Augenblicke: German through Film, Media, and Texts

Augenblicke was developed for beginning through intermediate German language and culture instruction, preparing students from the start for eventual coursework at the upper-level in a consistent manner with no interruption or jump between first-year and second-year curricula. The program’s systematic and contextualized language, culture, and grammar progression is structured around six themes essential to the 21st-century learner. Through the lens of these themes, students explore key issues across topics on national identity, multilingualism, technological advancements, citizenship, environmentalism, history, commemorative culture, and artistic representations as they build their language skills. Each module’s trajectory is structured around select authentic media and literary materials with which students engage and upon which students continually reflect as they deepen their linguistic and cultural knowledge.

Communication in Augenblicke is usage-driven and consistently framed by the four modes of communication (interpretive, interpersonal, presentational and reflective), which helps center students’ attention on the target audience of communicative practices and helps prompt learners to make thoughtful choices regarding their language use. Lastly, Augenblicke's process-based grammar and vocabulary progression helps students develop a fine eye and ear for grammatical paradigms while bolstering their communicative and symbolic competencies. These core features of Augenblicke embed language learning within genre-specific, authentic, and culturally relevant contexts and foster students’ language education with the ultimate goal in mind: effective communication.

Augenblicke is an innovative and dynamic curriculum for teaching introductory and intermediate German published by AATG. Based on insights and findings from research in applied linguistics and language pedagogy and intermingled with many best practices for communicative language teaching approaches and techniques, Augenblicke helps learners develop personally meaningful intercultural communicative competence in German through Intermediate Mid to High (ACTFL) or B1 to lower B2 (CERF).

Augenblicke: German through Film, Media, and Texts emerged from discussions in a graduate methodology seminar in the basement of Fisher Bennet Hall at the University of Pennsylvania over a decade ago. Although the room had no windows, a common vision came to light: to bring together current trends in second-language acquisition theory and research with best practices in classroom instruction for the teaching of introductory and intermediate German. That goal may never fully be attainable, if only because advances in theory, research, and practice are continually unfolding. Nevertheless, we hope that Augenblicke addresses some of the concerns that have been voiced over the years about the teaching of language and culture.

Throughout this project’s development, many colleagues and graduate students in our programs made direct contributions to Augenblicke's content and scope: through ideas for the design of thematic units; enhancement of summative assessment concepts; and importantly, creation or improvement of activities in the book or the Canvas platform. The authors thank their many friends and family members who have helped in so many ways, small and large, throughout the development of Augenblicke.

Augenblicke is published in collaboration with and through the sponsorship of the American Association of Teachers of German, and as long-time active members ourselves, the authors are thrilled that Augenblicke bears the AATG logo.

KEY FEATURES

• Six AP World Language Themes creatively orient the modules: Families and Communities; Contemporary Life; Personal and Public Identities; Global Challenges; Beauty and Aesthetics; Science and Technology.
• Our cyclical approach means students engage with each of the six themes twice across the curriculum, and encourages that students connect with global issues across different contexts and in increasingly complex ways.
• Essential Questions drive the intellectual trajectory of each of the 12 modules, progressing from the personal to the public (e.g. Wer bin ich? Was für ein Bürger bin ich?).
• Authentic media, film, and texts (i.e. materials originally created for a German-speaking audience) allow students to explore and reflect on German culture and language on its own terms; there are no ‘contrived’ dialogues, texts, or videos.
• The four modes of communication (interpretational, interpersonal, presentational, and reflexive) inform the scope of student activities, fostering the development of all skill areas.
• Transparent learning strategies introduced throughout the curriculum help students develop strong language learning skills and articulate their own approaches to language study.
• Takes a critical, non-essentializing, and inclusive approach to cultural learning and language use.
• Vocabulary learning is supported through student-guided activities, meaning that vocabulary development is, in large part, individualized and personally meaningful to each student.
• Hybrid inductive to deductive approach to grammar (adapted from the PACE model) reinforces students critical thinking skills and helps students own their language learning.
• Each module’s summative assessment task prompts students to address the module’s Essential Question, often collaboratively, using a range of media and modes of communication. Here, students demonstrate their understanding of the content and ability to produce key structures they have worked with throughout the trajectory of the module.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Augenblicke was developed by Christina Frei, Bridget Levine-West, and Glenn Levine-West, with online materials by Caroline Weist, in partnership with the American Association of Teachers of German (AATG).

Christina Frei is inaugural Executive Director of Language Instruction for the School of Arts & Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania. In addition, she is the director of language instruction for the Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures. She also chairs the Penn Language Center, home of many less commonly taught languages and trains the graduate teaching fellows across diverse departments. As Adjunct Associate Professor of Education she offers the Second Language Development Course in the Spring semester at Educational Linguistics in the Graduate School of Education. Her research includes publications on curricular design, collaborative teaching and learning, and digital pedagogy.

Glenn Levine-West is Professor Emeritus of German at the University of California, Irvine and a Lecturer of German at the University of Vermont. He has published widely in applied linguistics and language pedagogy, including on ecological approaches to language teaching and learning, the roles of the first language in second-language learning and teaching, language use and socialization during study abroad, language learning of migrants in Germany, and issues of language program direction. 

Bridget Levine-West is Associate Professor of German and Film and Television Studies at the University of Vermont, where she also serves as the German language program director and the director of the World Language Scholars Program. Her current research focuses on the intersection between contemporary film culture, national cinemas, and media literacy educational incentives. In addition, she regularly publishes on second-language teaching, curriculum design, and language program direction.

AATG AND AUGENBLICKE

Through the sponsorship of the AATG, Augenblicke is a not-for-profit project that benefits German teachers and their students in socially, economically, and academically responsible and sustainable ways. This means that no payment or profits are going to the co-authors. Instead, the cost to the student is based entirely on printing/e-book production, binding, and shipping (plus whatever surcharges campus bookstores apply). Most importantly, a portion of each sale also goes into a fund at the AATG to promote the future of German language and culture education nationally and the professional development of teachers at all levels of German across a diversity of institutions for years to come."