Catalog Description

Prerequisite: Completion of GER 1 or two years of high school German with grade(s) of "C" or better
Hours: 72 lecture
Description: Designed for those who have had previous training in the German language. Continuation of GER 1. Emphasis on speaking, listening, linguistic and grammatical structure, reading, writing. Further study of learning pronunciation and intonation patterns, together with continued discussion of unique cultural characteristics of the German-speaking peoples. Students continue to memorize dialogues, become knowledgeable of utilizing a substantial vocabulary, and conduct translations of culturally meaningful reading selections. (CSU, UC)

Course Student Learning Outcomes

  • CSLO #1: Recognize and paraphrase elementary German that is spoken in present perfect and/or simple past tense at moderate conversational speed.
  • CSLO #2: Formulate and create intelligible pronunciation with grammatically correct sentences in present perfect and/or simple past tense conversations with native or non-native speakers of German.
  • CSLO #3: Recognize and explain what is read in present perfect and/or simple past tense from any elementary reading passage.
  • CSLO #4: Formulate and write short sentences and paragraphs using appropriate syntax in the construction of sentences in simple perfect and/or simple past tense.
  • CSLO #5: Compare and contrast cultural perspectives based on reading, discussions and videos.

Effective Term

Fall 2020

Course Type

Credit - Degree-applicable

Contact Hours

72

Outside of Class Hours

144

Total Student Learning Hours

216

Course Objectives

Through oral and written exercises, activities, and assignments, students will:
I.
a. Identify spaces within a house, common furniture items, and types of dwellings
b. Inquire into the availability, quality and price of apartments and dorm spaces
c. Employ the two-way spatial prepositions to describe both the static of the location of an item using
dative case and the directional goal of a moving item using the accusative case
d. Use common prepositional contractions
e. Distinguish between “WO” and “WOHIN”
f. Use positional “N-verbs” (“HÄNGEN, LIEGEN, SITZEN, STEHEN”) and placement “T-verbs” (“HÄNGEN, LEGEN, SETZEN, STELLEN”)
g. Produce imperative statements
h. Distinguish between the knowledge verbs “WISSEN” and “KENNEN”
i. Discuss common architectural styles of German houses and distinguish between English “1st-floor” vs German “ground-floor” descriptions of building stories
j. Identify characteristics of the works of Austrian painter Friedrich Hundertwasser
k. Discuss the differences and similarities between American and German public transportation systems
l. Identify the difference between standard Hochdeutsch and the various German dialects
II.
a. Identify common vocabulary used in banks and hotels
b. Conduct basic banking business and exchange currencies
c. Inquire into the availability and price of hotel rooms.
d. Identify and decline the DER-word determiners (ALLE, DER/DIE/DAS, DIES-, JED-, MANCH-, SOLCH-, WELCH-)
e. Identify and decline the EIN-word determiners (EIN-, KEIN-, and the possessive articles)
f. Name common separable prefix verbs
g. Identify the core meaning of separable verbal prefixes
h. Produce declarative sentences with the finite verb in second-position and the verbal prefix in final position
i. Identify and use pragmatic flavoring particles
j. Identify the differences between American and German banking establishments
k. Discuss the common conventions in German hotel names
l. Discuss features of the German youth hostel system
m. Discuss basic facts about Luxembourg
III.
a. Identify common vocabulary used in post offices and train stations
b. Conduct common business at the post office
c. Inquire about the price of train tickets, departure and arrival times of trains, and purchase tickets
d. Decline nouns in the genitive case using the correct definite article, indefinite article, negative article, and possessive articles
e. Decline masculine, neuter, n-stem nouns, and proper names for genitive case using the appropriate endings
f. Use common genitive prepositions
g. Command a vocabulary of common time expressions
h. Express definite points in time using accusative noun phrases
i. Express indefinite points in time using dative noun phrases
j. Produce complex clauses with adverbs arranged in the Time-Manner-Place sequence
k. Discuss differences and similarities between phoning and postal services available in the United States and Germany
l. Discuss differences and similarities between train travel options in the United States and Germany
m. Discuss differences and similarities between car travel in the United States and Germany
n. Discuss famous mountains and alpine cities in Switzerland
o. Discuss the various languages in Switzerland including Schwyzerdüütsch, French, Italian, and Romansh
IV.
a. Describe common maladies, injuries, and medical emergencies
b. Identify body parts
c. Command a vocabulary of common sports and leisure activities
d. Inflect adjectives preceded by DER-words and adjectives preceded by EIN-words
e. Identify the reflexive and reciprocal use of reflexive pronouns
f. Produce accusative and dative reflexive pronouns
g. Identify common verbs that are always reflexive
h. Command a vocabulary of verbs used in grooming
i. Command a vocabulary of verbs used to describe medical conditions
j. Use reflexive verbs with dative reflexive pronouns to describe actions involving body parts and clothing items
k. Identify syntactic situations which require the usage of an infinitive with “ZU”
l. Use the “UM…ZU” infinitive construction to express the purpose of an action
m. Discuss differences and similarities between American and German attitudes towards vacationing
n. Produce common polite phrases used for talking on the phone
o. Identify several common idiomatic expressions in German
V.
a. Command a vocabulary of nouns and adjectives relevant to discussing film, theater, and music
b. Command a vocabulary of common verbs which are accompanied by prepositional objects
c. Contract prepositional expressions using “DA-compounds” and “WO-compounds”
d. Inflect unpreceded adjectives
e Discuss the importance of theater in German cultural life
f. Discuss the importance of classical music in German cultural life
g. Discuss elements of the historical and modern German art scene
VI.
a. Command a vocabulary of nouns and adjectives relevant to discussing personality traits, relationships, marriage, and divorce
b. Command a vocabulary of common pets
c. Conjugate weak and strong verbs in the simple past tense
d. Identify the usage difference between the simple past tense and the perfect tense in German
e. Use the conjunction “ALS” to head a subordinate clause in the past tense to describe a single event in the past
f. Use the conjunction “WENN” to head a subordinate clause in the past tense to describe habitual actions in the past
g. Conjugate weak and strong verbs in the past perfect tense
h. Use the conjunctions “NACHDEM” and “BEVOR” in past perfect sentences
i. Discuss differences and similarities between American and German wedding customs
j. Discuss the history and linguistic makeup of Liechtenstein
k. Discuss the cultural importance of the Grimms’ Fairy Tales.

General Education Information

  • Approved College Associate Degree GE Applicability
    • AA/AS - Literature & Language
  • CSU GE Applicability (Recommended-requires CSU approval)
    • CSUGE - C2 Humanities
  • Cal-GETC Applicability (Recommended - Requires External Approval)
    • IGETC Applicability (Recommended-requires CSU/UC approval)
      • IGETC - 6A Lang other than Eng

    Articulation Information

    • CSU Transferable
    • UC Transferable

    Methods of Evaluation

    • Classroom Discussions
      • Example: 1. Students will be graded for conducting exercises during class with their partners and offering an answer to the exercise when called upon by the instructor. Failure to do so will result in lost participation points. No points will be docked for responding with incorrect grammar, vocabulary, or pronunciation during practice exercises, although the instructor will provide grammatical, lexical, and phonetic critiques to the student’s response for the benefit of the class. 2. Students will be graded for their presence at lecture. Failure to come to lecture will result in lost participation points unless the student provides the instructor with a doctor’s note accounting for a student’s medical absence.
    • Skill Demonstrations
      • Example: 1. Students will be asked to write German translations of English sentences. Graded based upon the grammatical accuracy of the response. Ex: Translate the following sentence(s) to German: “The chairs stand between the table and the lamp” “Which key do you need? This key, or that key?” “Four years ago I visited the home village of my grandparents” 2. Students will be asked a set of questions in German by the instructor and must respond with a logical and intelligible answer in German. Graded upon the grammatical accuracy and pronunciation of the response. Ex: (A = Instructor questions): A: “Warst du schon mal in der Schweiz?” B: ________________________________________ A: “Was wolltest du werden, als du ein Kind warst?” B: ________________________________________ A: “Warum hast du diesen Sprachkurs gemacht?” B: ________________________________________ A: “Was ziehst du dir an, wenn es draußen kalt ist?” B: ________________________________________ A: “Wann stehst du normalerweise auf?” B: ________________________________________ 3. Students will be asked to read a passage in German and write a paraphrase of its content. Graded upon the grammatical accuracy and suitability of the response. Ex: Provide a 3-4 sentence paraphrase in German of the following conversation. Anne: Wann fährt der nächste Zug nach Interlaken? Frau: In 10 Minuten. Abfahrt um 11.28, Gleis 2. Anne: Ach du meine Güte! Und wann kommt er dort an? Frau: Ankunft in Interlaken um 14.16 Uhr. Anne: Muß ich umsteigen? Frau: Ja, in Bern, aber Sie haben Anschluss zum InterCity mit nur 24 Minuten Aufenthalt. Anne: Gut. Geben Sie mir bitte eine Hin- und Rückfahrkarte nach Interlaken. Frau: Erster oder zweiter Klasse? Anne: Zweiter Klasse. 4. Students will be asked to read a passage in German and then respond to a set of questions in German regarding the passage. Graded based on the grammatical accuracy and suitability of the response. Ex (partial text): Frau Lorenz: Die Viersprachigkeit der Schweiz fasziniert uns. Unsere Reise hat in Lausanne begonnen, wo wir Französisch gesprochen haben. Jetzt sind wir hier in Saas-Fee bei Freunden. Mit uns sprechen sie Hochdeutsch, aber mit der Familie Schwyzerdütsch. Saas-Fee ist nur ein Dorf, aber wunderschön. Es ist autofrei und in den Bergen kann mann überall wandern und bergsteigen gehen. Wegen der Höhenlage gibt es viele Alpenblumen und Gämsen und oben auf den Gletschern kann man sogar während des Sommers immer noch Ski laufen gehen. Übermorgen fahren wir weiter nach St. Moritz, wo man viel Rätoromansch hört. Am Ende der Reise wollen wir noch nach Lugano, wo das Wetter fast immer schön sein soll und die Leute Italienisch sprechen. Vier Sprachen in einem Land, das ist schon toll. 1. Was fasziniert die Familie Lorenz in der Schweiz? 2. Welche Sprache haben sie in Lausanne gesprochen? Was sprechen ihre Freunde in Saas-Fee mit ihnen? 3. In St. Moritz hört man nicht nur Deutsch, sondern auch welche Sprache? Was spricht man in Lugano? 5. Students will listen to audio material in German and respond in German to a set of questions about the audio material. Graded based on the grammatical accuracy and suitability of the response. Ex: Listen to the audio and answer in German using a complete sentence. 1. Wo hat Nico Schmerzen? 2. Was soll Nico tun, so daß er besser wird? 3. Warum ist Lisa spät ins Krankenhaus gekommen?

    Repeatable

    No

    Methods of Instruction

    • Lecture/Discussion
    • Distance Learning

    Lecture:

    1. Grammar points will be discussed conceptually in class with detailed comparisons between how the grammatical construction is expressed in English and then in German. The instructor will present glossed sentences on the board and on handouts, producing grammar tables on the board and on handouts, and cuing students to relevant examples in the textbook. (Objective: I e,h)
    2. Cultural material will be presented by the instructor using reading passages from the textbook as well as videos, reading material, and visual aids selected by the instructor. Example: Students will read about Oktoberfest and prepare a brief report on their findings to present to the class. (Objective: II k,l)
    3. Oral drills: Students will be asked to read an interview regarding fitness and health. Based on the interview, students will be directed to complete a table with the answers given by the person in the interview as well as reacting with their own personal answers. The instructor will model how to begin filling in the table. Instructor will monitor groups of students as they discuss, compare and analyze how they reacted to the questions, and summarize the group' answers. Instructor will bring the whole class back together and have groups present the results of their discussion to the class.

    Distance Learning

    1. Spatial prepositions The instructor will curate a video (power point with commentary overlaid and captioning) showing visualizations of sentences like “the man goes into the store”, with German at the top of the screen and an English gloss at the bottom of the screen. The phrase is then suddenly switch to “the man is in the store”, with an accompanying, highlighted switch in the German gloss from accusative to dative. The accusative-dative alternation of these prepositions is then highlighted in the video. Students are then lead to a Canvas “practice quiz” for which they are to translate sentences with the spatial prepositions from German to English to improve receptive competency in the subject. Finally, students move onto a Canvas “conversation page”, where they are guided to pick a practical goal (such as sending a letter, or buying a pint of milk), and then pick pre-fabricated statements to say, such as “I go into the office. I mail a letter in the post office” (Ich gehe auf die Post. Ich schicke einen Brief auf der Post). Objective: I-c
    2. Teaching the geography of Switzerland This will be completely done in a content page, as a mixture of text and images. Important “take-aways” are summarized at the top, and repeated again at the bottom (ex. Switzerland has 26 Cantons, 70% of Swiss citizens speak German, while the rest speak French and Italian, the Swiss read standard German but speak a German dialect). The page will be broken up by subject with header statements such as “The Geography of Switzerland”, “The linguistic landscape in Switzerland”, “Folk culture in Switzerland”, etc. Images of maps, pictures of folk dress and local food, etc, will posted where relevant, with appropriate alt text. YouTube videos on Swiss folk sports, Swiss cuisine, and examples of Swiss dialect will be embedded. After viewing the page, students will complete a multiple choice “practice canvas quiz” on the subject, and practice using Swiss greetings in a simple standard German conversation (Grüezi, wie geht’s dir? Ach, mersi fürs Geschenk, etc).

    Typical Out of Class Assignments

    Reading Assignments

    A. Reading Assignments: Students will be asked to read short stories at home, render a translation of it into English, and answer basic questions about the story Ex A: Zwei Freunde gehen durch einen Wald. Auf einmal kommt ein Bär. Der erste fürchtet sich sehr, läuft fort und steigt auf einen Baum. Der zweite kann den Bären nicht allein töten. Er legt sich schnell wie tot auf die Erde, denn man hat ihm gesagt, daß ein Bär keinen toten Menschen frißt. durch (+acc): through Wald (m): forest auf einmal: all the sudden Bär (m): bear der erste: the first (friend) “sich fürchten”: “to take fright” “fort.laufen”: “to run away” “steigen”: “to ascend, climb” der zweite: the second (friend) allein: alone “töten”: “to kill” “sich legen”: “to lay down” wie tot: as if dead Erde (f): ground, earth hat…gesagt: has said Mensch (m): human, man “frißt” < “fressen”: “to gobble” daß ein Bär keinen toten Mensche frißt: that a bear doesn’t eat a dead man … 1) Worauf steigt der erste Freund? ____________________ 2) Warum legt sich der zweite auf die Erde? ____________________ ...etc… Students will be asked to read a short story from the textbook, render a translation of it into English, and answer basic questions about the story Ex B: Ein König reitet auf die Jagd. Auf der Jagd verliert sein Pferd ein Huseisen. Der König reitet langsam durch Wald und Feld, bis er in ein kleines Dorf kommt. Er sucht einen Schmied und findet endlich einen. „Ich wünsche ein neues Hufeisen für mein Pferd,“ sagt er zu dem Schmied. König (m): king reiten: to ride Jagd (f): hunt verlieren: „to lose“ sein: his Pferd (n): horse Huseisen (n): horse shoe langsam: slowly durch+acc: through Wald (m): forest Feld (n): field bis: until... Dorf (n): village bis er in ein kleines Dorf kommt: until he comes into a small village suchen: „to seek, look for“ Schmied (m): smith einen (m.acc): (one, ie. A smith) wünschen: „to wish“ neu: new für: for sagen: „to say“ zu dem Schmied: to the smith 1) Was verliert der König auf der Jagd? ______________________________ 2) Was wünscht sich der König vom Schmied? ______________________________ ...etc...

    Writing, Problem Solving or Performance

    Example A: Short Story writing Students will write a short story in German according to the given prompt. Students satisfy the requirements of the essay by including certain grammatical, lexical, and pragmatic features in their essay, as specified in the essay directions. After submitting a first draft, students will receive detailed feedback on grammatical and lexical usage mistakes. Students are to submit a second, corrected draft using this feedback from the instructor. Example of Short Story prompt: “You own a massive castle in the Black Forest. Describe 2 different rooms and what is located in those rooms using two-way spatial prepositions and positional (N-) verbs.” Example B: Grammar Drill worksheets Students will regularly receive worksheets focused on producing German articles and verbs in their correct forms. These will include “fill-in-the-blank”, “translate into English”, and “translate into German” drills. Examples of Grammar Drill worksheet problems A) Fill in the article as directed _________ Name (m) __________ Vater__ (m) war Wilhelm the (Nom.) my (Gen.) B) Translate into English “Vor zwei Jahren bin ich mit meiner Familie nach Österreich gereist” ____________________________________________________________ C) Translate into German “I studied German at university because I want to travel to Germany” ______________________________________

    Other (Term projects, research papers, portfolios, etc.)

    Select a city from a given list where German is the primary language. Using the internet and/or library, research at least the following, write a report (may be in English) including at least the following information: 1 Year the city was established 2 Population 3 Commerce and trade 4 Transportation 5 Attractions 6 Holidays and cultural festivals 7 Historical facts 8 Famous authors, artists, composers, etc. that may have had an impact on the city 9 Why or why not would you recommend the city as worthwhile place to visit B. After you have completed your paper, write a brief summary in German covering the highlights and present it to the class.

    Required Materials

    • Wie Geht's
      • Author: Sevin - Sevin
      • Publisher: Cengage Learning
      • Publication Date: 2015
      • Text Edition: 10th
      • Classic Textbook?:
      • OER Link:
      • OER:

    Other materials and-or supplies required of students that contribute to the cost of the course.