Professor: Dr. Diana Lysinger Class call #: 80335 Time: MTWT 9:00 9:50 a.m. Room: MRP 2032 Office hours: Tu/Th 10:00-11:00 a.m. MRP 2050 E-mail: diana.lysinger@csus.edu Phone: 916-278-6839 (office) German is an official language of Germany, Austria, Belgium, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Luxembourg. German is spoken in many European countries as a second language and is the third most taught and translated language in the world. There are more than 100 million native German speakers. Recent: In the World Cup Final which was held in Rio de Janeiro on 13 July, Germany beat Argentina 1 0, becoming the first ever European team to win a FIFA World Cup in the Americas. PREREQUISITE: None, except for the strong desire to learn one of the world s most expressive languages, and a commitment to attend class every day and to do assigned written and oral assignments on a daily basis. COURSE GOALS AND OUTCOMES: German 1A is an introduction to the German language and German-speaking cultures. It includes the fundamentals of German pronunciation and grammar, as well as the development of listening, speaking, reading, and writing with emphasis on the communicative skills. You will learn to communicate in German in a number of everyday situations at the elementary level. This means that you ll be able to ask and answer simple questions, as well as participate in short conversations relying heavily on learned CSUS Course Catalog Description: GERM 1A. Elementary German. Focuses on the development of listening, speaking, and reading skills. Special attention will be given to the relationship of the language to the civilization and culture of the German-speaking countries. Graded: Graded Student. Units: 4.0 phrases. In addition, you will learn to read texts found in each unit of the textbook, and your writing will focus on yourself, your family and friends. Finally, you will learn about some cultural peculiarities that make life in Germany special. It is expected that the student in German 1A has had no previous experience in German. Students having successfully completed one semester of college German or one year of high school German should be enrolled in German 1B. TEXTBOOKS AND SUPPLIES: Wie geht s? An introductory German Course, 10 th Edition by Sevin, Sevin, and Brockman German-English/English-German dictionary. Visit: http://dict.leo.org Computer and Internet access with audio - available free if you are a student at CSUS. Language Laboratory facilities are located on the second floor of Mariposa Hall. Always bring your textbook, Wie Geht s, any handouts given in class and the syllabus with schedule to every class meeting. At the beginning of your textbook, you can find the Active Vocabulary List that we are going to cover this semester. At the back of your textbook, you will find grammar charts, verb conjugations, translation of the Gespräche, and a dictionary. Willkommen in meiner Deutschklasse! It is my pleasure to welcome you to the start of a rewarding and exhilarating experience! I look forward to working with you and getting to know you this year as you begin learning German. I hope that this will be a productive semester and you will come to appreciate the German language and corresponding cultures. DARE to speak German and do not be afraid to make mistakes! Remember that I am here for you and ready to help you succeed. Most importantly, have fun (= Viel Spaß) and enjoy the journey!!!
DESCRIPTION OF THE COURSE: Tell me and I ll forget; show me and I may remember; involve me and I ll understand. - Chinese Proverb Beginning German is an introduction to the German language and culture. This class follows a communicative, hands-on approach. Class time is to be used primarily for oral communication practice and real usage of the language. The main goal of the course is to develop the basic communication skills necessary to understand and speak German. You will participate in various classroom activities, including small group and pair work, to give you ample opportunities to practice German. You will memorize selected dialogues - models of the grammatical patterns -- and new vocabulary in each chapter. You will learn to ask and answer basic questions in German dealing with everyday vocabulary and situations by the daily oral practice. German will be spoken the majority of the time. ATTENDANCE: Because acquiring a second language requires constant, regular practice, attendance is mandatory and will count for a significant portion of your grade. You are expected to attend every class, arrive on time, and stay in the classroom for the entire class. Please remember you may not schedule routine doctor appointments during class time. If you stop coming to class, it is your responsibility to officially drop the class. If you miss more than seven classes, I may drop you. I have the right to administratively remove any student who, during the first two weeks of instruction, fails to attend any two class meetings. If you arrive more than 10 minutes late or leave more than 10 minutes early, you are absent. If you arrive late or leave early you are tardy. Three tardies = 1 absence. If you come late, you should see me after class to have the absence changed to a tardy. To have an excused absence, you need to show me a note from a doctor, from another instructor who required your attendance on a field trip, or from a jury duty commissioner. Otherwise, you don t need to tell me why you missed class, and it is not excused. After seven unexcused absences, your course grade will be reduced half a grade for each absence. For example, an A will be reduced to A- if you have eight absences during the semester, and to B+ if you had nine absences. If you miss one fourth of all class sessions (roughly 14), you re automatically getting an F, regardless of any work done and points collected. If you miss a class, contact another student to get homework assignments. It is your responsibility to make up work and learn the material for classes that you miss. STUDY BUDDIES: Do not e-mail me to ask about your homework. If you must be absent, it is your responsibility to call or text a classmate to find out what you missed. Write down names and phone numbers of at least 3 classmates you can call: ASSIGNMENTS / LATE WORK: Any homework is due at the beginning of class. Assignments are accepted late for possible full credit only if you have an excused absence, and then they are due on the day you return to class. If your absence is not excused, late work (other than online homework) can receive no more than half credit, but it must be submitted on the day you return to class. There are no make-up (pop-) quizzes, even if you had an excused absence. There are no make-up tests, unless you have an excused absence. If you have an excused absence, you need to contact me before the day of the test or immediately after the test, but not when you come back next time, to schedule your make-up chapter test. HONOR CODE: Cheating in any form is not acceptable. Do your own work; don't look at anyone else s paper during a test, and don t let anyone look at yours; don't use any notes, books or cell phones on a test; don't talk to anyone during a test; don t step out of class. If you have a question, raise your hand. If you cheat on your written homework assignments (use online translators, translation apps, or ask "Wisdom is not a product of schooling someone else to write your work for you), you will not get credit for that assignment. but of the lifelong attempt to acquire it" (Albert Einstein)
GRADING CRITERIA: HOMEWORK VARIABLE 30% TESTS 4 OR 5 40% QUIZZES AND ORAL TASKS VARIABLE FINAL EXAM DAILY PARTICIPATION (CLASS & GROUP WORK) Final Exam Quizzes and oral tasks Participation Tests 40% METHODS OF EVALUATION: Quizzes, essays, and other assignments: each chapter you will have at least one (but most likely two) pop-quizzes and/or written assignments. These could be in-class or take-home assignments. In addition, there may be other mini-assignments for just 5 or 10 points as I deem necessary! Homework: Vocabulary and conversational pattern practices will be assigned regularly as memory work. Grammatical structures will be explained in class and daily homework assignments will involve regular practice of the grammatical principles learned. You must complete your homework and turn it in on time at the beginning of class. I will try my best to post all homework assignments (handouts) on blackboard, but you need to be in class to be sure you know what s assigned. The amount of time spent outside of class will be different for everyone as we all learn and retain at different rates; some will spend 8 hours/week outside of class time, others will feel the need to spend more, while still others will require less. Generally, expect two hours of written and oral homework for every hour spent in class. Kapitel Prüfungen (Chapter Tests): You will have 4 or 5 tests this semester each worth 100 points. Tentative test dates are listed on your schedule. Participation and Group Work: Attendance, at-home preparation and in-class participation are vital to your success in this course. Participation will be assessed regularly throughout the semester using the class participation scale provided below. This will be based on the quality and quantity of your contribution to the class. You are expected to come PREPARED for class, and to be INVOLVED in class activities. In other words, your class participation should have a positive and productive influence on class dynamics. If you do not attend, you cannot participate and you will get zero participation points for the missed class, even if your absence was excused. Attendance alone will not guarantee a good grade. Class Participation/Preparation Scale Homework 30% 10 high level of preparation; answers when called on; willingly participates in class activities; stays on task during partner/group work; uses German almost exclusively; volunteers answers to open questions (not directed at anyone); shares pertinent information; asks questions or volunteers information that is relevant to class 9 regularly prepared; answers when called on; willingly participates in class activities; stays on task during partner/group work; makes a conscious effort to use as much German as possible; volunteers answers to open questions 7-8 usually prepared, but preparation inconsistent; answers when called on; uses German when required; willingly participates in class activities; stays on task during partner/group work 6 sometimes prepared; sometimes able to answer when called on; rarely volunteers; sometimes participates in class activities 5 rarely prepared, rarely able to answer when called on, never volunteers, rarely participates in class activities 0 4 (usually) not prepared for class; does not participate
Tentative Semester Schedule Week/Dates Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Week 1 Aug. 29 - Sept. 1 Intro, syllabus Schritt 1 2-5 Schritt 1 6-7 Schritt 2 8-10 Week 2 Sept. 5-8 Labor Day Schritt 2 10-11 Schritt 3 12-13 Schritt 3 14-16 Week 3 Sept. 12-15 Schritt 4 17-18 Schritt 4 19-20 Schritt 5 22-23 Schritt 5 24-26 Week 4 Sept. 19-22 TEST 1 30-33 34-35 36-38 Week 5 Sept. 26-29 39 40-41 42-44 45-47, 55 Week 6 Oct. 3-6 TEST 2 56-59 60-62 63-64 Week 7 Oct. 10-13 64-65 (The accusative) 66-67 68-69 70-71 Week 8 Oct. 17-20 72, 81 TEST 3 82-84 85-86 Week 9 Oct. 24-27 87-88 89-91 91-93 (The dative) Dative practice Week 10 S.31-Nov.3 94 95-96 97-98 99, 107 Week 11 Nov. 7-10 TEST 4 108-109 110-111 112-114 Week 12 Nov. 14-17 115-117 118-119 120-122 122-124 Week 13 Nov. 21-24 125-126 127-128 129, 137 Thanksgiving Holiday Week 14 N. 28-Dec.1 TEST 5 140-141 142-143 144-146 Week 15 Dec. 5-8 148-150 150-151 Review Review Final Exam: Wednesday, Dec. 14, 8:00-10:00
Extra Credit Assignment: For up to 25 extra points, you may choose to do a short Vortrag (presentation) in English. I will assign you a day and topic. You may work alone or in teams up to three students using the Internet and/or the library to gather information on the chosen topic, which will then be shared in 5-10 min. oral presentations using visuals. Please note: Copying information from Wikipedia and simply reading it out loud is not a presentation and you will not get any points even if you feel like you spent time preparing. Be prepared to answer questions related to your topic. If you are not here on your assigned day without an excused absence, you will not be given a chance to make it up. There might be other extra-credit options, but you must be in class to know about them. "Those who know nothing of foreign languages know nothing of their own." Turn off your cell phones and put them away before class starts! I don t even want to see them during class. Be prepared to move. Even if I assign you a seat, you don t own your seat. You will often work in pairs or small groups, and I will often ask you to change seats, so don t be surprised or whine if I tell you to move. You will lose participation points if you refuse to participate in an activity, even if you don t like it. If I instruct you to find a partner, then find a partner. If everyone has a partner or you don t know what to do, please ask me for help. Don t just sit there by yourself! Raise your hand please, if you want to say something or ask a question. Do not bring food, drinks, visitors, children, pets, personal music devices, games, TVs, weapons, drugs, alcohol, profanity, obscenities, or bad attitudes to class. Exceptions: You may bring water in a plastic bottle. Snacks are okay if you bring enough to share with everybody! Work hard! I can t learn for you. I can help you with what you don t understand, but you will do your own learning. Doing your homework on time will often help you to learn more than activities we do in class. Expect 2 hours of homework for every hour we spend in class. That means you will have approximately 8 hours of homework a week. Remember that I may modify this course description & schedule at any time to ensure the smooth running of the course. Let me know immediately if you have any special physical or educational needs that I should know about. If you need any special help, please tell me as soon as possible. Don t wait! Keep in mind that regular work in small amounts is better than hours of work the night before a quiz or test, so do your homework consistently. Show respect to everyone in class. Do something every day to improve your German. See the list How to practice German on your own. (I ll give that to you later). Ludwig Wittgenstein once said, "The limits of my language are the limits of my world." Expand your limits! You are responsible for all the information included in this syllabus. Be sure to read and study the syllabus as many times as needed in order to fully understand the requirements and expectations of this course. Please be sure to ask me to clarify for you anything that you may not understand.