This study investigated the effects of animation for a technology-assisted German grammar presentation on modal verbs. The premise was that many intangible concepts of dynamic grammar involve syntactic components that possess visuo–spatial characteristics. It was further speculated that these characteristics could be more effectively represented by animated versus static instructional presentations. The supposition that animation would lend pedagogical advantage was supported by dual coding theory (Paivio, 1971, 1990), which posits two functionally separate representational systems, the verbal and the nonverbal, with dynamic mental imagery residing solely in the nonverbal system. The strength of dually coded information is that it is represented in both subsystems and, due to referential associations that cross between the two, is more easily retained and recalled. When verbal explanations are accompanied by illustrations depicting their content, it can provide external support for the learner's mental simulations of that content. Under two treatment conditions, 44 university students of beginning German (GER 101) received large-screen multimedia instruction concerning the meanings and conjugated forms of German modal auxiliary verbs, and the grammatical rules which govern sentence structure. The independent variable was the type of visualization: static or animated text. The dependent variables were participants’ total test scores as well as their individual scores on each of two task types: conjugation and word order. In addition, a posttest survey asked participants for their opinions of the instructional treatments. Participants in both treatment groups achieved high scores on the posttest with no significant difference between them; however, the posttest survey showed that the groups did differ significantly in their opinions of the treatments, with those in the animated group reporting more positive reactions to the presentation. Detailed planning and lengthy preparation of both treatments may explain the high scores for both groups, and the elementary nature of the content may also account for the resulting ceiling effect. Animation should be studied further, especially with respect to more complex tasks, as well as in concert with other aspects of multimedia, such as interactivity, user-control, practice, and feedback.

This dissertation proposes a uniqueness-based theory of definiteness that accounts for the semantics and the pragmatics of German (non-) contracted forms of a preposition and the definite determiner (e.g. ‘zum / zu dem’, ‘am / an dem’), but the analysis also carries over to definite descriptions in general. I propose that the definite determiner is ambiguous between a referential and a quantificational reading. Crucially, referential DDs exploit information provided in the surrounding linguistic context, while the interpretation of quantificational DDs heavily relies on extra-linguistic world knowledge that can be represented by an implicit free individual variable and an implicit free relation variable. Non-contracted forms are always interpreted referentially, whereas contracted forms receive quantificational interpretations. This proposal has a wide range of applications: It deals with anaphoric and demonstrative DDs, as well as with typical ‘uniqueness uses’ (such as ‘the moon’ or ‘the sun’), covarying DDs involving explicit and implicit antecedents, bridging definites, and, last but not least, so-called Weak Definites.

Cette thèse propose de procéder à une histoire des parties du discours dans la grammaire germanophone entre le XVIIe et le début du XIXe siècle afin de mettre en évidence certaines spécificités de la description grammaticale allemande. En tant que structure pérenne de la réflexion linguistique occidentale, les parties du discours constituent, en effet, un lieu d’observation privilégié pour mettre en évidence les analogies et des divergences que peut présenter le discours grammatical germanophone vis-à-vis de celui d’autres traditions linguistiques. Certains traitements ou tendances descriptives particulières peuvent ainsi être dégagés et inscrits dans l’histoire de la grammaire allemande et plus largement européenne, ce qui invite alors à considérer plus attentivement les choix descriptifs ou les positions théoriques présidant à leur élaboration. Si la spécificité de l’idiome décrit intervient alors de manière déterminante sur le cadre descriptif, certaines initiatives de la deuxième moitié du XVIIIe siècle reposent aussi sur l’adoption d’une approche descriptive multicritérielle qui témoigne de l’élaboration d’une réflexion syntaxique sur les catégories grammaticales. Ces descriptions, qui présentent parfois des innovations remarquables dans l’histoire de la grammaire, peuvent ainsi être considérées comme participant, à plusieurs égards, du tournant syntaxique allemand qui se réalise dans le premier tiers du XIXe siècle et sont donc susceptibles d’en révéler certains des fondements. / This thesis aims to establish a history of the parts of speech in German grammar between the seventeenth and the early nineteenth centuries in order to highlight certain characteristics of the ways German grammar was described. A study of the parts of speech —which are a foundational feature of Western linguistic thought— provides an opportunity to highlight the ways German grammatical discourse is different from, or analogous to, other linguistic traditions. The descriptive trends and processes which emerge from this study can be positioned within the history of German grammar and more broadly within the history of other European grammars. This leads us to consider in more detail the descriptive choices and the theoretical viewpoints governing the development of these grammars. Although the specific features of the German language play a decisive role in the choice of a descriptive model, some initiatives in the second half of the eighteenth century adopt a multi-criterion approach to description, where grammatical categories are established through syntactic analysis. These multi-criterion descriptions, which sometimes present remarkable innovations in the history of grammar, can be seen as contributing to the change in German syntax that takes place in the first third of the nineteenth century. They therefore can reveal certain roots of this turning point in the history of German grammar.

The varying presentations of the rules for nicht and kein found in intermediate grammar books for students in North America and DaF-learners in Germany highlight the difficulty in finding sources that are both reliable and consistent as well as easily applicable. This thesis seeks to compare the explanations found in A.E. Hammer’s German Grammar and Usage (revised by Martin Durrell), Helbig/Buscha’s Deutsche Grammatik, and Hall/Scheiner’s Übungsgrammatik, comparing all three to the basis of their information, Duden: die Grammatik. In order to assess how and where these sources converge and diverge, the analysis compares the intended use of each book, followed by the underlying concepts and terms, and then finally the rules for negation. The final two chapters attempt to answer two important questions that arise from comparing these sources. First, do beginner level textbooks prepare students with sufficient declarative grammar knowledge to understand and apply negation rules successfully? An analysis of Kontakte’s approach to teaching grammar, most specifically how to use nicht and kein, seeks to answer the first question. Secondly, could authors use a different approach for explaining this difficult grammar topic? Professor Hardarik Blühdorn’s approach, as presented in his course Negation: Syntax, Prosodie und Semantik at the Universität Mannheim during the Fall semester of 2007, serves as an example of new research. His different approach might help non-native speakers of German learn how to use nicht and kein correctly. The analysis reaches three main conclusions. First of all, the rules differ primarily in the amount of detail used, as well as in the inconsistent use of common terminology across the sources. Secondly, beginner’s level textbooks do not provide students with sufficient information about general grammar or negation to help them transition to using explanations found in intermediate grammar books. In order to understand the rules of nicht and kein, these students must first work through the background material methodically. Finally, intermediate learners could not rely on Professor Blühdorn’s approach, as it focuses on the scope of nicht, not on the correct placement of nicht in order to negate an entire sentence. Appendix B provides a chart comparing the rules found in each source.

The varying presentations of the rules for <em> nicht</em> and <em>kein</em> found in intermediate grammar books for students in North America and DaF-learners in Germany highlight the difficulty in finding sources that are both reliable and consistent as well as easily applicable. This thesis seeks to compare the explanations found in A.E. Hammer’s <em>German Grammar and Usage</em> (revised by Martin Durrell), Helbig/Buscha’s <em>Deutsche Grammatik</em>, and Hall/Scheiner’s <em>Übungsgrammatik</em>, comparing all three to the basis of their information, <em>Duden: die Grammatik</em>. In order to assess how and where these sources converge and diverge, the analysis compares the intended use of each book, followed by the underlying concepts and terms, and then finally the rules for negation. The final two chapters attempt to answer two important questions that arise from comparing these sources. First, do beginner level textbooks prepare students with sufficient declarative grammar knowledge to understand and apply negation rules successfully? An analysis of <em>Kontakte’s</em> approach to teaching grammar, most specifically how to use <em>nicht</em> and <em>kein</em>, seeks to answer the first question. Secondly, could authors use a different approach for explaining this difficult grammar topic? Professor Hardarik Blühdorn’s approach, as presented in his course <em>Negation: Syntax, Prosodie und Semantik</em> at the Universität Mannheim during the Fall semester of 2007, serves as an example of new research. His different approach might help non-native speakers of German learn how to use <em>nicht</em> and <em>kein</em> correctly. The analysis reaches three main conclusions. First of all, the rules differ primarily in the amount of detail used, as well as in the inconsistent use of common terminology across the sources. Secondly, beginner’s level textbooks do not provide students with sufficient information about general grammar or negation to help them transition to using explanations found in intermediate grammar books. In order to understand the rules of <em>nicht</em> and <em>kein</em>, these students must first work through the background material methodically. Finally, intermediate learners could not rely on Professor Blühdorn’s approach, as it focuses on the scope of <em>nicht</em>, not on the correct placement of <em>nicht</em> in order to negate an entire sentence. Appendix B provides a chart comparing the rules found in each source.

The aim of this thesis is to comprehensively describe and evaluate the linguistic work of the German grammarian and teacher Max Wilhelm Götzinger (1799–1856). Götzinger‘s work has been little considered in linguistics and historiography of linguistics apart from some articles mainly on his grammatical theory. The first editions of Anfangsgründe (1825) and Die Deutsche Sprachlehre für Schulen (1827), which up to now have been considered to be lost, could be retrieved and used for this study. Aspects of Götzinger‘s didactics and grammar can still today be re-garded as modern. In many respects his didactic ideas were opposed to the methods of teaching inspired by rationalist grammar and prevailing in the schools of his time. His own method is inductive and the aim of teach-ing was mainly to make pupils familiar with the structure of the German language. Götzinger‘s grammatical system was inspired by his experience as a teacher. The logical judgement and the subject-predicate concepts were replaced by a verb centred concept of syntax and Götzinger‘s system of word classes began with the verb instead of the noun. He did not regard correct thinking, which was the main purpose of rationalist grammar, but communication as the basic aim of the teaching of grammar. His notion of the verb as the centre of the clause has basic features in common with modern dependency theories introduced by Lucien Tesnière. Götzinger performed pioneering work in the field of dialectology and he is understood be the first to include a comprehensive description of the dialects of the German speaking countries Even if there also are good reasons to criticise many aspects of his work, e.g. indistinct terminology, inconsistency in sticking to his theory, and subjectivity in the description of the dialects, Götzinger‘s achieve-ment as to the state of the art of his time and also with regard to modern linguistics must be considered remarkable.

This master's thesis is devoted to the peculiarities of using electronic educational resources at the initial stage of teaching German grammar to adults. The paper considers the features of teaching adults a foreign language in the framework of language courses, the psychological characteristics of adults who study a foreign language in courses, the use of electronic educational resources for teaching foreign language grammar. The quantitative and qualitative classification of grammatical errors of adult students was carried out according to such parameters as the primary structure of grammatical errors (types) the whole contingent of students; the degree of their frequency, typicalness, the main reasons for their occurrence; the relative structure of errors in each group; the proportion of grammatical errors in individual groups; the dynamics of changes in the relative structure of errors in a particular group at different stages of training in the course with the allocation of dominant types of dynamics: stability/instability of different types of errors. Based on the classification of grammatical errors formed in the course of classes aimed at familiarizing with grammatical phenomena, exercises for differentiation, transformation, and substitution exercises with the use of LearningApps, Kahoot! and Quizizz, aimed at teaching German grammar at the initial stage. In the course of experimental research on German language courses for adults in the framework of the Local public organization " National and cultural autonomy of the Germans of the city It was found that in the experimental and control groups, with a significant difference in the total number of errors, their dynamics is such that in the middle of the course, errors become less than they were at the beginning: in the experimental group, we observe a jump in grammatical errors by 5.3 times, in the control group - by 1.2 times, i.e. the order of reducing speech errors in these groups differs significantly. At the same time, it should be noted that the overall error density indicator decreases by the end of the training course. In the experimental group, the decrease in error density is very significant and indicates an increase in the volume of statements and a decrease in the number of errors, which is proof of the effectiveness of the developed exercises aimed at teaching German grammar at the initial stage. Grammar exercises developed in the course of this study using the electronic educational resources LearningApps, Quizizz and Kahoot! they can be used at the initial stage of teaching a foreign language in the framework of language courses and non-linguistic faculties of higher educational institutions. / Настоящая магистерская диссертация посвящена особенностям использования электронных образовательных ресурсов на начальном этапе обучения взрослых грамматике немецкого языка. В работе рассмотрены особенности обучения взрослых иностранному языку на языковых курсах, психологические особенности взрослых, изучающих иностранный язык, применение электронных образовательных ресурсов для обучения грамматике иностранного языка. Была осуществлена количественная и качественная классификация грамматических ошибок взрослых обучающихся по таким параметрам, как первичная структура грамматических ошибок (по видам) у всего контингента обучающихся; степень их частотности, типичности, основные причины возникновения; относительная структура ошибок в каждой группе; удельный вес грамматических ошибок в отдельно взятых группах; динамика изменения относительной структуры ошибок в отдельно взятой группе на разных этапах обучения в рамках курса с выделением доминирующих типов динамики: устойчивость/неустойчивость разных видов ошибок. На основании классификации грамматических ошибок, сформированной в ходе занятий, были разработаны упражнения с применением LearningApps, Kahoot! и Quizizz, направленные на обучение грамматике немецкого языка на начальном этапе. В ходе опытно-поисковой работы на курсах немецкого языка для взрослых, было выявлено, что в экспериментальной и контрольной группах при значительном различии в общем числе ошибок их динамика такова, что в середине курса ошибок становится меньше, чем было в начале: в экспериментальной группе мы наблюдем скачкообразное уменьшение грамматических ошибок в 5,3 раза, в контрольной группе - в 1,2 раза, т.е. порядок снижения ошибочности речи в этих группах существенно различается. При этом, следует отметить, снижение общего показателя плотности ошибок к концу курса обучения. В экспериментальной группе снижение плотности ошибок весьма значительно и свидетельствует о росте объема высказываний и снижении количества ошибок, что является доказательством эффективности применения разработанных упражнений, направленных на обучение грамматике немецкого языка на начальном этапе. Разработанные в ходе данного исследования грамматические упражнения с использованием электронных образовательных ресурсов LearningApps, Quizizz и Kahoot! могут быть использованы на начальном этапе обучения иностранному языку в рамках языковых курсов в центрах дополнительного образования и нелингвистических факультетов высших учебных заведений.