Land der Dichter und Denker

Germany likes to refer to itself as the land of poets and thinkers, artists and musicians.  This is the image they like to show, as evidenced by the statue of Goethe and Schiller in front of the National Theater in Weimar.  It is the center of many poets and philosophers, but note that is the "high culture," and one they can rightfully be proud of.  Remember the line in Sophie's Choice (not a direct quote) about the growing Nazi threat: Although they are troublesome, I wouldn't worry too much, this is the country that gave us Beethoven and Bach!  Schiller looks forward and upward--such an idealist.  Goethe firmly moves forward with his laurel wreath.

But Germany also had and has a lower culture, not only socio-economically lower, but baser, and as some will say if they have had enough to drink to lower inhibitions, of lower intelligence (a not-so-new, but common excuse for Nazism:  they were the stupid ones).  It is the lower culture that H. appealed to for the most part.  Why think independently when the government can give you the answers.  New truths were created based on fear and stereotypes using repetition in speeches and newspapers, then laws and regulations.  And we all know that there is nothing worse than an emotionally worked up crowd of people, stupid or not.  Before you get upset about my generationalities and over-simplification (or even with the modern-day parallels), recall Marge Schott's infamous statement:  He wasn't so bad in the beginning.  The hyperinflation, high unemployment, extremely high war reparations and accompanying humiliation on the world stage, as well as a republic set up to fail, and the nasty man's plans to build roads, public works projects, did appear good at first.  The problem was that not all Nazis were stupid, and they had a plan.

I do not want to rehash WWII, but would prefer to see the lingering effects.  Will (re)education lift the soul from its baser tendencies, or is it a never-ending process, one that must be ongoing to hold off repetition of the past?  Have the east Germans been taught so well (by the Russians, for 40 years) that they simply must follow procedures, work with a group, constantly analyze what they are doing and how they are doing it so that they do not fall prey to their inner souls?  Nearly every Ossi can recite the catechismic statements about the problems with fascism, how they have overcome their past, and how they maintain a vigilant watch for any signs of emerging fascism. Are they "barbarians" as the Greeks called them,  the strange "germanen" the Roman author Tacitus described, or is it time for me to go "west," where re-education was more successful to my American mind, or south (Switzerland, Austria) to unaffected peoples, who have ALWAYS distanced themselves from their northern neighbors?

Update: Hostel Keeper's Actions

Imagine my susrprise when I was present to hear the hostel keeper discuss her job with another German woman.  It was a litany of how difficult it is to work with the university: they don't do things the way she thinks they need to be done, they don't communicate with her correctly, they aren't responsible, etc.....  Jus the day before she analyzed the German people as too cantankerous, too picky about how things are done, not loose enough.  Hmmm, was it socialized behavior, i.e., saying what would be accepted by this other person as appropriate musings about the university?  I was and remain confused.

Cultural Meetings

This morning as I was leaving the Jugendherberge, I spoke with the woman who runs the hostel to determine how and when we should pay our bills.  The question quickly answered, she shared that she had recently had a vacation in the US with her children.  She told me about her (long) trip to Los Angeles, her disappointment with that city, the trip out to Nevada and drive up Rt. 1 to San Francisco.  They had clearly had a delightful month investigating nooks and crannies in the west.  While she mentioned sights, she was more interested in a cultural phenomenon--namely that some of the smaller restaurants they ate in seemed to be cooking the way her grandmother used to cook (e.g., hash browns/potato pancakes  and pancakes in the frying pan).  She hypothesized that the German/European emigrants left for the US with the cooking habits, and that those habits did not change dramatically, while in Germany/Europe, cooking habits changed.  She knew the various dishes, which were prepared as her grandmother used to prepare them.  Her children, on the other hand, saw these as different, unique to America.  I related the history of "goetta" which is not known in Germany, but is touted as a German food item (at least in Cincinnati).  We had a nice talk about cultural differences, and how these are exported/imported (and perhaps reimported) to other cultures.

I've often noticed these sort of changes with regard to language.  For example, Cincinnati had a huge influx of German immigrants in the mid 19th century.  Some of the linguistic oddities in Cincinnati can be directly traced to the influence of the German language ("Please?" when you don't understand something, and the habit of ending a sentence in "with" when "along" is meant--Are you coming with?) where immigrants simply translated the words they used on a daily basis in German into English. But their German language habits never changed.  The great great grandparents spoke 19th century German, their children (the great grandparents or even grandparentsof some of our students) understood and spoke that same form (now one to two generations older, and no longer the same as the German spoke in Germany).  In addition to "stopping" the development that is natural in a spoken language, the language skills they brought were colloquial and deteriorating with the inclusion of English words.   Denglish indeed.  So back to goetta.  Germans in Germany do not know what it is, but in describing how it is made, our inn keeper knew exactly where to place it--with her grandparents and even great grandparents--who in times of limited food, knew how to stretch foods and to use them for multiple purposes.

She then admitted that it was only in leaving the country, and coming back, that she looked at her culture anew.  She employs several young men who are performing civil service rather than serve in the military (one or the other is compulsory).  Her view is that these young people are not prepared to move into the world and be independent and effective members of society.  Rather, they are overly concerned with detail and do not see the "big picture."  Her quote of the day:  "I think Germans like to make simple things overly-complicated."
She was very concerned where that could lead.  That's an insight I can agree with.

We language folks aren't the only ones thinking about cultural transfer and cultural competence--we give it a name and study it for insights into language acquisition.  This struck me as a perfect "culturally humble" conversation for both of us.

Reconnecting with friends and former students

I've run into several friends and former students in the past few days.  This afternoon I met with several of the students from the TU to UC program held in 2009.  First, I saw Elli Kohl, who arranged a meeting day for us.  I also contact the ones I had in Facebook.  Today in the Mensa, I saw Daniel and Jana from the 2007 program.  They are also interestsed in spending some time together.  Finally, I went to see Ursula Nixdorf (who sends warmest greetings to Ruth), from the 2004 program, who filled me in on all the dirt in the language institute.  First, Frau Heinitz is in an "early retirement buyout" plan.  She is paid 60% of her income and does not have to work for 3 years, then she is officially retired.  Everyone I spoke with (Ursula, as well as the new head, Frank, and Stephan et al) are all happy she accepted.  I figure it was time.  In fact, one person in the institute has a paper meter stick in her office, and every week has been cutting off the cm for thatweek, taping them to the celebratory bottle of champagne in her cabinet which will be opened the day after KH leaves.  I get that...

Shoes

Not a high heel in sight!  Today at the opening of the program, I noticed that there was not even one Russian woman wearing high heels.  In the past, those who participated in the program remarked on the height of the heels as well as the impracticality of wearing heels for serious walking, let along negotiating cobblestones.  I even have a photo of bloody heels as proof, which my daughter took (rather surreptitiously so as not to offend).  Here are two photos of this year's shoe styles.

Placement tests--with results update in bold print below

Every time I have come to Ilmenau with students for a summer course, there has been a different iteration of the placement test (Einstufungstest).  The question is how to determine the level of a student's ability in a second/foreign language using a tool that can be given and assessed fairly quickly to a large number of students.  There are 120 students from 25 countries here this year, further necessitating the quick turn around time.

In the past, the tests have ranged from the "totally out of touch with modern pedagogy" to the one we experienced today.  Today, the TU entered the digital age with a computerized adaptive exam, used across the nation, and which can be administered anywhere in the world.  I'ts called a C-1 test (?).   Of course, the technology didn't work (It is a technology university :)  The issues were resolved, and we took the exam in small groups in the many computer labs at the university.   I found out later that we were the guinea pigs--the university just started to use this version.
The test consisted of 8 Lückentexte (fill in the blank texts) where the blanks were articles, adjective endings, vocabulary words (usually with a 2 or 3 letter beginning), prepositions.  The student had no more than 5 minutes for each of the 8 exercises.  If still working at 5 minutes, the next text just appeared.  It is designed so that even native speakers never get a perfect score, since it deducts for stylistic error, even if the answer is correct.  It tests for REGISTER!!

The test was adaptive, meaning that depending on the percentage of correct answers in each text, the student either got a more difficult or easier text the next time.  There seemed to be little overlap among the (American students), and since they are all fairly close in abilty, I'd say there were at least 7 or 8 different texts for each level.  Topics included the environment, chocolate, youth activities for the beginner levels, and topics such as the genetic testing of bone fragments and recent findings based on that research, and the example below for the test I took.   I was glad I was able to take it as well, and let me tell you, it did get progressively harder.  I struggled with the last two, realizing answers at almost the last second.  Here is an easier example in English, reproduced in the style of the test:

Title
Opening and complete statement
Fill ins of various types and difficulty
Closing statement, usually a summary statement

Loaner Grandpas and Loaner Grandmas
Many children have grandparents who are either not living or who live too far away to visit them regularly.
There is now a pl_____________ office where seniors can r_________ for placement with local families with c__________ whose grandparents are not available.  Once matched, the seniors can interact with the younger gen____________ and have a rich experience.  Research has found that seniors who interact with children are he___________ and live longer.  The children benefit from contact with the older generation.

I am normally not a fan of fill-ins, but these really tested my ability to "hear" the language to anticipate exactly which vocabulary word fit.  The grammar fill ins were fairly easy, but present in every selection, and the last couple had some obscure (and dare I say archaic) usage.

This test is standardized and tests/places students at the European levels (A1, A2, B1, B2, C1 or higher).  Here are our group's results:
H: 22 points, under A2 (Group 1)
N: 29 points, under A2 (Group 2)
M: 32 points, A2 (Group 2)
DP: 137 points, C1 or higher
Note:  The entire group is mostlz at the A2 level, with the highest level, Group 6, at the A2-B1 level (!).  It seems there were only 2 who placed into the advanced level:  the teacher accompanying the Russian contingent and yours truly. We both decided that we would not do the morning language classes, but would participate in all other activities/excursions (and I think Stephan was relieved).  Ruth: you'll be interested to know that I had lunch with the instructors, and Frau Heinitz is in a real snit since she is teaching Group 5 (not 6) this year.  A direct quote (translated):  "I just don't know how to begin with such a low level of language proficiency.  We can't have a real conversation."  That said, it's a very well-behaved group (well on days 1and 2 anyway).

I found the "under A2" interesting.  Student H has had the least preparation (one year), but I sense he is a serious student.  Student N has had 2 years, and as my former student, I know he is not always able to focus, Student M has taken the Comp & Con level, and has great confidence in her ability to speak and communicate, however, often makes mistakes that impede understanding.  None of them are at the lowest level, indeed I think they are at the Novice High level, with M at Intermediate low.  They'll get class assignments later this afternoon, and I'll add the class level in later.

Here is a copy of a simplepractice test from the website:

Nach dem Kindergarten gehen alle Kinder im Alter von sechs oder sieben Jahren in die Grundschule. Dort ble_____ sie vi_____ Jahre. Da gehen ca. 45 Pro_____ auf d_____ Hauptschule, ca. 25 Pro_____ auf d_____ Realschule u_____ ca. 30 Pro_____ auf d_____ Gymnasium. I_____ einigen Bundesl_____ gibt e_____ auch Gesamtsch_____ . Nach d_____ Hauptschule ka_____ man arbe_____ und Ge_____ verdienen od_____ eine Le_____ machen. Na_____ dem Abi_____ am Gymn_____ kann m_____ einen Be_____ lernen oder an der Universität studieren.

Stress

The stress of travel and new situations is often intensified for several reasonsÖ
1) lack of restful sleep (people are not made to sleep in an immovable sitting position, and getting used to a new bed and bedding takes time)
2) adjusting eating habits (today, one student said "I feel better now that I've had a proper cooked meal.")
3) immersion in a different language (you don't even understand the background chatter)
4) immersion in a different culture (where you do not see the differences and don't realize you're perceived as the outsider)
5) different weather (no complaints here--it's in the high 60's - low 70's and partly cloudy-rainy-then sunny, and the general low humidity is a welcome change)

All of the above have put the young (and not so young) scholars under stress.  The manifestation of this stress depends on the individual's emotional state and general level of excitability.  Tendencies are intensified so that a somewhat nervous/overly cautious person becomes overly excited, causing difficulties with technology, eating, testing, etc.  This person is often unable to focus on the appropriate portions of a task.  This does not seem to be influenced by L2 ability.  A young scholar with limited language, M. is able to calmly note his limitations, but looks to advance them "in the moment," with a deliberate methodology.  For example, here is one exchange:
H: Frau Page, is it correct to ask "Wo ist die Toilette?"
DP: Yes, that's fine.  What kind of answers might you get?
M: Rechts, links

Clearly he is fine.

Another student, who desperately wants to fit in and learn as much as possible, and whose level of speaking and understanding are at the low intermediate level, and whom I had to literally tell to breathe in, then out a couple times to calm her, i.e., one who lives in a more tense state of being:
S: I don't want the fish, how can I possibly get a tasty lunch?
DP: How could you ask for just the potatoes and vegetables?
S: You mean I could do that?  What would I say?
DP:  It depends, can you tell me auf Deutsch what you want and don't want?

Problem solved, she had a tasty lunch of potatoes and vegetables.

Part psychologist, part life counselor/minor problem solver, a person leading a study abroad tour must sense when it is time to let a student struggle, and when to offer encouragement.

The Journey

Gentle Reader, you may want to read the full account of the interesting journey we had on the way here. Let me fill you in on the gritty details.  When we missed the train in Frankfurt, I went to the closest Deutsche Bahn office to explain that we had missed the train because the train was MISLABELLED save for the last car, and how could we get assigned to a different train.  Here is the conversation:

Two DB guys: You should have known that that was the train to Erfurt.
DPage: How was I to know that when the train number and destination were different?
DB guys: They probably just forgot to reset the (digital) sign on most of the train.
(repeat of the three previous sentences in different words)
DP: (realizing this exchange is fruitless): So how can we get to Erfurt?
DB guys: Oh, the next train comes along in one hour, and you can just get on.
DP (over tired and a bit miffed): OK, reserve that one for us.
Result: done, boarded, flew at 120km/hr and got to Ilmenau 12 minutes late.

This tendency of Germans to publically chastise people for things they "should" know began to irk me the last couple times I've been here.  On reflection, this is probably a good thing, since I think it is most often used with natives, which would indicate that I'm passing.  Should have brought those white sneakers to stand out as a foreigner and get some patience.  But what does this say about Germans?  It seems to me that they are not so tolerant with themselves making even common mistakes.  The post war period of re-education and de-nazification set into motion a plan to change the way Germans think to prevent them from starting a third world war (they had direct implication in two already by 1939).  In many ways this plan worked.  Germany today has compulsory conscription, where many young men choose civil service instead of military service, giving the country a lot of young subsidized workers, and plenty of soldiers to assist police.  Afghanistan is the first time since WWII that German soldiers have been in a war setting (and their participation is very unpopular).  Germans are trained to be tolerant of women (they did rescue the country after WWII) and Jews.  They were forced to hire guest workers from Turkey, Greece and Italy after the war since there were so few men.  This remains an uneasy partnership, and if you get a German tipsy and talkative, you'll hear how the "should all go home," but you will never hear this in public discourse.  Children born after WWII were forced to learn the guilt of their parents--a preventative measure of the re-education.  They were taught to appreciate other cultures, and to adhere to the rules of tolerant public discourse toward other cultures.

BUT.....what happened here among themselves.  I think, given experiences I have had, that there is an anger that doesn't get expressed to others, and it manifests inself with German-on-German curtness.  Follow the rules or else.  Sort your recyclables, be quiet after 10, don't chew gum in public, etc, etc...

I think it's important to provide a bit of contextualization to what happened immediately preceding this encounter with the DB guys:  my airplace companions.  On the first leg I sat next to a Swiss woman who works for corporate Johnson & Johnson in Germany (Hamburg) and who had just spent two days in Blue Ash.  We had lots to talk about.  In a lull, she turned to me and asked, What differences do you see between Germans and Americans?  This is really a loaded question, and I attempted to answer her truthfully and openly, without denigrating either side.  Her response to my return of the question was a bit more direct.  As a Swiss national (they are not German!) working in northern Germany, she had noticed plenty, and her analysis was spot on:  They are very rule-oriented, but efficient and amazing engineers because of it, but..they are unable to be flexible in problem solving.  Every problem has to follow a carefully scripted protocol, with no thinking outside of the box.  This Swiss lady from Zürich and living in Hamburg clearly preferred the American (and Swiss) way of problem solving.  We had a great conversation, and she posed so many questions that my head was spinning by the time we got to New York.  It was a mini interrogation.  She asked the following about American culture, and generously offered her opinions about Swiss practices and attitudes:
normal age for marriage
partners vs. spouses
preferred travel destinations and types of vacations
role of women and attitudes toward them (she was decidedly anti-Swiss here)
corporate big wigs in US, Germany and Switzerland
reading habits
education practices

I had a different companion on the longer flight to Frankfurt, this time a woman who is currently living in Seattle, but who is originally from Eritrea, and was on her way home.  I asked how she happened to be living in Seattle (because I am just nosy), and I got a wonderful story of how she was sponsored by a church, that she had four daughters and one son, that her sister was happy she was coming home to visit, etc.....  What I didn't get was any contextualization about why she left Eritrea, and it's often those types of stories that get at the real truth, which I suppose is really none of my business.  She had already travelled 6 hours from Washington, was on a 7 hour flight to Frankfurt, then needed to fly all day to southern Europe, then to northern Africa, then to Eritrea.  Her English was difficult to understand, and she knew no German.  She had not eaten since leaving Washington, and dinner was a couple hours away, so I pulled out every snack I had for her.  She had a gentle spirit that was comfortable to be next to.  I hope she made it home safely.

Ready to leave

As I sit at the airport in Kentucky and contemplate the upcoming trip, the students' excitement and enthusiasm is rubbing off on me.  Everyone showed up with one small suitcase and one carry on!!  I am very proud not only of them, but also of me packing as lightly as I ever have.

(photo to come)
Two pair of pants, one dress, two pair of shoes, 4 underpants, 6 (yes 6 not 4) shirts, one sleep shirt and a raincoat.  Hardly anything.  However, my suitcase is filled with gifts from RWC, Blue Ash, and a couple small items for friends.  I don't completely trust myself, and packed an empty duffel bag for the return trip.

Final Exam Thoughts

There were several students who did not complete all sections of the final assignment, and I find this puzzling and frustrating.  For the most part, this was an excellent group of students who actually read, prepared and participated well throughout the course.  So what explanation is there for the students who chose not to complete the final exam.  When I received the papers, I emailed each personally if one or more sections were not included.  No responses, no answers, no additional work submitted.  Assigning a zero for the missing sections caused some to receive failing grades on the exam, but not for the course as a result of the outstanding work done earlier.  What to do?

To confound me even more, this seems to be a common practice among students in online courses, as Ruth reported.  Should the failure to complete the work result in an Incomplete for the course?  Should there be an in-class final? Should the final be worth a larger percentage of the course grade?  Right now I'm not sure what I will do the next time I teach this course, but I feel I will have to address it in some way.

My distress for the lack of work was matched with my delight for the work that was submitted.  Students saw connections, and explained them well, contextualized with references to characters, story lines, type of comedy.  Several commented explicitly in a reflection on the course as a whole that they now realize the the role of cultural history as a reference for literature (I wonder if they see that in English language literature and comedy).  One student even found a link to the Family Man that directly referenced one of the texts we read and sent it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpBJsVw000w

Gentle Reader, please note that this is NOT the original story, but one that has been filtered through American comedic animation and a sadistic interpretation of Germany comedy.

The best parts were without a doubt the creative sections of the exams.  The students were obviously engaged with the style, rhyme schemes, content, indeed all aspects of the texts we read.  The texts, images and poems they created showed how well they understood what the original texts were trying to accomplish and showcased their individual personalities and sense of humor.

Surprises for me:
1. the positive reaction to this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKpOWj8LkaQ
2. students applying definitions of different types of comedy, including Kant's definition of comedy throughout the quarter to texts we read
3. the eagerness with which students learned (long) German words, and their willingness to pronounce German names
4. the performance of selected scenes from The Talisman--the play came alive!
5. the debate (see below)

Rating: (still) B+