Impuls Deutsch 2: Intercultural, Interdisciplinary, Interactive

Abstract

Impuls Deutsch 2 (ID 2) is available either in print or online. The online version is housed in BlinkLearning, a third-party software previously reviewed in Die Unterrichtspraxis (Rothe, 2021). BlinkLearning also serves as the web portal for Impuls Deutsch 1 (Maxey, 2021). The flipped classroom approach requires students to engage first with activities from LERNEN, then use activities from MACHEN in class, and practice again with ZEIGEN. At Northwestern University, we used ID 2 for the entire academic year of 2022–2023, and this review reflects that experience.

The first four chapters are overladen with grammar. Starting with Chapter 5, the pace eases, and more basic grammar points are reviewed. For example, Chapter 1 treats the following points: temporal prepositions, ordinal numbers, simple past of all verbal groups (weak, strong, and mixed), present perfect, temporal clauses, temporal prepositions, past perfect, and sentence structure. By contrast, Chapter 5 introduces no new grammar. Nonetheless, instructors may choose a more effective gateway to the book: Chapter 5 (“German in Plural” and review of cases) and Chapter 6 (“Environment and Communication” and review of tenses) would be better choices for opening the book for they align well with Chapter 0 presenting the inclusive language. They also bring more contemporary and dynamic vocabulary focused on people, not historically or technically specific terms. With their pioneering content and limited emphasis on grammar, those chapters better reflect the book's overall approach. Chapter 1 (“East-West Stories and Histories”), full of historical events and grammar-heavy, and Chapter 2, wrapped around the topic of fear and the subjunctive (“Who would Dare? Rollercoasters”), are ill-suited as an introduction to the book.

The audio, video, and texts are often minimally annotated or adapted, dipping into B2 and C1 levels. To stimulate students’ deeper engagement with, understanding of, and reflection on the material, the instructor may need to provide additional support pertinent to A2 level learners: more detailed comprehensive, interpretative, and evaluative questions; close work with vocabulary and discussion models directly relevant to students’ lives. New vocabulary, about 300 expressions per chapter, serves rather as a glossary as it is not matched by sufficient practice opportunities. Students are expected to look up even more vocabulary at home to complete exercises, in addition to the frequent “Recherche” assignments. This approach individualizes students’ learning, making each student's path more independent, much like self-study would, for better or worse.

There are additional drawbacks to the book: Of 64 intended videos (5–10 per chapter), 25 have not yet been produced as of June 2023. For Chapters 7 and 8, no video content is available. Significantly, ID 2 does not include a test bank or any suggestions for assessment. Nor does it provide a grammatical index—suggesting a certain lack of topic-grammar-vocabulary integrity. As a result, students are unlikely to hold on to the book as a reference tool. Furthermore, the access codes for those who purchased the digital version expire after only 12 months, and thus the book becomes disposable.

ID 2 does not disappoint in terms of material selection. It offers great inspiration by presenting new progressive perspectives on Germany and Switzerland and up-to-date inclusive language. In this respect, it is, no doubt, innovative. However, integrating proven methodological and organizational foundations of language learning would amplify students’ comprehension, progress, and appreciation of the materials in the book.