German by Satellite

Abstract

Oklahoma State University's German by Satellite program employs a telecommunications satellite as a conduit to provide equal access to an educational opportunity primarily for rural and economically disadvantaged schools. This cost-effective German-language program differs from conventional language instruction via radio or television because every student uses a personal computer as a major pedagogical tool. Since coordinating teachers at the receiving sites generally do not know the German language, the computer assists the teacher in involving each student in the instructional process. Every student is presented with goal-oriented tasks that require inventing German sentences, solving language problems, and responding to cultural and political aspects of German-speaking countries. In all of its facets, the German by Satellite program is a complex design by which a university professor in cooperation with a high school teacher can guide students to be actively and successfully involved in attaining a basic level of global language proficiency in German.

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References

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