Landeskundevermittlung Am Beispiel Eines Vergleichs Der „Lost Counties“ In Uganda Und Der Berliner Mauer

Abstract

Considering that Teachers of the subject German as a foreign language in secondary schools in Uganda do not put much emphasis on the teaching of cultural studies in the classroom, many learners of this subject find it very difficult to relate to the people of Germany and their culture. Even when some teachers try to give culture lessons, they are not effectively taught, since mostly the lecture method is used which makes the teacher remain the most reliable source of information to learners. Therefore this research was directed at learners of secondary schools in Uganda where the German language is taught with the aim of finding out how much value teachers as well as learners of this subject attach to cultural studies of Germany in the classroom, which teaching methods are used, the topics that learners find relevant as far as this field of study is concerned and lastly to prove that indeed looking for similarities between incidences in two cultures, can be a more effective way of teaching compared to the old lecture teaching method. This research therefore sought to prove the effectiveness of this new method of teaching as was developed by the French researcher Pierre Nora of the concept of “Memory space/ Erinnerungsorte or lieux de Memoire”and emphasized by such academicians as Uwe Koreik. In doing so, the research aimed at transmitting the concept of the Berlin wall to learners comparing it to the formerly “Lost Counties” of Buyaga and Bugangaizi that make up present day Kibaale district in Uganda. The research perceived the Berlin wall and the “Lost Counties”as both being discourses that shaped the history of their societies and therefore continue doing so in the process until today. To fulfill the aims of this research, Questionnaires were handed out to 27 learners of the German language at Trinity College Nabbingo in Nsangi, a few Kilometers away from the capital city Kampala in Uganda. In addition, the researcher conducted a pilot lesson in two phases, in one teaching the Berlin wall alone and in another comparing the Berlin wall to the “Lost Counties”.Findings from the Questionnaires indicated thatalthough cultural studies of Germany were part of the German lessons in this school, the teachers rarely taught this field because they do not attach much value to it. In contrast however, all the learners showed great interest in this field and stated that cultural studies is a very crucial part of learning the German language. The learners confirmed that cultural lessons orient them very much about Germany and the Germans. The pilot lesson conducted in the first phase was not as effective as the second one, which employed the comparison of the Berlin wall to the “Lost Counties” as a teaching method. From the answers that learners gave in both instances, it became clear indeed, that the method of teaching using comparison of instances from two cultures is a more effective way of teaching cultural studies in the German lessons as compared to the old fashioned lecture method that leaves no room for debate and critical thinking