WebCT Diskussionsthemen
Deutsch heute, 7th edition
Ich stelle mich vor: Wer ich bin und was ich gern tue
This is a practice posting, no credit yet, but you learn how to do it and introduce
yourself to your classmates and you get back into German a little bit, with
material you already know. Your tasks:
1) write a short paragraph (at least 5 lines) about yourself: mention your name,
where you are from and what your major is; then tell us what you like to do,
what you don’t like to do, what kind of music you listen to, what you
like to read, what sports you practice, where you like to travel, and finish
by saying why you are studying German. Deadline: Do, 26. August
2) Look at the postings of other students, then briefly respond to two postings,
commenting on whether you like to do the same things or listen to the same music,
travel to the same places, study German for the same or other reasons, etc.
(each response at least 2 lines). Deadline: Di, 7. September
Kapitel 9: Eine Reise in die Schweiz
Your tasks: 1) write a short paragraph (at least 6 lines) about an imaginary
trip to Switzerland. Mention to what city you want to go (use “möchten”
or “wollen”), why you want to go there, what you want to do there,
what you find interesting about Switzerland, its history, customs, etc. Deadline:
Do, 2. September
2) Look at the postings of other students, then briefly respond to two postings,
commenting on the places and things Swiss they have described, e.g whether you
like them too, if you have additional suggestions about them, etc. (each response
at least 3 lines). Deadline: Do, 9. September.
Kapitel 10: Meine Kindheit und die Geschichte meines Landes
Your tasks: 1) write a short paragraph (at least 6 lines) about your childhood
and how it coincided with the history of your country. You can also mention
your parents’ experiences with the history of your country. Write all
this in the simple past tense! Deadline: Di, 21. September
2) Look at the postings of other students, then briefly respond to two postings,
comparing them to your own experiences (each response at least 3 lines). Deadline:
Di, 28. September
Kapitel 11: Mein Traumjob
Your tasks: 1) write a short paragraph (at least 6 lines) about your dream job.
Tell us what you want to become and why. Then describe, in hypothetical terms,
what kinds of tasks you would have, where you would work, etc. (use the subjunctive
and conditional for this part). Deadline: Di, 19. Oktober.
2) Look at the postings of other students, then briefly respond to two postings,
commenting on their dream jobs (each response at least 3 lines). Deadline: Di,
26. Oktober.
Kapitel 12: Ausländer in den USA
Your tasks: 1) write a short paragraph (at least 6 lines) about foreigners in
the US as compared to Germany: how is their situation different or similar?
what kinds of problems do they face? what could be done to improve things? Deadline:
Do, 11. November.
2) Look at the postings of other students, then briefly respond to two postings,
commenting on the issues mentioned there (each response at least 3 lines). Deadline:
Do, 18. November.
Cutoff time for all deadlines is midnight, when the date changes! You can make your postings as soon as you feel somewhat comfortable with the chapter topic. Late postings carry no credit.
Evaluation: each C-level original posting: 5 points (20 total); each C-level response: 2.5 points (20 total); at the end of the semester, I will evaluate all your postings: if they average at the B level: 5 extra points; if they average at the A level: 10 extra points; No credit for late postings (post early, the internet can be down!!!). Total for WebCT postings: 50 points.
Begegnungen
During the course of the semester, you will have or create four “encounters” with the culture of the German-speaking countries. One can be exploring a German-language website; one can be viewing a German-language film or video (with subtitles, the Media Center has many German films which you can watch there, ask me for recommendations); one needs to be meeting and talking with a real person who either is a native speaker, has traveled to Germany, Austria, or Switzerland, or has German heritage they can talk about; and one needs to be attendance at an event that has to do in some way with Austrian, German or Swiss culture (concert, lecture, reading, German Night at Meredith, event of the NC State German Club, including their weekly gatherings).
For each encounter you type up: 1. a vocabulary with words useful for your topic (1/2 page) and 2. a ½ page description and evaluation of the encounter (state what the meaning of it was for you and your learning of the language and culture). Together it makes 1 page of typing (12 pt. Roman font, 1 inch margins on all sides, 1 ½ line spacing). Hand these pages in on the dates indicated on the syllabus.
If you are unsure about a certain encounter you are planning, check with me first.
Evaluation: each C-level description and vocabulary carries 10 points. If at least 3 of your descriptions are at the B level, you will get an additional 5 points, if at least 3 descriptions are at the A level, you will get an additional 10 points at the end of the semester. Total for Begegnungen is 50 points.
Berichte über die Begegnungen
On Th, Oct. 28 and Tue, Nov. 23, we will have reports about your encounters.
You will sign up for one or the other date. You can then choose ONE encounter
you will want to present to the class, in German. This will only be about 5
min. long. You can also use visuals if you have them. It makes sense that you
would do your report on a Begegnung that you have written up earlier and for
which you have already received feedback and error correction from me. This
short presentation will contribute to your grade for class work. You will be
evaluated mostly on communicative effectiveness, i.e. how well you can explain
your Begegnung to your audience of fellow students (pronunciation, appropriate
vocabulary, grammar, and fluency are a part of communicating effectively; it
is perfectly fine to speak in simple sentences for this presentation).