GER 2001:  Intermediate German,  4 credits

Professor Wickert

W 4:20-6:20 + F 1:30-2:30

 

This is the first semester of a yearlong course in which students will review and expand the use of German structures and vocabulary covered in Introductory German.  We will continue to work on oral proficiency, but there will be an increased emphasis on writing and reading German.  The class will meet once a week for general structure and grammar work (W 4:20-6:20), with an additional class for oral practice (F 1:30-2:30).  Students complete “lab” work on their own [a CD audio program comes with the text and is linked to the “Arbeitsbuch”].  Audio work and Arbeitsbuch exercises must be competed in the week immediately following the coverage of the chapter in class; the Arbeitsbuch pages must be submitted at the beginning of the following week’s class.   In addition, students will have regular homework assignments, including a weekly essay.   Students are expected to preview (i.e. read through) the following week’s chapter beforehand. 

 

Students are encouraged to use the self-correcting online testing program available on the publisher’s website.  To access, go to:   http://college.hmco.com, type in <handbuch zur deutschen grammatik> into the Jump box, select Intermediate German books, then click on the Handbuch zur deutschen Grammatik, then on the ACE Testing Program in the left hand toolbar.  

 

Required Materials (all available in Bookstore):

• Rankin/Wells:  Handbuch zur deutschen Grammatik, 4^th edition
• Rankin/Wells:  Arbeitsbuch [for Handbuch zur deutschen Grammatik]
• Feuerle/Schmitt:  Communicating in German, Elementary Level

 

Strongly recommended:

• A good German/English dictionary (also available in Bookstore, but a number of good versions are available.  A fairly reliable guide to quality is how “thick” the volume is.)

 

Helpful for those with weakness in grammar:

• English Grammar for Students of German (available in Bookstore)

 

Requirements and Grading

·        Attendance, preparation and participation are very important and count 40% of the grade. 

·        There will be regular quizzes, the grades of which will be averaged together and count 20% of the grade.

·        The grades of the weekly essays will also be averaged together and count 20%.  [Please note:  NEVER resort to computerized translation aids for your essays.  They are universally awful, translating word for word instead of in idiomatic phrases (and resulting in a German gibberish that I usually recognize immediately as computerized), and of course you learn nothing in the process.] 

·        A final exam, given during exam week, will comprise the final 20% of the grade. 

 

SYLLABUS

 

 

 

 

 

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