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Term 1: Semi-Intensive German Language Advanced 1
(Course # 1.5)
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Type: |
A Track |
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Language: |
German |
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Contact hours: |
72 Contact Hours |
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Credit Points: |
4 credit points |
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Capacity: |
15 |
Course description
Course Objectives
This course is designed to deepen your competence in speaking and writing, to expand and refine your vocabulary usage. In particular, this course focuses on the development of your academic register. You work across literary genres and media as you interpret and analyze cultural, political, and historical moments in German-speaking countries. Special attention is given to the development of an academic discourse style in your in-class discussions and in your written compositions. At the end of the course, you will hand in your final paper.
Textbook
Das Oberstufenbuch: Ein Lehr- und Übungsbuch für fortgeschrittene Lerner, Anne Buscha und Gisela Linthout, Schubert Verlag, 2005.
Selection of literary and non-literary texts.
Daily Lesson and Excursion
Monday, Wednesday and Thursday are lessons. Since the historical and cultural life of Berlin enriches the content of the course two Wednesdays offer a course-related excursion.
Participation
Each class consists of six teaching modules (45 minutes each). If you miss eight modules your entire course grade will drop by one grade. We discourage late arrival. Coming late to class six times (up to 20 minutes) also will drop your course grade. Missing 20 modules result in failing the class.
Participation includes more than simply coming to class and arriving on time. Active participation reflects the quality of participation and includes consistent interest in learning the language, which involves participating productively in the excursions.
What is active participation?
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Being prepared for class including completed homework assignments,
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regularly volunteering with constructive comments (more isn’t always better),
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contributing productively to group work,
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sharing ideas
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and listening to and respecting the ideas and comments of your peers.
Evaluation
| Active participation and homework | 300 points |
| Oral presentation | 100 points |
| Essay | 100 points |
| Reflective journal | 100 points |
| Midterm exam | 200 points |
| Final project | 200 points |
Oral Presentation
You prepare a 15-minute oral presentation, in which you introduce and delineate a certain aspect about Berlin or the region. Focus and content of you presentation can be discussed during office hours. Most importantly, you will prepare a handout for your peers listing unfamiliar vocabulary and posing questions. You are practicing to speak freely and cannot read the oral presentation.
Essay
The expansion and refinement of your written style, the development of your critical voice, and your revision competence are goals in this course. In preparation for your final paper, you will compose a three-page essay in 12-font and double spaced. The essay is initially returned by the instructor with suggestions for improvement and must be re-submitted. The first version of the essay is worth 80 points and the rewrite 20 points for a total of 100 points. Do not hand in rough draft.
When writing your essay you will strive first and foremost for clarity (organization and style) and accuracy (grammar and syntax). You are encouraged to incorporate complex constructions, but please concentrate on syntactic and grammatical accuracy. Proofread your essay to insure that you have not made careless errors. For example, you might look for:
- subject-verb agreement,
- tense of verb,
- gender,
- case,
- adjective endings,
- word order,
- and literal first-language translations.
Reflective Journal
Developing writing competence is one of the foci of this course. Throughout the weeks you will write three journal entries. Your instructor purely for content comments these creative exercises. No corrections will be made. The aim of the journal is not to facilitate a therapeutic forum for you; instead you will develop a self-reflective voice and verbalize your impressions in written form, becoming more comfortable and secure in creating with the German language. In addition, you are encouraged to critically reflect course themes and consistently concentrate on self-correction. Some aspects for consideration may
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express a social critique
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thematize a specific concept
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compare historical phenomena
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question personal belief systems
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problematize and discuss opposing approaches
Midterm Exam
You will write a midterm consisting of the following sections: listening comprehension, vocabulary, grammar, reading comprehension and composition based on course themes.
Final project
The creative project will be thematically linked to course content and includes two components:
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A three-page written essay that meets standards of academic writing;
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A twenty-minute in-class presentation.
Student profile
Advanced 1
