survey of materials

The First-Year German website (which you are using here) manages the bureaucratic part of the course and delivers the materials (schedule, assignments, etc.) that are particular to first-year German at Portland State University.

The learning materials are being developed for use beyond PSU. They are available in two ways: 1) on the CD-ROM; 2) as files that can be downloaded and printed on paper. The two collections contain many of the same materials, allowing of course for the HUGE difference between printed publications and computer-delivered resources. Here is a description of the 2 packages, followed by a comparative list of what they contain:

• Wie, bitte? CD-ROMS (free of charge) will be distributed to new students during the first week of classes. Replacements will be readily available.

• The Wie, bitte? PDFs are printable files in the standard .pdf format. Of course you cannot mouse a word and hear it, as you can with the software. And it would be prohibitively expensive for you to print each color graphic in the Wie, bitte? materials, so those files are not offered here. Identical versions of the Wie, bitte? PDFs are on on the CD-ROM (folder / directory "media", then folder / directory "WB_pdf_2008") and on the website via this link.

• Some resources involve many sound links and would be confusing as conventional text files; these include the Kontext "Overviews" and "Structures" (grammar) sections. You can print them directly, for each Kontext, from the CD-ROM, from within the Wie, bitte? software. The term "Kontext", instead of "chapter", is used because the fundamental teaching approach is not academic or "bookish", but rather communicative, and all communication occurs in contexts which shape the language that is used inthem.

• Some resources that will later be on the CD-ROM are provided temporarily from the course website (link: "TEMPORARY Wie, bitte? Resources")

• You may also want to transfer sound files, for example the dialogs, from the CD-ROM to your own audio playing device; look for them in the folder / directory "media".

• If you simply must print one of the Wie, bitte? graphics, there are ways to capture them from the screen and then print them. It is not the purpose of our program to teach that skill.

	The resources listed below exist in one or both of the two main packages. The CD-ROM version is far more complete than the paper version.
Read across each row BELOW to see where its materials are located in the packages listed to the RIGHT.	`Wie, bitte?` `on CD-ROM`	`Wie, bitte?` `printable files (identical on disc and on website)`
`Top level organization (main parts of the package of learning materials)`	On the Wie, bitte? opener screen, use the "Main Resources" button (at the left of every screen) to select basic learning materials.	Table of Contents (.pdf from course website)
`Table of Contexts`	Mouse “Choose Context” at the left of every major screen.	Table of Contents (.pdf from course website)
`Book Covers`	The Wie, bitte? startup splash screen shows a different graphic each time you start the software.	Front cover (pdf from course website) • Back cover (pdf from course website)
`Kontext Overviews`	Choose “Overview” from the “Context Resources” menu (available only after “Choose Context” has been used.	print from CD-ROM (see information at left), using the "<PRINT THIS FIELD" button
`Kontext Graphics`	Choose “Graphics & Movies” from the “Context Resources” menu.	Ordinary pictures would be too expensive to include, even in black & white. Movies would be impossible.
`Kontext Dialogs`	Choose “Dialogs” from the "Context Resources" menu	Dialogs (.pdf from course website)
`Kontext Broadcast Clips`	Choose “Broadcast Clips” from the “Context Resources” menu	not present; you can't hear paper
`Kontext Websites`	Choose “Websites” from the “Context Resources” menu	not present; paper is not the internet; but of course you can print pages from the internet
`Kontext Glossary`	Choose “Glossary” from the “Context Resources” menu.	Kontext Glossaries (.pdf from course website)
`Kontext Structures`	Choose “Structures” from the “Context Resources” menu.	print the fields from CD-ROM, using the "<PRINT THIS FIELD" button
`Kontext Culture & Language`	not yet available	not present
`Situations: speaking activities`	Choose "Context Activities" and then "Situations"	not available
`exit self-evaluation for each Kontext`	not yet available; will be provided in class or from website	not yet available; will be provided in class or from website
`All Graphics`	Choose “Graphics & Movies (All)” from the “Main Resources” menu	impossibly expensive to photocopy, even in black & white
`Main (Cumulative) Glossary`	Choose “Main Glossary” from the "Main Resources" menu	Main Glossary (.pdf from course website)
`All Broadcast Clips`	Choose “Broadcasts (All)” from the “Main Resources” menu	not present, because it is impossible to print sounds
`All Websites`	Choose “Websites (All)” from the “Main Resources” menu	not present; paper is not the internet; but of course you can print pages from the internet
`Survival Vocabulary`	menu button "Main Resources"	not available
`Survival Grammar`	menu button "Main Resources"	not available
`Checklist of Common Errors in German`	menu button "Main Resources"	not available
`Ready Facts (maps, etc.)`	menu button "Main Resources"	not available
`Reference Grammar`	Links on the “Overview” and “Structures” screens of the Kontexte; also via menu button "Main Resources"	Reference Grammar (.pdf from course website)
`Purpose Statement`	Link from the "HELP" menu	not present; will be discussed in class
`Word Search (finds words in graphics and sounds)`	menu button "Main Resources"	impossible in conventional print medium
`ACTFL Language Proficiency Guidelines`	short version: pdf on course website; direct link: www.actfl.org
`Interactive Software: Cosmo Lexikon: Multilingual Talking Pictorial Dictionary; Cosmo Cabaret, Telefon, Briefsteller`	separate CD-ROM to be issued later	impossible in conventional print medium