My first contact with German was at my great-aunt Elsie’s house.  Both she and her housemate of many years, Elsie Lautner, were first-generation Americans and spoke German at home as children.  They were also both teachers in Traverse City for over thirty years.  In their bookshelves were many old books, including books in German.  I remember looking at them with a sense of frustrated fascination: fascination because I love nearly anything printed in book form, and frustration because I couldn’t figure out what was written there.

My frustration lessened and my fascination increased when I began taking German in high school.  A brief trip abroad after my junior year was another catalyst in my German journey, exposing me to German and Germany as they “really” are, not just as they are presented in textbooks.  This growing fascination with all things German, along with my long-held desire to become a teacher, led to my decision to enter secondary education.

As a new teacher, I quickly realized that my own German skills would be put to the test.  Many of the books in my collection are books that I have used in my teaching, or in my own personal hunt for “German answers”.  These books focus on teaching methods, grammar, and vocabulary.  The German Orthography Reform of 1996 also forced German teachers around the world to re-learn and re-teach many spelling rules and is represented in my collection.

In the fall of 1999, I began my doctoral studies here at Michigan State University.  After spending a year teaching in Germany, I wanted to actively pursue learning German in order to be able to teach at the college level.  This current phase of my life is reflected in the literary history books and college level textbooks in my collection.

The older books in my collection all come from Elsie and Elsie’s bookshelf.  They are fascinating time capsules, reflecting the social thought and teaching methods of their day.  Many of them are also printed in Fraktur, the old German script, which further underscores their sense of history.  For me they have great personal value because they were used by family members and close family friends.  They are a part of my German heritage, which I feel I am keeping alive by studying and teaching German.

The books in my collection reflect the field of teaching and learning German at the beginning and end of the twentieth century.  I find it intriguing that some of the teaching methods used in 1900 were being used (again) in 2000.  The field of foreign language teaching has undergone dramatic changes in the past hundred years, but some aspects seem to have come full circle: the use of “literature” to teach language, the systematic teaching of grammar, etc.  Some differences are obvious – color pictures, political developments, use of technology – but the common language and history hold the collection together.
 

Bibliography:

(Note:  All titles in square brackets are my translations)

Lesebuch für die zweyte Klasse der Landschulen in den kaiserlichen königlichen österreichischen Staaten. Prague: K.K. Normalschulbücher Verwaltung, 1847.
 [Reading book for the second grade in country schools of the imperial and royal Austrian states]  The table of contents clearly shows the intent of this book: "School Rules for Austrian States", "Some Stories from the Old Testament", "Responsibilities of Subjects toward their Monarchs, Rulers and State", "Rules for Maintaining Good Health".  (my translations).  Although the publication date is in the mid-19th century, handwritten comments in the front of the book indicate that it was used by members of Elsie Lautner's family in the early 1900s.

Germania Kalender für das Jahr 1916. Milwaukee, WI: Germania Publishing Company, 1916.
 [Germania Calendar for the Year 1916]  One could easily compare this book with The Old Farmers Almanac.  It includes information about the weather, but also many advertisements, condensed novels, and political essays.  Its purpose was to keep the German immigrant community informed about the "new" and "old" world.

Bacon, Paul Valentine. German Composition. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1913.
 This book is dedicated to "The American Teacher of German".  It presents grammar concepts by means of English explanations and short German texts.  There are also over 50 black and white pictures of German monuments, including the Reichstag in Berlin, which continues to play an important historical and political role in Germany today.

Beutin, Wolfgang, et al. Deutsche Literaturgeschichte. Stuttgart: Metzler, 1994.
 [German Literary History]  This is one of the best general literary history books I have seen.  It covers the Middle Ages to the 1990s, and each chapter is written by a different literary scholar.  I have used this book as a student, but can also imagine using excerpts from it in classes I hope to teach in the future.

Boezinger, Bruno. Zweites Aufsatzbuch: Nach der direkten Methode. New York: Henry Holt, 1916.
 [Second Essay Book: Using the direct method]  One of the things that fascinates me about old German textbooks is the changes in pedagogical methods over the years.  The idea driving this book is that students should directly work with texts - in this case poems - in order to learn vocabulary and grammar.  This method was contested during later years, but has once again regained popularity.

Corbeil, Jean-Claude et al. Pons Bildwörterbuch - kompakt: Deutsch-Englisch. Stuttgart: Klett Verlag, 1994.
 [Pons condensed picture dictionary: German-English].  I find this book fascinating just for the wonderful color pictures.  The fact that I can also find the German word for a telescoping umbrella (Taschenschirm) or a violin soundboard (Resonanzdecke) adds to the appeal.  This reference work is fun just to skim through, something that can't be said for many dictionaries.

Denham, Scott, Irene Kacandes and Jonathon Petropoulos, ed. A User's Guide to German Cultural Studies. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1997.
 This collection of essays provides a multi-facetted look at German Cultural Studies.  It examines such topics as "What is German Cultural Studies", "Who practices Cultural Studies", and "How to Teach Cultural Studies".  It is a valuable tool in broadening students' ideas of what German Studies should cover.

Dreyer, Hilke and Richard Schmitt. Lehr- und Übungsbuch der deutschen Grammatik. Munich: Verlag für Deutsch, 1985.
 [Text- and Workbook of German Grammar]  I was introduced to this book during my MA program.  It is written entirely in German and focused on aspects of advanced German grammar.  I use it frequently as a reference book when writing papers in German.

Durrell, Martin. Hammer's German Grammar and Usage. Third Edition. Lincolnwood, IL: NTC Publishing, 1997.
 Whether one is looking for how to express dates and times or all the different rules for gender, this book will have an answer.  It presents grammar topics in English and provides multiple German examples.  The strength of this book is that it is written specifically for English-speaking students, so areas of particular difficulty receive extra attention.

Emmerich, Wolfgang. Kleine Literaturgeschichte der DDR: Erweiterte Neuausgabe. Leipzig: Kiepenheuer Verlag, 1997.
 [A Small Literary History of the GDR: Expanded New Edition]  One of my research focuses is East German literature, so this literary history is invaluable.  Wolfgang Emmerich is considered to be one of the leading experts on East German literature.  The first edition of this book was issued in 1981, and it played an important role in the increased international recognition of East German literature.

Fulbrook, Mary. A Concise History of Germany. Cambridge Concise Histories. Second Updated ed. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1993.
 This book presents one of the clearest, most concise German histories I have found.  It is written in an informative but interesting style, making it useful for both beginning and advanced students.  I appreciate Fulbrook's decision to not dwell excessively on the twelve years of the Third Reich, but instead to present the broad story of German history.

Glück, Helmut and Wolfgang Werner Sauer. Gegenwartsdeutsch. Sammlung Metzler. Second ed. Vol. 252. Stuttgart: J.B. Metzler, 1997.
 [Contemporary German]  While the German language is often presented to beginning students as a static entity, it is continually changing.  This book presents research conducted over the past several decades, showing how the language is developing and changing.

Hadley, Alice Omaggio. Teaching Language in Context. Second ed. Boston: Heinle and Heinle, 1993.
 This is one of the most widely-used books in foreign language teaching methods classes.  Omaggio Hadley presents a brief history of historic teaching methods (such as the audio-lingual method and suggestopdia) as well as current second language acquisition (SLA) research and curriculum development techniques.  I wish I would have known about this book when I first started teaching high school.  It is a valuable resource for any educator.

Heine, Heinrich. Die Harzreise. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1916.
 The inscription on the flyleaf of this book is what makes it fascinating for me.  It says "Elsie M. Lautner, M.A.C. '17", referring to her time here at Michigan State University.  I feel a sense of "family" continuity when I think about Elsie studying here nearly 90 years ago and myself pursuing a Ph.D. at the beginning of the 21st century.

Hoffman, Elisha A. ed. Liederperlen für Sonntag-Schulen, Jünglings-Vereine und andere Christliche Versammlungen. Chicago: The Hope Publishing Company, 1899.
 [Songs for Sunday Schools, Youth Clubs, and other Christian Groups]  Published in Chicago, this book was intended for the large German immigrant population in the Midwest.  It served the religious needs of the community and also helped keep the German language alive in the United States.  Many of the songs are still sung in churches today in their English translations.

Kraft, Wolfgang S. Deutsch aktuell 1. Third Revised ed. St. Paul, MN: EMC Publishing, 1993.
 Although I taught at two different schools during my time as a high school German teacher, I was fortunate enough to have this first-year textbook over the entire course of my teaching.  It is not the flashiest or newest German textbook on the market, but it offers comprehensible reading texts and structured grammar presentation.  Four years after leaving high school teaching, I could still walk into the classroom and teach a lesson out of this book without much preparation.

Kreuyer, Ursula and Klaus Pawlowski. Deutsche Hochlautung: Praktische Aussprachelehre. Munich: Klett Verlag, 1971.
 [German Pronunciation: Practical Exercises]  One of the difficult aspects of learning a foreign language is mastering the pronunciation.  This book has illustrations showing mouth positions for producing individual sounds.  It's not the most fascinating book I own, but it is a helpful one.

Lord, Richard. Culture Shock! Germany: A Guide to Customs and Etiquette. Portland, Oregon: Graphic Arts Center Publishing Company, 1996.
 This book is a rather irreverent look at modern German society.  Written by a non-German, it attempts to provide other non-Germans with useful information about what to expect during their time in the country.  It deals with issues ranging from German characteristics to food and entertaining, from getting settled in the country to conducting business there.  It was a great help to me during my time teaching in Germany in 1997/98.

Lovik, Thomas, J. Douglas Guy and Monika Chavez. Vorsprung: An Introduction to the German Language and Culture for Communication. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1997.
 Thomas Lovik, the lead author, is a professor here at MSU.  This book is used for the first two semesters of German, and was also the first book I taught from when I started my doctorate here.  Its colorful layout and focus on spoken communication are a stark contrast to the textbooks in my collection from the early 1900s.

Mackensen, Lutz. Ursprung der Wörter: Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache. Wiesbaden: VMA-Verlag, 1985.
 [Origin of Words: etymological dictionary of the German language]  This dictionary serves as a helpful reference when searching for the origin of German vocabulary.  While I have not yet been able to incorporate it into class, I often use it for my own information.

Murnau, Richard F. Mord im Internet. Stuttgart: Ernst Klett Verlag, 1998.
 [Murder in the Internet]  This short mystery was written specifically for students learning German.  The language has been kept simple, there is a vocabulary list at the end of the story, and the author has chosen the current topic of the Internet.  There are many similar books now available to help bridge the gap between beginning textbooks and "real" literature (which is often too complicated for intermediate students).

Phillips, June K. et al, ed. Foreign Language Standards: Linking Research, Theories, and Practices. Lincolnwood, IL: National Textbook Company, 1999.
 In 1996, the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages released their Foreign Language Standards for K-16 education.  This was the first time that national standards for foreign language curriculum had existed.  Rather than focusing on specific course content, the standards are broad.  The "Five C's" are: Communication, Cultures, Connections, Comparisons and Communities.  These standards have allowed educators to better formulate and communicate their goals with one another, parents, and students.

Püschel, Ulrich. Duden: Wie schreibt man jetzt? Ein Übungsbuch zur neuen deutschen Rechtschreibung. Mannheim: Dudenverlag, 1996.
 [Duden: How does one spell now? A workbook for the new German Orthography]  In 1996, Germany enacted an Orthography Reform that was supposed to simplify German spelling conventions.  While this may eventually occur, the reform has led to a lot of uncertainty and confusion on the part of teachers and students.  This book is published by the Duden publishing house, best known for their market-leading German dictionary.

Scholze-Stubenrecht, W. and J.B. Skyes, eds. The Oxford-Duden German Dictionary. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press, 1994.
 Every serious language student needs a good dictionary.  This one has seen me through my MA and two years in Germany.  It's heavy and takes up a lot of room in a suitcase, but it's worth the trouble.

Strutz, Henry. 501 German Verbs: fully conjugated in all the tenses. Woodbury, NY: Barron's, 1972.
 Besides a small paperback dictionary, this was one of the first German books I bought in high school.  It is basically a book of lists: lists of verbs and their various conjugations.  And yes, there really are (more than) 501 verbs to learn in German.

Thomas, Calvin. A Practical German Grammar. New York: Henry Holt, 1905.
 Grammar plays an important role in the study of any foreign language.  This book presents all the major aspects of German grammar.  It also takes into account the 1901 German Orthography Reform, which standardized German spelling rules for the first time.  I wonder if students in 1905 struggled with the same grammar topics as students do today.

Twain, Mark. The awful German language: Die schreckliche deutsche Sprache. Recklinghausen: Manuscriptum, 1996.
 Although this cannot be considered a textbook per say, it does teach the reader a lot about the German language.  Mark Twain's sarcastic bilingual look at German (and English) is always good for a laugh and for raising questions one may have never previously considered.  Is it really necessary for a language to have four cases?  Why does the most important part of the sentence - the verb - sometimes come at the very end?  And who came up with the rules for gender?

Werner-Spanhoofd, Arnold. Lehrbuch der Deutschen Sprache: A Practical Course in German for High School Academy or College. Heath's Modern Language Series. Boston: D.C. Heath, 1901.
 This book is an introductory German textbook with a strong emphasis on grammar.  It also includes a section on reading handwritten German, which varied greatly from either typed German or handwritten English.  The introduction includes such helpful hints as "Let the teacher always enter the class/room with the definite purpose of teaching one new grammatical fact, drilling the same through conversational exercises until the students have acquired the habit of applying it correctly", an idea that continues to be used in modern foreign language teaching.
 
 
 
 

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