Overview
5% of your overall grade will be good-faith completion of 5 "tokens" worth of enrichment work related to German-speaking culture outside of class. You are allowed to pick any of the below activities, or propose your own. Unless otherwise noted, you will write up a summary of what you experienced in German. (Note the required word counts below). Depending on the amount of effort and time involved, as well as how early you complete the activity in the semester, individual activities will have varying token values. You may only repeat the same activity for up to 1.6 tokens.
To submit an assignment, fill out this form (Unless you did an "Extra-Übungen zum Journal" assignment, which is automatically graded.)
Example Activities
Possible activities include:
Extra-Übungen zum Journal
Complete additional sets of activities related to that day's Journal for credit. These activities will be listed at the bottom of the Journal assignment sheet, and will be due at the same time as the assignments with which they are listed. You only have to complete them as if they were also due that day. Make sure to include them in your Journal submission for that day! Token Values:
- August and September: 0.4 tokens/set of exercises
- October: 0.2 tokens/set of exercises
- November: 0.1 tokens/set of exercises
Kulturelles Erlebnis
Experience an event related to German-speaking culture. The longer and/or immersive your experience, the more tokens it will be worth, so ask me after the event. Examples with approximate token values:
Attend a German Club meeting for at least a half hour and talk a little in German. No report necessary, just make sure one of the officers or our FLTA knows you attended. Token Values:
- August and September: 1.6 tokens
- October: 0.8 tokens
- November: 0.4 tokens
Overhear German speakers in a store and have a short conversation with them in German for a couple minutes. Write an 80 word report in German. Token Values:
- August and September: ~1.2 tokens
- October: ~0.6 tokens
- November: ~0.3 tokens
Have a short conversation over a holiday dinner in English with a relative who served in the military about their experiences in Germany. Write a 40 word report in German. Token Values:
- August and September: ~0.8 tokens
- October: ~0.4 tokens
- November: ~0.2 tokens
Gossip with a friend, relative, brother in German for a half hour. Write a 80 word report in German. Token Values:
- August and September: ~1.2 tokens
- October: ~0.6 tokens
- November: ~0.3 tokens
Pitch me your own activity. Have something else related to German you've experienced (or want to experience)? Ask, and I'll give you a token and word countvalue for it!
Technologie auf Deutsch
Use technology that you interact with often to learn German! Examples:
Change the default language of your smart phone or primary computer to German for a month. Send me a screenshot at the end to verify. No report necessary. Token Values:
- August and September: 1.2 tokens
- October: 0.6 tokens
- November: 0.3 tokens
Play a video game in German (turn on English subtitles if you want). For each session (limit one per week), write a 80 word report about your experience and note any new words you may have learned. A session should be at least an hour long. Tokens Values:
- August and September: 1.2 tokens/week
- October: 0.6 tokens/week
- November: 0.3 tokens/week
Watch a Twitch stream in German. If you go to "Browse" and put in "German" in next to "Filter by". "Just Chatting" sessions like from this streamer are often quite entertaining, and you'll make out a few new interesting words. For each session (limit one per week), write a 80 word report about your experience and note any new words you may have learned. A session should be at least an hour long. Tokens Values:
- August and September: 1.2 tokens/week
- October: 0.6 tokens/week
- November: 0.3 tokens/week
Play a multiplayer video game with German-speakers in English or German (try a little bit) in chat/Discord/etc. with teammates for at least a half hour. Write a 60 word sentence analysis in German about it. Limit 1 session per week. Token Values:
- August and September: ~1.2 tokens/week
- October: ~0.6 tokens/week
- November: ~0.3 tokens/week
Pitch your own activity. Have something else you want to try? Pitch it to me and I'll give you a token value for it!
Kino!
Watch a movie in German that you haven't seen before with German audio on (and either English subtitles or German and English subtitles. Use this Chrome extension to do so in Netflix). Write a 120 word report about what happened, your thoughts about the film, etc. A few of my favorites include:
- Die fetten Jahre sind vorbei. = The Edukators
- Good Bye Lenin!
- Das Leben der anderen = The Lives of Others
- Gegen die Wand = Head On
- Lola rennt = Run, Lola, Run!
- Die Büchse der Pandora, 1929 (Available in YouTube, as VHS in Lily PN1997 .P26 1990). Starring the manifestation of flapper-dom herself, Kansas native Louise Brooks, this film deals with a true femme fatale who leads many a man astray.
- M, 1929 (Available in Amazon & YouTube) A wild hunt ensues in search of child murderer.
- Sonnenallee, 1999 (Available in YouTube, as DVD in Lily PN1997 .S6363 2002). A humorous look at life in 1980s East Berlin.
- Berlin, die Sinfonie der Großstadt, 1927 (Available in YouTube) A documentary about life in Berlin in the 1920s.
- Der blaue Engel, 1930 (Available for rental in Amazon, as DVD in Lily PN1997 .B597 2001, in YouTube) A stodgy school teacher becomes enamored with a cabaret singer.
- Das Testament des Dr. Mabuse, 1933 (Available in YouTube or for rental in Amazon) The most critically acclaimed of the Mabuse franchise of films, which center on an evil genius and his sinister machinations.
- Das Kabinet des Dr. Caligari, 1919 (Available in Amazon Prime, YouTube, and as a DVD in Lily PN1997 .C18 2002) A psychological horror film classic from the silent era.
- Metropolis, 1927 (Available for rental in Amazon, in YouTube, as DVD in Lily PN1997 .M43 2002) In a dystopian future, workers must live in the dark underground while the rich enjoy a futuristic city of splendor.
- Der letzte Mann, 1924 (Available in YouTube, for rental in Amazon, as DVD in Lily PN1997 .L48 2001) An aging doorman's happiness crumbles when he is relieved of the duties and uniform which had for years been the foundation of his happiness and pride.
- Anything else you might find on hand in Netflix. Here are a few lists of well-liked German films on Netflix.
Token Values:
- August and September: 1.6 tokens/film
- October: 0.8 tokens/film
- November: 0.4 tokens/film
Im Fernsehen gesehen: Streaming Services
Watch an episode of a German TV show with German audio on (and either English subtitles or German and English subtitles. Use this Chrome extension to do so in Netflix). Write an 80 word report in German about what happened, your impressions, etc. Some of the hot German shows right now:
- Dark (Netflix) A mind-bending science fiction film, often referred to as a German "Stranger Things," but a good bit more adult.
- Deutschland 83 (and if you finish that, the next season Deutschland 86) (Hulu or Amazon Prime) A spy thriller following an East German in deep cover who inflitrates the West in 1983.
- Babylon Berlin (Netflix) A police procedural/murder mystery that takes place in 1920s Berlin. Drugs, sex, and
Rock and RollJazz! - Or just switch the audio to German on your favorite show! Netflix and others provide German audio and subtitles for most of its content.
Token Values:
- August and September: 1.2 tokens/episode
- October: 0.6 tokens
- November: 0.3 tokens
Im Fernsehen gesehen: Direct Streams from German Broadcasters
See what's on right now (or on demand) directly through German broadcasters. Watch a show for a half to full hour and write 80 words in German about what you saw, new words you learned, etc. Examples:
- Schoener Fernsehen, where you can stream channels like ARD, ZDF, VOX, RBB, arte, etc. live.
- Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen (ZDF) (free), one of the public broadcasters in Germany. You may be particularly interested in ZDF's heute Show, Germany's take on news comedy like The Daily Show and Last Week Tonight with John Oliver.
- DANK's list of other public broadcasters, where you can find links to ARD, RTL, Deutsche Welle, etc.
Token Values:
- August and September: 1.2 tokens/½-1 hour show
- October: 0.6 tokens/½-1 hour show
- November: 0.3 tokens/½-1 hour show
Im Web gesehen: Webepisodes for Language Learners
There are some good online resources geared for language learners. For every 20 minutes of videos you watch, you should summarize what you learned (e.g new words or cultural facts) and/or saw in 40 German words. Examples:
- The Lernen to Talk Show. One student's inspiring story of how he learned German in a year while in Germany. His weekly videos include subtitles, and show how he progresses and his amusing encounters with living abroad.
- EasyGerman videos on YouTube. Interviews with people in the streets. The episodes on Karneval in Köln are especially funny.
- Get Germanized on YouTube. A language teacher gives light-hearted tips and tricks about German language and culture.
- The Telenovela Jojo sucht das Glück from Deutsche Welle. A short "soap opera" in simple German about a Brazilian woman who moves to Germany.
- Extr@ (Episode 1), another telenovela about Sam, an American who moves to Germany, and his interactions with several roommates in a Berlin WG. Has easy German and German subtitles!
- The German Department at the University of Michigan also has a huge list of ways to watch German online.
Token Values:
- August and September: 0.8 tokens for 20 minutes of video watching
- October: 0.4 tokens for 20 minutes of video watching
- November: 0.2 tokens for 20 minutes of video watching
Deutsch hören
Add a couple German songs to your playlist, and listen to each one four or five times over time (about 20 minutes total, let it sink in!). Write 20 words about each song in German about the words you picked up, what you think the song is about, the artist, the music video, etc.
- Hear the biggest bangers:
- Newer artists: German American rapper Casper (try Hinterland), Revolverhead (Immer in Bewegung), Jennifer Rostock (Die guten alten Zeiten), Montreal (Das falsche Pferd), Sarah Connor (Wie schön du bist)
- The classics: Herbert Grönemeyer (Mensch), Nena (99 Luftballons, Willst du mit mir gehen)
- The real classics: Marlene Dietrich (Sag mir wo die Blumen sind) and Marlene Dietrich and Hildegard Knef, singing Ich hab noch einen Koffer in Berlin.
- Deutsche Welle's list of the Top 10 Singers from Germany
- Hear the newest bangers:
- 100 Top Single Charts from MTV.de.
- The Official German Charts.
- One of the many YouTube channels called "Deutsche Musik 2020" or "die schönste deutsche Popmusik“.
- The Spotify channel "Germany top 50".
Token Values:
- August and September: 0.8 tokens/song after hearing it for cumulatively 20 minutes
- October: 0.4 tokens/song after hearing it for cumulatively 20 minutes
- November: 0.2 tokens/song after hearing it for cumulatively 20 minutes
Deutsch lesen
- Read a book. For each book, write a short summary of what happens in 120 words of German, include any new words you learned. Possibilities:
- Lend out a book. Ask me for a book to read (I have a whole shelf for intermediate language learners).
- Check out children's literature. See Deutsche Welle's "Zehn deutsche Kinderbuch-Klassiker" and order one online. Some favorites come from the author Janosch, especially his Oh wie schön ist Panama. Some students enjoy this series about Dino, an Italian learning German in Berlin: Café in Berlin (book 1 of 8 available here).
- Listen to a book. Use Audible to find new books to listen to or books that you have already read. You can adjust the speed of the reader if that helps comprehension.
- Re-read a favorite. Pick up a German copy of your favorite children's book. Since you already know the story, so you can easily pick up new vocabulary. You can order German copies of almost anything from Amazon.de or BookDepository.
- Find (free) e-Books. See Project Gutenberg, the Amazon Kindle Store (search for "German"), Deutsche Welle (includes instructions), and "The German Professor" for available free e-books. Also see the free children's book Grimms' Deutsche Sagen.
Token Values:- August and September: 2 tokens/book
- October: 1 token/book
- November: 0.5 tokens/book
- Read the news. Try parsing an article or two. Write up a summary, your response to the article, new words you learned, and/or compare the coverage with that of your own home country's media in 60 words in German. Exampes:
- Der Spiegel is a very popular online news magazine.
- Deutsche Welle is a public radio and television network that targets an international audience and German learners. They post a lot of news stories online, and if you like their Facebook page, called "Learn German with DW.de", you can get interesting question prompts, news stories, etc, in your newsfeed. Deutsche Welle's "German XXL" page also offers news articles with words you might not know highlighted and glossed in German, as well as lots of videos.
- Popular German newspapers: Süddeutsche Zeitung, Frankfurter Allgemeine, Die ZEIT
- Other periodicals for younger adults in Germany, both on their websites and on Facebook: STERN (Popular with people in their 20s and 30s); NEON (Stern's sister publication aimed at college students); UniSpiegel (Der Spiegel's college-related online publication).
Token Values:- August through October: 0.8 tokens/article
- November: 0.4 tokens/article