Literatur Eins

By Robert Spaethling

Book Overview

Beginning with two Grimm fairy tales, it proceeds through stories by Peter Bischsel, plays by Brecht, a H?rspiel by D?rrenmatt, fables and parables by Kafka, and poems by Goethe, Eichendorff, Heine, Hesse, Brecht, and Wolf Biermann to present engaging readings that are accessible to first- and second-year students. All texts are unabridged and unrevised, fully glossed, and accompanied by discussion questions as well as exercises that lead students from reading comprehension to active mastery of the vocabulary and grammar they have met in the selections.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0393950417
• ISBN13: 9780393950410
• Release Date: February 1979
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 0.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Sehr gut!

When I first studied German, I am certain I experienced the same frustration as many first-year German students -- how many times can you translate banal statements such as, 'I come from England' and 'I study in America' and retain any interest? Fortunately, we quickly graduated from such simple mechanics exercises to doing actual reading, and that is where 'Literature Eins' was introduced. This is a good, diverse collection of pieces of German literature, not rewritten, not watered down, but actual German literary pieces selected for ease and interest. The editors Spaethling and Weber selected poems, short stories, fairy tales, and plays that had constructions easy enough for fairly beginning German study, but also authentic enough and interesting enough to give the students a sense of really mastering some of the language. Included in this collection are writings from the Brothers Grimm, Peter Bichsel, Bertolt Brecht, Franz Kafka, and Friedrich Durrenmatt (Der Doppelganger). The part on poems includes good pieces form Goethe, Heine, and Hesse. Each chapter includes an English introduction to the pieces, side-glossary entries to save thumbing-to-the-back time, and lots of exercises. The exercises run the whole range of types -- fill in the blank, construction of sentence, translation from English, short answer in German, conversation patterns. This book is intended not only to give the student a reading knowledge of German, but a conversational ability in German based on the literature selections. The selections are arranged from easiest to hardest; the editors suggest that memorising a poem is also a good exercise, and the concluding section of poems has many good possibilities. This is a good book with which to learn German (accompanied by a good grammar), or reacquaint oneself with German.