Ab Initio Language Teaching in British Higher Education

The Case of German

Edited by Ulrike Bavendiek, Silke Mentchen, Christian Mossmann, and Dagmar Paulus

£40.00

ISBN: 9781787359284

Publication: December 01, 2022

Series: Advances in Language Education

Hardback £40.00 Paperback £20.00 Open Access PDF £0.00

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Tags: Ab Initio Teaching, Advances in Language Education, Beginners Teaching, Edited by Ulrike Bavendiek; Silke Mentchen, Education, et al., German Language Teaching, Hardback, Higher Education Teaching, Language Learning, Language Policy, Language Teaching, Language Teaching Pedagogy, Modern Foreign Languages

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Drawing extensively on the expertise of teachers of German in universities across the UK, this volume offers an overview of recent trends, new pedagogical approaches and practical guidance for teaching at beginners level in the higher education classroom. At a time when entries for UK school exams in modern foreign languages are decreasing, this book serves the urgent need for research and guidance on ab initio learning and teaching in HE. Using the example of teaching German, it offers theoretical reflections on teaching ab initio and practice-oriented approaches that will be useful for teachers of both German and other languages in higher education.

The first chapters assess the role of ab initio provision within the wider context of modern languages departments and language centres. They are followed by sections on teaching methods and innovative approaches in the ab initio classroom that include chapters on the use of music, textbook evaluation, the effective use of a flipped classroom and the contribution of language apps. Finally, the book focuses on the learner in the ab initio context and explores issues around autonomy and learner strengths. The whole builds into a theoretically grounded guide that sketches out perspectives for teaching and learning ab initio languages that will benefit current and future generations of students.

Ulrike Bavendiek is Senior Lecturer in the Department of Languages, Cultures and Film at the University of Liverpool. Silke Mentchen is Senior Language Teaching Officer in the Faculty of Modern and Medieval Languages and Linguistics at Cambridge University. Christian Mossmann is Senior Lecturer in Modern Languages and Cultures at the University of Exeter. Dagmar Paulus is Lecturer and Language Coordinator in German Studies at University College London

List of figures and tables

List of contributors

Acknowledgements

Glossary

Foreword by Martin Durrell

Introduction

Ulrike Bavendiek, Silke Mentchen, Christian Mossmann and Dagmar Paulus

1 Beginners German – Ja, bitte! Development and status quo of German ab initio education in degree programmes and language centres at UK universities

Martina Wallner and Elisabeth Wielander

2 German ab initio in Languages for All programmes: Student profiles and course design

Sabina Barczyk-Wozniak

3 Preparing Generation Z students for a world of volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity (VUCA) through language learning