Authentic teaching as the context for language learning

This paper reports the redevelopment and subsequent evaluation of a unit in dialectology within a foreign language curriculum ( German). In doing so it is a case study which serves to offer insight into the student experience of studying linguistics within a foreign language curriculum, the potential of online/electronic pedagogies for the teaching of dialectology and the way in which creative, authentic teaching builds a context for learning. The paper begins with a brief overview of the teaching of linguistics in general and dialectology or language variation studies in particular. It presents the evaluation methodology and findings, and raises implications for further research. It also provides a summary of some aspects of the redevelopment of the unit.