The German Internet Project
Lixl-Purcell's Home Page
U
of
North Carolina at Greensboro
This Internet workshop describes a selection of useful German CD-ROM and
software applications, and presents world wide web
exercises for German Studies classes on all levels. The student
assignments are designed to generate written and oral discussions
based on e-mail
exchanges and listserv activities. The workshop provdes links to
German Studies resources on the net, samples of interactive
reading exercises, and a guide for scripting simple html documents.
Readers who are interested in exploring digital media applications
in other languages should consult my Internet
Workshop I (Tools
for Language Teachers) which focuses on the use of the World Wide Web in
the foreign
language classroom, on integrating listserv exercises, and on
foreign
language sites on the Internet. Moreover, for a discussion
concerning some methodological aspects of integrating multimedia
technologies into the classroom,
see my Internet
Presentation on Foreign
Language Acquisition and Technology
-- May 1995.
I. List of German CD-ROM and Software Applications
Workshop II: Internet Hand Out:
Classroom Samples: Two Laboratory Exercises with Internet Browsers
In order to reflect the broad possibilities for Internet based laboratory activities, I will focus on two exercises for intermediate and advanced levels of foreign language instruction which involve primarily the World Wide Web, and e-mail student exchanges. The exercises center on reading, writing, and oral report assignments for intermediate and advanced German classes. The format, scope and depth of the suggested activities are quite flexible, and can easily be adapted to suit the interests and preferences of individual instructors for other foreign languages.
Each exercise directs students to access the Internet through
browsers like "Netscape" or "Mosaic", and
to send, receive, and read e-mail messages on laboratory computers.
Prior to engaging students in these activities, I organize one-hour
workshops on accessing the Internet, and sending e-mail messages.
These workshops form part of my course introductions during the
first week of class, and are held during regular class hours to
accommodate students' schedules. The exercises are then assigned
as homework activities once a week, and can be carried out individually
or in groups. The grading procedures are the same as pertain to
any other homework assignment.
Exercise A. Intermediate Level: German Area Studies on the Net
Level: Intermediate German (second year), up to 25 students
Goal: Students research the Internet to obtain facts, figures, dates, and information pertaining to Germany and the European Union (EU). They visit selected archives on the EUnet, and complete an attached questionnaire. Each student is asked to write a short essay commenting on his or her research, post it via e-mail to the course's listserv, and bring a printout of the essay to class for a presentation and discussion session.
Application: Students use Internet browsers like "Mosaic" or "Netscape" to travel to selected URL addresses on the World Wide Web (www), and follow-up their www activities by using an e-mail server to post a message on the course's listserv.
Exercise Description: There are numerous archives on the web which provide information pertaining to the political, social and economic developments in Germany and Europe after the end of the Cold War (1948-1990). This exercise requires students to (1) visit selected Internet archives dealing with the history of the European Union. Upon entering the archives, they are asked to find correct facts, figures, dates, and references to fill out a questionnaire. (2) After their search, students write German commentaries describing their findings, and (3) post their commentaries on the course's listserv. Listed below are several URLs which should be used to start this exercise.
Before engaging students in this activity, however, it is useful to review the following socio-political background: The post-war trend towards European integration began in 1957 with the formation of the first European Economic Community. It included the Federal Republic of Germany, France, Italy, and the Benelux states (Belgium, The Netherlands, Luxemburg). Between 1972 and 1989, six more nations joined the European Community (EC), including Denmark, Great Britain, Greece, Ireland, Portugal, and Spain. The demise of Eastern Europe's communist camp following the revolutions of 1989 created an entirely new framework for inter-European collaboration and integration. However, the political shifts not only led to new alliances but also brought new frictions and divisions. The Czech and Slovak division, the Yugoslavian civil wars, the break-up of the former Soviet Union were all fuelled by new nationalist movements violently opposed to the notion of ethnic pluralism within a united Europe. Despite these setbacks, however, a new milestone for the creation of an "European Union" (EU) was reached in the early nineties with the signing of the Treaty of Maastricht. The EU accord prepared the way for an integrated market based on the free exchange of goods and services. Final political and monetary unity is planned for the end of this century. Among the members of the EU, Germany has taken a leading role in support of these measures. Austria recently joined the EU, while Switzerland opted to remain neutral and outside.
Exercise Instructions: There are four parts to this exercise.
Part I consists of filling out a student questionnaire based on information found in the world wide web: Students are asked to go to a computer laboratory on campus, and open the Internet browser "Mosaic" or "Netscape" to enter the web. There they explore appropriate archives to find answers to the questions listed below. In oder to find the correct answers, students begin their search by entering one of the cited URL/http addresses. The inquiries on the net should be completed within 35 minutes.
Questionnaire / Fragebogen
1. _______ When did the European Union get founded? Wann wurde
die "Europäische Union" gegründet?
2. _______ How many states are currently members of the EU? Wieviele Mitgliedsstaaten hat heute die "Europäische Union"?
3. _______ When were Germany's five new states (former GDR) integrated into the EU? Wann wurden die fünf neuen BRD-Bundesländer (ex-DDR) in die EU integriert?
4. _______ When did Austria become a member state of the EU? Wann wurde Österreich Mitglied der EU?
5. _______ Which city houses the "European Parliament"? In welcher Stadt tagt das "Europäische Parlament"?
6. _______ Where (which country) does the current president of the "European Parliament" come from? Aus welchem Land stammt der derzeitige Präsident des "Europäischen Parlaments"?
7. (a) ____ How many representatives of the "European Parliament" come from
(b) ____ (a) Germany, (b) France, (c) Spain? Wieviele Mitglieder des "Europäischen (c) ____ Parlaments" kommen aus der BRD, aus Frankreich, aus Spanien?
8. _______ Which city is the home for the "European Commission", the administrative center of the European Union (former European Community)? In welcher Stadt arbeitet die Europäische Kommission - die Verwaltungszentrale und "Regierung" der Europäischen Union (früher Europäische Gemeinschaft?
9. _______ When was the "Treaty of Maastricht" signed? Wann wurde der "Vertrag von Maastricht" unterschrieben?
10. _______ In which country does Maastricht lie? In welchem Land liegt Maastricht?
After filling out this questionnaire, students prepare a printout, and bring it to class.
Part II consists of a written homework assignment: Students
write an essay commenting on interesting EU facts and figures
they found on the Internet, and describe their thoughts and reactions
pertaining to this subject matter. The essays should bear a descriptive
title, be composed in German, and cover approximately one page
in length. Suggested generic title: "Thoughts on the European
Union".
Students print out their essays, and bring copies of them to class
for the next meeting.
Part III of this exercise requires students to post their essays on a course's listserv. This provides everyone in class with the chance to read each other's essays, and send reader response messages. Each class member is responsible for reading three posted essays (their choice), and sending three short reader response commentaries to the authors. The e-mail commentaries can be written in German or English.
Evaluation: This assignment counts as a regular composition assignment. Part I (www questionnaire) and II (essay) each counts for one half of the grade. Part III (listserv activities) is ungraded, and counts for practice only. Internet advantage: Engaging in active research on the world wide web to study current topics prompts students to scan documents from many archives, compare and contrast political perspectives, and pursue critical inquiries at the click of a button. The ease and speed of establishing these virtual connections together with the wealth of resources available on screen provides an ideal setting for self-paced learning activities. Moreover, writing and posting their research reports on the listserv creates an interactive communicative scenario, and motivates students to write for an audience of peers rather than the grade book of the instructor. Reading and evaluating each other's compositions establishes a supportive group dynamic among students, and leads to more animated and informed discussions during class.
Level: Advanced German (third & fourth year), up to 15 students
Goal: Research on the Internet to find archives and discussion lists focusing on specific issues in the field of German popular culture. Special topic for this exercise: Minority affairs in post-unification Germany: Students focus on selected issues, write analyses of their research findings, post essays via e-mail on a class listserv, and write commentaries on posted essays of other class members.
Application: Use of Internet browsers to travel to selected URL addresses on the World Wide Web (www). Use of e-mail messages to post essays on a listserv, and critique someone else's essay on the listserv.
Exercise Description: This exercise deals with the study of minority affairs in Germany after the fall of the Wall. The activity involves the world wide web to research this subject matter, collect selected texts, realia, and bibliographical references from German archives, and write an analytical essay to be posted on the listserv of the class. Before students gather information on the net, they are asked to read listserv lecture notes (entitled, for example, "Foreigners in Germany: Cultural and Historical Notes") which have been posted throughout the course of the semester, and contain references to www resource archives and materials.
Exercise Instructions: There are four parts to this exercise.
Part I consists of collecting information and composing an analytical essay on minority affairs in today's Germany: Students go to a computer laboratory on campus, and open an Internet browser to enter the web. They visit appropriate archives, and collect data and quotes for use in their analytical essays. They are asked to download, print, and attach two www documents to their papers which they found most useful or interesting. The exercise begins by visiting one of the selected www archives:
While surfing the net, students collect three text quotes to integrate into their papers, and prepare printouts of two of the most useful documents to present to class for the next meeting.
Part II consists of a written homework assignment: Each class member writes an analytical essay commenting on the subject matter of "Minorities and Minority Affairs in Post-Unification Germany". The papers should bear descriptive titles, be composed in German, cover approximately two typed pages, and contain at least three text quotes from archive documents obtained from the net. Printing the paper, and bringing a copy of it to class concludes this part of the exercise.
Part III of requires the posting of two www research documents together with student essays on the class listserv. The two documents and the paper should be mailed under separate covers with descriptive subject headings. This provides everyone in class with the chance to evaluate each other's work, and to send reader response messages. Each class member is responsible for reading two posted essays (their choice), and writing two commentaries. The first commentary pertains to a posted paper, and the other on a posted research document (their choice). The e-mail commentaries must be written in German, and clearly identify the selected documents in the subject headings. Students are asked to present an oral summary of their listserv activities at the next class meeting. The talks focus on the following questions: Which documents and papers did you read and respond to on the listserv? Which posted materials and arguments pertaining to the topic of "Minorities and Minority Affairs in Post-Unification Germany"did you find most interesting or convincing? Which open ended questions or counter-arguments do you submit to the discussion?
Evaluation: This exercise is graded as three assignments. Part I (www research documents) and III (listserv activities) count as one homework assignment each. Part II (paper) counts as a regular essay assignment. Internet advantage: The wealth of information posted on the web is far more inclusive than the printed resources available at most campuses. Beside current newspaper articles, journal essays, and archive commentaries, the discussion groups on the web provide exceptionally good resources for popular culture studies. The up-to-date contents matter, the diverse and the media oriented presentation format of these archives provide students with authentic insights into the cultural, social, and political context informing the debates. By posting their findings through e-mail on the listserv, and evaluating their works within a publicized forum, students get motivated to engage in scholarly debates.
This can be particularly useful in larger courses where discussion in the classroom is hard to begin and sustain. Of particular value for jump-starting discussions is the instructor's encouragement to respond to other students' writings through e-mail. In this way, the act of writing is geared toward a larger audience, and becomes a meaningful exercise in communicating with one's peers. If a respondent misreads a particular argument, the author of the paper often finds new motivation for improving his or her work. The teacher in this situation becomes more of a mediator and collaborator, and less of a critic and judge.
III. Dartmouth College Learning Lab: German Language Exercises
on the Web
Exercise Home Page: Übersicht der Zeitungstexte mit Vokabelhilfen
Sample: Beispiel einer Übung: Kurzbericht aus einer deutschen Zeitung
IV. Hypertext Markup Language [html] Primer for Creating Pages on the Web
The German Internet Project
Lixl-Purcell's Home Page