Language teaching and learning materials Books

Book Synopsis Traditions and Transitions: Curricula for German Studies is a collection of essays by Canadian and international scholars on the topic of why and how the curriculum for post-secondary German studies should evolve. Its twenty chapters, written by international experts in the field of German as a foreign or second language, explore new perspectives on and orientations in the curriculum. In light of shifts in the linguistic and intercultural needs of today's global citizens, these scholars in German studies question the foundations and motivations of common curriculum goals, traditional program content, standard syllabus design, and long-standing classroom practice. Several chapters draw on a range of contemporary theories - from critical applied linguistics, second-language acquisition, curriculum theory, and cultural studies - to propose and encourage new curriculum thinking and reflective practice related to the translingual and cross-cultural subjectivities of speakers, learners, and teachers of German. Other chapters describe and analyze specific examples of emerging trends in curriculum practice for learners as users of German. This volume will be invaluable to university and college faculty working in the discipline of German studies as well as in other modern languages and second-language education in general. Its combination of theoretical and descriptive explorations will help readers develop a critical awareness and understanding of curriculum for teaching German and to implement new approaches in the interests of their students. Trade Review``Those teaching and those coordinating postsecondary German programs can learn from the experiences outlined in these studies. Here the argument is put forth that teachers alike profit from methodologically grounded self-reflection in the praxis of engaging other cultures, especially through the medium of a foreign language. Curricular reform efforts such as moves from "language" to "cultural studies" pose useful fields of study. This collection is intended to inspire institutions in Europe and North America to interact fruitfully in the future. Summing Up: Recommended '' -- J.M. Jeep, Miami University -- CHOICE, April 2014Table of Contents Traditions and Transitions: Curricula for German Studies, edited by John L. Plews and Barbara Schmenk Traditions and Transitions: On Broadening the Visibility and Scope of Curriculum Inquiry for German Studies John L. Plews and Barbara Schmenk The Translingual / Transcultural Imagination Claire Kramsch Language on Loan: Meditations on the Emotional World of Language Learning and Teaching Alice J. Pitt Postsecondary Germanistik, or German as a Foreign Language in Canada from a Postcolonial Perspective John L. Plews Revamping the Language Program in Euro Terms: The Textbook as Key Factor Barbara Schmenk Zu Risiken und Nebenwirkungen fragen Sie lieber nicht Ihren Theoretiker: Kommunikative Orientierung der Fremdsprachendidaktik und Deutsch als Fremdsprache auerhalb des deutschsprachigen Raums Dietmar Rösler Pronunciation Training Without the Native Speaker? Reframing Teaching and Learning Objectives in German as a Foreign Language Curricula Mareike Müller Multilinguals in the Language Classroom and Curricular Consequences Grit Liebscher Bilingual Texts as Bridges to Reading Comprehension and Language and Cultural Awareness Suzanne Even and David Dollenmayer Reflective Curriculum Construction in the Postmethod Era: Wittgenstein's Philosophical Investigations and Their Contributions to Language Education Allison Cattell Literatur Liberated from Wissenschaft: Writerly Approaches to Literature Across the Undergraduate German Curriculum Morgan Koerner Pedagogies of Affect and Lived Place: Reading Der Vorleser on a Short-Term Intensive Immersion Kim Fordham Misfeldt Gerade Dir hat er eine Botschaft gesendet: Contact Pragmatics and the Teaching of Foreign Language Texts Chantelle Warner and David Gramling Connecting Languaging and Knowing Through Genres: Exemplifying the Link in a Curricular Progression Marianna Ryshina-Pankova Developing and Assessing a Curriculum for a Midsize German Cultural Studies Program in Canada Cheryl Dueck and Stephan Jaeger Computers and Language Learning in German Studies Mathias Schulze Digital Participatory Culture and German Language Pedagogy Glenn S. Levine Introducing Blended Learning into Tertiary-Level German: An Activity Theoretical Analysis Gillian Martin, Helen O'Sullivan, and Breffni O'Rourke The Triumph of the Transferable: Fostering Transferable Skills in the Foreign Language Classroom Deirdre Byrnes Student Ambassadors for Languages in the UK Context: From the Extracurricular to the Curricular Elizabeth A. Andersen and Ruth O'Rourke Magee Notes on Contributors Index

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Book SynopsisWhether you are looking for a room, visiting a monastery, or bargaining for a bus seat, Learning Practical Tibetan will make immediate communication with Tibetans easy and fun. This book is designed for anyone wishing to communicate with Tibetans, either in Asia or in the West, and is suitable for beginners as well as for students familiar with the Tibetan language. Learning Practical Tibetan begins with a simple but complete grammar so that you can immediately begin to form your own sentences. Using both Tibetan script and an easy-to-understand phonetic system, the book then presents useful vocabulary, phrases, and dialogues related to situations you might encounter with Tibetans: eating in restaurants, shopping, speaking to monks, traveling with pilgrims, or visiting a Tibetan doctor. The appendix provides helpful sections on Tibetan numbers, dates, telling time, festivals, religious terms, and an extensive vocabulary list. To help you learn how to pronounce Tibetan words correctly, mp3 files of Yanki Tshering reading Tibetan text found in Learning Practical Tibetan are available for download at this link: http://www.shambhala.com/learning-practical-tibetan.html

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