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The recent sociopolitical circumstances in Germany have led to the popularization of teaching German as a foreign language (Deutsch als Fremdsprache, DaF) within the country. To cater to the different needs or goals of learners, various DaF materials including those for specific occupational purposes have been designed. Assuming that dialogues in contemporary DaF textbooks constitute the important means of socializing learners into the use of the target language in real-life communication, this paper examined 29 conversations provided in an audio recording of a DaF textbook for non-physician healthcare workers. The healthcare sector was chosen because it is the profession in which DaF foreigners are often recruited. The major objective of the current research is to identify any pedagogic values of the dialogues. To this end, the utterances of the medical personnel in the dialogues were analyzed in accordance with Halliday’s (1975) model about the seven functions of language. Attention was also paid to how these functions are linguistically manifested for medical communication as well as the construction of professional identity. The findings underscore the different roles which healthcare employees play in their workplace. These roles include providing or gathering information, building up rapport and regulating patients’ behavior. Besides, the function-form correspondence is evident in the data. For instance, where the “instrumental” function is concerned, the healthcare workers tend to articulate their medical routine as a desire with ich möchte [I want to]. On the other hand, the “personal” function is typically realized by phrases like ich glaube [I believe], which preface the healthcare workers’ medical judgment or advice. Last but not least, the data offer insights into how healthcare workers perform their professional identity during communication. One example is the simultaneous use of medical jargon and its generic equivalent (e.g., Amlodipin [amlodipine] versus Blutdrucktabletten [blood pressure tablets]) to display their expertise without jeopardizing patients’ understanding. Given the findings of this study, DaF practitioners working in the field of Languages for Specific Purposes (LSP)are advised to use the dialogues in textbooks to systematically cultivate learners’ consciousness of how linguistic resources can be mobilized for communication in their profession.

This paper is a comparative analysis of the English language assessment of the university entrance examinations “la Selectividad” and “das Abitur” administered nationwide in Spain and Germany respectively. It is of particular interest to researchers and practitioners of English as a foreign language. The major objective of the current research is to identify any similarities and/or differences in the assessment of English as a foreign language for university admission between the two countries. To this end, the test papers used in 2015 for students in Madrid and Berlin were investigated qualitatively. In order for the analysis to be more systematic, the framework from Douglas (2000) was employed. The findings demonstrate that the two national tests share some similarities. First, the candidates of both tests are required to read the given textual input first before they can complete the writing tasks. Second, listening and speaking skills are not assessed in both tests. On the other hand, overt contrasts between the two tests were identified. The assessment designed for the German students takes longer to complete, and it contains a markedly larger amount of textual data. Furthermore, Spanish students are expected to give “selected response” or “limited response” most of the time while “extended response” to all questions is elicited from German candidates. The findings of this study are valuable because they have shown that the national assessment of English as a foreign language for university admission can vary greatly across non-English-speaking European countries. The assessment in Germany appears to be more challenging than the one in Spain, notwithstanding the very early start of English learning among Spanish children. Given the status of English as an international language, it is highly recommended that some measures be taken, at least among members of the European Union (e.g., via a committee modeling on the Bologna Process), to harmonize the assessment of English as a foreign language for the purpose of university admission