The topological model in language teaching

The explorative study TopoS (The topological model in language teaching) uses guided interviews to investigate the use of the topological model in German lessons in Baden-Württemberg. 39 secondary school teachers provide information on their experiences of grammatical learning with the model. The quantitative and qualitative data analysis focuses on the breadth and coherence of the subject areas developed with the model, on the opportunities and limitations of the lesson design and on the function of the model in the classroom. Based on these criteria, four groups of teachers can be distinguished from one another. In two “extreme groups”, the use of the model as a tool for grammatical learning on the one hand and the thematization of the model as an end in itself as an examination subject on the other. On an intermediate continuum, there are teachers who tend towards one pole or the other.