A Frequency Analysis of Vocabulary in Three First-Year Textbooks of German

Research shows that the most frequently used words of a language's vocabulary are of great benefit and importance for the learner, especially during the early stages of language learning. Information about word frequency, therefore, plays a critical role when selecting vocabulary for a German course or textbook. This article describes a study which investigates how three current and widely-used textbooks for first-year German instruction at American universities and colleges reflect German lexical frequencies. The three textbooks investigated are Deutsch heute, Kontakte, and Neue Horizonte.