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Im Fokus: Willkommen: Deutsch für alle

Im Fokus: Today we take a look at the task-based and blended Open Educational Resource for first year German language courses, Willkommen: Deutsch für alle. This new first-year German language e-textbook was designed by Dr. Claudia Kost (University of Alberta) and Crystal Sawatzky (University of Alberta).

Willkommen: Deutsch für alle (https://openeducationalberta.ca/willkommen-deutsch/) is an innovative first-year German language e-textbook, designed as Open Educational Resource (OER), for learning German at the college/university level. It features a task-based, communicative approach which provides students with opportunities to communicate in German in a variety of contexts and situations. Through a wide range of activities, students develop and practice their language skills which they showcase at the end of each chapter by accomplishing a specific task.

Willkommen: Deutsch für alle follows a blended-learning model, a combination of alternating in-class (face-to-face) instruction and interaction, and online (self-paced) individual learning. 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.

Willkommen: Deutsch für alle takes an inclusive approach to the depiction of people, contexts, and concepts. It views language learners, instructors and a wide range of individuals interacting in German as belonging to a large German-speaking community. Pedagogical as well as authentic cultural materials emphasize the diversity of speakers of German and are purposely inclusive of sexual orientation, race, and ethnicity.

For more information, please contact:
Dr. Claudia Kost
University of Alberta
ckost@ualberta.ca

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