New language course
Guten Tag: credit due to structure
The following is the debut of a
weekly column dealing with new
and different courses at the
University. The column, written
by Alan Maltun, will appear
every Friday and will discuss
various examples of curricular
innovation on campus.
By ALAN MALTUN
Of the Emerald
At 11:20 in the morning the
room is vibrant with the buzz of
conversation. French vocalist
fall quarter class is now taking
reading and grammar classes.
The way in which the class is
run directly reflects the purpose
mentioned by Stehr. A sheet with
the English vocabulary of a
German film to be shown is given
out to the student. He is supposed
to study a 25 to 30 word list in
preparation for each film
showing. The film is shown 3
times, with the class breaking up
into small discussion groups after
each showing. More than 20 TA‘s
handle these discussions, which
says Stehr. He attributed the
initiation of the entire program to
student requests for better
courses in conversational Ger
man. A recent Guten Tag course
evaluation by students pointed
out the fact that persons taking
the class because they are
planning a trip to Germany make
up the largest single block of
those students who responded
when asked what their purpose in
studying German was. "This
kind of response from students
prompted us to look for some
Guten Tag teacher, Christian Stehr, talks
to a small discussion group in Thursday morning
class meeting. Guten Tag is the first course to be
previewed in what will be a weekly column on in
novative education every Friday in the Emerald.
Photo by Nick Lacy
Daniel Gerard’s latest hit
“Butterfly” can be heard in the
background. No, it’s not the fish
bowl. It’s Guten Tag, a new and
innovative German conversation
class. Guten Tag means good day
in German, and a lot more to
more than two hundred students
enrolled in the course. The not so
few of you who may be reading
this article whilst the victim of a
boring lecture might be par
ticularly interested in Guten Tag.
The class utilitzes films, slides
and other audio-visual aids ex
tensively. According to teaching
fellow Christian Stehr, “The idea
is to develop the listening and
speaking skills.” Stehr says that
students are mainly interested in
learning conversation first,
although about 70 per cent of the
are conducted in German and are
based on the film plot.
The lab provides class mem
bers with one of the most recent
breakthroughs in the field of
audio aids. The sound track of the
films are recorded on tape with
space in between the phrases.
This technique was developed by
University associate professor
Dr. Helmut Plant, who is
currently the resident director of
the Oregon Study Center in
Stuttgart, Germany. Last week
the language lab on the third floor
of the library, was visited more
than 500 times by members of the
Guten Tag class. This indicates
the popularity and the ef
fectiveness of this segment of the
program among students.
One of the top priorities is
student input into the program
better ways of teaching con
versational German.” Stehr
says. He went on to speculate that
this technique could be used
rather easily in other language
departments.
While much of the credit for the
success of the program has been
given to its structure, many
words of praise by students were
directed at Stehr himself.
Characteristic of their com
ments about the 29 year old
visiting instructor were, ‘fan
tastic,” “He really knows his
stuff,” and “generates in us the
desire to learn, and to do.”
There is no doubt that he is very
energetic about what he is doing.
Students are welcome whenever
they knock on his door, which
sometimes keeps Stehr at his
office until 10 in the evening. He
Weekend preview
‘Straw Dogs’ opens downtown
By MARTY WESTERMAN
Of the Emerald
How are your New Year’s
resolutions holding out? Or are
you smart enough not to have
made any this year? I once heard
a fellow make some resolutions
that were impossible not to
keep—like refusing to play
backgammon during a solar
eclipse with an octopus on speed.
You can borrow that one if you
want, but it would be more fun to
think up your own. now that you
know the formula. Write them
down, so at the end of the year
you can haul out the list and
proudly announce there were
resolutions you actually kept
Which brings me to what's
happening this weekend
The Mose Allison Trio will be
joined by the Kenny Burrell Trio
tonight in tlie EMI Ballroom for
two performances of really fine
ja« At 7 ami H to p m Ticket
prices are quite a hit. hut the
music should tie worth the
money
B« tore or alter you see Mose
and Kenny you can attend a free
public concert by the dance
department in 353 Gerlinger.
Ballet, modem, and jazz are
featured for the evening And in
the Gerlinger gym there will, as
usual, be folk-dancing. Both
happen at 8. Sunday night, also at
8, there is folk dancing in
Gerlinger gym
The art museum has a
magnificent exhibit on now called
"Woman." which is a panorama
in photographs of the life of
women in today's world. Museum
hours are noon to 5 p m every
day this weekend.
The Berkeley Singers are
appearing tonight at the School of
Music Recital Hall, $150 ad
mission. at 8. Down at the
Odyssey Coffeehouse there's live
entertainment tonight and
tomorrow night
Further out. at 301 Lincoln
where the Grower's Market is.
the Mackenzie River Boys and
the John Booth Band will provide
music for the "Time to Organize"
dance at 8
Admission is $1 for this fete
honouring the founding of the
Industrial Workers of the World.
Films take a back seat to live
entertainment this weekend, but
they are hanging in there
anyway. This afternoon and
evening at 4:30, 7, and 9:15 P.S.
Films presents Barbara Hershey
in “The Baby Maker” for $1
admission. Samuel Peckinpah's
"Straw Dogs,” with Dustin
Hoffman, opens downtown at the
McDonald this evening. It's an
adventure story about an in
tellectual mathematician who is
forced to become an animal in
order to survive and protect his
home and family, and you won’t
be able to unwind for a half hour
after watching it. Sunday night
the EMU Ballroom movie, shown
at 2 and 7 p m will be “Joe," the
forerunner of Archie Bunker and
the stereotype for all the hardhat
characters who have appeared of
late Admission price is $1.
Now you are left to your own
devices Use this information for
good, and not for evil And
resolve to have a good weekend
literally bounces down the steps
to his class meetings in 177
Lawrence. And on the morning
when this reporter was present,
he accompanied the entire class
of 200 in singing a German
folksong with his guitar.
Stehr does not see his main
importance to the Guten Tag
program in the traditional
teacher’s role. He believes,
rather, that his role as an
organizer and motivational
catalyst are more vital to the
success of the program.
He added that hundreds of
volunteer hours put in by Don
Hunter. AV department head and
Carlyle Ross, Assistant AV head,
contributed immensely to the
program.
The Guten Tag program has
been so effective that many other
institutions have expressed great
interest in it. Currently, the
program is being offered at
L.C.C. under Stehr’s instruction
and at Willamette High School
where his wife Gisela is directing
the program The program is so
popular at Willamette High, that
a full 10 per cent of the student
body is enrolled in it. Both North
and South Eugene High School
have pilot Guten Tag programs
underway. Among the other
institutions interested in Guten
Tag are OSU, Lewis and Clark
College, Reed College, Pacific
Lutheran College, and the Goethe
Institute which has foreign
language programs in 66 coun
tries.
The Guten Tag program at the
University was developed as part
of the Oregon Educational
Coordinating Council’s In
structional Innovation program.
It received an initiating grant of
$4344 from the ECC.
Guten Tag will be continued
next year Stehr stated. An 11
week version will be offered
summer quarter. It is hoped that
a second year audio-visual
program in German will be
funded for the Fall, 1972 quarter,
Stehr added.
Anyone interested in Guten Tag
should contact Christian Stehr in
208 Friendly Hall. His telephone
number is 686-4054.
Great variety of classics, jazz, and folk
in addition to one of the finest
pop selections in the Northwest
Chrystalshlp
837 Willamette 342-6932
Open daily until 10 p.m. including Sundays
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Cue««»
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