1. Vorsprung (2nd
ed.) 2.
Vorsprung
Student Activities Manual (2nd
ed.) is labeled as the Arbeitsheft
for homework
assignments. 3. Dictionary of your choice:
We recommend Collins German Unabridged Dictionary 5th
Edition (2004)
Required
Materials:
A three ring binder with three divisions in which to store (a) class
worksheets, (b) returned homework and (c) returned
tests.
German
101 requires no previous German. The goal of this course is to develop the four
language skills (speaking, listening, reading, and writing) in a cultural
context with a focus on spoken German. We
will seek to incorporate all three modes of communication: interpersonal,
interpretive and presentational. At the
end of the first semester, you should be able to hold a basic conversation and
write a basic letter describing yourself (interests, family, goals, routines, etc.)
and to discover personal information about others. You will become accustomed to managing your
own learning by inducing grammar from many provided examples, taking risks with
the language, and utilizing all resources at your disposal: books, your instructors,
websites as well as any of the extensive extra-curricular activities offered by
the department, such as Karneval, Kaffeestunde and Pizza-Pause. You will be responsible for all material
included in the syllabus, both for main section and subsection.
•We want to USE the
language -- First-year German includes an introduction to the basics of
grammar.Since the discussion of grammar
points prepares students to talk ABOUT the language rather than to use the
language, grammar will be taught in our class by means of structured input
and output (models of good language).Students will first read about the grammar points at home and then will
work with grammar that has been incorporated into thematic contexts in the
classroom; students will acquire structures as they are actually used in the
language.Explicit instruction (rules)
will still be incorporated into classroom instruction as students are called
upon to explain what they understood of the grammar reading and to pose any
questions that they might have.
•Food, apartments and
transportation as well as Gellert, Kafka and Beethoven – Culture (ranging
from the arts to habits, traditions and the day-to-day) will be incorporated
every day into the language classroom.Learning
about everyday culture serves many purposes: It provides you with the basics
you would need, if you were to travel to Germany and it enables you to work
with vocabulary that is at an appropriate level for students with limited
previous German knowledge. We will give
you an introductory picture of life in contemporary German-speaking countries.
If there is something you would particularly like to know about these
countries, let your instructor know right away so that she can make an effort
to incorporate this topic into the class.
•Scaffolding of
activities -- One of our main foci in the first year is to get students
speaking.For this purpose, we will
attempt to connect topics to you and your life.In this manner, you will be familiar with the content.You are thus free to focus your attention on
the language.A variety of strategies
will be employed in the classroom to make this possible.These will range from the very directed,
which will focus your attention on new grammatical structures or vocabulary (e.g.
questionnaires, true-false, ordering, information-exchange) to freer activities
(e.g. interviews, role-plays, think-alouds) to more elevated activities (e.g.
cultural readings which will encourage incidental learning as well as more
advanced cultural introduction).When
completing the simpler tasks in class, you will be encouraged to understand
most every word by means of preceding vocabulary introduction via images and
vocabulary assignments.When completing
more challenging assignments, you should not expect to understand every word
but still work effectively after getting the “gist” of the material.Such assignments will additionally encourage
incidental learning (different students will recall different vocabulary items,
for example).
•Mutual respect–
Foreign Languages are most effectively learned in a space where students feel
comfortable but challenged intellectually.Our team will strive to create a learning environment conducive to such positive
results and to provide a physically and emotionally safe learning
environment.It is your responsibility
to contribute to this environment by being intellectually honest, doing quality
work, speaking up if you have concerns or needs, honoring diversity without
prejudice and encouraging your own progress as well as that of your classmates
through personal motivation and considerate treatment of others.
Academic Integrity Students
are bound by the University policy on academic integrity in all aspects of this
course.All references to ideas and
texts other than the students' own must be so indicated through appropriate
footnotes, whether the source is a book, an online site, the professor,
etc.All students are responsible for
following the rules outlined in the document regarding the University academic
integrity policy: http://www.wustl.edu/policies/undergraduate-academic-integrity.html.
For German language courses, academic
integrity implies that students will not employ online translators nor have
others (i.e. German-speaking relatives, classmates, instructors, etc.) complete
any portion of their work for them.Your
main section and subsection instructors are happy to be of assistance during
your learning process.
Attendance
Policy You will
meet with your main section four hours a week, Monday through Thursday.Subsections, which are devoted to separate but
related reading and listening comprehension activities and discussions, meet
two hours a week. Subsection times will
be re-arranged/confirmed during the first week of the semester; we will ask you
for your schedules in order that we may combine students into two subsections. The
subsections will not begin meeting until the second week of the semester. Attendance
in main and subsection is a pre-requisite of course participation as well as
language acquisition itself, as class time offers you an opportunity to attain
much-needed input and to experiment with the language.We ask that you are punctual for class;
repeated tardies will negatively affect your grade.If there are any circumstances which will
hinder your attendance or punctuality (such as mandatory attendance at a
sporting event or distance of preceding course), please bring these to the
attention of your instructors immediately. Be
aware that unexcused absences will lower your grade significantly. We keep a record of your
absences and your participation.If
you must miss class due to illness or for another legitimate reason, please let
your instructor know before class
that day. Makeup exams are possible only in the case of an excused absence. Participation A
significant portion of your grade is based on your attendance and active
participation, both in the main section and the subsection. Active participation is defined as verbally
contributing to group, pair and individual activities based upon your reading
of the textbook and your attention to class lessons.This participation may also take the form of
any questions that you may have on the material covered and/or homework
assigned. Students taking the course with the “pass/fail” grading option
must achieve a “C-” in order to receive a grade of “P”.
You will
be assigned daily homework from the textbook (Lehrbuch), worksheets and/or the Student Activities Manual (Arbeitsheft).The Student Activities Manual is actually
divided into two parts: a workbook (through page 182) and a lab manual.The lab manual is comprised of listening
comprehension activities.All assigned
work should be completed each day before you come to class.A foreign language is best learned with repetition and regular work each day rather than cramming prior to an exam.As an adult learner of a foreign language
(accustomed to the practice of learning), you will desire clear rules about the
language, and the textbook and class discussion will provide you with these
rules; these can be very comforting.However, since our goal is to learn the language itself rather than just
about the language, our focus needs
to be upon the employment of the
structures and vocabulary.It is
imperative that when you complete your homework, therefore, that you make every
effort to comprehend the information and make sense of it for yourself.If you have questions, bring these
immediately to the attention of your instructor, either in class or via e-mail.
Languages are learned in
pieces, like building blocks.Once you
have acquired one building block (be this vocabulary, grammar or culture), you
want to work to maintain that, so that you may then add to it.
Occasional homework
assignments or class discussion may occur in English.The reason for these assignments or
discussions is to gather your thoughts on a topic.Once you have some thoughts on content that
you could contribute to class discussion, you will be better able to focus on
the expression of this content in German.
Hörverstehen (Listening comprehension) activities in the workbook can be
completed by accessing the textbook webpage: http://college.cengage.com/languages/german/lovik/vorsprung/2e/student_home.html. Using the
pull-down menu in the left-hand column, select the chapter on which you are
currently working.Still in the
left-hand column, click on “Improve Your Grade”.Click then on “SAM Audio Files” which may be
found in the middle of the screen at the bottom of the list.Then locate the appropriate activity.Listening comprehension can be the most
challenging activity that one attempts in the foreign language.It is to be expected that you will want to
listen to the listening comprehension activities more than once.The website allows you to pause and repeat
the texts at will.Should you struggle,
you are also welcome to contact your instructor, so that you may listen to some
of the texts together.
The Anlauftexte, Absprungtexte
and Zieltexte from the textbook may be accessed from the
following webpage: http://college.cengage.com/languages/german/lovik/vorsprung/2e/student_home.html.Using the pull-down menu in the left-hand
column, select the chapter on which you are currently working.Still in the left-hand column, click on
“Improve Your Grade”.Click then on
“In-text Audio Files”.Then locate the desired
file.
Each workbook chapter includes a final activity, which is a longer writing
exercise – THE JOURNAL. Be sure to take
special care with these free-writing activities, as they count for a total of 220
points toward your final grade. Please
be sure to write at least 10-20
sentences for each assignment. (“Ten
sentences” applies only to the first journal assignment.) These activities are marked as follows on the
syllabus: Arbeitsblatt (JOURNAL). We will send the templates to you for the
journal exercises to be certain that these assignments are definitely not
overlooked and in order to modify the assignments slightly, on occasion.
Vocabulary acquisition is essential for success with the
language. Vocabulary can be acquired through
many techniques; a combination of techniques is typically required for
success.(1) First and foremost, you
will note that vocabulary retention is dependent upon attention and
awareness.According to one study, “good
learners were found to be more aware of what they could learn about new words,
paid more attention to collocation[1]
and spelling, and were more conscious of contextual learning.”[2](2) You will note that the vocabulary is
presented and assigned in topical groupings.Relations between words are close enough to be sensible but not so close
as to cause overlap and confusion.(3)
Vocabulary flashcards and/or a vocabulary notebook, while not required of
students as mandatory homework, are highly advisable.These should include the articles and plural
forms of nouns and the principle parts of verbs.(4) Vocabulary is not all assigned for one
day; vocabulary learning needs to be divided over regular intervals.How many words can be studied at one time
depends upon the difficulty of the words.Note how the topics of the initial chapters are simple, everyday and
relatable.(5) Make associations between
the new words and words that you already know; connect new words to the sounds
of the native language (e.g. English), the target language (German) or another
language; consider the structure of the word; consider the meaning of parts of
the word, etc.(6) Repeating words aloud
has been empirically proven to help retention more than silent repetition;
participate in choral repetition of vocabulary in class as well as in
vocabulary activities.(7) Multiple
readings in the text (Anlauftexte and
Absprungtexte) provide opportunities
for vocabulary exposure IN CONTEXT and for guessing and subsequent
corroboration.Some students benefit
more from contextual guessing and others more from dictionary use; you should
keep your dictionary readily on hand, as you discover what type of learner you
are.(8) Assigned texts can be read and
heard; the different modalities can assist with comprehension and
retention.You should review these texts
at home on your own.
Written homework assignments from the workbook, textbook or
handouts will be collected from students on random days.Some work will be collected every day.You will be expected to complete the assigned homework on the
assigned day nonetheless, as its completion will permit for the correct speed
and/or repetition required for effective language acquisition.Please be sure to complete those exercises
assigned – not all have been assigned.Once
again, if you have questions, please bring these immediately to the attention
of your instructor, either in class or via e-mail.
Should you face a particularly busy portion of the semester,
it is greatly appreciated that you request an extension on an assignment.Late assignments will only be accepted if
discussed in advance with the instructor.We want to
work with you to enable you to successfully complete all assignments in a
timely fashion, in order that they may best serve your acquisition process.We
cannot give you any credit for homework that is turned in more than one week
from the day on which it was originally due.
To
complete homework assignments properly, you will want to attend to the words “lernen” and “schreiben.”
“Lernen” means “to study”.When you are assigned pages with grammar
points to study, you will want to read these through carefully, analyze the
examples provided to see the new structure in use and break them down so that
they make sense to you.You do not need
to complete any of the associated activities, unless specifically assigned.
“Schreiben” means “to write”.Those activities assigned with the verb
“schreiben” ALWAYS need to be written out, either in the workbook (whenever
possible) or on a separate piece of loose-leaf paper to be turned in for
correction.
Homework will be
evaluated based on the following system: check
+:handed
in on time, indicating a very thorough effort as well as an attempt to use and
experiment with the language whenever possible check/
check + handed in on time, indicating a very
thorough effort as well as an attempt to use and experiment with the language whenever possible, but with
non-systematic errors requiring review checkhanded in on
time and indicating a satisfactory effort but with systematic errors check
-handed
in on time but indicating an unsatisfactory effortor incomplete Please note that your
subsection instructors may assign homework not listed on this plan to enable
the preparation for or completion of class projects.
[1] collocation: how words occur
together (for example: perform occurs
regularly with operation, as commit often occurs with crime).
[2] Gu, Peter Yongqi.“Vocabulary Learning in a Second
Language: Person, Task, Context and Strategies.”TESL-EJ 7.2 (September 2003).<http://www-writing.berkeley.edu/TESL-EJ/ej26/a4.html>
Tests Chapter Tests:There will be FIVE chapter tests and ONE chapter quiz.This is the most manageable way for material
to be covered.Each test will have
separate sections covering the following: listening comprehension, vocabulary,
grammar, reading, culture and extemporaneous writing.The individual exam sections will contain
material from main section and subsection.No exam scores will be dropped.Review sessions will be held prior to exams
at the instructor’s discretion. Vocabulary Quizzes:Vocabulary quizzes will be administered routinely in
subsection.These may range in form from
the request for the German term when you are provided with the English, the
request for the German term when you are provided with an image, etc.Some may just be 5-word quizzes at the start
of the hour and some may involve lengthier handouts.More details will be provided prior to the
first quiz. Oral Midterm:After the third written test, students will take a 10-minute oral
midterm with their main section and subsection instructors.Students will be provided in advance with a
description of the questions that they can anticipate.Instructors are listening for a certain
amount of fluency, a variety of vocabulary and appropriate grammatical
structures and pronunciation. You can
best prepare yourself for this exam by actively participating in class every
day, so as to grow accustomed to expressing yourself in German and holding
conversations with greater ease.
Last Oral Interview:Students will
participate in a group oral interview during the final subsection meeting.This assessment will take the form of a
conversation based on the work that students have previously completed in
writing and discussion.The topic will
be the renting of a room in a Wohngemeinschaft
(shared apartment). Students will
prepare by addressing desirable qualities in roommates, furniture, apartments
and neighborhoods as well as rental and utilities costs, first in word, phrase
and sentence format and then by conducting mock interviews.
Extra
Credit For
extra credit students will be invited to present their revised poems – the
product of both, three subsection meetings and the journal assignment for
Chapter 5 -- at a special party at the end of the semester.Students will receive points based upon their
familiarity with the poem (can glance at the page but not read the poem),
pronunciation and melody.
