AP GERMAN WORKSHOP TO BE HELD IN JANUARY

This College Board and MaFLA co-sponsored workshop is open to all German teachers here in New England. The all-day session will be led by A.P. German Test Developer and Reader Professor James McIntyre, Colby College, along with experienced A.P. German teachers Susan Adams, Concord Academy, and Doug Guy, Northern Essex Community College. During the morning session, test item construction and the criteria for evaluation of student performance on the A.P. exam will be explained by Professor McIntyre. During the afternoon session, Susan Adams and Doug Guy will draw from their classroom experiences with A.P. German and lead a swap session of effective skills building activities for A.P. German classes. A comprehensive folder of materials from the College Board will be provided for each participant.

Date: January 22, 2000 (Snow date: January 29, 2000)
Time: 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM (Lunch will be provided)

Site: Bishop Feehan High School
70 Holcott Drive
Attleboro, MA 02763

Contact: Joan Drobnis
P.O. Box 1364
Attleboro Falls, MA 02763
(Tel) 508-695-3958
Final deadline to register: January 8, 2000

Directions:
I-95 N or S - Take exit 5 (Rte 152 - Attleboro/N.Attleboro). At the end of the ramp turn left. Bear right at the 1st traffic light to Rte 152. Take 2nd right off Rte 152 (Holcott Drive). School is on left.

Cost to MaFLA members: $60.00
Cost to Non-MaFLA members: $75.00

NOTE: Teachers are encouraged to bring multiple copies of their syllabi for distribution and/or examples of productive activities and good materials to work with. For answers to questions regarding the workshop and/or ideas on how/what to share with other participants, contact Cherie Baggs, 62 Church Street, Oxford, MA 01540 (Email) cabaggs@aol.com

"Very creative, motivating and enthusiastic presenter", "Viele Ideen, viele Blätter, viel Spass", "as a new teacher, it has given me creative ways to teach", "inhaltsreich, unterhaltsam, spannend, ganz toll!" "Super! Tolle Oma!", " I got a lot of wonderful tips and ideas" These are just a few of the comments made after Jo Sanders workshop on Saturday, October 2, at the Goethe Institute in Boston.

Forty five teachers attended this all day workshop, which was a presentation about Jo Sander's exceptional German Program at Bartlett High School in Anchorage, Alaska. In Frau Sanders' German classes, students literally live the language and culture and the entire learning process is completely personalized. Not only is it a lot of fun for the students, they also achieve a degree of knowledge and fluency that is truly exceptional. In her first level German, Jo divides her classes, which are often up to 48 students, into families of 8 and the language is learned through the normal experiences and information that is necessary in everyday living. In German 2, the groups represent German- speaking countries. In addition to learning a lot of language, the students also study the geography and culture of each country. At the more advanced levels, the students are offered content based semester courses which of course are also taught in the target language. Some of these might include "Modern German History", "German Literature", "Faust", "Natural Science" etc.

At this workshop, Jo shared many of her interesting methods, activities and tips with the participants and kept everyone completely involved and attentive due to her lively and humorous way of presenting. There was also a large packet of hand-outs which described all of the various methods and ideas in great detail.

Submitted by Inge Buerger

There were speeches and citations, both national anthems were sung, flowers and gifts exchanged and tributes paid to the two women, Dr. Phyllis Dragonas of the Melrose Public Schools and Mrs. Hadeburg Frank-Cords of Hamburg, Germany, who began the GAPP exchange between their two communities a quarter of a century ago. School officials and community leaders, the Melrose town mayor and school superintendents past and present, school committee members and families gathered on Sunday, October 3rd, in Memorial Hall on Main Street in Melrose to officially welcome the eighteen young Germans from Hamburg who had arrived two days before. One former superintendent, who recalled Phyllis Dragonas' initiation of the program 25 years ago, reminded everyone that our president and Germany's chancellor are charged to appoint ambassadors to other nations, but no ambassadors were more important than the young people in the hall.

The event, at which the Melrose High School Symphony Orchestra played Bach's Brandenburg Concerto #3 and waltz music from Strauß' Fledermaus, was clearly an event for the entire community to be proud of and celebrate. Phyllis Dragonas, Director of Foreign Languages in the Melrose Public Schools and member of the MaFLA Board, is to be commended for the exemplary GAPP program in Melrose. Assisting her are German teachers Lynda Isaacs and Sean Minor.

Some of us will never make it to 25 years with GAPP, other school systems are just beginning. Let Melrose serve to inspire other GAPP programs here in Massachusetts and beyond to continue their work. Wir gratulieren zum 25. GAPP Jubiläum!

Submited by Cherie Baggs

November 12, 4pm-7pm and November 13, 10am-4pm at the Goethe-Institut Boston, 170 Beacon Street, Boston, MA 02116
Deutsch lernen im Unterricht mit "FOKUS DEUTSCH"

FOKUS DEUTSCH , a new telecourse premiering in fall 1999. Introduces students to the study of German language and culture through mini-dramas, contemporary and historical documentaries, and interviews with speakers of German. Embedded within are the stories of everyday people, who provide
us with glimpses of German life and culture as they struggle with issues and problems familiar to us all.

Dr. Robert Di Donato, the FOKUS DEUTSCH course developer from Miami University, Oxford, Ohio wird als Referent diesen zweitägigen Workshop leiten und den Teilnehmern zeigen, wie mit ausgewählten Episoden dieses Sprachkurses im Deutschunterricht gearbeitet werden kann.

Fragen und Bewerbungen zum Workshop bitte bis zum 25. Oktober an
hpereira@giboston.org oder telefonisch unter (617) 262 60 50

Beim Sprachenlernen stehen die Menschen im Mittelpunkt: Die, die sich gemeinsam die neue Sprache aneignen wollen, aber auch die, um deren Sprache es geht - im Falle dieses Lehrbuches um Menschen zwischen Alpen und Nordsee. Wie sie sprechen, wie sie leben, welche Institutionen in ihrem Leben eine Rolle spielen, worüber sie sich freuen oder ärgern.

Das Lehrwerk "Tangram" möchte den Lernern diese Menschen näher bringen, in einer Form, die das Lernen angenehm und erfolgreich macht.

Eine Vertreterin des deutschen Max Hueber Verlags wird dieses Lehrwerk vorstellen und für die Arbeit mit dem Lehrwerk nützliche Unterrichtshilfen geben.

Informationen und Anmeldungen bitte bis zum 1. Dezember an
hpereira@giboston.org oder telefonisch unter (617) 262 60 50

December 11, 10am-12 noon at the Goethe-Institut Boston, 170 Beacon Street, Boston, MA 02116
Impressionen aus Deutschland

In diesem Seminar möchten wir Ihnen eine Videoserie vorstellen, die alle Bereiche des alltäglichen und öffentlichen Lebens in Deutschland beschreibt. Kurze Sequenzen (5-7 Minuten) informieren über die politische und kulturelle Entwicklung der Bundesrepublik in der Nachkriegszeit, über Feste und Bräuche, Berufsausbildung und Studium, Literatur, Musik und deutsche Landschaften - um nur einige der 26 Themen zu nennen.

Die Videokassetten können in der Sprachabteilung des Goethe-Instituts nach dem Seminar ausgeliehen werden.

Informationen und Anmeldung bitte bis zum 8. Dezember an
hpereira@giboston.org oder telefonisch unter (617) 262 60 50

Wir laden alle Lehrer und Schüler zu einem zweistündigen Programm in unser Institut ein. Entsprechend des Lernerniveaus und der Sprechfertigkeit der Schüler werden wir unter dem Motto "German for Fun" spezielle Dinge vorbereiten. Dabei haben die Schüler die Möglichkeit, im Klassenzimmer eine kleine Deutschlandreise zu unternehmen, einfache deutsche Spiele kennenzulernen, deutsche Rockmusik zu hören und Ausschnitte aus einem deutschen Film zu sehen. Alle
Schüler können sich an einem Quiz beteiligen!

Informationen und Anmeldungen an
hpereira@giboston.org oder telefonisch unter (617) 262 60 50

Submitted by Doris Demmel

Sing, dance, tell stories, do arts and crafts? What about adjective endings, dependent clauses, separable prefixes, the genitive? How could students possibly learn German if it were presented thematically? This summer at Regis College in Weston, MA, it was, and - much to my surprise - students actually did learn quite a lot of the language.

The program that achieved these results is Kinder Lernen Deutsch. A joint effort of Regis College, the Goethe-Institut Boston, and the American Association of Teachers of German, Kinder Lernen Deutsch is a week long seminar/immersion program modeled after the teacher training program at Concordia College in Minnesota. Geared primarily for elementary and middle school teachers of German, it also offers veteran high school teachers like me the opportunity to reevaluate what we do in the classroom and to try an entirely new approach with an entirely different age group.

My teaching team was made up of two high school and one college teacher. The group we chose to work with was the four and five year olds. Auf deutsch we jumped, ran, twisted and turned. We sang and danced, colored, cut and pasted. At the end of four days our students knew how to say hello and good-bye and how to count to twenty in German. They knew three songs by heart. They knew colors and the names of several fruits. None of them was shy about speaking. Because of Kinder Lernen Deutsch, they learned German. Because of Kinder Lernen Deutsch, I learned that it is fun and revitalizing to try something new.

Submitted by Virginia Powell

Deborah Fernald Roberts was granted a two-year leave of absence from her position as head of the Foreign Language Department and German teacher at Dennis-Yarmouth Regional High School in order to serve as the Foreign Language Content Specialist for the Massachusetts Department of Education. Deborah is knowledgeable about the Massachusetts Foreign Language Curriculum, having worked on both Framework Review and Assessment Development Committees. She is a leader in the field of block scheduling and assessment practices and has presented at numerous state and regional workshops and conferences. In November 1999 she will present on "Kinesthetic Activities" at the ACTFL Conference in Dallas, Texas.

Deborah's primary responsibility at the DOE will be helping school districts to align their curriculum with the Framework and National Standards. To this end she will be conducting regional workshops and consulting in school districts. She will also be involved in the development of the MCAS for foreign languages.

In a recent interview Deborah stressed the need for increased training of prospective foreign language teachers in Massachusetts colleges and universities so that elementary programs can be established and expanded. She also stated her belief that we are at a critical point in foreign language education in Massachusetts. The Framework represents a big step forward but the profession needs to stay actively involved and committed to its full implementation.

Deborah is a graduate of Oberlin College where she majored in French and German. She received her MA from the University of Iowa's program in Klagenfurt, Austria. She studied in Kassel in Germany and participated in Goethe Institute and AATG seminars in Nürnberg, Göttingen, Berlin and Wiesneck, Germany. Under her direction the DYRHS had an exchange program with the Gymnasium Hochrad in Hamburg, Germany (1978-1990) and in Walldorf (1994-present). She currently serves on the MaFLA Board of Directors.

Submitted by Cherie Baggs

As I passed through the customs gateway in Nürnberg, I looked around, unsure, at the many guest families waiting patiently outside. I started fumbling for the picture of my guest family, which my host brother, Moritz, had enclosed in his letter. I finally pried the envelope from the bottom of my pack, when Moritz, in the flesh, stepped forward and introduced himself. He had come with his mother and brother, all of whom I tried conversation with as we maneuvered my suitcases toward a gray Citroen. If I had to use a word for that conversation it would be haphazard. I was totally unprepared: my ability in German, something I had assumed was on a reasonably high level, paled when matched with an actual conversation with a native speaker. I boarded the car with some trepidations, which were thankfully dismissed as we drove towards my, our, new home.

After a solid sleep to shrug away the jetlag, I and Moritz returned to Nürnberg for classes - back to school. The first class that morning was one for the 14 AATG winners, on German, taught by the PAD coordinator, Herr Scheffler. We learned such useful words as drogennehmen and frech. This lasted for the first four periods, after which I accompanied Moritz during his afternoon Stunden: a free period in which we looked at pictures from a recent class trip to France, then Physik, in which an experiment was done involving a laser. One thing which surprised me was the lack of respect teachers are afforded in Germany.

The week continued with more classes, and a whirlwind of tours and after school activities - seeing the Johannesfriedhof, playing in a guest Sportfest - around Nürnberg, becoming acquainted with the city and our peers at Dürer-Gymnasium, before we were spirited away by the ICE (Inter City Express) to Berlin. We arrived at the train station thinking ourselves ready for one of the biggest cities in Europe - we were most definitely not. Germany's new capital, rife with amazing architecture, both extant, and being built by the hundreds of cranes, was amazing. We saw such mainstays as the Reichstag and 'the Pregnant Oyster', and attractions like a Variete Show, and KDW; most of our time in Berlin, however, was spent looking, not at the city's bright future, but rather its dark past - the Wall, and the National Socialists. While sometimes crushing in its powerful history, Berlin thrilled as well as impressed - was awesome as well as inspiring a sense of awe.

After our northern sojourn, we returned to the feet of the Alps, to continue our progressively sadder stay in Nürnberg. I say sadder, because every day brought me closer to leaving, to placing an entire ocean between myself and my constant stream of new acquaintances. In this time the group of Americans ventured further afield: visiting Bamberg, Rottenbach, die Ausgänge, the underground cellars used for safety during the Second War, and the site I had previously associated Nürnberg with - the war crimes trial building. We also visited beautiful Munich with the Hofbräuhaus and Viktualienmarkt, and its neighbor, Dachau, a disturbing, cathartic monument to what humanity is capable of. Eventually, the time came and with an infinite string of 'bis späters' and email addresses, with a heavy heart and a heavy satchel, I was going back to America. And now I look at the pictures of Nürnberg in my German text, and wait out my time 'til I and Germany meet again.

This year's Duden award for outstanding contributions to the teaching of German and service in the chapter was presented to Susan Adams, German teacher at Concord Academy, at the Annual Student Awards Banquet in May. Susan, a former AATG Massachusetts Chapter President, has presented at AATG, MaFLA and ACTFL meetings on such topics as "Film in the Classroom", "Der blaue Engel in the HS Classroom", "Using Film and Video in the Classroom" and"Making Foreign Language Class More Meaningful: Content-based Collaboration with other Departments". She has participated in Goethe Institute seminars in Berlin (1985), Hamburg (1992) and Wiesneck (1997). In addition, Susan has been instrumental in organizing and directing numerous HS/College German Days and enabled her own students of German to be involved in a GAPP exchange with Ahrensburg (Schleswig-Holstein). Her students participate regularly in the AATG National Examinations and two were prizewinners, one in 1988 and one in 1997. Congratulations, Susan!

For the past three years Mary Gottschalk has served as Newsletter Editor for the AATG Massachusetts Chapter. For your help in getting the news out to our members, vielen herzlichen Dank, Mary!

Immersion Weekend for German Teachers in New England
School for International Living
Brattleboro, Vermont
April 7-9, 2000

The Massachusetts Chapter of the AATG together with the Goethe Institute Boston will sponsor an Immersion Weekend for Teachers of German. Program information along with lodging and meals, directions and registration details will be available soon.
***New teachers and teachers in training are strongly encouraged to attend.
***Participants must be willing to communicate in German at all times.

President
Bernhard Martin (Tufts University)
31 College Hill Road
Somerville, MA 02144
(617) 628-5000 Ext. 2637 (Office)
(617) 623-5992 (Home)
E-mail: bmartin@tufts.edu

President-Elect
Marnie Ketcham
19 Ipswich Woods Drive
Ipswich, MA 01938
(978) 356-8320 (Home)
 

Vice President
Jutta Arend
Campus P.O. Box 90A
College of the Holy Cross
One College Street
Worcester, MA 01610-2395
(508) 793-3305 (Home)
E-mail: jarend@holycross.edu
 

Secretary
Virginia Powell (Wachusett Regional H.S.)
24 Chestnut Hill Road
Holden, MA 01520
(508) 829-6874 (Home)

Treasurer
Monika Whipple (Groton School)
96 South Harbor Road
Townsend, MA 01469
(508) 597-6248 (Home)
E-mail: mwhipple@groton.org
 

Testing Co-chair
Marlies Stueart
43 Avon Road
Wellesley, MA 02181
(781) 237-3436 (Home)
E-mail: mstueart@aol.com
 

Testing Co-chair
Joan Murray (Regis College)
5 Phillips Terrace
Waltham, MA 02154
(617) 894-3130 (Home)
(781) 768-8339 (Fax)
E-mail: joan.murray@regiscollege.edu
 

Newsletter Editor
Sandra Alfers
Dept. of Germanic Languages and Literatures
518 Herter Hall
University of Massachusetts Amherst
Amherst, MA 01003
(413) 586-2441 (Home)
E-mail: salfers@german.umass.edu
 

Past President
Inge Buerger (Pentucket Senior High School)
5 Pinewood Lane Fax
Groveland, MA 01834
(978) 373-4989 (Office)
(978) 373-0493 (Home)
E-mail: IngeMB@aol.com

Susan Adams (Concord Academy)
81 Ministerial Drive
Concord, MA 01742
(978) 369-2540 (Office)
E-mail: wm_adams@compuserve.com

Cherie Baggs
62 Church Street
Oxford, MA 01540
(508) 987-5513 (Home)
E-mail: cabaggs@aol.com

Donna Van Handle (Mount Holyoke College)
412 Alvord Place Office
South Hadley, MA 01075
(413) 536-7458 (Home)
(413) 538-2207 (Office)
(413) 538-2127 (Fax)
E-mail: dvanhand@mtholyoke.edu

Doris Demmel
Goethe Institute
170 Beacon Street
Boston, MA 02116
(617) 262-6050 (Office)
(617) 262-2615 (Fax)
E-mail ddemmel@giboston.org

All German teachers (primary, secondary, college & university) are encouraged to become involved with the Massachusetts Chapter of the AATG. In addition to the benefits of being an AATG member nationwide, this chapter offers regional activities: workshops where colleagues may share and learn from each other; the AATG testing program; the awards banquet for regional winners; and this newsletter to keep participants informed of events throughout the year. $5 per year provides some of the funding for these activities.
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Send to: Monika Whipple, Treasurer, 96 S. Harbor Road, Townsend, MA 01469
$5 check payable to: AATG - Massachusetts Chapter
 

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