German Language Education and Linguistics – Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary flashcards cover major theoretical and didactic concepts from the lecture on German language competence, literacy acquisition, grammar instruction, reading, speaking, and writing.

Linguistic Action Competence

The ability to use language appropriately in everyday life, school, and society across spoken/written and receptive/productive modes.

Phonic vs. Graphic Modality

Distinction between spoken (phonic) and written (graphic) forms of language.

Receptive vs. Productive Use

Receptive skills include listening and reading; productive skills include speaking and writing.

Koch & Oesterreicher’s Continuum

Model that differentiates medial (spoken/written) and conceptual (oral/literate) characteristics of communication.

Bildungssprache

Academic language register that serves communicative, social-status, and epistemic (thinking) functions.

Alphabetic Principle

Systematic relationship between individual phonemes and graphemes in an alphabetic script.

Phoneme–Grapheme Correspondence

Regular mapping of speech sounds to written letters or letter combinations.

Mental Lexicon

The mental storehouse in which words and their related information are organized and connected.

Syllabic Principle

Orthographic guideline where spelling reflects syllable structure (onset, nucleus, coda).

Open Syllable

A syllable ending in a vowel, often leading to a long vowel sound in German spelling (e.g., ‘Fe-’ in ‘Feder’).

Closed Syllable

A syllable ending in a consonant, usually containing a short vowel sound.

Synthetic–Analytic Approach

Literacy teaching method that combines building words from sounds (synthetic) with analyzing whole words (analytic).

Silbenhäuschen (Syllable House)

Didactic visual tool that illustrates open versus closed syllables for early reading instruction.

Language as System Reflection

Educational focus on grammar and semantics: word classes, morphology, sentence structure, meaning relations.

Language in Use Reflection

Educational focus on pragmatic aspects: language use in texts, conversations, and contexts.

Metalinguistic Awareness (Sprachbewusstheit)

Conscious reflection on language forms, functions, and rules beyond mere usage.

Valence Grammar

Model describing how verbs determine the number and type of complements in a sentence.

Field Model (Vorfeld–Mittelfeld–Nachfeld)

German clause structure dividing positions before, within, and after the verbal bracket.

Phonographic Principle

German spelling principle based on phoneme-grapheme mapping.

Syllabic Orthographic Principle

Spelling principle that minimizes deviation from phoneme-grapheme relations within syllables.

Morphematic Principle

German spelling principle that preserves morpheme consistency despite pronunciation changes.

Syntactic Principle (Punctuation)

Orthographic rule set governing comma placement and other markers reflecting sentence structure.

Umstellprobe (Permutation Test)

Grammar check: reordering sentence parts to test syntactic functions.

Weglassprobe (Deletion Test)

Grammar check: removing elements to identify mandatory versus optional constituents.

Ersatzprobe (Substitution Test)

Grammar check: replacing words/phrases to reveal categories and functions.

Reading Functions

Purposes of reading: everyday problem solving, enjoyment, personal development, and education.

Bottom-Up Processing

Comprehension driven by textual data progressing from letters to meaning.

Top-Down Processing

Comprehension guided by prior knowledge, expectations, and context.

Rosenbrock/Nix Model

Competence model outlining process, subject, social, and reflection levels in reading instruction.

Speaking Competence

Ability to articulate clearly with proper rhythm and intonation.

Conversation Competence

Skill of managing interactive dialogue, including listening, turn-taking, and topic control.

Contextualization Competence

Capacity to adapt speech to situation, participants, and goals.

Vertextungs Competence

Skill of structuring spoken contributions into coherent stretches of discourse.

Markierungs Competence

Use of linguistic markers (e.g., connectors, modal particles) to guide listeners.

Scaffolding

Supportive interaction framework adults provide to help children advance linguistic skills.

Fine-Tuning (Motherese)

Adjusting speech (simpler syntax, exaggerated prosody) to facilitate language acquisition in infants.

Communicative Practices

Conventionalized social activities (e.g., greetings, classroom talk) requiring specific language use.

Active Listening

Attentive, responsive listening behavior that acknowledges and processes the speaker’s message.

S-O-I Model (Select-Organize-Integrate)

Listening model: selecting relevant input, organizing it mentally, integrating with prior knowledge while monitoring.

Writing Functions

Communicative, memory-preserving, knowledge-creating, reflective, and aesthetic purposes served by writing.

Hayes & Flower Model

Cognitive writing model describing recursive planning, translating, and reviewing processes; useful for diagnosing writing problems.

Writing Knowledge Components

Writer’s awareness of text patterns, genre structures, cohesion devices, and stylistic options.

Initial-Introduction Strategy

Writing method where students draft an introduction first, then refine through planning and revision phases.

Glinz’s Probes

Diagnostic tests (permutation, deletion, substitution) used to analyze syntax and inform spelling decisions.

Alphabet with Five Vowel Qualities

German vowel system distinguishing five core vowels by quality and length, crucial for spelling instruction.