Course Information

Course Description: Welcome to German 2211: Intermediate German I - German Language and Culture! This course is the first course in the second-year sequence at McDaniel College. It is designed for students who have studied German previously and wish to improve their reading, writing, listening, and speaking abilities. The course will be enhanced by selected videos that are closely related to the material studied. You will also have the opportunity to write essays and answer essay questions on tests in German.

After successful completion of this course you will be able to handle a variety of communicative tasks in German, such as:

  • participating in conversations in German about topics of general interest such as leisure time activities and hobbies, talking about yourself and your family, ordering meals, talking about films and more
  • giving oral presentations in German about various topics
  • reading and understanding the main ideas of German texts such as short stories, poems, newspaper and magazine articles, and Internet pages
  • understanding authentic German language used in films, short videos and other media
  • composing short essays on different topics related to the readings
  • understanding and appreciating some new aspects of German culture and the important role of Germany in the European Union and the world.

 

Required Books:

 

  • German in Review, by K. Sparks and Van Horn Vail. 4th ed. Thomson & Heinle (GiR)
  • Einer singt falsch, Felix & Theo, Langenscheidt
  • Oktoberfest, Felix & Theo, Langenscheidt
  • Post für den Tiger, Janosch, Beltz
  • Collins: German-English-German Dictionary (or any other dictionary)

 

Important: Doing your homework (written or otherwise) is absolutely vital. You must be prepared for every class. Read the assigned texts and study the vocabulary prior to the meeting time. Please keep in mind that you are expected to practice German eight hours per week outside of class.

 

Classroom Deportment: In order to have an optimal teaching and learning environment, please keep the following guidelines in mind: arrive promptly and dressed properly for the classroom (no caps, no pajamas); treat everyone in the class with courtesy; turn off your cell phones before class; give the instructor your complete attention.

 

Honor Code: The honor code will be strictly enforced. Students must sign the honor pledge on all assignments and tests, and write it on all essays. The honor pledge is posted in every classroom.

 

Plagiarism: Plagiarism is using another person’s words or ideas in a direct or indirect way without proper acknowledgment. Whenever using two or more important words, they must be placed in quotation marks.

Grading: Grading Scale:
Class Participation & Daily Preparations 10%    (100 points)

A+ 97 – 100%

A   93 –   96%

A-  90 –   92%

B+ 87 –   89%

B   83 –   86%

B-  80 –   82%

C+ 77 – 79%

C   73 – 76%

C-  70 – 72%

D+ 67 – 69%

D   63 – 66%

D-  60 – 62%
Konversationsstunde 10%    (100 points)
Grammar & Vocabulary Quizzes 20%    (200 points)
Oral Group Presentations 20%    (200 points)
Portfolio 20%    (200 points)
Final Exam 20%    (200 points)
TOTAL
 100% (1000 points)

Requirements

 

Attendance is mandatory. Three (3) unexcused absences will lower the final grade by 3%, four (4) by 6% and so on. Excused absences are at the discretion of the instructor. Absences caused by college related activities are only excused if the instructor is made aware of them in advance. Please provide a written excuse for each class hour missed.

 

Class participation & Daily Preparations: Active participation in class and daily preparation are very crucial for improving your language skills. Please read all required pages for each class hour, study the vocabulary, and prepare the exercises assigned. Be active in class. Speak up, speak out, throw your hat into the ring! “Use it or lose it!”

 

Konversationsstunde. Katharina Mertens, the German House Director from Berlin, will set up a time for a weekly conversation hour with the entire class. The conversations will be conducted entirely in German. Katharina will have a sign up sheet for each week. Each time you miss or don’t participate in the Konversationsstunde, you will lose 1% of the final grade.

 

Quizzes: You will have 3 quizzes based on the grammar book and the three books we will read. There will also be some oral quizzes about the books we will read. Missed quizzes may not be made up, and will be recorded as zeros unless a valid excuse is presented to the instructor.

 

Oral Group Presentation: The students will be divided up into small groups and are expected to work together on two oral presentations: The first group presentation is about the film Lola rennt and it is scheduled for October 24th and 26th. You’ll receive further information later on in the semester. The second one will be about a creative idea: write your own play and perform it (which you can also include in your own individual portfolio), make a film (I’ll give you more details on this), memorize and dramatically perform some famous German poems (Erlkönig, Lorelei, Mackie Messer, etc.), study simple dialogues or sketches and perform them with others, play a scene from your daily life, etc. The second oral presentation is scheduled for December 5th and 7th.

 

Individual (Digital) Portfolio: A portfolio is a collection of your own work. It includes materials connected with the class. Portfolios include samples of evidence that demonstrate the progress of your language learning. You can either use a 1” ring binder with at least 5 tab dividers, or submit everything digitally on a CD, via Blackboard or put it on the server in the Foreign Language Lab. I’ll show you how this works.

I will collect the portfolio 3 times in the semester. Each time I collect the portfolio, I’ll read it, make some comments and give you points: 40 points for the 1st time, 60 points for the 2nd time, 100 points for the 3rd. The final grade for the portfolio is the sum of all 3 grades (maximum 200 points, or 20% of final grade). If you don’t submit the portfolio you don’t receive any points. However, I do give extra points for creative and comprehensive portfolios.

Your portfolio will consist of 5 parts: homework assignments and essays, vocabulary lists, creative writing samples (poems, songs, short stories, diaries, etc.), speaking samples and oral interviews that must be submitted either on a CD or posted on the server in the foreign language lab, and finally a reflection part.

  • Homework Assignments/ Essays: Homework will include assigned exercises in the grammar book as well as additional Internet and other exercises assigned by the instructor. Due dates are on the syllabus. Essays (at least 250 words each) will be graded on quality of the content, use of vocabulary, grammatical accuracy, and comprehensibility. You will write the essays twice. I will read your first drafts and return them back to you with suggestions and comments. Your corrections should incorporate my suggestions. The final grade for the essays is the average of both drafts. If you miss the first deadline for the essays, you’ll lose the chance to rewrite them.
  • Weekly Vocabulary lists: This is your own Wörterbuch (dictionary). To accomplish this successfully, you must take notes in class on a daily basis. I would use a good composition book just for this purpose and then type up the vocabulary on a weekly basis. Record words, phrases, idiomatic expressions, and grammar points that are of interest and importance to you. This is not limited only to items covered in class. You can also include items you encounter outside of class. You may want to collect German words and phrases about one or two areas you like to speak and write about: your favorite German (US) musician, painter, writer, or about your favorite sport, about your hobbies, leisure time activities, about politics, etc. I would recommend starting with words and phrases and then move to whole sentences and then paragraphs. By the end of the semester, you’ll be comfortable writing short essays about these topics.
  • Creative writing samples: Your portfolio will include some creative writing samples: poems, songs, short stories, letters or E-Mails in German to German friends, etc. Creative writing samples will be graded on quality of the content, use of vocabulary, grammatical accuracy, and comprehensibility. You may correct the creative writing samples, submit them the next time the portfolio is due, and this way improve your grade.
  • Short speaking samples: You’ll record yourself three times in the semester using the foreign language lab:
    1. at the beginning of the semester you’ll tell the instructor something about yourself (your name, age, major, hobbies, etc.); due September 23rd.
    2. in the second part you will, together with a partner, perform excerpts from one of the books we read in class; due October 28th.
    3. at the end of the semester, you will find and interview a native or fluent speaker of German, transcribe the interview and reflect about what you have learned from this experience. A list of possible native speakers will be distributed at a later time. Due December 2nd.

    You may save these samples on a zip disc (and then burn them all at the end of the semester on a CD) or save them directly onto my folder in the Foreign Language Lab. The speaking samples are due when the portfolio is due. However, I would suggest that you don’t wait until the last minute. Try to record yourself more than one time before you decide to submit the recording. You will not be able to erase your recording once you have saved it onto the server.

  • Reflections: In this section you’ll reflect about the learning process itself, about what and how you learned, and also about the German language and culture. Include short comments in German and deeper, reflective pieces in English. There are no limits of how much you can write here. I would suggest that you record your reflections at least 4 times in the semester (every time I collect the portfolio).

Final Exam: The final exam will consist of 2 parts: an oral interview with the instructor and a written part. The written part will cover all the materials studied in the Fall semester. The oral part will be administered in the week of December 12-16. A sign up sheet will be distributed at the end of the semester.

Tutoring is available. Hours and name of the tutor will be announced in class.

 

Viel Spaß und Erfolg!