Literally generations of college and university students have demonstrated that German for Reading Knowledge's grammar-translation method enables students to learn to encode and understand connections and with the aid of dictionary to translate academic texts in German into English. The ability to decipher and translate German after a relatively short amount of exposure is a valuable skill to many students and researchers.
The 2004 edition of German for Reading Knowledge emphasizes this need of students in the humanities, arts, and social sciences to get a basic knowledge of German so that they can begin to read specialized literature independently. The grammar explanations focus on non-speaker perceptions and highlight pitfalls that often trouble beginning translating and reading German. The textbook's 30 Kapitel break the information down into manageable chunks with straightforward and intuitive presentations. Following the grammar points in each Kapitel, come †bungssŠtze (exercise sentences) containing examples of the grammar points, and a LesestŸck (reading text).
Getting ready, getting set and Reading is designed to expand and enhance the current application of the LesestŸcke in German for Reading Knowledge, to ease the task of learning vocabulary, and to provide a key to the exercises.
A multi-entry online workbook, Getting ready, getting set and Reading embraces the belief that there is more to reading German than just translating texts into English. Getting ready, getting set and Reading's multi-entry digital activities develop active reading skills, that native-readers often take for granted, but which must be learned anew and/or reinforced when reading in a second language. As its name suggests, the reader 1) gets ready with pre-reading materials, 2) gets set with organizing activities, and 3) reads with the reading assistance. New and/or text-specific words in each text are linked to pop-up Definitionen. In addition, the menu provides follow-up reading for those interested in Extensive Reading. Flashcard and other memorization options turn Grundwortschatz lists into learning tools, and the password-protected exercise key can be used solely by instructors or by self-learners. The overall goal is to strengthen German reading knowledge; the reader learns to hypothesize, guess, intuit, understand and really be able to read in German.
Since all readers may not need all steps for all readings, and since different readers may like to approach different texts in different ways, a multi-entry menu accompanies each text taken from German for Reading Knowledge Fifth Edition. For descriptions and samples click on the menu at the right!