Deutsch im Blick
The textbook covers all major topics that are typically taught in beginning German and includes activities that address all modes of communication as well as significant cultural content. It is very practically oriented toward helping students prepare for and adjust to studying and living in Germany, which helps to support and motivate students considering studying abroad. The website and first page of each chapter provide an overview of topics covered in that chapter; a more detailed table of contents of the entire book would be helpful, as would a glossary for the entire book. I also wish there were more writing tasks that could be used as written homework; some speaking assignments can be adapted for this purpose, however.
I found no significant errors. Cultural topics are presented in an unbiased way and invite cross-cultural comparisons. Grammatical presentations are accurate and easy to understand. Vocabulary lists are accurate and appropriate for the topic and level.
The book thoughtfully includes authentic texts from the very beginning, including written and spoken texts by both native German speakers and by German learners. Some of these, such as restaurant menus, are unlikely to become obsolete, while others, such as graphics describing demographic trends, will necessarily become dated. However, the author helpfully includes internet links to current sources and web quests that encourage students to research current information. It would be easy to substitute more current texts where needed, but the majority of texts have staying power. The text includes material not only from Germany but also includes Austria and Switzerland, to a lesser degree.
The book is well written and includes clear and helpful study suggestions to the student as well as clear instructions for activities and exercises. Grammar explanations are clear and do not assume prior grammatical knowledge. Some grammar exercises, however, are quite challenging, since they sometimes use unfamiliar and unusual vocabulary that is not clearly linked to the chapter topics. This is understandable, since the grammar website is designed to be a stand-alone resource rather than an integral part of this text. I understand and appreciate that grammar is not central to this program; however, a bit more formal practice would nicely complement the strong communicative activities. A suggestion for future revision would be to include thematically linked and level-appropriate grammatical exercises in the body of the text rather than on a separate website.
Chapters in both the book and the website all have the same format and include vocabulary lists and activities, videos, unscripted interviews, images, small group work, written texts, writing prompts, popular songs, grammatical topics, pronunciation tips, surveys, and web quests.
The book is well formatted, with clear headings and other signposts to guide learners and instructors. I think it would be difficult to re-arrange the order of chapters in any well-designed first-year language textbook, as the topics are presented and recycled in a principled way to help develop students’ competence. However, it would be easy to skip certain exercises or topics within any chapter, depending on program needs and available time.
Material is presented in a logical fashion. Some thematic and grammatical topics appear in this book in a different order than in some first-year books, but all topics are appropriate for this level and are presented in a level-appropriate way. Topics are introduced first and recycled later for additional practice and deepening understanding. I wish that grammatical explanations and exercises were integrated into the main text rather than kept on, a separate web site. The brief grammar notes in the margin are helpful and do refer to the additional resource of Grimm Grammar, but grammar exercises that are thematically linked to and located in the current chapter would be helpful.
Both book and website are well designed and easy to read, though some exercises are no doubt easy to complete in print rather than on screen; I would recommend having students use a print copy in class and for some homework since it is easier to flip pages than to scroll back and forth to find vocabulary lists, for example. I wish that the book included QR codes as well as URLs to audio files next to the exercises that accompany them, rather than including QR codes on a separate page later in the chapter. Having multiple link sources would make it easier for learners to locate the appropriate files and to use the PDF on screen as well as in print.
I found no significant errors or typos in either English or German.
This book includes significant cultural content from the very beginning, including some linguistic material from Austria and Switzerland. The book invites students to make comparisons to their own cultures and to speculate about the significance of certain cultural practices. More emphasis on non-majority cultures within German-speaking Europe would be beneficial.