Mapping the dimensions of a challenge: teaching German as a foreign language in multilevel contexts

Abstract

The everyday of German classrooms in university and extra-curricular institutional settings – as it is the case of project PALEP – Projeto Aulas de Línguas em Espaços Públicos (Language Classes in Public Spaces Project) (UERJ/UFRJ) – has posed several different challenges to all involved in the teaching-learning process. The assumption of this study is that teachers and managers of teaching-learning are faced with 'multilevel' classrooms and the knowledge of this fact holds political-pedagogical implications that reflect on the role of students and teachers, on the development of educational material and also on the goals of the learning process. The goal of this paper is, therefore, to discuss theoretical aspects of teaching-learning as a complex activity and to identify three dimensions of acknowledging the 'multilevel' nature of German classes: the social dimension, which encompasses issues related to possibilities of socialization and cooperation, taking into account the multiple levels found in classrooms; the educational dimension, which brings about transformation to the didactic rationale in class; and, to conclude, the political dimension, which allows us to better understand the processes of producing failure and evasion in German courses.