Interkulturelle Wortschatztechniken

Abstract

Despite the numerous results delivered by intercultural vocabulary didactics, the acquisition of vocabulary is still one of the main difficulties for learners in the classroom of German as a foreign language, especially in non-German-speaking countries. In this article, I try to recommend ways that lead to efficient vocabulary work. Particular attention is paid to the intercultural aspect of teaching vocabulary. Using the example of the new German textbook "German for Algeria - An intercultural textbook", which was developed by a German-Algerian team of experts, it is shown how intercultural vocabulary work can be carried out. The vocabulary as a carrier of culture is subject to constant variability. It is precisely this characteristic that should be given special consideration in the mediation and appropriation process.
This study showed that the learner's perspective influences the choice of vocabulary and vocabulary work. As we have seen, in order to enable learners to communicate the intercultural facet of language, it is necessary to include topics in the source language. At the same time, one has to reckon with an individually differentiated vocabulary, which, however, cannot appear in the textbook. In this context, I prefer to use the criterion of usefulness, which is just as vague as that of as that of indispensability.
The selection of a learner-oriented minimum vocabulary should contribute to the development of the intercultural exchange of information and take into account the social and cultural conditions of the target language and the country. Topics such as festivals, holidays, family, leisure time, and customs prove to be fruitful in this context since Arabic-Islamic culture differs significantly from Western culture in this area. Based on this idea, I am in favor of the opinion that the minimum for the initial stage, which is generally considered more or less certain in teaching and learning materials, should be specified in such a way "that lexical units are omitted and supplemented by others". With the subjectification of the more objectively selected vocabulary, the minimum becomes more open and cannot and must not be dogmatically limited. It must also provide space for intuitively determined vocabulary. On the other hand, teachers and textbook authors, and even more so learners, need a certain quantitative orientation.

In order to show the openness of the minimum, I choose the theme of festivals/holidays. From an intercultural point of view, not only those words should be included that belong to the Christian festivals (Christmas, Pentecost, Easter, Ascension Day, etc.), but also those that go with the Islamic festivals (Feast of Sacrifice, Ramadan, Fasting Month, Feast of the Prophets, etc.). However, lexical units that do not meet the selection criteria mentioned are to be deleted or replaced.
Surely, the textbook also has limits in terms of vocabulary selection. In this way, only an average minimum can be determined and taught, which does not contain any individually differentiated vocabulary. Another limit relates to updating the selected vocabulary. If necessary, it can only be done in class. As a result, the concept of intercultural vocabulary work can only be taken into account to a limited extent in the textbook, i.e. the textbook is only insufficiently able to guarantee the transfer of the vocabulary to the personal living and experience conditions of the learners.

indispensability.