Anders Gedacht

Book excerpt: Written entirely in German, this class-tested, content-based text helps intermediate-level German students to communicate meaningfully in interpersonal, interpretive, and presentational modes. With a stimulating, comparative focus on topics such as contemporary politics, the environment, history, film, music, fine art, literature, and technology, the text encourages creative self-expression as well as critical thinking about the German language and contemporary cultures of the German-speaking world. Anders gedacht engages students in the learning process through inductive grammar instruction and review; cultural interpretation; analysis and comparison with students' own culture; and interactive, task-based practice. A complete review and expansion of German grammar, along with correlated grammar and vocabulary practice, is located in the workbook and referenced in textbook chapters. Numerous task-based activities—designed for individual, pair, group, or whole-class work—reinforce chapter topics while fostering verbal and written communication and personal expression. Some activities include speaking-strategy instruction that provides techniques to help students build their speaking skills in areas such as persuasion, exposition, and description. Students listen to and think critically about a variety of authentic recordings, including music, a fairy tale, an excerpt from a novel, an interview with a contemporary German author, excerpts from a speech given by a Swiss politician, and several film soundtracks. Reading strategies encourage students to implement techniques that will make them more successful readers and prepare them for advanced German study. Writing practice—including biographical sketches; film-plot summaries; personal and public narratives; song lyrics; and argumentative, expository, and compare/contrast essays—appears throughout the text as free-form, personalized, and creative-writing assignments.