Kontakte - Hardcover

This best-selling German text is based on and inspired by the Natural Approach, pioneered by Tracy D. Terrell. Students learn German through communicative contexts with an emphasis on the four skills and cultural competence, with grammar functioning as an aid to language learning and not as an end in itself. The abundance of interesting personalized activities and a wide variety of authentic and author-written readings in Kontakte ensure that students are exposed to rich language input, critical to language acquisition. A full range of supplements, including video, audio and interactive online materials, provide multiple opportunities to practice newly acquired vocabulary and grammar and further refine developing language skills.

(Ph.D. University of California, Berkeley) is Gerhard Helbig Professor of German as a Foreign Language and Applied Linguistics at the University of Leipzig and President of the Institute for Test Research and Test Development in Leipzig, Germany. Before joining the University of Leipzig, he taught at the University of Iowa, Iowa City (1990-1998) and at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (19881990). His main research areas are: second language acquisition, corpus linguistics, language testing and assessment, and language policy. He is (co-) author of over 150 books, book chapters, and journal articles. He has extensive experience in test research and development for all language modalities (speaking, listening, writing, and reading). He has been a certified ACTFL OPI tester since 1989 and tester trainer since 1993. He has been a major contributor to the internationalization efforts of the University of Leipzig, establishing and directing joint BA, MA, and Ph.D. programs with universities in the Netherlands, Mexico, Brazil, and the U.S.