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The German Undergraduate Curriculum: Does it Fit Students’ Interests or Needs?

Peter Ecke, Alexander Ganz, Rachel Walker & Alan EbyThe University of Arizonaeckep@email.arizona.edu

Presentation given at the AAUSC Meeting, University of Minnesota, Nov. 5, 2010

Program data as a basis to reflect on the undergraduate curriculum

• Context: Enrollments in German at US institutions of higher education

• Enrollments at a southwestern university– Basic language program– Majors/Minors

• Major and minor areas of students of German– and possible implications

• Survey on clarity and appeal of course titles to majors and minors

• Students’ suggestions about course offerings• [(Changing) Motives/Needs]

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Total Enrollments in German at US Institutions of Higher Education (data from Furman et al. 2007)

0

50000

100000

150000

200000

250000

1960 1970 1980 1990 1995 1998 2002 2006

Percentage Share of German in Language Course Enrollments in US Institutions of Higher Education

(data from Furman et al. 2007)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

1968 1980 1986 1990 1995 1998 2002 2006

GermanSpanishFrenchASLItalianChineseArabic

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Student Enrollments in the First Two Years of German

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

450

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

SpringFall

Total Numbers of Majors and Minors in German Studies

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

F2001

S2002

F2002

S2003

F2003

S2004

F2004

S2005

F2008

S2009

F2009

S2010

F2010

Semester

MajorsMinors

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Major Combinations

• Frequent combinations of German majors/minors with other subjects at your institution?

Most Frequent Majors & Minors of Students who have German as one Major or Minor (Fall 2010)

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

Lingu

istics

Englis

hHist

orySpa

nish

Pre-Bus

iness

Politic

al Scie

nce

Creativ

e Writi

ngMath

emati

csFren

ch

Music

& Perf

orman

cePsy

cholo

gy

Molecu

lar &

Cell

ular B

iolog

yPhy

sics

Genera

l Bus

iness

Adm

inistr

ation

Chemist

ry

(Pre)

Compu

ter Scie

nce

Physio

logy

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Broad Area of Students who Have German as One Major or Minor (Fall 2010)

05

101520253035404550

Lang

uage

s/Lite

rature

s/Cult

ures

Social

/Behav

ioral

Scienc

es ArtsBas

ic Scie

nces

Applie

d Scie

nces

Manag

emen

t/Bus

iness

/Financ

eEdu

catio

n

Languages/Literatures/Cultures

English 10French 5No major (Letters, Arts, & Sciences) 2Spanish 8East Asian Studies 1Russian 2Italian 1Japanese 1Total 30

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Social and Behavioral SciencesHistory 8Linguistics 11Political Science 7Psychology 5Anthropology 2(Pre) Communication 2Philosophy 2Women’s Studies 1Journalism 2Speech, Language & Hearing 1Sociology 1Pre Law 2SLAT 1Total 45

Arts

Creative Writing 6Music and Performance 5Media/Theatre Arts 2Studio Art 2Art History 1Total 16

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Basic SciencesMathematics 6Molecular and Cellular Biology 4Physics 4Physiology 3Geography 2Ecology/Evolutionary Biology 2Biology 1Biochemistry & Molecular Biophysics 1Environmental Hydrology & Water Res. 1Nutritional Sciences 1Environmental Sciences 1Chemistry 4No major (College of Science) 1Total 31

Applied Sciences(Pre) Computer Science 3(Pre) Architecture 2Systems/Industrial Engineering 2Veterinary Science 2Mechanical Engineering 1Chemical Engineering 1Engineering Management 1Optical Sciences & Engineering 1Pre-Nursing 1Agricultural Tech Mgmt & Ed 2 1Total 15

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Management, Business, Finance

(Pre) Business 7Finance 2Economics 1Management Information Systems 1Public Management & Policy 1Business Management 1Thematic Finance 1General Business Administration 4Total 18

• Do we have enough to offer for students with interests in – Linguistics?– History?– Political Science?– Science and Technology?– Business?

• Should we care?

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Appeal of undergraduate curriculum to students

• Survey about course titles – (1) Clarity, (2) appeal, (3) suggestions– 48 students (German majors/minors in 300+ courses)

• 10 majors, 14 double majors, 23 minors, 1 double degree

• Analysis of enrollment numbers– in specific courses over the last 7 years

• (Needs analysis)– Background questionnaire at beginning of course

Clarity of Course Titles (1 = unclear, do not know what it means, 6 = very clear and explicit)

GER 273 Tradition and Revolution: German Romanticism (E)4.09

GER 274 Dialogue of the Sexes: Men and Women in Contemporary German Society (E)5.26

GER 275 The German Classical Heritage: 1755 to 1945 (E)4.61

GER 276 Rebellion and Crisis: The Many Faces of the Weimar (E)4.53

GER 278 Medieval Answers to Modern Problems (E)4.3

GER 300 Encounters in Language and Culture (G)3.68

GER 301 Voices Past and Present (G)3.42

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Clarity of Course Titles (1 = unclear, do not know what it means, 6 = very clear and explicit) (cont.)

GER 310 Present-Day German: Its Structure and Uses (G)5.17

GER 313 Studies in Genre (G)3.48

GER 314 and GER 315 German for Business 1 and 2 (G)5

GER 325 History of German Cinema (E)5.49

GER 373 Women's Fictions in Twentieth-Century Germany (E)5.58

GER 375 Love, Madness and Decay in fin-de-siecle Vienna (E)4.36

GER 376 German-Jewish Writers (E)5.37

GER 379 Religion in German Culture (E)5.43

Clarity of Course Titles (1 = unclear, do not know what it means, 6 = very clear and explicit) (cont.)

GER 411 Dealing with the Past (G) 4.08GER 412 Tales of Love (G) 4.05GER 416 Minority Views in German Culture (G) 4.91GER 420 Periods in German Culture (G) 4.63GER 430 Crossing Borders/Crossing Cultures (G) 3.65GER 440 Jews and Judaism in German Culture (E,G) 5.3GER 450 Construction of Identity (G) 3.64GER 455 Music and German Literature (E,G) 4.98GER 475 Advanced German Usage (G) 4.98GER 480 Applied Linguistics for German as a Foreign Language (G) 5.17

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How Interesting the Course Titles Sound to You (1 = not interesting at all, 6 = extremely interesting)

GER 273 Tradition and Revolution: German Romanticism (E)3.75

GER 274 Dialogue of the Sexes: Men and Women in Contemporary German Society (E)3.88

GER 275 The German Classical Heritage: 1755 to 1945 (E)3.47

GER 276 Rebellion and Crisis: The Many Faces of the Weimar (E)4.05

GER 278 Medieval Answers to Modern Problems (E)4.13

GER 300 Encounters in Language and Culture (G)3.83

GER 301 Voices Past and Present (G)3.47

How Interesting the Course Titles Sound to You (1 = not interesting at all, 6 = extremely interesting) (cont.)

GER 310 Present-Day German: Its Structure and Uses (G)4.31

GER 313 Studies in Genre (G)3.19

GER 314 and GER 315 German for Business 1 and 2 (G)2.85

GER 325 History of German Cinema (E)4.75

GER 373 Women's Fictions in Twentieth-Century Germany (E)4.04

GER 375 Love, Madness and Decay in fin-de-siecle Vienna (E)4.44

GER 376 German-Jewish Writers (E)4.02

GER 379 Religion in German Culture (E)4.19

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How Interesting the Course Titles Sound to You (1 = not interesting at all, 6 = extremely interesting) (cont.)

GER 411 Dealing with the Past (G) 4.11GER 412 Tales of Love (G) 3.75GER 416 Minority Views in German Culture (G) 4.22GER 420 Periods in German Culture (G) 4.05GER 430 Crossing Borders/Crossing Cultures (G) 4GER 440 Jews and Judaism in German Culture (E, G) 4.27GER 450 Construction of Identity (G) 4.09GER 455 Music and German Literature (E, G) 4.89GER 475 Advanced German Usage (G) 4.46GER 480 Applied Linguistics for German as a Foreign Language (G) 4.44

Comments? Implications? Suggestions?

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Students’ suggestions: More German language instruction (17)

• More German language classes (4)• More grammar (4)• Colloquial German/German conversation (3)• We have too many courses in English (3)

Students’ suggestions: More about the German language (linguistics) (12)

• Varieties of German/Dialects (4)• History of German language (3)• More linguistics (2)• German phonetics (1)• Stylistic analysis (1)• Teaching German (1)

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Students’ suggestions: More about the present German-speaking countries (12)

• Current German politics/events in a globalized world (5)• German pop-culture/daily culture (4)• German education (1)• Switzerland and Austria (1)• Economics in relation to Germany (1)

Students’ suggestions: More German history (15)

• German history (3)• Germany in World War II, from a German perspective (5)• Germany in the cold war / 1945-present (4)• Ancient German history and spread of Germanic cultures

(1)• Bismarck’s Germany (1)• The Holy Roman Empire (1)

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Students’ suggestions about literature (7)

• A whole class on specific writers (e.g., Goethe, Brecht) (1)• More classic literature (Grimm, Goethe, Kafka, Nietzsche)

(1)• More German fairytales (1)• More German poetry (1)• Comparative literature (1)• We have too few literature courses (1)• We have too many courses on minority writers (1)

Students’ suggestions about culture (7)

• Philosophy in German culture (2)• German opera (1)• German vs. South American/Mexican culture (1)• We have too many culture courses (1)

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Students’ suggestions about German and other disciplines (5)

• Germany in science, architecture and technological advancements (2)

• Environmental German class (1)• Offer Business German (GER 314/315) more frequently (2)

Students’ suggestions about scheduling and organization

• More variety/rotation/course sections, few courses are offered (7)

• Time conflicts/German courses offered at same time (e.g. GER 496 & 420, Ger 405 & GER 475, GER 300 & GER 440, all TR) (3)

• State language of instruction in title (3)• State if course counts towards major/minor (2)• Some subjects are covered in several courses, others in

none (2)• Offer courses early and in the afternoon (1)

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Students’ suggestions about scheduling and organization (cont.)

• Offer honors sections (1)• GER 300 should not be 6 credits (1)• Have some courses count for TRAD/Tier 1 (tales,

romanticism) (1)• Online courses should only be in English (1)• GER 300 should only be a gateway course for students

coming from GER 202, large variety of proficiency (1)• Happy to hear the dept. is requesting student feedback (1)

Enrollment Numbers

273 = Tradition and Revolution, 274 = Dialogue of the Sexes, 275 = German Classical Heritage, 276 = Rebellion and Crisis, 278 = Medieval Answers to Modern Problems

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

273 274 275 276 278

2003 Spring2003 Fall2004 Spring2004 Fall2005 Spring2005 Fall2006 Spring2006 Fall2007 Spring2007 Fall2008 Spring2008 Fall2009 Spring2009 Fall2010 Spring 2010 Fall

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Enrollment Numbers

300 = Encounters in Language & Culture, 301 = Voices Past Present, 310 = Present-Day German: Its Structure and Uses, 311 = Dealing with the Past, 312 = Tales of Love, 313 = Studies in Genre, 314/315 = German for Business 1/2

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

300 301 310 311 312 313 314 315

2003 Spring2003 Fall2004 Spring2004 Fall2005 Spring2005 Fall2006 Spring2006 Fall2007 Spring2007 Fall2008 Spring2008 Fall2009 Spring2009 Fall2010 Spring 2010 Fall

Enrollment Numbers

325 = History of German Cinema, 373 = Women’s Fictions in 20th Century Germany, 375 = Love, Madness & Decay in fin-de-siecle Vienna, 376 = German-Jewish Writers,

379 = Religion in German Culture

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

325 373 375 376 379

2003 Spring2003 Fall2004 Spring2004 Fall2005 Spring2005 Fall2006 Spring2006 Fall2007 Spring2007 Fall2008 Spring2008 Fall2009 Spring2009 Fall2010 Spring 2010 Fall

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Enrollment Numbers

410 = (Formerly) The Enlightenment and its Legacies, 420 = (Formerly) Romanticism and its Legacies (Periods in German Culture), 430 = Crossing Borders/Crossing Cultures,

440 = Jews and Judaism in German Culture, 455/555 = Music and German Literature, 475 = Advanced German Usage, 480 = Applied Linguistics for German as a Foreign Language

496C = Senior Capstone

0

5

10

15

20

25

410 420 430 440 450 455/555 475/575 480/580 496C/596C

2003 Spring2003 Fall2004 Spring2004 Fall2005 Spring2005 Fall2006 Spring2006 Fall2007 Spring2007 Fall2008 Spring2008 Fall2009 Spring2009 Fall2010 Spring 2010 Fall

Implications?

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Implications?

• Rename?– GER 300 Encounters in Language and Culture

– GER 301 Voices Past and Present

– GER 313 Studies in Genre

– GER 430 Crossing Borders/Crossing Cultures

– GER 450 Construction of Identity

Implications?

• Rethink?– GER 301 Voices Past and Present

– GER 313 Studies in Genre

– GER 314 and GER 315 German for Business 1 and 2

– GER 450 Construction of Identity

– German and English in courses

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Issues to take into consideration

• Student profile – Numbers of majors and minors– Ratio between double majors and majors– Areas of other majors/minors

• German language development• Flexibility through course titles for faculty• Area of specialization of faculty• Clarity and appeal of course titles to students• Enrollments in specific courses• Student evaluations of courses