Zur differenzierung des deutschlandbilds im landeskundlichen daf-unterricht in Simbabwe

Abstract

The underlying study is an impirical research examining the German image of the Zimbabwean students with the aim of making it more critical. In the German culture lessons there is a confrontation of cultures, therefore, the perception of both the foreign culture and one’s own culture becomes very significant. Using the intercultural approach this work sought to show how the German culture lessons can be used to improve the students’ perception of Germany and Simbabwe. Open ended questionnaires were employed as a tool of data collection. Using the collected data, the study investigates the perception of the German image as well as the contrast between this image and the Zimbabwean image. Through the analysis of the German culture lessons at the University of Zimbabwe and that of the students’ perceptions, the study also examines the factors influencing the students’ perception of both Zimbabwe and Germany. The cultural identity theory as developed by Collier and Thomas (1998) and modified by Collier (2005), was employed in the interpretation of the students’ perceptions of the two countries. The results revealed that there is need to further examine the German culture lessons, in order to make them more effective in the Formation of balanced and critical self and foreign images. This work, however, recommends a number of didactic methods that can be used to improve these lessons.