91快色

鈥淚 have brown hair.鈥� 

鈥淭here are four people in my family.鈥� 

鈥淚 enjoy baseball and if you go straight and take the second left, you鈥檒l reach the library.鈥�

Second-language learning often follows a predictable pattern; through familiar situations and contexts, students learn to integrate new verbs, nouns and lessons into their wider understanding of how a language works.

But language is more than just verbs and nouns 鈥� it's the context and culture that give it meaning. 

For learners, this is where scholastics give way to stories, and the impact of projects like become significant. 

Funded by a and in 2023, written by U91快色 undergraduate students in the German language program. For many, this work continued well beyond graduation. Co-investigator Dr. John Scott, PhD, an adjunct assistant professor in the , says the students鈥� commitment to ongoing learning has been remarkable.

鈥淭he students understand that learning doesn鈥檛 stop with the course," Scott says. "Motivated to affect young learners with their work, they鈥檝e picked up new idioms, vocabulary and language to make their stories even more impactful.鈥�

To date, five books have been published through the project. The stories range from the adventures of an interplanetary letter carrier, to a nervous cat heading to its first veterinarian visit, to ladybugs discovering their unique value in the ecosystem.

Dr. Roswita Dressler, professor with the and principal investigator for the grant, says that books like these play an important role in serving the North American German language market.

鈥淭he design, font and style of these books have a different flavour from those produced in Europe. They deal with the lived experience of German speaking children in North America, offering a unique take on the language that鈥檚 not found in children鈥檚 literature in German-speaking countries,鈥� says Dressler, MA'08, PhD'12.

Rodie De Wall, co-author of Der Brieftr盲ger im Ausserweltraum (2024) and illustrator and layout designer for several stories, echoes the importance of creating material that meets young readers where they are. 

鈥淭he goal for our book was to make it accessible for first- and second-grade boys," says De Waal. "We created an intergalactic adventure with alien animals, strange worlds and a blazing climax, and leaned heavily on dialogue to progress the story since it鈥檚 more engaging for teaching and learning at a young age.鈥�

A linguistics student in the Faculty of Arts, De Waal鈥檚 involvement in the project aligns with her interest in children鈥檚 psychology and multilingual families. As a speech pathologist aide during her undergraduate degree, she saw first-hand how illustrated character expressions in a boy鈥檚 favourite storybooks helped him recognize emotions in himself and others.

鈥淪torybooks make children鈥檚 eyes light up with wonder and excitement," she says. "They give them something to connect to and are a helpful tool for therapists and family members to teach essential life skills or share beginner friendly language.鈥�

Adds Scott: 鈥淔or undergraduate students, the project asked them to consider and appeal to the needs of a young audience. Children want to talk about their pets and their family 鈥� and not necessarily using the high-frequency words determined by a textbook publisher.鈥�

Dressler says practical language exposure is essential: 鈥淚f you鈥檙e handed a baby, you wouldn鈥檛 know how to sing it a lullaby or how to offer a child a snack based on what you learned in class. In a narrative, the challenges faced by characters don鈥檛 always use vocabulary from the course textbook. That鈥檚 where self-directed learning takes over." 

With five of 11 of the project鈥檚 books now published and hosted on the , Dressler and Scott plan to write a practice-focused academic article addressing approaches to German instruction in post-secondary settings. 

Opportunities to expand the project are also on the horizon, including adapting the framework for other languages or collaborating with student illustrators at design colleges. 

鈥淭he framework behind By Learners for Learners motivates students to read long-form text and accomplishes the teacher鈥檚 goal of teaching people how to write.鈥� says Scott.

鈥淚t鈥檚 an easy sell.鈥�

By Learners For Learners titles

By Learners for Learners: Level-Appropriate Children's Literature for Bilingual German Primary Education has published five books to date, and looks forward to the release of K鈥嬅秐igin Chovy (Queen Chovy) by Joshua Duha in 2026.

For more information visit the . For questions, contact Dr. Roswita Dressler and Dr. John H. G. Scott. 

Die Ziegler Kinder und ihre Geburtstagsgeschenke (2025)

• Written by Matthew Mettam and Nikolai Nestorov
• Illustrated by Jia Yi Ren

This open-access German children's book tells the story of three children who search the house for their birthday presents, only to have their parents surprise them by coming home early!

Hans im Wald! (2025) 

• Written by Joyce Chan and Aurora Clark
• Illustrated by Salma Zein
• Edited by Miriam Siggelkow

Poor little Hans wandered off from a family picnic and got lost in the woods! Once the sun goes down, he has to spend a scary night alone in a cave before his family finds him.

Die kleinen sommersprossigen Marienk盲fer (2025)

• Written by Maggie Byrne
• Illustrated by Rodie De Waal
• Edited by Miriam Siggelkow

Young ladybugs learn to value being unique rather than worry about being different.

Buttons geht zum Arzt (2025)

• Written and illustrated by Paige White
• Edited by Miriam Siggelkow

Buttons is scared to go to the doctor for the first time, but learns not to be afraid!

Der Brieftr盲ger im Ausserweltraum (2024)

• Written by Annika Burgel, Daniel Thompson and Charlie E. Wilson and Rodie De Waal
• Illustrated by Rodie De Waal
• Edited by Miriam Siggelkow

Oh no! This package is missing its address label! Never fear, this diligent letter carrier will go from planet to planet to make sure the mail is delivered.