IntroductionEver since weil-and obwohl-clauses with verb-second (V 2 ) word order were linguistically investigated in the 1980s (Gaumann, 1983), they have received harsh public criticism. These structures are frequently used by many speakers of German, independent of the speakers' educational and regional background, and they occur in the speech of people who are aware that they are deviating from prescriptive language guides and reference grammars. Due to their deviation from standard German, however, they are often considered ungrammatical or even incorrect. The question arising from this observation is why such a frequently used structure is perceived negatively. In conversations, utterances are modelled according to the given situation and interlocutor. Speakers will thus construct statements in ways that enable the conversation partner to understand the intended meaning (Ernst, Freienstein, and Schaipp, 2011, p. 17). Therefore, it is likely that V 2-structures have implications that differ from those of verb-final (V f ) structures. If this is true, then weil and obwohl with V 2 -structures are not incorrect, but rather fulfill systematically different communicative functions than V f -formats.In the beginning foreign language classroom, the teaching of pragmatics is often limited due to presumed complexity or an emphasis on standard (written) language use. Many teachers perceive the teaching of variation in spoken language to be less relevant and too time-consuming, and therefore abstain from including pragmatic aspects in their lessons (Vandergriff, 2005, p. 61). However, ignoring language variation in foreign language teaching may lead to misunderstandings once students encounter authentic native speech and interaction. For example, students are likely to find the frequency of weil-and obwohlstructures with V 2 confusing. In order to familiarize language learners with the systematicity underlying this phenomenon, it should be embedded in beginning German language classes.The learning target for these two units is based on empirical research in conversation analysis (CA) and interactional linguistics. This paper provides practical and innovative material for two inductive teaching units on weil-and obwohl-structures with V 2 placement for beginning or intermediate students (that is, for the end of the first year of instruction, or for the second year). Each unit is 50 to 60 minutes in length. They prepare students for real-life communication with native speakers, raise their awareness about language and intercultural interaction, and enable them to negotiate meaning across linguistically variable conceptual frameworks. The material has been conceived for, tested, and improved in beginning German classrooms. As it guides students to an awareness of language beyond grammar, it aims to meaningfully enhance the current tertiary German curriculum.
Previous ResearchLinguists have shown that the variation in usage of weil-and obwohl-clauses is language change in 214 1 Corresponding author: Emma Betz, embetz@uwate...