Deutsch 302

Introduction to Literature

Cultural Enrichment

Overview

As with GER 301 in the Fall Semester, 5% of your overall grade in GER 302 will be good-faith completion of 5 "tokens" worth of cultural 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.

To submit an assignment, fill out this form (Unless you did an "Extra-Übungen zum Journal" assignment, which is automatically graded.) You will have to include either a short report (in German) of your activity, or upload a file that verifies your activity (e.g. a screenshot, photo, audio file, or video recording).

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:

Tagebuch

Write three or four sentences in German about your day (anything you wouldn't mind your German professor reading) over your winter break. Submit your journal by the first day of class. Upload a document file or share a Google Doc with me at jakevanderkolk@gmail.com. Optionally, you may also record yourself reading your entry and submit it as an mp3, m4a (aac), or wav file. Token Values:

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 some German. Engage with students newer to German, too! No report necessary, just make sure one of the officers or our FLTA knows you attended. Token Values:

Overhear German speakers in a store and have a short conversation with them in German for a couple minutes. Write a 60 word report in German. Token Values:

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:

Gossip with a friend, relative, brother in German for a half hour. Write a 60 word report in German. Token Values:

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 through the online form at the end to verify, or write a 60 word report in German on what you learned from the experience. Token Values:

Play a video game in German or with German subtitles on (turn on English subtitles if you want). For each session (limit one per week), upload a short video clip or screenshot of yourself playing the game with some evident German text or speaking, or write a 60 word report about your experience in German and note any new words you may have learned. A session should be at least an hour long. Tokens Values:

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), upload a screenshot of yourself participating in Chat or write a 60 word report in German about your experience and note any new words you may have learned. A session should be at least an hour long. Tokens Values:

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. Upload a short video clip of your interaction or a screenshot of chat, or write a 60 word analysis in German about it, e.g. discussing differences you noticed, words you learned, frustrations you encountered. Limit 1 session per week. Token Values:

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 an 80 word report in German about what happened, your thoughts about the film, etc. A few of my favorites include:

Token Values:

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 60 word report in German about what happened, your impressions, etc. Some of the hot German shows right now:

Token Values:

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 60 words in German about what you saw, new words you learned, etc. Examples:

Token Values:

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:

Token Values:

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.

Token Values:

Deutsch singen

Playing Rock Band, Songstar, or some other Karoke? Find a German song and sing it! Have yourself recorded and upload the file. Token Values:

Deutsch lesen