German 350

Reviewed by Wendy Westphal, Associate Professor of German, Marian University on 11/10/24

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

The text, "German Conversation and Pronunciation" provides vocabulary and sample discussion questions on a variety of everyday topics and organized them into 4 chapters:
Kapitel 1: Familie, Freunde, Bekannte
Kapitel 2: Die tägliche Routine
Kapitel 3: Das Studium und die Technologie
Kapitel 4: Reisen und Hobbys
The text is listed as "German 350", but could easily be used for an intermediate level course. It is for students who just need a refresher of the grammar topics covered, since the focus is not on structures, but on practicing German conversation. German sayings are included through DW videos. Cultural topics are addressed almost exclusively through the "Deutschlandlabor" videos. For this reason, the "epub" version of the text should be used, since the pdf version does not have live links. Pronunciation is covered through links to the Goethe Institutes "Aussprachetutorials". The videos links match the topics and enrich the text. There is no glossary.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

I only found a couple of type-o's, no content errors. (For the purpose of revisions, they are: p. 28 - add space between "es?Verwenden"; p. 44 - use a period instead of a question mark after Universitaet; p. 45 "Pruefung" (with a "g", not "d").
Since no culture information is included in the text itself (all cultural references are conveyed through the external videos by DW ("JoJo sucht das Glueck" & "Learn German", Goethe Institute, etc.) no updates would be necessary over time.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

One area of improvement I see is the inclusion of more cultural information about the German-speaking countries and their peoples. This can be done through cultural inserts which relate to the chapter themes. The discussion questions focus mostly on the student's own experiences. One could introduce German culture for each of the general topics and the discussion questions could refer to these topics to evoke not just what the student does, but what the student's opinion is on different cultural topics. (For example: Higher education in Germany is generally tuition-free. Do you think education should be free? Why/why not?)
In addition, there are only a few stock images in the text. Culturally-relevant images would make the text more interesting and provide something for the students to discuss. One great, real photograph of the author at a Germanfest is included. Questions about this photograph could be included (What do you see in the photo? What do you think they are celebrating? What are they wearing? Why? Where do you think they are? etc.) Real photos of German-related topics would make the text more interesting and provide cultural information.

are certainly better than no images, but photographs of real things and locations in German-speaking countries would be much more interesting.

Clarity rating: 4

The text is written mostly in German (which would make it useable for non-English speakers.) The author provides some good grammar tips. The formatting of both the epub and pdf are clear. For some of the vocabulary, English translations are supplied. For some they are not. Usually, the words that are English cognates do not have the English provided. It was unclear what organizational principal was used within the vocabulary boxes. (It is not alphabetical or by part of speech.) Modal verbs are introduced in the simple past, rather than first in the present tense.

Consistency rating: 4

The formatting of the text is consistent. It would be helpful to have the subtopics listed in the Table of Contents, along with the cultural topics that the videos address and the pronunciation topics.

Modularity rating: 4

This book is arranged into four theme-based chapters with a fifth chapter dedicated to providing some "role play" suggestions. The chapters are of varying length, with the first being the longest and chapters 4 and 5 the shortest. The chapters can be used individually to supplement other texts or the book can be used by itself, from the beginning to the end.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 4

The text is organized in a clear manner, addressing common themes, which are introduced with a subtitle and a box of new vocabulary terms. Are the most frequently used vocabulary terms used? If so, it would be good to mention this. Each chapter ends with links to "JoJo sucht das Glueck". Perhaps a brief statement to explain their significance would be helpful.

Interface rating: 5

The book can be downloaded as a pdf or digital pdf, but the online textbook (epub) version is more interactive, since one can see and click directly on the videos in the text.
The pdf version includes page numbers, which is helpful for identifying where one is within the chapter, since one scrolls down through the epub.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

I did not see any grammatical errors - only a couple of minor type-o's.

Cultural Relevance rating: 4

The text is not culturally insensitive or offensive. The text would be enriched by including more cultural references about German-speaking countries and regions.