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 Ratings
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| Reviewed: |
Apr 11, 2005 by World Languages Editorial Board |
| Overview: |
This learning resource presents a review of numerous German grammar items in "PowerPoint Presentations and other Media Formats". It is part of the author's "Deutsch im Netz/Webgerman" offering. Included are tutorials, video presentations, etc. Some files are offered as "slides" for printing out on handouts, transparencies, flashcards, etc. |
| Learning Goals: |
The website with its incorporated resources offers a presentation of basic German grammar topics. They are designed to introduce topics or possibly review grammar that was assigned as homework or dealt with in class previously. The materials offer examples and colorful slides, but only an occasional exercise. |
| Target Student Population: |
Target population are certainly beginners at the High school or college level where these resources can be used to introduce discrete grammar points. For review purposes,
the materials could come in handy for learners at an intermediate level; they are too elementary for learners beyond that stage. |
| Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills: |
Users need to have basic German vocabulary at their disposal to get the most out of the examples presented (although most of them are also translated). |
| Type of Material: |
The materials consist of (downloadable and thus modifiable) powerpoint slides, wmv-video clips, Flash-based "animated" grammar films (e.g. on modals and word order) and a variety of pdf-files ("slides" posted for printing). |
| Recommended Uses: |
The materials might be best used as handouts or overheads in class; or, in the case of the PowerPoints, to present grammar points in a live teaching situation. As these are not "stand-alone" Shows, they require a teacher's commentary and mediation and thus are most efficiently used in a classroom environment. |
| Technical Requirements: |
Required for optimal use of all available resources are a Powerpoint viewer (or MS Powerpoint), the Adobe pdf-reader or Apple's Preview, a Macromedia Flash/Shockwave Plugin, and--for the Two-Way Prepositions Animation--the Windows Media Player Browser Plugin (which is not noted on the page itself and thus might lead users to suspect that the images are merely static). |
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| Strengths: |
The site offers a vast array of teaching resources and presentations that might be of value for any teacher of beginning German who has a presentation station available in his/her classroom. Due to the adaptable nature of PowerPoint, these presentations can be tweaked and tailored to fit one's personal needs. |
| Concerns: |
Many of the materials offered here boil down to sample sentences and the introduction of vocabulary items rather than a full-fledged, comprehensive grammar review. What is missing are exercises that should come with a grammar site such as this so that students have an opportunity to immediately apply their newly gained knowledge. |
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Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool |
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| Strengths: |
As mentioned above, the site offers a plethora of teaching resources. A considerable effort must have gone into preparing all of it, and the author has to be commended for making them available free for the taking. This saves other teachers from re-inventing the wheel yet again in order to produce similar grammar-presentations. Anyone who wishes to use these resources as templates for their own presentations can adjust flaws and idiosyncracies to their personal preferences. |
| Concerns: |
Several slides exhibit an inconsistent orgy of colors and pictures, and the constantly varying backgrounds might make them annoying to some users. There are also quite a few minor mistakes scattered throughout the pages. Misspellings like "Kapital" or "Stuck" (for Kapitel and Stück), words like "Klaun" or "hälst" (as du-form of halten) that do not exist, false friends ("Handarbeit" for handy work), or unidiomatic/literal expressions ("Mein Geld fliegt mir hin," "Wo schläft man? -- Man schläft ein") demand a correction. Users should be on the lookout for such minor glitches and use the materials at their own discretion and cum grano salis. |
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Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty |
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| Strengths: |
The main page has a clear, simple, and straightforward table of contents that makes it easy to navigate and enables instructors to find the content they are looking for in an instant. |
| Concerns: |
These presentations and "animations" are clearly not intended for students. They contain hardly any exercises for learners who wish to practice with the presented items. They are designed for instructors; most presentations and illustrations of grammar points will benefit from or even require simultaneous oral explanation. These resources are versatile and adaptable, but not everyone entering the site will be aware of this. Including a short primer with suggestions for their effective use or explanations of intention for offering them might prove helpful. |
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| Other Issues and Comments: |
The big question is why the website is labeled as "Animated German Grammar". The average visitor would probably--and rightfully so--expect moving images that "explain" grammar (or help in the process). Yet, with a few exceptions, the only "animated" part in most of the presentations are the slide transitions in PowerPoint, which, however, do not animate the grammar topics and contribute to their understanding. Therefore, the title promises more than it fulfills and unfortunately turns out to be a misnomer.
The three notable exceptions are the "Syntax" and "Modals" sections and the one labeled "Two-way prepositions (video)." The former ones (one including narration) use animated Flash movies to bring their point across, unfortunately one sequence also dead-ends halfway through, while the other one moves so painfully slow that it is hard to tell when to click to continue, and when to wait for the sequence to end.
Another bone of contention is that culturally non-authentic or generic clip art images are used throughout these presentations. The inclusion of more authentic visual stimuli would add considerably to the value of these pages. |
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