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 Ratings
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| Reviewed: |
Feb 25, 2004 by World Languages Editorial Board |
| Overview: |
"Transparente Landeskunde" presents materials covering a variety of basic
aspects of German social, cultural, and political life. Images (originally
overhead transparencies) accompany readings (with short vocabulary lists).
The material is not based on linguistic progression, nor is it primarily
intended to be used alone, as opposed to being used in conjunction with a
textbook. |
| Learning Goals: |
Users will get an overview of life in modern Germany and learn phrases to be
able to describe social and cultural issues. |
| Target Student Population: |
The material is primarily intended to support classes conducted in German. On
the premise that cultural information (Landeskunde) should be integrated into
language learning at the earliest possible stage the introduction suggests that
the material is meant to be usable from the beginners? level on. However, it
appears to be best suited for learners with good German skills, likely those at
the intermediate level or above, if used directly. |
| Type of Material: |
The site consists of short texts which are accompanied by maps or pictures that
illustrate points made in the readings. The images are available in two
different formats (tif and jpg, both in color) and can be printed as
transparencies for in-class use. The texts can also be saved and printed for
use in class, possibly with adjustments. |
| Recommended Uses: |
The texts are intended primarily for the instructors, who must pass on to their
students the relevant information, adapted to the level appropriate to their
vocabulary and comprehension.
The material can easily be integrated into other texts/programs and presented in
short snippets since all individual sections can be deployed independently of
each other (although some complement each other directly). While the
introduction advises against it, the site can be used as a stand-alone tool for
independent studying above the intermediate level, and could be assigned as
such.
Goethe-Institut Inter Nationes provides this material for learners in any
country. The setup facilitates,
but does not demand, integration of the
material into other GI/IN material. |
| Technical Requirements: |
A frame-capable, javascript enabled browser. A printer, especially a
good-quality color printer, to make the most of the graphics. |
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| Strengths: |
The graphics are the actual focus of the material; textual material is provided
mainly to make clear what vocabulary and idioms will be necessary to utilize the
transparencies. In fact, some of the images convey very little information
without active discussion of the topic at hand (for example, in section 23, ?The
Most Important Political Organs of the Federal Republic?). Each page is
relatively short, though most contain several anchors to help locate specific
sections. In the majority of cases the textual material is relatively simple grammatically, though many of the pages contain a fair amount of advanced and sometimes quite specialized vocabulary (e.g., for discussing trade). Good use of vocabulary, good mixture of tenses and moods, many opportunities to review adjectival endings, good alternation of various ways to express ideas?-as much of this as necessary can be used by the instructor in presenting the material. The texts use the reformed spelling throughout and are set up in a straightforward "at your fingertips" format.
Due to the fact that material differences still exist between the Western and
Eastern parts of Germany, the program makes every effort to be clear in its use
of data. Statistics are given with dates, for example, and their relevance to
the different areas of Germany is clarified. |
| Concerns: |
The number of editions (currently 11) indicates that the material is updated as
new data is collected, but the graphics have not been updated as regularly as
the text (in most cases the statistics in the graphics date from 1995 to 1997,
although the texts are dated May 1999).
Compared to most other diagrams the graphics of a report card (in section 18,
?The School System?) and of newspaper pages (section 19, ?The Press?) are
neither of good quality nor particularly interesting. |
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Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool |
Rating:  |
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| Strengths: |
The offered selection allows users to get basic information in a
straightforward manner. The material is arranged thematically for easy
integration into coursework--an index page is provided for easy access to all of
the themes dealt with. Each page ends with a pertinent list of potentially
difficult words and expressions ("Worter und Wendungen"); these are listed
alphabetically (necessary because of the length of some of the lists).
The introduction is addressed primarily to instructors; it contains some useful
tips for use. Much of the material is suitable for Business German courses
(trade, employment, tariffs, etc.), though the use of Deutsche Mark rather than
Euros is now outdated. In summary, the material does what it intends to do
(present statistical material about Germany and its social and political
culture) efficiently, succinctly, and flexibly. |
| Concerns: |
This is not an interactive site per se: there are no tasks or exercises
associated with the presented material. However, it was not conceived to be
that, either.
Various graphics contain texts that are difficult to read. The color-graphics
are very good and the full-page versions look quite clear onscreen; the .tif
files for download and self-printing are much less clear onscreen, and an actual
printout shows little advantage in image quality from using the .tif format
rather than simply printing the .jpgs from the browser--in fact, compared to
diagrams, photographs show a noticeable loss of image quality in the .tif
format. The professional print version of the material is probably superior for
using actual overhead transparencies. A .pdf download option might provide much
better quality. |
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Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty |
| Rating: |
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| Strengths: |
The site is extremely easy to navigate. A table of contents clearly lists the
included materials. Three navigational buttons--"home" (contents page), "start"
(of current page), "back/previous page" (in practice, usually identical with
one of the other two choices)--in the top frame provide all the necessary means
to get around. The "Worter und Wendungen" link as well as the graphic disappear
as one scrolls down the page; however, this is not much of a problem since the
pages are usually relatively short. Downloading of the texts and images is
simple. |
| Concerns: |
Although navigation is very straightforward, there is no way to navigate
from one section to the next without returning to the contents page; and no way
to get back from the closeup of graphics except the browser ?Back? button. |
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| Other Issues and Comments: |
This material is also available in printed form. |
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