Competent Teaching
Today’s teachers juggle many demands. Teaching competence, therefore, encompasses more than language proficiency, didactics, and communication. In rapidly evolving educational contexts—shaped by AI, diversity, new role models, and shifting social expectations—a broader understanding of professional practice is needed.
The latest issue of Fremdsprache Deutsch focuses on these future skills: How can learning processes be both guided and individually supported? How does self-care function as a resource in everyday school life? Which attitude fosters dealing with conflicts, digital tools, and uncertainty?
The journal illustrates how teaching videos can promote reflection, how agile learning methods create new freedom, and how a deeper understanding of learners’ lived realities can enrich teaching. An issue for anyone who wants to rethink their teaching or training practice—with grounded insights, practical relevance, and a focus on what matters tomorrow.
Order Fremdsprache Deutsch Issue 73 (2025): Competent Teaching
Read now on Onleihe – the Goethe-Institut's digital library!
The latest issue of Fremdsprache Deutsch focuses on these future skills: How can learning processes be both guided and individually supported? How does self-care function as a resource in everyday school life? Which attitude fosters dealing with conflicts, digital tools, and uncertainty?
The journal illustrates how teaching videos can promote reflection, how agile learning methods create new freedom, and how a deeper understanding of learners’ lived realities can enrich teaching. An issue for anyone who wants to rethink their teaching or training practice—with grounded insights, practical relevance, and a focus on what matters tomorrow.
Order Fremdsprache Deutsch Issue 73 (2025): Competent Teaching
Read now on Onleihe – the Goethe-Institut's digital library!
Learning with Language Patterns
Acquiring a foreign language is a complex process that involves significantly more than just knowledge of rules and vocabulary. Certain constructions not only have a form, but also acquire their own meaning.
Well-known book titles, songs, or sayings are good examples.
Many people are familiar with iconic slogans, such as “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas” or “Impossible is nothing” The slogans are immediately recognizable even in variations.
The pattern is intuitively recognized and applied, perhaps without truly understanding its structure.
Usage-based approaches assume that language is learned through repeated use. Chunks and building blocks play a central role, especially in learning a foreign language. The articles in this issue explore various facets of this concept—from fostering grammatical skills in preschool children to leveraging the language experiences of elementary school students to text-based methods for secondary school.
The challenge in foreign language teaching is that time is almost always very limited to provide learners with truly rich language experiences.
Therefore, careful planning is necessary to cover as many aspects as possible.
Order Fremdsprache Deutsch Issue 72 (2025): Learning with Language Patterns
Well-known book titles, songs, or sayings are good examples.
Many people are familiar with iconic slogans, such as “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas” or “Impossible is nothing” The slogans are immediately recognizable even in variations.
The pattern is intuitively recognized and applied, perhaps without truly understanding its structure.
Usage-based approaches assume that language is learned through repeated use. Chunks and building blocks play a central role, especially in learning a foreign language. The articles in this issue explore various facets of this concept—from fostering grammatical skills in preschool children to leveraging the language experiences of elementary school students to text-based methods for secondary school.
The challenge in foreign language teaching is that time is almost always very limited to provide learners with truly rich language experiences.
Therefore, careful planning is necessary to cover as many aspects as possible.
Order Fremdsprache Deutsch Issue 72 (2025): Learning with Language Patterns
Teaching in a Culturally Sensitive Way
Our cover picture serves as an introduction to the topic: letting in light and air or keeping out the elements? Grant insights or prevent insights? Looking in or looking out? The window directs the gaze of passers-by inwards and frames from the inside outwards. Is the grille or curtain a protection or do you reveal the inside unfiltered? We leave the interpretation up to you!
Teachers often find themselves in situations that can be described as sensitive or culturally sensitive. It is not always easy to deal with them. In this issue, teachers report on their practical experiences. It is in the nature of the topic that a particularly large number of concrete examples are given this time: From Argentina to Estonia and Afghanistan to Sri Lanka, the authors share very different approaches and possible applications.
Order Fremdsprache Deutsch Issue 71 (2024): Teaching in a Culturally Sensitive Way
Teachers often find themselves in situations that can be described as sensitive or culturally sensitive. It is not always easy to deal with them. In this issue, teachers report on their practical experiences. It is in the nature of the topic that a particularly large number of concrete examples are given this time: From Argentina to Estonia and Afghanistan to Sri Lanka, the authors share very different approaches and possible applications.
Order Fremdsprache Deutsch Issue 71 (2024): Teaching in a Culturally Sensitive Way
Developing Listening Skills
Listening is a particular challenge when learning a foreign language. This issue aims to encourage you to explore new ways of using it. Micro-listening refers to the ability to identify and understand small linguistic units such as sounds, syllables, words or short phrases. It is the art of filtering out the essentials even in the midst of noise and information overload. This skill is not only of great importance in everyday life, but also plays a decisive role in foreign language teaching. An important technological support is the wide availability of online platforms and apps. These are not only used for pure listening exercises. This is why you will find a lot of additional material for this issue that is available online. A special motivation for learners is, of course, the use of music. Who hasn't translated the lyrics of their favourite band from English as a teenager and almost accidentally trained their vocabulary and listening comprehension in the process?
Order Fremdsprache Deutsch Issue 70 (2024): Developing Listening Skills
Order Fremdsprache Deutsch Issue 70 (2024): Developing Listening Skills
Differentiated Instruction
The current school landscape is characterized by diversity, probably more than any previous generation. Educational institutions face the challenge of supporting every student on their individual educational path. Especially the acquisition of a foreign language plays an important role in personal development and therefore offers the opportunity to recognize the diversity of learners and to support their individual needs. But how can teachers, within the allocated time and with the limited resources available to them, design lessons that meet the needs and abilities of all learners? Especially in a school environment, there is the additional pressure that curricula must be fulfilled and specified standards must be adhered to! This collection of articles presents a range of perspectives and best practice examples from educational practice and research. Selected approaches and methods are presented in various learning environments that show how differentiated Instruction can be implemented successfully.
Order Fremdsprache Deutsch Issue 69 (2023): Differentiated Instruction
Order Fremdsprache Deutsch Issue 69 (2023): Differentiated Instruction
Sustainability
Whether it is about the consideration of different social groups, the preservation of healthy livelihoods or the protection of the climate – the sustainability goals are omnipresent and should therefore also be an integral part of the teaching of German. The origin of the authors of this issue is therefore as diverse as the topic: they come from France, Brazil, Russia, Denmark and work in Vietnam, Hungary and North America. The topics are aimed at teachers of German for children and adults in different contexts. Linguistic topics, meta-topics and extra-curricular activities are presented and put up for discussion – from curricula to storytelling. All authors are concerned to highlight the interconnectedness of these aspects from different perspectives. In the articles, you will find many suggestions on fundamental questions and concrete proposals that the authors have already tested in practice.
Order Fremdsprache Deutsch Issue 68 (2023): Sustainability
Order Fremdsprache Deutsch Issue 68 (2023): Sustainability
