German 210
GRMN 210: Intermediate German II
Prerequisites: GRMN 200 or two years of high school German
Credit Hours: (4) Four hours lecture
Review of fundamentals using grammatical, literary and cultural materials. This course has been approved for credit in the Foreign Languages Area of the Core Curriculum.
Detailed Description of Content of Course
Situations covered and cultural focus: leisure, communication, united Germany, gender roles, music, the world of work, multiculturalism, traffic, and the environment. Parallel to the cultural topics, there will be a basic review of grammar.
Detailed Description of Conduct of Course
Class instruction focuses on communication practice utilizing the situations, intentions, vocabulary, culture, and grammar introduced in a given chapter. Other activities include: grammar and vocabulary explanations, pronunciation practice, listening comprehension exercises, writing, and grammatical drills. Class is conducted in the target language.
Goals and Objectives of the Course
Speaking and listening goals (standardized ACTFL proficiency criteria): Students will be able to handle successfully a limited but increasing number of interactive, task-oriented and social situations. They can ask and answer questions, initiate and respond to simple statements, and maintain face-to-face conversation, although in a restricted manner. The students will be able to be understood by sympathetic interlocutors. They will be able to produce most German sounds and sound sequences correctly with good stress and intonation patterns. Listening goals are: students will be able to understand sentence-length utterances which consist of recombinations of learned elements in a limited number of content areas, particularly if strongly supported by the situational context.
Reading and writing goals (standardized ACTFL proficiency criteria): Students will have sufficient control of the writing system to interpret written language in areas of practical need. Students will be able to derive meaning from material at a higher level where context, vocabulary aids, and/or extra-linguistic background knowledge are supportive. As regards writing, students will be able to write simple fixed expressions, limited memorized material and recombinations thereof. They can write about personal interests and familiar cultural topics in letters or in a diary format. Students will be able to analyze basic grammar in most German sentences.
Students will achieve a degree of competence in a foreign language and culture.
Students will be able to:
a. demonstrate language skills appropriate to the level of study
b. analyze similarities and differences between their own and the target cultures
c. explain contemporary international issues from the perspectives of their own and the target cultures
Assessment Measures
Speaking is tested in private oral interviews and also evaluated in class communication activities. Quizzes determine the success in completing various homework assignments. Writing progress is graded in the form of written homework and assignments. The unit tests and final exam evaluate lexical and morphological mastery, listening and reading comprehension, and cultural competence in a context in which students demonstrate their awareness of the diversity of German-speaking cultures.
Other Course Information
German 210 completes the B.A. degree requirement for students who began their college level German study with the first semester. A number of students with three or more years of high school study of the language begin on the college level with 210 and finish their degree requirement with the following course, German 300, Readings in German. To supplement linguistic and cultural encounters in class, students are expected to participate in some extracurricular activities such as conversation with native speakers, watching German language movies, and inquiring about German speaking cultures by means of the multitude of media available as informational resources.
Approval and Subsequent Reviews
September 2005 Reviewed Philip Sweet