There is a need for a continued focus on language learning in advanced language classes beyond the foundations that are formed in the beginning and intermediate levels. Despite this need, little work exists on how to implement language-focused instruction in upper-level courses. As one possible solution, this paper outlines a functional,…

Responding to Donato and Brooks's (2004) call for undergraduate students to have more opportunities to engage in discourse at the advanced proficiency level, collaborative dialogues provide students with a situation conducive to language production and learning (Swain, 1997). As most of the research on collaborative dialogues has focused on the…

Writers and literature enjoy a prominent position in the culture and society of the German-speaking world. Today, German-speaking authors actively cultivate an online presence through publishers' websites, personal webpages, blogs, and online forums. In this way, the Internet has transformed the literary reading experience of yore into a…

This mixed-method research study explores German skills using the NURS teaching model for students. It was conducted in the German educational department program at the Faculty of Language and Literature at Makassar State University. The research subject was 28 German academic students from two classes in the second semester. Research instruments…

Given that societies across the globe are increasingly multicultural and multilingual, the notion of communicative competence grounded in constricting definitions of national cultures and languages reflects neither our instructional realities nor the sociolinguistic reality of the languages and cultures we teach. To foster students' development of…

In offering an account of teaching and performing Nurkan Erpulat and Jens Hillje's "Verrücktes Blut" (2010) with advanced German students, this article reflects on the theme of cultural identity, particularly with regard to current issues related to migrant populations. As a play that showcases theater as a transitional space where…

In the interest of fostering a socially critical and inclusive German Studies, this article urges instructors to pursue curricular reforms to diversify and decolonize German curricula at colleges and universities. While the literary canon's centrality to the German major has tended to leave monolithic impressions of "Germany" and…

Language builds social and economic connections within countries as the most effective communication tool. It has the potential to introduce new opportunities and helps the speakers become world citizens. Although second language teaching focuses more on early education in many countries, it is still crucial for university students to acquire a…

Where are German Studies heading? To answer this, a look backward into the development of German Studies might be useful. Starting with a brief overview, from the establishment of the first chair in 1776 to selected discussions of the curriculum of German Studies in English-speaking countries from the 19th century on, a number of -- at times…

The present article investigates foreign language teacher training quality enhancement by surveying pedagogical university students' opinions on important aspects of the course of Introduction to Germanic Linguistics within the Educational Programme for Bachelor's Degree in Education. The prime purpose is to study the perception of the…

This article argues that vital resources for teaching the relationship of German and the global to advanced undergraduate language students can be found in a critical approach to the rich tradition of cosmopolitanism in canonical German-language texts. One especially rich vein of this tradition is the historical depiction of relationships between…

More than ever, faculty need to ensure that undergraduate curricula not only provide students with tools to gain linguistic proficiency but also teach them to analyze both written and visual information to attain historical literacy. Developing both intercultural proficiency and insights into various historical memorialization processes ensures…

The aim of the current study is to investigate motion event cognition in second language learners in a higher education context. Based on recent findings that speakers of grammatical aspect languages like English attend less to the endpoint (goal) of events than do speakers of nonaspect languages like Swedish in a nonverbal categorization task…

This article reports on the integration of leadership studies into upper-level foreign language literature classes in German and Spanish in two undergraduate programs--a military university (USAFA) and a civilian university (UNC Charlotte). Taking into account ACTFL's [American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages] 21st Century Skills Map…

This study is based on the assumption that because the Holocaust is a significant part of Germany's history, culture, and national memory, it should be taught openly and honestly within German curricula. To ignore it would be to ignore an essential part of the country's identity, which in turn would lead teacher-scholars of German to impart a less…