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The author starts out from a review of the relationship between language didactics and other fields of research giving inspiration to it (learning psychology, linguistics, second language acquisition research, anthropology), exploring whether constructivism might be one of these fields. He criticizes that in order to explain constructivist perspectives on learning, constructivists tend to use „instructionalism“ as a background against which to position their own ideas, „instructionalism“, howev…
The author outlines European and German activities and initiatives in the European Year of Languages. In order to bring these initiatives to fruition, it will be necessary to establish the usefulness of language knowledge in the minds of all European citizens. The author’s argument in favour of familiarity with more than one foreign language as a culturally enriching experience culminates in the promise that „monolinguality is curable“.
The author comments on his essay’s title which should refer to a „human being“ rather than to a „migrant“. With examples drawn from literature, theatre and real life he underpins his theory of an increasing malfunction of language as a means of communication. Finally, he reflects on cultural identity and a (German) concept of integration into a target culture.
English is firmly established as a lingua franca, yet in order to preserve cultural variety the mastering of several languages will continue to be indispensable. The author demonstrates in which ways learners profit from knowledge of and comparison between various languages and argues in favour of a common aim of „English plus multilinguality“.
Prof. Dr. Harald Weinrich ist einer der profiliertesten deutschen Sprachwissenschaftler. Er ist Mitbegründer der Universität Bielefeld, begründete in München das Fach „Deutsch als Fremdsprache“ und lehrt als erster deutscher Wissenschaftler am Collège de France. Gegenüber DIE-Mitarbeiter Gerd von der Handt plädiert Weinrich für die Rehabilitierung des Begriffs „Sprachkultur“, für die lingua-franca-Englisch, sofern sie Mehrsprachigkeit nicht erdrückt und fordert von den Deutschen, selbst mehrsp…
Lehrkräfte werden in Lehr-Lernsituationen oft mit Ambiguitäten und Ambivalenzen konfrontiert. Unter Rückgriff auf Ergebnisse von Studien zu videofallbasiertem Lernen erläutern der Autor und die Autorin, inwiefern Fortbildungen helfen können, mit ambiguen Situationen im Lehr-Lerngeschehen produktiv umzugehen.