Introduction German 12G: German Level I, Second Semester Overview, Objectives, and Organization Guten Tag, meine Damen und Herren! Hoffentlich sind Sie begeistert, Deutsch zu lernen! German 12G is a beginning level German course. It is equivalent to a second-semester, firstyear, traditional, high school course. If you are taking this course, you have probably had at least one semester of German. By the end of this course, you will be able to read, understand, and use basic German vocabulary in simple, controlled situations. You will develop reading and listening comprehension strategies and will practice discovering grammar rules for yourself. You will practice working with various tools to help you learn German. In general, you will build a basic foundation of German and of strategies for continuing your study of German. More specifically, you will be able to describe your family, say where things are, ask for explanation, tell others what they should do, use possessive articles and command forms, make an invitation, wish someone well, formulate an excuse, identify months and seasons, use modal verbs in the present tense, use the past tense of to be and to have, ask where something or someone is, give simple directions, orient yourself in a building, make suggestions for a trip, express agreement/disagreement, make alternative suggestions, order food and drink, describe a typical day, describe free-time activities, identify occupations, and use words of frequency and order. In addition, you will acquire basic pronunciation and spelling skills. You ll learn the five Cs of language education communication, culture, connections, comparisons, and communities through this learning guide and the textbook, Geni@l A1. You ll read authentic materials, complete written assignments, listen to native German speakers on CD, practice speaking German, and think about the role of German in the global community. The course has nine lessons, which cover Einheiten (chapters) 9 15 in the textbook. Lessons 1 4 cover Einheiten 9 12. Lesson 5 is a tips lesson to help you review for the midterm exam. Lessons 6 8 cover Einheiten 13 15. Lesson 9 is a tips lesson for the final exam. Materials This course uses books from the series Geni@l A1 from Langenscheidt Publishing. You ll need the textbook, workbook, and CDs for both the textbook and workbook. You also need the Glossary, and I would suggest that you also purchase the CD-ROM that goes with the textbook. This CD-ROM is not required, but is a great way to practice and to test yourself for each Einheit. There are no required assignments from the CD-ROM, but having it can only help you. Geni@l A1 is an attractive, up-to-date textbook. Langenscheidt is a German publishing company, and this textbook is used not only by English-speaking students but also by students with many different first languages from around the world. You ll notice that the directions and all of the writing in the textbook is in German, but don t let that scare you! The directions and anything 1
else that is confusing will be explained in this learning guide. You will also be able to contact your instructor with questions along the way as they arise. The workbook has directions in English, so you shouldn t have any problems there. Before you begin using it, please familiarize yourself with the book and the other materials. A map of Germany and surrounding countries is on page 3. The table of contents is on pages 4 and 5. Here you can find not just the pages of each Einheit, but also an overview of the topics, communication, grammar, and learning skills covered in each Einheit. There is a grammar review section on pages 99 108. A German-English dictionary is on pages 109 17. It s important to note that this dictionary will probably not be enough; you need your own dictionary for assignments. Or you can use a good German dictionary online at http://dict.leo.org. This learning guide replaces the usual classroom teacher. It helps you by outlining objectives for each lesson, giving you specific vocabulary to practice, breaking down each lesson into manageable activities, and offering ways to test yourself at the end of each lesson. It helps to clarify, explain, and expound on topics covered in the textbook. It acts as a teacher by treating you, the student, not as a vessel to fill with knowledge, but as a lamp to be lighted. One of the most wonderful things about learning a foreign language is broadening your cultural perspective. It s rewarding to recognize something you ve recently learned in your everyday life. Keep your eyes and ears open, as there is often more German news and culture around you than you think. Look in newspapers, magazines, at the video store, on TV, and on the Internet. You can catch German news through Scola, and you can hear German news broadcast daily on www.deutschewelle.de. You ll be surprised, once you start looking, at how many connections you find to the German-speaking world! The Design of Lessons Each lesson begins with a list of objectives, which are the goals you should be able to reach after finishing the lesson. They will help you to focus on the essentials in the lessons. Next comes the reading assignment. It s helpful to quickly read over everything in this assignment before you begin the lesson; then go back and reread for each individual activity. This process, surveying the material you ll learn, helps you see where you re going. Then, when you read the sections for each activity, you ll already be familiar with the material. After the reading assignment comes a reminder about the vocabulary, which is what your glossary is for. One of the biggest hurdles in learning a new language is lacking enough vocabulary to be able to communicate. There are two types of vocabulary: active and passive. Your passive vocabulary includes words you understand and can recognize but which you don t have a good enough grasp of to actually use. Your active vocabulary includes words you not only recognize but that you can also easily recall and use. Your glossary helps you to recognize which words should be in your active and passive vocabulary. Spending time memorizing and working with the words in each Einheit that need to 2
be in your active vocabulary helps to make them stick. Concentrating on just a few words at a time also helps you put them into your active vocabulary. Flash cards work well, and you may devise other techniques that draw on your memory. Study them every night before you go to bed, tape them onto the bathroom mirror, and study them while you re dressing in the morning. Or keep them in your pocket, to look at when you have free time. The glossary has suggestions for remembering and learning vocabulary. However you do it, spend some time every day learning these words. Before you know it, you ll have increased your active vocabulary. Note: When you re studying nouns, learn their definite articles. Don t just learn that Bett means bed, but learn also that das Bett is the bed. When studying verbs, learn whether they re regular or irregular verbs. If they re irregular, learn how they re irregular. This information is in the vocabulary list, so make sure you learn it too! After the vocabulary comes the meat of the lesson, the discussion. The discussion is comprised of activities from the textbook and workbook. These small sections are designed to be completed in one sitting, as they concentrate on one element of the chapter. Some activities are based on grammar, others on reading selections, and others on the CDs. Many times the activities integrate all three. These activities are varied and manageable. Some include assignments that are written, while others are speaking assignments. Sometimes the activities will have exercises for you to do and to check on your own so you can keep up with your own progress along the way. It s best not to do more than two activities in one sitting, as they cover specific subjects that may begin to blur if you do too many at once. Finally, each lesson offers an assignment, which includes written and spoken assignments that you will submit for grading by your instructor. He/she will assign a point value for each assignment and for the lesson as a whole. Completing Speaking Assignments To complete your speaking assignments, you will first need several pieces of information: your Dragon user ID number, your course section number, and the lesson number for the assignment you are recording. Both your Dragon user ID and your course section numbers can be found online in Dragon. Your Dragon user ID is on the My Info page, and your course section number is on the My Courses page in the Current Courses box. The lesson number, of course, corresponds with whichever lesson you are working on at the time (e.g., lesson 2). Once you have gathered this information, you can call the Unified Messaging System (UMS) directly at 812.855.8176, or call our toll-free number, 1.800.334.1011, and ask to be connected to the UMS. The UMS is an automated messaging system that will guide you through recording your assignment. You will be prompted to enter your Dragon user ID number, your course section number, and the lesson assignment number. Now you will record your answers to the speaking assignment exercises. You will make only one recording even if there is more than one exercise in the assignment; therefore, before beginning an exercise please state the exercise number you are beginning to record. At the beginning of your recording you will say, for example, exercise 7, and then record that exercise. When you are done with exercise 7, you will say, exercise 16, and record that exercise, and so on. 3
When you are finished, UMS will give you an opportunity to listen to your recording and either rerecord or send your assignment by pressing the # key. If you have any questions or concerns about the UMS and your speaking assignments, please call 1.800.334.1011. Exams You ll take a midterm and a final exam. The midterm covers textbook chapters 9 12; the final exam covers chapters 13 15. Each exam, lasting a maximum of two hours, includes reading, writing, speaking, and listening. Exam questions include multiple-choice, speaking, fill-in, matching, and short-answer exercises. The exams focus on your mastery of the lessons objectives. Your exams are proctored, so please arrange to take them well ahead of time. Otherwise, scheduling an exam might cause a delay in your progress. Scheduling exams in advance will also help keep you focused and moving ahead in the course work. If you have questions about specific exam policies, please refer to the Student Handbook. Grading Standards All lessons are weighted equally in assigning a letter grade. The point value of each assignment is provided at the end of each lesson. Based on the point value of each assignment, your instructor calculates a percentage for each lesson. Here is the grading scale. A = 90 100 percent B = 80 89 percent C = 70 79 percent D = 60 69 percent F = below 60 percent Pluses and minuses are given for the top and bottom two percentage points of each letter grade. Missing assignments count as Fs. The above grading scale is used for both the lessons and the exams. Your course grade is determined thus: average of your lessons 1/3 midterm exam 1/3 final exam 1/3 However, to comply with the Independent Studies Program s academic policies, your exam grades must average at least a D for you to pass the course. Even if you have a perfect score on the written assignments, you can t pass the course unless you fulfill this requirement. Words of Advice Your adventure of learning German is just beginning! Here are my suggestions for success in this course: 4
1. Don t rush the course. Each lesson, or Aufgabe, should take you about two weeks in order for you to finish this course in one semester. Don t expect to cover a lesson in one sitting, or even two. If you rush through the lessons, you won t understand the material. Linguistic researchers have shown that we can t simply cram language learning; the brain can retain only small doses at a time. 2. Begin each lesson by reading through the entire lesson in this learning guide and the entire Einheit in the textbook. 3. Next, spend some time with the glossary. Study the words, make flash cards as appropriate, and try to begin to get the words into your head. 4. Listen to all of the listening material in the lesson. Don t do the accompanying exercises yet; just listen to them and listen for the words from your glossary. Don t make it a highpressure situation; just enjoy listening to German and getting a feel for its cadence. 5. Do the activities one or two at a time. 6. Try to study your vocabulary and listen to German in some form every day. You can listen to your CDs, use the many resources available on the Internet (even YouTube is a good resource), listen to German music (check out www.stepintogerman.org), watch Deutsche Welle on the television or computer, or find some other way to immerse yourself in German. The more you hear, the better your language skills will be! 7. Find someone who can help you in your studies. It could be a friend, parent, tutor, or someone else. Some activities require you to read aloud or quiz yourself, and this is easier when you have someone to work with. They don t need to be by your side as you do every activity, but should be available to help when needed. 8. Read and follow this learning guide. It is designed to guide you through the course, and may answer many questions you have. 9. E-mail or call your instructor when you don t understand an activity or topic. 10. Congratulate yourself when you complete a lesson; it s a lot of work! Machine Translators Note that in a foreign language course, the use of a machine translator to translate sentences into another language is considered plagiarism. This course is designed to help you learn German. Using a computer to translate from English to German is not learning German! Using a computer dictionary, like the Leo German-English Dictionary, which translates words and phrases, is perfectly acceptable, because it is no different than using a regular dictionary. Using a machine translator like Babelfish is not acceptable, because it does not require any work on your part. It is very easy for an instructor to tell when something has been translated using a machine translator, because very often the translation is incorrect, and it is often translated at a level which is far beyond what you have learned in the course. Therefore, be warned that machine translations do not make language instructors happy, and you will receive a failing grade on anything that has been translated with a computer. 5
Lesson Outline Introduction Lesson 1: Families Lesson 2: Plateau and Review Lesson Lesson 3: Well Wishes and Birthdays, Invitations, Seasons and Months, Modal Verbs, Past Tense of to have and to be Lesson 4: Asking Directions, Prepositions with the Dative Lesson 5: Midterm Exam Tips Lesson 6: Travel, Making Suggestions, Ordering Food and Drink Lesson 7: Daily Activities, Personal and Reflexive Pronouns in the Accusative, Occupations Lesson 8: Review Lesson, Einheiten 10 15 Lesson 9: Final Exam Tips 6