Magazin Sprache © Pexels/Andrea Piacquadio In the Magazin Sprache you will find current articles on learning and teaching German as a foreign language: practical tips as well as specialist articles for in-service trainers and teachers. Didactics Multilingualism in teacher training How can teachers take advantage of multilingual potential in their classes? And how can trainee teachers best be prepared for linguistic diversity in the classroom? Theorists and practitioners in Germany and Europe are looking into these questions. © Getty Images Language learning and German education policy Bilinguals have better maths skills Language learning trains the brain. Learning two languages at an early age develops language skills in general. But bilingual kids also do better in other cognitive subjects – like mathematics. Professors Michaela Sambanis and Heiner Böttger explain why a paradigm shift is needed and how to make it work. © Colourbox Practical tips Multilingualism – An asset in promoting literacy Multilingual learners consolidate reading strategies more effectively if they can draw on all their language skills – an approach that valorizes and makes the most of their previous knowledge. © Getty Images Practical tip Learning scenarios to support future-oriented didactics of German as a foreign language Many students, and hopefully many teachers as well, will call 88/100 a nice result. The international team behind the Erasmus+ project ‘Learning Scenarios to Support Inclusive Language and Culture Teaching for Heterogeneous School Classes’ is particularly proud of the EU jury's assessment of ‘best practice’ for a website with dozens of exciting materials for modern GFL and GSL teaching at primary and secondary schools. © Getty Images An inquiry-based approach to language teaching Task-based language teaching: basic principles and misunderstandings Task-based education is an inquiry-based approach to language teaching: learners are given plenty of opportunities to expand their language competences by performing meaningful reading, writing, listening, speaking and interaction tasks. During the past 40 years, task-based language teaching has become popular, but a number of myths and misunderstandings have emerged around it. I would like to discuss these in this article. © Adobe Stock Artificial intelligence in foreign language learning How AI software is making its way into language learning AI technology is now omnipresent and it’s hard to imagine teaching a foreign language these days without it. Here’s a look at the emerging field of natural language processing and potential uses (and abuses) of AI tools in language courses. © Goethe-Institut/GettyImages Artificial Intelligence in Foreign Language Teaching How is the role of teachers changing as a result of the application of artificial intelligence? Prof Dr. Torben Schmidt is an important voice in the field of digital foreign language learning. In an interview with Dr. Moritz Dittmeyer, he discusses the potential and the challenges of AI technologies in foreign language learning. © Getty Images The importance of first and second languages in personal expression To express emotions, we mostly rely on our native language (Foreign) languages open up new worlds to us, but we generally feel most at home in our mother tongue. And yet, as Professor Thorsten Piske at Friedrich Alexander University in Erlangen and Nuremburg explains in an interview, our native language isn’t always the language we speak best. © Adobe Stock Practical teaching tips Experience DACH wherever you are: Cultural learning – virtually German learners want and should have contact with people and ways of life in German-speaking countries and regions (DACH). Learners all over the world can do that virtually now over the Internet, as well as getting a good look inside other cultures. Here are some practical suggestions on the use of digital media for cultural learning. © Adobe Stock Pluricentric Cultural Studies in German Teaching The Goal Is Just One Possible Approach Moin, Servus or Grüezi (“hello!” in North Germany, Bavaria/Austria, and German-speaking Switzerland respectively)? Möhre, Karotte or Rüebli (regional words for “carrot”)? Is it die or das Mail (“email”)? All these words and forms are correct. And they are expressions of how varied the German-speaking world is, both linguistically and culturally – a reality that ought to be reflected in German teaching. But how to go about it? Top
