Eastern Michigan University

Periodic Review/Program Evaluation Specialty-Area Program Review - German (Code FB)

Section 2 Program Summary (printable version)

1. The German program at Eastern Michigan University embodies EMU's commitment to excellence in teaching, the extension of knowledge through research, a student-focused learning environment, and a strong commitment to the local and global community. EMU has a long tradition of national leadership in the preparation of teachers regarding personal and professional growth  for students from diverse backgrounds to maximize their educational opportunities.

The Department of Foreign Languages and Bilingual Studies is part of the College of Arts and Sciences at Eastern Michigan University. Its mission of intellectual growth and the pursuit of excellence is based on the strong commitment to teaching and learning, research and scholarship, creativity and public service of faculty and staff. Together, we seek to develop the ability and desire to think critically, to act independently and to communicate effectively, to foster an appreciation for diverse multicultural, ethnic, and gender-related perspectives.

The Department of Foreign Languages and Bilingual Studies at Eastern Michigan University teaches modern and classical languages both for their inherent humanistic value and for their practical application in today's international world of work and careers. Among the specific goals of the department are;

1) To comply with the National Standards (Communication, Cultures, Connections, Comparisons, Communities; 2) Provide students with experience (e.g. practice teaching, immersion programs, extra-curricular events {German Club, "Stammtisch", German related field trips}and internships etc.); 3) Promote critical thinking on a variety of topics; 4) Equip students to communicate and pass on their acquired knowledge to others; 5) Promote awareness, understanding, tolerance of and respect for the world and our own multicultural society in the U.S..

2. The German program at Eastern Michigan University is consistent with the philosophy, rationale, and conceptual framework of the mission statements of the College of Arts and Sciences and the university per se by incorporating the general and specific goals into every course and its objectives. Eastern Michigan University offers a German minor for elementary education, a major and a minor for secondary education and a minor for K-12, as well as a Post-Baccalaureate Teacher Certification, major and minor, in German. The latter requires 9 credit- hours minimum for the minor and 12 credit-hours for the major of 400- and higher level German courses.

The German major for secondary education requires six credit-hours at the 400-level besides the minimum of 30 credit hours. The German minor for elementary, secondary, and K-12 education program requires a minimum of 20 hours. Eight of the 20 can be electives at any level. The remaining 16 credit are upper level courses.

The sequence of required courses build upon a strong mid to high intermediate level of German language proficiency (see ACTFL Proficiency Standards). All required courses are taught in the target language with occasional English explanations if needed to lower the affective filter (Krashen, 1980,1989) and to ensure a student-oriented environment. All four modalities (listening, reading, writing, speaking) are not only implemented in every single class meeting, but they are part of the rationale for the course sequence as well, since the prerequisite 200-level concentrates on the reading of German texts in combination with grammar review and conversation. of course. The first 300-level sequence focuses on writing and grammar, followed by conversation and grammar. The 400-level courses are structured accordingly. Equally central to the methodology of German teaching at Eastern Michigan University are the ACTFL Standards for the Teaching of Foreign Languages which constitute the comprehensive framework for the well defined concepts of 1) Communication, 2) Cultures, 3) Connections, 4) Comparisons, Connections, and 5) Communities. As these ACTFL Standards are also the basis for the MDE document of "World Languages - Content Standards and Benchmarks" for Elementary, Middle School and High School, their contents are doubly reinforced in our German courses at EMU. Not only are these specialty standards of foreign language teaching and learning central to our teaching, but also the Entry Level Standards for Michigan Teachers (see Instructional Faculty). – In all EMU German courses, the Internet plays an important and crucial role. One of our faculty even proposes a 6^th "C", namely "Computer" to be included in the ACTFL Standards!

The first required German teacher preparation course is GERN 343 German Composition which has been taught by several different faculty during the last five years to ensure quality and different perspectives. The cultural and literary content, structure, and methodology of the textbook (Übergänge, Texte verfassen) and additional authentic material (Spiegel, Focus, Internet) prepare students for process-oriented writing. Students get feedback from the instructor for their multiple re-writes and their texts are discussed in partner und group exercises for review and constructive comments. Students are encouraged and supported by the instructor and peer to develop their very own writing style to develop creativity, critical engagement, and structural correctness. The assessment of students and their progress is clearly reflected in the grade policy which includes the writing of a portfolio, a journal, and a vocabulary book, consistent class preparation and participation, grammar exercises, Internet tasks, and the actual, final essays.

GERN 344, German Conversation, builds upon the individual writing progress of GERN 343 to raise the level of communicative competence in speaking and also the understanding of standard and colloquial German. The emphasis focuses on idiomatic expressions, a more extensive vocabulary, and a thorough review of grammatical structures. Video clips and other authentic material are instrumental in this conversation class. German history, culture, and civilization are the core conceptual themes of the course, yet the instructor will present many, often provocative, facets of the multi-cultural representation and thinking within these premises in order to develop critical thinking using another language than one's own native tongue and to review cultural and personal values.

GERN 341 and GERN 342 is the German literature sequence in our German program. It is titled Survey of German Literature. Graduate students of German can also get credit for this sequence in combination with more in depth work such as essays and other papers. The course description of this yearlong course in the EMU's catalogue is very broad. This gives the individual faculty flexibility and wide-ranging options for selecting the era, the literary texts, genres, and also German film material. The objective of the German literature course sequence is to familiarize students with the ever-changing literary styles against the backdrop of their social, political, historical, economical, cultural, and aesthetic contexts and values. Students are introduced to the literary terminology and the history of German literature as a means to enhance further critical thinking for oral and written analysis. The courses also attempt to create a keen and life-long interest in the study of German literature, as well as its relationship to other cultures, which in turn broadens  awareness, knowledge, and understanding of the students' own culture. Internet research is fully integrated into the German literature course sequence. Students are assessed by attendance, participation, homework, quizzes, tests, journal writing, essays, and reports.

GERN 443/620, German Syntax & Advanced Composition, is a combined undergraduate-graduate course, which builds directly upon GERN 343. The writing process is clearly connected to the objectives of more advanced proficiency and grammatical understanding as outlined in the Michigan Test for Teacher Certification (MTTC), Specialty area of German. Learner motivation and time management are incorporated into the structure of the course. The Internet and authentic material (newspaper, magazines etc.) are an integral part of the methodological tools to assure student interest and progress. Multiple revision of essays are a central focus point and students learn how to use various German grammar books independently. 

GERN 444/621, Advanced German Conversation, is also a combined undergraduate-graduate course. The primary goal of this course is to enhance students speaking skills. Reading assignments come from a variety of sources, including from the Internet, to serve as a springboard for class discussion and oral presentations. Since the emphasis of this course is speaking, students have to thoroughly prepare for the class section by learning related vocabulary (from assignments) and note preparation (impressions of/reactions to readings, topics etc.). Only if students prepare well, will they learn how to speak freely about challenging topics. Students are required to lead a class discussion (be the facilitator), prepare vocabulary and question sheets and any other appropriate material. They also have to do a longer presentation on a topic of their personal choice (always to be part of the German, Austrian or Swiss context) to be approved by the instructor. All students are required to submit short written responses and reactions to the fellow students reports. - Grammatical accuracy of speech is very strongly advocated. The Rankin/Wells Handbuch zur deutschen Grammatik is the only required text book for the course which students use in order to ensure structural correctness for their notes.

3. Candidates use many different instructional approaches by acquiring themselves a variety of methodologies and by explicitly discussing and comparing various learning styles (for vocabulary learning, structural grammar exercises, the reading and writing process, phonetic expressions, and cultural information etc.). Audio-visual and communicative approaches are preferred in the German classroom at EMU, yet they do not limit traditional and - above all - some experimental ventures in teaching. Our German classrooms form a medium for open discussions about how students learn best. The most fundamental principle in second language learning is input equals output, which so often has to be experienced in a very personal way. (See above description of the required courses and their instructional approaches.)

4. There are no structural differences between the minor of elementary and secondary teacher preparation regarding course requirements. The methods and theory course of modern language teaching is not a requirement but strongly advised.

5. Every foreign language course represents the embodiment of a multi-cultural awareness opportunity as it prepares students for real globalization and internationalization. Half of our German faculty are natives of German speaking countries, they bring a very personal perspective of the target language into the classroom. The gender of the faculty is equally distributed. Our summer immersion program in Austria, our exchange program with German universities, and international internships offer students the opportunity to become lifelong world citizens. Gender and racial equity are a predominant factor in the cultures of the German speaking countries and they are addressed in many literary and other texts. Again, the 5 "Cs" of the standards promote an inherent incorporation of these critical issues into foreign language teaching and learning. Especially, in the German literature course do the instructors make sure that the writings of male and female authors are discussed and analyzed. Since the morphological structure of German language per se is much more gender explicit than English, students of German become very sensitive to these issues. At Eastern Michigan University, we strongly advocate foreign language learning for minority students.

6.  As the German syllabi indicate, students are assessed according to a variety of  tasks and modalities and by multiple methods. The syllabus is a teaching tool which explains to the students what the curriculum and the instructor expects of them and how they have to perform in various tasks and assignments (listening exercises, written home and classroom work, presentations, discussion leader, etc.; see syllabi)  in order to succeed. Instructors discuss the progress or the lack of it with the students. They find appropriate measures during the semester to help and encourage the students. We emphasis the importance of long term participation and week-to-week homework for assessment.

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