The best way to learn a language is by speaking it – but online courses often fall short on flexible speaking practice. Enter KOSI: an AI chatbot that lets learners have realistic conversations on their own, with instant, personalised feedback. KOSI shows how AI can meaningfully supplement language teaching.
In many courses, learners do not talk about their experiences. Yet these experiences are crucial for resonance in the classroom. Through writing, sharing, mirroring back and responding to prompts, a space is created in which resonance can emerge and everyone can take part.
When deaf refugees come to Germany, they need to learn German Sign Language. For an inclusive educational approach, teachers ought to accommodate these special needs.
Anyone who’s taught youngsters will certainly confirm several of the observations listed here—and probably add some more. But learning a foreign language isn’t always easy for grownups either, as teachers in adult education—and adult learners—know all too well. We need to be in the right frame of mind—otherwise learning can be a painstaking ordeal!
The Kompendium DaF/DaZ series has come out with a guide to “Multilingual Learning in Social and Institutional Contexts”. This new publication delves into various aspects of the debate over multilingual education – and recapitulates them clearly for both prospective and experienced GFL and GSL teachers.
Learners of German as a foreign language often have a wide range of prior language skills: their native language, English or other foreign languages they’ve learnt at school, or expressions they’ve picked up whilst travelling or at work. A multilingual approach can take advantage of these various language skills to help German learners.
Are routines boring? Not in the least! They can help structure our everyday language-learning efforts and are an important and effective process in natural learning. Working authentic materials into your learners’ everyday lives is the best preparation for the Goethe, telc and ösd C1-level exams.
How important is language acquisition to the integration of skilled immigrants? This is the subject of “Deutsch lernen für ein Leben in Deutschland” (Learning German for a Life in Germany), a report on the latest research findings. The bottom line: Early and well-tailored language-learning programmes are a must for a modern host country.
Well-trained German language teachers are a prerequisite for effective German teaching programs. Which is why a score of universities in South America are joining forces to shore up their German teacher training programmes – with help from the Goethe-Institut.
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.
“For us teachers, teaching online means full concentration from the first to the last minute. It’s even more strenuous than in-person teaching!” How has the everyday work of teachers changed in the wake of the pandemic? Three Goethe-Institut teachers report their experiences.
Using conferencing tools as a synchronous online element in blended or online learning is now an integral part of the portfolios of Goethe-Instituts and other language schools. These tools can be a sustainable approach to group learning – provided they are used in certain ways, as presented in the following practical tips.
