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Treffpunkt Deutsch: Grundstufe
Student-centered, communicative learning is the foundation upon which Treffpunkt Deutsch is built. Written by experts in the field, this best-selling text has been carefully designed to encourage students to interact spontaneously and meaningfully in German, transforming the classroom into a Treffpunkt, a meeting place , where students get to know one another better and learn interesting cultural information about the German-speaking world.
421 pages, Hardcover
First published September 1, 1990
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
December 27, 2024
Having taught using Fritz and Rosemarie Widmaier's Treffpunkt Deutsch multiple times since 1990 (and having also taught using a number of other similar but different elementary German language textbooks), this is (and in my very personal opinion) one of the best and most successful, most useful such textbooks on the market. Designed for first/second year college/university language courses, Treffpunkt Deutsch combines basic and extensive grammar and word usage introductions with similarly detailed cultural information (and a very much appreciated emphasis on not only oral/aural but also reading and writing skills and practice). Manageable chapters and a decent amount of practice activities (mostly oral and based on communicative partner work, although the majority can and might also be adapted into single, one on one solitary activities), enhanced by a large but manageable amount of vocabulary, Treffpunkt Deutsch is both intensive and extensive (and leaves students with a good and general basic knowledge of German that really and truly does equally emphasise ALL of the required and desired language skill levels, reading, writing, listening and speaking).
What I personally most appreciate is the fact that unlike the majority of novice German language textbooks, Treffpunkt Deutsch introduces the adjectives (in German, adjectives that appear before the noun are inflected) at the same time as the different noun cases are introduced. Therefore, the nominative adjective forms are introduced when the nominative is covered, the accusative adjective forms are introduced when the accusative is covered etc. In contrast, most first year German textbooks tend to introduce the various adjective forms (and the fact that they are inflected, that if used in front of nouns, they need to agree in number and case with the noun or nouns they are modifying) only AFTER the genitive case has been introduced, and since this usually happens rather late in the game so to speak, one is basically and often left with the dilemma that students are unable to use adjectives in front of nouns while writing sentences until rather the end of the academic year/semester (causing both frustration on the part of the student and generally short and tedious written offerings, by mere necessity lacking in any kind of descriptive detail).
Also, introducing ALL of the adjective endings at once is, in my opinion, and from personal teaching experience both potentially confusing and a huge, a massive amount of memory work for students (and actually much more of a potential learning issue and millstone than if the forms are in fact introduced when and while the specific grammatical noun cases are also covered). And while these adjective forms are or can be indeed a real learning obstacle and hurdle especially for English language students, they are in reality no more of a potential issue than the noun cases themselves (there will always be issues with the fact that German has, or rather that German still has inflections with regard to its nouns and adjectives, that there are specific endings for descriptive adjectives and that these, alongside of the grammatical case endings simply need to be practiced, practiced some more and memorised, just like the genders and plural forms of German nouns also need to be learned in a similar fashion, in the same general manner).
And really, just because one introduces the adjective endings earlier, does NOT then also have to mean that instructors need to immediately start taking off marks for mistakes (as it takes or at least it can take years to fully understand and master this). When I teach from Treffpunkt Deutsch, while I always introduce the adjective endings as (and when) they are covered in the textbook, and generally make note of mistakes (with appropriate corrections) in assignments and tests/exams, I ONLY start taking off actual marks for said mistakes once the genitive has been introduced and learned, thus giving students more than ample time for practice without academic or rather possible academic penalty (I do though always make sure to point out and correct any and all mistakes so that students can see how the adjectives work and to prevent errors from being perpetuated).
Now as much as I am singing and continue to sing high praises for Treffpunkt Deutsch, there are also some annoying shortcomings (like with most if not ALL language textbooks, as NO such thing as a perfect example thereof really exists). I have never much liked how the Widmaiers explain German negation and their analysis of both the dative and the so-called two way prepositions also leave a bit to be desired in my opinion (and thus, when I teach, for negation and the prepositions, I ALWAYS have supplemental handouts that I use in class). Furthermore (but this is actually something that I have found with each and every language textbook I have yet encountered, and not just for German either), there are simply NOT enough examples listed in conjunction with the various grammar and usage points covered (but again, this is a rather small and minor issue, and one easily rectified by providing additional examples). When I teach, I NEVER ever rely only on the textbook (and on the activities provided within); I always use both additional grammar handouts and additional and supplemental exercises and activities.
Since Treffpunkt Deutsch's first appearance, there have been something like six or so editions (and while I have not taught from the latest edition, I have taught from most of the previous ones). I would in NO way recommend ANY of the editions that do not incorporate the new post 2000 orthography regulations, die neue deutsche Rechtschreibung (and I would also and actually actively steer interested individuals AWAY from both the first and the second editions, as the first edition still teaches the adjective endings in the traditional manner and the second edition just teems with unacceptable typos). But basically, any of the post orthography reform editions of Treffpunkt Deutsch are to be recommended, although especially with basic language learning/teaching textbooks, I usually am of the opinion that the most recent editions usually tend to also be the more up-to-date, especially with regard to relevant and current cultural information.
And now, finally, and as someone who has used and taught from multiple editions of Treffpunkt Deutsch, one seemingly minor (but for me actually a major) source of irritation is the fact that the book has become ever increasingly expensive to purchase over the years (with the most recent editions not only being the most expensive, of course, but also rather massively over-priced, in my opinion). However, this is actually a common and recurring issue with regard to many if not most university and college level language learning textbooks (and while I can to a point understand and even appreciate at least some of the increased costs of production and publication, I can also very much comprehend student frustration at having to purchase a textbook costing almost two hundred dollars for a first semester German language course that usually only covers the first three or four chapters). And while I still firmly believe that the most recent edition of Treffpunkt Deutsch is generally the most culturally up-to-date, if you are perhaps considering an older edition (due to cost concerns), that is perfectly und utterly acceptable (with the warning that you should most definitely purchase a post 2000, a post spelling reform version of the textbook, and that older textbooks sold online, and especially older workbooks, will often have internal markings, underlinings and even completed exercises).
What I personally most appreciate is the fact that unlike the majority of novice German language textbooks, Treffpunkt Deutsch introduces the adjectives (in German, adjectives that appear before the noun are inflected) at the same time as the different noun cases are introduced. Therefore, the nominative adjective forms are introduced when the nominative is covered, the accusative adjective forms are introduced when the accusative is covered etc. In contrast, most first year German textbooks tend to introduce the various adjective forms (and the fact that they are inflected, that if used in front of nouns, they need to agree in number and case with the noun or nouns they are modifying) only AFTER the genitive case has been introduced, and since this usually happens rather late in the game so to speak, one is basically and often left with the dilemma that students are unable to use adjectives in front of nouns while writing sentences until rather the end of the academic year/semester (causing both frustration on the part of the student and generally short and tedious written offerings, by mere necessity lacking in any kind of descriptive detail).
Also, introducing ALL of the adjective endings at once is, in my opinion, and from personal teaching experience both potentially confusing and a huge, a massive amount of memory work for students (and actually much more of a potential learning issue and millstone than if the forms are in fact introduced when and while the specific grammatical noun cases are also covered). And while these adjective forms are or can be indeed a real learning obstacle and hurdle especially for English language students, they are in reality no more of a potential issue than the noun cases themselves (there will always be issues with the fact that German has, or rather that German still has inflections with regard to its nouns and adjectives, that there are specific endings for descriptive adjectives and that these, alongside of the grammatical case endings simply need to be practiced, practiced some more and memorised, just like the genders and plural forms of German nouns also need to be learned in a similar fashion, in the same general manner).
And really, just because one introduces the adjective endings earlier, does NOT then also have to mean that instructors need to immediately start taking off marks for mistakes (as it takes or at least it can take years to fully understand and master this). When I teach from Treffpunkt Deutsch, while I always introduce the adjective endings as (and when) they are covered in the textbook, and generally make note of mistakes (with appropriate corrections) in assignments and tests/exams, I ONLY start taking off actual marks for said mistakes once the genitive has been introduced and learned, thus giving students more than ample time for practice without academic or rather possible academic penalty (I do though always make sure to point out and correct any and all mistakes so that students can see how the adjectives work and to prevent errors from being perpetuated).
Now as much as I am singing and continue to sing high praises for Treffpunkt Deutsch, there are also some annoying shortcomings (like with most if not ALL language textbooks, as NO such thing as a perfect example thereof really exists). I have never much liked how the Widmaiers explain German negation and their analysis of both the dative and the so-called two way prepositions also leave a bit to be desired in my opinion (and thus, when I teach, for negation and the prepositions, I ALWAYS have supplemental handouts that I use in class). Furthermore (but this is actually something that I have found with each and every language textbook I have yet encountered, and not just for German either), there are simply NOT enough examples listed in conjunction with the various grammar and usage points covered (but again, this is a rather small and minor issue, and one easily rectified by providing additional examples). When I teach, I NEVER ever rely only on the textbook (and on the activities provided within); I always use both additional grammar handouts and additional and supplemental exercises and activities.
Since Treffpunkt Deutsch's first appearance, there have been something like six or so editions (and while I have not taught from the latest edition, I have taught from most of the previous ones). I would in NO way recommend ANY of the editions that do not incorporate the new post 2000 orthography regulations, die neue deutsche Rechtschreibung (and I would also and actually actively steer interested individuals AWAY from both the first and the second editions, as the first edition still teaches the adjective endings in the traditional manner and the second edition just teems with unacceptable typos). But basically, any of the post orthography reform editions of Treffpunkt Deutsch are to be recommended, although especially with basic language learning/teaching textbooks, I usually am of the opinion that the most recent editions usually tend to also be the more up-to-date, especially with regard to relevant and current cultural information.
And now, finally, and as someone who has used and taught from multiple editions of Treffpunkt Deutsch, one seemingly minor (but for me actually a major) source of irritation is the fact that the book has become ever increasingly expensive to purchase over the years (with the most recent editions not only being the most expensive, of course, but also rather massively over-priced, in my opinion). However, this is actually a common and recurring issue with regard to many if not most university and college level language learning textbooks (and while I can to a point understand and even appreciate at least some of the increased costs of production and publication, I can also very much comprehend student frustration at having to purchase a textbook costing almost two hundred dollars for a first semester German language course that usually only covers the first three or four chapters). And while I still firmly believe that the most recent edition of Treffpunkt Deutsch is generally the most culturally up-to-date, if you are perhaps considering an older edition (due to cost concerns), that is perfectly und utterly acceptable (with the warning that you should most definitely purchase a post 2000, a post spelling reform version of the textbook, and that older textbooks sold online, and especially older workbooks, will often have internal markings, underlinings and even completed exercises).
January 13, 2016
This book is very helpful in learning German!!
May 18, 2014
This textbook was ok. I felt that it was a little disorganized and I found that I had to flip back to the dictionary more than I usually did in foreign language texts. You definitely need an instructor for this book, otherwise you'll feel a bit lost.
Fun piece of information: The college students in the story arcs of this text bear a huge resemblance to the kids in the Magic School Bus. You'll see what I mean when you read it.
Fun piece of information: The college students in the story arcs of this text bear a huge resemblance to the kids in the Magic School Bus. You'll see what I mean when you read it.
February 25, 2014
My German book from college.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews