Drawing extensively on the expertise of teachers of German in universities across the UK, this volume offers an overview of recent trends, new pedagogical approaches and practical guidance for ...teaching at beginners level in the higher education classroom. At a time when entries for UK school exams in modern foreign languages are decreasing, this book serves the urgent need for research and guidance on ab initio learning and teaching in HE. Using the example of teaching German, it offers theoretical reflections on teaching ab initio and practice-oriented approaches that will be useful for teachers of both German and other languages in higher education. The first chapters assess the role of ab initio provision within the wider context of modern languages departments and language centres. They are followed by sections on teaching methods and innovative approaches in the ab initio classroom that include chapters on the use of music, textbook evaluation, the effective use of a flipped classroom and the contribution of language apps. Finally, the book focuses on the learner in the ab initio context and explores issues around autonomy and learner strengths. The whole builds into a theoretically grounded guide that sketches out perspectives for teaching and learning ab initio languages that will benefit current and future generations of students.
Drawing extensively on the expertise of teachers of German in universities across the UK, this volume offers an overview of recent trends, new pedagogical approaches and practical guidance for ...teaching at beginners level in the higher education classroom. At a time when entries for UK school exams in modern foreign languages are decreasing, this book serves the urgent need for research and guidance on "ab initio" learning and teaching in HE. Using the example of teaching German, it offers theoretical reflections on teaching "ab initio" and practice-oriented approaches that will be useful for teachers of both German and other languages in higher education. The first chapters assess the role of "ab initio" provision within the wider context of modern languages departments and language centres. They are followed by sections on teaching methods and innovative approaches in the "ab initio" classroom that include chapters on the use of music, textbook evaluation, the effective use of a flipped classroom and the contribution of language apps. Finally, the book focuses on the learner in the "ab initio" context and explores issues around autonomy and learner strengths. The whole builds into a theoretically grounded guide that sketches out perspectives for teaching and learning "ab initio" languages that will benefit current and future generations of students.
Two for the price of one Silke Mentchen
Ab Initio Language Teaching in British Higher Education,
12/2022
Book Chapter
Open access
An article by Novic (2021: n.p.) titled ‘The harmful ableist language you unknowingly use’ discusses conventional metaphors like ‘to fall on deaf ears’ or calling an idea ‘lame’. Making students more ...aware of the effects of such language use is one of the aims of integrating insights from cognitive linguistics into language teaching methods, especially vocabulary learning. ‘Even though vocabulary is considered to be one of the most important elements in language learning, it tends to be subordinated to the learning of grammar, and is largely left to take care of itself in language courses.’ This quote, from Laufer and
Editors’ introduction Ulrike Bavendiek; Silke Mentchen; Christian Mossmann ...
Ab Initio Language Teaching in British Higher Education,
12/2022
Book Chapter
Open access
The teaching of modern languages at ab initio level in higher education has become a necessity for universities across the UK, given that the number of students studying for GCSEs and A-levels in ...Modern Foreign Languages (MFL) at school is in decline. Since 2003, the last year in which the taking of a modern foreign language in Year 10 was compulsory, entries for language GCSEs at schools in England have dropped by 41 per cent (Bawden, 2021; see also Durrell, 2017 for an overview and assessment of this development). A-level entries in French, German and ‘other modern languages’ have also
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