Kontakte: A Communicative Approach, 4th Edition
by By Terrell, Tracy D., Tschirner, Erwin P., and Nikolai, Brigitte
Category: Foreign Language Study , German

This best-selling German text is based on the Natural Approach, pioneered by Tracy D. Terrell.  Students learn German through communicative contexts with an emphasis on the four skills and cultural competence, with grammar functioning as an aid to language learning and not an end in itself.  In the Natural Approach, students develop language in stages, with the comprehension stage preceding the production stage. For that reason, Kontakte focuses first on the receptive skills (listening and reading) before asking students to produce the language (speaking and writing).