own. Both in-class and online activities encourage students to practice the three communicative modes (interpersonal, interpretive, and presentational) and thus the four language skills in an integrated manner. In-class activities provide opportunities for students to use their interactive language skills in a collaborative environment. Online activities aim to review materials from the previous lesson as well as allow students to engage with new information at their own pace.
• We are mindful of using an inclusive approach to the depiction of people, contexts, and concepts. Pedagogical as well as authentic cultural materials emphasize the diversity of speakers of German and are purposely inclusive of sexual orientation, race, and ethnicity. In this second-year e-textbook, we also introduce students to gender-neutral and gender-inclusive language in German, by using the gender-gap (Student_in, ein_e Student_in), the gender-star (Student*in, ein*e Student*in), or the Doppelpunkt (ein:e Student:in) in instructions and various texts. We also leave some texts ungendered in order to reflect the variety of written documents that students will encounter in the German-speaking countries.

For more information, please contact:

Dr. Claudia Kost

University of Alberta

ckost@ualberta.ca