''Fokus Deutsch'' is a

German-language German (, ) is a West Germanic language in the Indo-European language family, mainly spoken in Western and Central Europe. It is the majority and official (or co-official) language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein. It is a ...

course developed by Robert "Bob" Di Donato, Professor of German at the

Miami University Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public university, public research university in Oxford, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1809, it is the second-oldest List of colleges and universities in Ohio, university in Ohi ...

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

. It was produced by WGBH Boston, Inter Nationes, and the

Goethe-Institut The Goethe-Institut (; GI, ''Goethe Institute'') is a Nonprofit organization, nonprofit German culture, cultural organization operational worldwide with more than 150 cultural centres, promoting the study of the German language abroad and en ...

in 1999. It was funded by Annenberg/CPB, and has been aired frequently on

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

since then. The course includes workbooks, textbooks, and a 36-episode television series with audio CDs comprising 24 audio programs. It focuses on the story of Marion Koslowski and her family, intermixed with interviews of native speakers of German from

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

, and

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, including Erika, a survivor from the

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

years; Guy, a student from Cameroon studying in Germany at

RWTH Aachen RWTH Aachen University (), in German ''Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen'', is a German public research university located in Aachen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With more than 47,000 students enrolled in 144 study prog ...

; Grace, a

Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...

an-German; and Gürkan, a

Turkish Turkish may refer to: * Something related to Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities in the former Ottoman Empire * The w ...

-German. There are also documentaries on German history and society, past and present. As of 2014, Annenberg Media lists the series as discontinue

The episodes

Each episode is around a half-hour long. The episodes are divided as follows: *Folge 1. "Arbeitslos" (Unemployed) *Folge 2. "Kein Geld" (No Money) *Folge 3. "Wie geht es Papa" (How's Papa Doing?) *Wiederholung 1. (Review 1) *Folge 4. "Umzug nach Köln" (The Move to Cologne) *Folge 5. "Das Karnevalsfest" (The Mardi Gras Celebration) *Folge 6. "Der Unfall" (The Accident) *Wiederholung 2. (Review 2) *Folge 7. "Der Urlaub" (The Vacation) *Folge 8. "Der Insel Rügen" (On the Island of Rügen) *Folge 9. "Abenteuer und Liebe" (Adventure and Love) *Wiederholung 3. (Review 3) *Folge 10. "Die Wespe" (The Wasp) *Folge 11. "Ein Liebesdrama" (A Love Story) *Folge 12. "Silke" (Silke) *Wiederholung 4. (Review 4) *Folge 13. "Der Auszubildende" (The Apprentice) *Folge 14. "Der Trick" (The Trick) *Folge 15. "Zu viel Salz" (Too Much Salt) *Wiederholung 5. (Review 5) *Folge 16. "Am Wochenende" (On the Weekend) *Folge 17. "Nach Thüringen?" (To Thuringia?) *Folge 18. "Die Lösung" (The Solution) *Wiederholung 6. (Review 6) *Folge 19. "Der Spaghetti-Professor" (The Spaghetti Professor) *Folge 20. "Der Umweltsünder" (The Polluter) *Folge 21. "Die falschen Klamotten" (The Wrong Clothes) *Wiederholung 7. (Review 7) *Folge 22. "Ein neues Gemälde" (A New Painting) *Folge 23. "Der Hausmann" (The House Husband) *Folge 24. "Das Au Pair" (The Au Pair) *Wiederholung 8. (Review 8) *Folge 25. "Eine Familiengeschichte" (A Family History), "Lebensstile" (Life Styles) *Folge 26. "Jugend in Bewegung" (Young People on the Move), "Drei Jugendporträts" (Three Youths) *Folge 27. "Geschichte eines Gymnasiums" (History of a Gymnasium), "Der Schulalltag" (A Typical School Day) *Wiederholung 9. (Review 9) *Folge 28. "Geschichte einer Universität" (History of a University), "Ein Student aus Kamerun" (A Student From Cameroon) *Folge 29. "Wirtschaft im Wandel" (A Changing Economy), "Hilfe für Arbeitslose" (Help for the Unemployed) *Folge 30. "Die Frauenbewegung" (The Women's Movement), "Im Auftrag der Frauen" (Representing Women) *Wiederholung 10. (Review 10) *Folge 31. "Ein grünes Hobby" (A Green Hobby), "Weiterbilden in der Freizeit" (Leisure Learning) *Folge 32. "Urlaub: Gestern und heute" (Vacation: Yesterday and Today), "Abenteuerurlaub" (Adventure Vacation) *Folge 33. "Ein Kurort" (A Spa), "Ein Arztbesuch" (A Visit to the Doctor) *Wiederholung 11. (Review 11) *Folge 34. "Typisch Deutsch?" (Typically German?), "Vom Sauerkraut zur Pizza" (From Sauerkraut to Pizza) *Folge 35. "Auf Kosten der Umwelt" (At What Cost to the Environment?), "Umweltschutz zu Hause" (Environmental Protection at Home) *Folge 36. "Theater für Jugendliche" (Theater for Young People), "100 Jahre deutscher Film" (100 Years of German Cinema) *Wiederholung 12. (Review 12)

Main characters

* Professor — Professor Robert di Donato * Marion — Susanne Dyrchs * Papa — * Mama — * Lars — * Rüdiger —

Places visited

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

Rheinhausen Rheinhausen () is a district of the city of Duisburg in Germany, with a population of 78,203 (December 31, 2020) and an area of 38.68 km². It lies on the left bank of the river Rhine. Rheinhausen consists of the neighbourhoods: Rumeln-Kald ...

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...

The episodes

Main characters

Places visited

See also