• Syllabus (printable PDF incl. day-to-day schedule)

Student Profile

This course is designed for beginners with basic knowledge of German.

Course Objectives

This course will help you to expand your competences in listening, speaking, reading and writing within four weeks, deepen your knowledge of grammar as well as your knowledge of the German culture.

• By the end of the four-week course you will be able to deal with everyday situations in a German-speaking environment and to conduct simple conversations.
• You will have developed reading strategies that allow you to understand simple newspaper and magazine articles as well as short literary texts more detailed.
• In addition, you will improve your essay writing skills, which means you will be able to write short texts on different topics, revise and proofread them.
• Finally, you will be able to understand discussions on familiar topics more detailed.

Textbook

studio [21] Grundstufe A2: Gesamtband. Das Deutschbuch, Hermann Funk, Christina Kuhn, Cornelsen Verlag, 2015.

Literary texts and supplemental materials in consultation with the course instructor.

Daily Lesson

Online lessons take place Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, from approximately 4pm CEST to 8:30pm CEST. Please take into consideration the possible time difference and make sure that you are able to be online during those times.

Technical Equipment

Working internet connection

Computer, laptop or tablet (we don’t recommend the use of smart phones)

Software: Webex Meetings/Webex Teams, Blackboard

recommended operating systems: Windows 7 or higher or Mac OS X 10,13 or higher, avoid using a VPN

Attendance

Each class consists of six teaching modules (45 minutes each), split in 3 live online modules and the rest as group- or independent study in the form of tasks on the online learning platform. The coursework corresponds to an on-site course amounting to 72 contact hours. Unexcused absences will negatively impact the student’s course grades. Regular attendance is mandatory and you will need to complete at least 80% of the tasks on the online learning platform to pass the course.

Active Participation

We expect committed and consistent interest in the acquisition of the German language. You will prove this by participating constructively and productively in the lessons and excursions, completing homework assignments and being prepared for every class. Every student is expected to respect the ideas and comments of his/her peers.

Oral Presentation

You will prepare a five-minute oral presentation. It is important that you speak freely rather than reading the oral presentation and that you keep to the time allowed.

Essays

In this course you will write two essays (font size 12, double-spaced, 150 – 200 words). Your teacher will mark potential errors as such and you are required to correct your essay and hand in a second corrected version. For the first version of your essay you can obtain a maximum of 100 points; for the second version you will receive up to 50% of the missing points.

When writing your essay, you will strive first and foremost for clarity (organization and style) and accuracy (grammar and syntax).

Reflective Journal/Blog Entries and Comments

Throughout the term you will write various online journal or blog entries – independently or on given topics – to reflect on certain aspects of your German course and will comment on the entries of the other students. Your instructor will comment the content of your entries. However, no corrections will be made. The aim of the entries is that you learn how to express a critical and self-reflective position in a linguistically creative way.

Tests

During the four weeks you will write one or more tests. Your instructor will inform you about the format and other details after the course start.

Group Project

Together with two or three peers you will prepare a creative and linguistically demanding oral presentation of approximately 10 minutes about your impressions of your German course and the topics discussed in class (funny, bizarre, interesting facts etc.). The projects (sketches, parodies, PowerPoint presentations, movies, songs, poems etc.) will be presented on the last day of class. Most importantly, every group member should play an active role in the presentation, i.e. should receive an equal amount of speaking time during the presentation.

Evaluation

• Active participation and homework 200 points
• Tasks on the online learning platform 250 points
• Oral presentation 100 points
• Essays 100 points
• Journal/blog entries and comments 100 points
• Tests 150 points
• Group project 100 points

Maximum score: 1,000 points

Course Combinations

• German Philosophy: From Kant to Habermas