Kontakte continues to offer a truly communicative approach that supports functional proficiency, supported by the full suite of digital tools available in Connect German (now including LearnSmart®!). This proven Introductory German program maintains its commitment to meaningful communicative practice as well as extensive coverage of the 5 Cs and the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines 2012. In its eighth edition, Kontakte has greatly expanded its digital offering: Connect German now contains the full scope of activities originating from both the white and blue pages of the student text and the Arbeitsbuch. Furthermore, the program now offers LearnSmart®, an adaptive learning program that helps students learn grammar and vocabulary more efficiently by tailoring the experience to individual student needs.·              
Communication in meaningful contexts: Students read and listen to comprehensible German and have ample opportunities to use it in interview, information-gap, role-play, autograph, writing,and other personalized activities that are theme-based. The video segments—Interviews and Perspektiven—feature interviews with a variety of speakers that allow students to hear authentic German in context. They provide models for talking about topics using authentic language, guiding students in communicating with one another. In the Connect activities for the student textbook and Arbeitsbuch,students can also take advantage of the audio and video live chat tool to communicate with their classmates online. In Connect German, students have full access to the digitally enhanced eBook, the online Arbeitsbuch activities, LearnSmart®,and all of the accompanying audio and video resources, giving them the ability to interact with the materials (and one other) as often as they wish.      
A solid theoretical foundation: Firmly grounded second-language acquisition research, Kontakte also supports the National Standards as outlined in the Standards for Foreign Language Learning in the 21st Century. As presented in the Standards, the five Cs—Communication, Cultures, Connections, Comparisons,and Communities—provide a framework for what students should know and be able to do as a result of their language study. The five Cs are present in countless ways throughout the program, particularly in the wealth of communicative activities and cultural content. Students are also encouraged to explore connections by linking their study of German with their own lives and other subjects of study, to make comparisons between their world and that of German-speaking people, and to learn about real-world German-speaking communities. Kontakte also integrates several modes of language, as described in the ACTFL Proficiency Descriptors.The activities, exercises, and tasks offer students a wide variety of opportunities for communication and interaction in interpersonal, interpretive,and presentational modes.  For example,the many interviews in Kontakte require students to negotiate meaning and therefore reinforce the interpersonal mode of communication.  The diversity of readings, whether literary, cultural, or encyclopedic, requires students to interpret information within context and apply it to new contexts.      
Tools for Digital Success: Connect German and LearnSmart®, McGraw-Hill’s digital teaching and learning environment allows students to engage in their course material via the devices they use every day.The digital tools available in the Connect German platform facilitate student progress by providing extensive opportunities to practice and hone their developing skills. These include online communicative activities, instant feedback, peer-editing writing tools, sophisticated reporting, and a complete eBook with embedded audio and video. LearnSmart® is the only integrated learning system that empowers students by continuously adapting to deliver precisely what they need, when they need it, and how they need it, to make your class time more engaging and effective.