A University Course in German Through Storytelling (TPRS): Introduction
Note: These materials have been created by Dr. Nik Penner and his numerous students who contributed to this textbook throughout the years. I tried to list the names of the contributors to this project the best I could remember, but it is inevitable that a few names escaped my memory. If you contributed to this project and are not listed as a contributor, please contact me at pennern@mcmaster.ca
Hello and welcome to German 1Z06! This course will be very different from any language course you have taken before. Unlike most language courses following the traditional approach which require students to complete countless grammar drills and to mechanically memorize phrases and grammar rules, we are going to imitate the way children learn languages and learn German in a fun and entertaining way. And there will be a lot less homework than in most other language courses. In fact, most homework will consist of reading short novels in German.
We are going to use the TPRS method of language teaching to give you fluency in basic German. We will keep the grammar explanations and drills to a minimum but will concentrate on a several hundred most frequent words and grammar structures.
At the end of the course, you should be able to fluently communicate in basic German on a number of topics, write simple German and read texts of medium difficulty.
I hope that this textbook makes learning German an entertaining and fun experience for you. I know that most other textbooks say exactly the same thing, yet learning with them still implies a good deal of suffering, much like the Saturday German school to which my parents dragged me when I was a kid. Ultimately, you will be the judge of whether our endeavour was successful…
Disclaimer: this textbook is a living and breathing project that is regularly updated and expanded. If you notice a typo, an inaccuracy, have an idea about what could work well for it, or simply want to tell me what could be done better, please email me at pennern@mcmaster.ca and put ‘German through TPRS Feedback’ in the subject line of your email.
Most notable contributors: KATHRYN BROWN, MEHRUNNISA SHIRAZ
Most illustrations are by DARYA SILKOVA
Contributors in no particular order: ANDREW RUSSEL; CYNTHIA KAHL; DARYA SILKOVA; GUSTAV FINLEY; HEATHER WILD; SCOTT VAN WETTEN; NICOLE GORICANEC; NADIA BACHAR; JOHNATHAN MARSHALL; JACOB BAILEY; HILTON MAURER; AND BRENT KUMMER