Beginner’s German I

Description of Course Goals and Curriculum

This course is created to provide people that have studied no or little German. This introduction is comprised of daily classes, taught exclusively in German, except the first one, homework from the online textbook "der-die-das", and tests every two weeks that evaluate the student's proficiency in grammar and vocabulary, both in written and oral form. The topics are structured in a way as to follow the central themes of a normal conversation in German, starting from small-talk, the internet, and food, and ending with sport, politics, and history. In the meantime the student will learn a lot of interesting facts about German culture, history, and food, presented in an interactive and fun way. The grading is composed of 4 oral and written examinations, cumulatively accounting for 75% of the grade, as well as a final exam focusing on vocabulary, which is worth 10% of the final grade. Participation is extremely important and it adds 15% to your final grade. The written exams consist of sentences and phrases to translate from English to German, short essays of about 100 words, description of pictures, as well as association exercises. Oral exams are different in their nature, but mostly consist of description of pictures and asking questions to your partner. By the end of the course, every student will know 1200 words in German, they will be able to have a normal conversation in German, as well as understand more than 65% of any written German text. They will be able to calmly use basic grammar comfortably, including the case system and past tenses. The course is structured in a way as for any student to be unable not to learn German.

Learning From Classroom Instruction

Classroom instruction is vital for the course, not only in terms of grading. During your stay in class, it is vital for you to engage with your professor and classmates in German. Moreover, the teacher will provide topics for group discussion and ask questions for you to talk about with your partner. Mistakes are normal to make and making mistakes while speaking in German will not decrease your participation grade. The important thing is for you to try as much as possible to engage in a conversation and use new grammar and vocabulary. It will be difficult at first, but it will get progressively easier, especially if the student does all the assigned homework and learns the vocabulary thoroughly. In class, your instructor will try to expose you to as much German as possible, so that you can continuously get more comfortable in understanding German speakers.

Learning For and From Assignments

The "der-die-das" online textbook is constructed in such a way that students do not have to learn random words. The vocabulary in the textbook has been meticulously created to reflect the most used words in German, starting with the articles - der, die, and das. The daily homework assignments from the textbook should be done every day, including the vocabulary and grammar. This means that a student must learn around 80 words in 8 days, which sounds intimidating, but when put in realistic terms, it is not that difficult. There are cards that reproduce the way the words should be said. The student should learn the words both from German to English and from English to German. A student taking this course should dedicate around an hour to an hour and a half a day to the course, which is not as much as other courses in the university. However, the vocabulary and grammar will be presented in a digestible form, in small bits. Moreover, the words that you learn will be repeated constantly, as they are the most frequently used in the language. If a person dedicates the one hour to two hours a day to the learning of the words and grammar, they will be able to use them. Through continuous exposure, the students will be able to solidify their grasp over them even more.

External Resources

The external resources include the DDD textbook and the dict.cc online dictionary, which students are allowed to use, except during exams.

What Students Should Know About This Course For Purposes Of Course Selection

GER 101 is an excellent course to prepare students both for the regular GER 102 course. However, if students decide to take an interview around the week before Thanksgiving brake, they may be admitted to the GER1025 course, which is comprised of GER 102 and GER 105 in one semester. Moreover, a B or above in GER 1025 will make the students eligible for the Princeton in Munich program, which means that the students can take GER 107 in Munich in June, thereby completing their language requirement in one calendar year.