Focus on Frequency: A Comparison of First-year German Vocabularies

Author

Ronald Eric Johnson, University of Tennessee - KnoxvilleFollow

Date of Award

5-2010

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts

Major

German

Major Professor

Chauncey J. Mellor

Committee Members

Stefanie Ohnesorg, Sébastian Dubreil

Abstract

Foreign language teachers, experts of pedagogy, and textbook publishers often cite frequency as an important tool in the creation of textbooks, as well as in teaching students a foreign language. These same figures, however, rarely question the application of frequency in these works. This thesis examines the application of frequency over a range of first-year German textbooks compared to a textbook that is explicitly based on a particular frequency dictionary. These textbooks are compared to each other and to the Jones and Tschirner Frequency Dictionary of German and Pfeffer’s Grunddeutsch: Basic (Spoken) German Word List, Grundstufe.

Recommended Citation

Johnson, Ronald Eric, "Focus on Frequency: A Comparison of First-year German Vocabularies. " Master's Thesis, University of Tennessee, 2010.
https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_gradthes/637