Deutsch Na Klar 3 rd Edition
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Deutsch: Na klar!

Frequently Asked Questions, answered by Robert Di Donato

Over the past several editions a number of frequently asked questions have emerged with regard to implementing Deutsch: Na klar! in first-year German classes. I would like to address these questions and invite you to send in others that you may have.

1. I find that I often don’t have enough time to cover everything in each of the chapters. What is essential to cover? What can I leave out?

First of all, let me say that Deutsch: Na klar! offers a wealth of material in order to give instructors a variety of exercises and activities for their classes. In addition, some instructors have developed activities based on readings, videos, or other authentic materials and would like to incorporate those. It is, of course, up to the individual instructor to choose the material he or she might like to omit from a certain chapter.

Here are some guidelines that have evolved from many instructors’ experiences with DNK.

• It is essential to cover each of the Themen in the Wörter im Kontext and each of the grammar points in Grammatik im Kontext sections. These present the basic vocabulary and structures students will need to attain proficiency in German and provide the foundation for reading comprehension in the Sprache im Kontext sections.
• Some instructors choose to omit every second reading section. This allows them enough time to incorporate the Zwischenspiele or their own readings or other materials.
• The Zwischenspiele are, of course, optional. Some instructors cover only two of these during the course, and some skip them altogether.

2. How should I use the listening texts that are integrated into each chapter?

The listening texts in each chapter support the acquisition of German by using another modality to provide opportunities for further comprehension or reaction in spoken or written form. They are formative listening exercises and activities. DNK operates on the principle of Input à Processing à Output. You will note that a number of the listening texts require students to mark the correct answer (ankreuzen); some require them to fill in the blanks with a single word or phrase (Lückentext) and some require them to take notes.

Here are some tips for using the listening texts:

• Setting the context: Before students hear the audio segment, they should be made aware of the context. What is the text about? Who, if any, are the characters?
• Multiple opportunities to listen: The listening texts in DNK are relatively short. Play the audio segment several times for students. Allow them to listen the first time so that they comprehend the text globally. Play the segment a second time and have students do the accompanying activity. Then play the segment a third time and ask students to check over their work.
• Getting accustomed to listening: You will find that students will become more and more accustomed to the listening texts as you proceed through the chapters of DNK. With some exercises it may not be necessary to replay the segment for the students.

3. How do I use the interactive exercises that appear in the chapters?

You will notice that the interactive exercises appear in a new format. Whereas in the previous edition the interaction was indicated by arrows, the entire activity now appears in a box with the headings "S1" and "S2". The sentences are now numbered to indicate the direction and flow of the conversation.

These exercises are tightly controlled interactive activities geared to practice vocabulary, grammar, and sentence flow. They are meaningful activities in that students can make choices from among options, add their own vocabulary, or manipulate a grammar item, but they are not truly communicative in nature. They are the prelude to communicative activities.

Take Aktivität 10 in Kapitel 4 (page 117) for example. This activity gets students to state what they intend to do on a Saturday. It is coupled with authentic materials in the form of ads for the movies, theater, and musicals.

For maximum success, conduct the activity in the following manner:

• First have students scan the ads to see what they might be interested in doing on Saturday. Answer any questions they may have as they look at the realia.
• Assign half the class to be "S1" and half to be "S2". Have every "S1" approach three different "S2s" and go through the dialogue.
• When students have done this three times, ask them to close their books and do it a fourth time with a new partner. They will grasp for vocabulary and they will flounder grammatically–that is to be expected. But it is the only way to make the transition from tightly controlled communication to a freer communicative level. After doing many of these with students, they will begin to feel more comfortable speaking freely.

Note that as you proceed through the chapters, these activities get a bit longer and lead toward more extended discourse. In addition, they also have more choices or blanks that students can complete in their own words. This helps to wean them away from tightly controlled exercises.

4. Although I like them a lot, I am not quite sure how to conduct the hin und her activities that appear in many of the chapters int he text.

The hin und her activities are another way to get students to practice vocabulary, grammar, and culture in a meaningful, yet controlled environment. They are, in effect, "information gap" activities. That means, each partner has information the other partner needs and they share this information in a controlled exercise.

Set your hin und her activities up in the following way:

• Put students in pairs.
• One student refers to the chart in the chapter, the other uses the chart in Appendix A in the back of the book.
• Whichever student has the blank must begin the question.

Let’s use Aktivität 13 in the Einführung (page 14) for example.

• S2 (Appendix A) has the blank and asks: "Wie ist die Postleitzahl von Eisenach?"
• S1 has it on his/her chart and responds: "Die Postleitzahl von Eisenach ist D-99817.
• Then S1 has the blank and asks: "Wie ist die Postleitzahl von Bitburg?"
• S2 has that information on his or her chart and responds with it.

Note: These activities are very simple interactive structures in the beginning chapters. However, they become more complex as you move through the book. For example, see Aktivität 8 in Kapitel 8 (page 234). Here students are required to state what each of these people do as part of their morning routine using connectors such as zuerst, dann, danach. This gives students the opportunity to practice extended discourse.

If we look at other hin und her activities, we see that they are constructed to review cultural information. Take a look Aktivität 6 in Kapitel 11 (page 320) on "Berühmte Personen". By doing this activity, students learn about some famous German figures. Or, in Aktivität 6 in Kapitel 13 (p. 387), students learn about German inventors.

Finally, some activities are designed to get students to incorporate more authenticity in their discourse. For example, Aktivität 6 in Kapitel 12 (page 352) "Meine Wohnung - deine Wohnung" gets students to talk about housing, identify types of dwellings, and use measurements such as Quadratmeter.

5. I would like to use in my German class some authentic materials that I have collected but find the task of creating activities and exercises relating to them overwhelming.

DNK provides a wealth of authentic materials with accompanying exercises and activities. They can be used as models for developing activities for authentic materials you have collected.

Here are some suggestions to keep in mind when using authentic materials:

Don’t expect students to understand every word of the realia you are using. Get them to understand the piece globally at first and then lead into specific questions. For example, if you are using an ad for a product, you might begin with questions such as "What is being advertised here?" "What is the product for?" Then move to specific questions on cost, directions for use, and so forth. If the realia is accompanied by a visual, have students first look at the visual clues for meaning.

Authentic materials can be used to teach a variety of things including vocabulary, grammar, reading and discourse strategies, content, and the like. Use realia to practice what students already know and explore it to teach students new vocabulary, grammar, and content. You shouldn’t be surprised to find that students will employ "discovery" techniques when working with authentic materials. They will become motivated by and interested in certain aspects of the materials and most likely have a number of questions for you concerning it.

When collecting authentic materials to supplement instruction, go about it in a reasonable fashion. Collecting hundreds of pieces of realia that you might eventually use often leads to frustration and a sense of being overwhelmed. If you follow these steps, you can easily collect authentic materials with a purpose:

• Concentrate on developing activities and exercises using authentic materials for one course only. Trying to revise all of the courses you teach at once is a daunting task.
• Make a list of the topics covered in your textbook or in your course. If you are using a textbook, make a list of the chapter topics.
• Write each topic on a manila folder.
• When you are in the target country, collect materials that relate to the topics in your course, placing each piece of material in the appropriate folder.
• When you return and are ready to begin working on your courses, select one piece of realia per theme and develop activities and exercises that focus on that one piece. Make sure that the exercise or activity adds a new dimension to the chapter topic or practices an aspect of the chapter on which students might need further work.