Ich stelle mich vor: Wer ich bin und was ich gern tue
This is your first posting; you will 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, 25. 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, 6. 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, 1. 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, 8. 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, 20. 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, 27. 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, 18. 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, 25. 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, 10. 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, 17. 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: 4 original postings and 8 responses are required to get all the points (there are 5 chances for original postings and for sets of responses); 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 (translates into 5 points of the semester grade).

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 (½ 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 (translates into 5 points of the semester grade). Both partners will get the same grade.

Berichte über die Begegnungen
On Th, Oct. 27 and Tue, Nov. 22, 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 - 7 min. long. You should also use some visuals. 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).