Überlegungen zum Stellenwert eines „narrativen Prinzips“ im Fremdsprachenunterricht

Abstract

This article suggests giving more room to narration and narratives in the foreign language classroom. Story-telling is a widely used method in teaching languages to young learners, and more advanced students often deal with fictional texts analytically. However, the universal nature of narration will be more in the focus if narrativity becomes a central principle of classroom teaching, resulting in a fresh perspective: Autobiographical accounts by pupils will be fostered and appreciated, especially in multilingual classes. Students use their experiences gained on stays abroad in a motivating and credible way in practicum classes, while teachers pay more attention to the narrative thread of their lessons and train their diagnostic competence in that they seek to understand the meanings of the accounts by beginners. The article goes on to list various elements of the narrative principle. It may well lead to occasional deviations from the functional competences desirable for every-day purposes and even present a certain contrast to the matrix model of the Common European Framework since narration does not seem to fit its frame very well in some respects.