Deutsch 1002

Meetings & Instructors

Class Sessions: Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays

Section 001: 10:00-10:50am, Bate 1021

Section 602: 10:00-10:50am, Online

Dr. Jacob van der Kolk
vanderkolkj23@ecu.edu

Office Hours
via WebEx (reservation required) and in Bate 3306
Tuesdays & Thursdays
10:00am-1:00pm & 2:00-3:00pm
or by appointment

Justin Smith
Learning Assistant
smithju23@students.ecu.edu

Course Description and Objectives

Prerequisite: GERM 1001. In GERM 1002, you will expand your basic language skills and learn more about the history, culture, and everyday life of German-speaking countries. These experiences will contribute to discovering your own culture and language and help us make cross-cultural comparisons.

German is spoken by people not only in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein, but also in parts of Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Eastern Europe, the U.S., and Latin America. A good pronunciation of German is an asset for voice majors and knowing German will help you understand the works and ideas of musicians, philosophers, scientists, and writers who contributed greatly to forming our world. Knowing more about the cultures of German-speaking countries helps understand and even question assumptions we make about our own society.

In this course you will build on the cultural knowledge and communicative skills of speaking, listening, reading, and writing that you acquired German 1001. After completing GERM 1002, your linguistic proficiency should be displaying novice-mid or even novice-high proficiency on the ACTFL scale or A1 on the Common European Framework of References for Languages scale.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this course, students will be able to

1. communicate and exchange information on familiar topics — including everyday activities, ordering food at a restaurant, shopping for groceries and clothing, and playing various sports — using phrases and simple sentences, sometimes supported by memorized language
2. handle short social interactions in everyday situations by asking and answering simple questions
3. write short messages and notes on familiar topics related to everyday life
4. recognize pieces of information, words, phrases, and simple sentences related to everyday life in spoken German and sometimes understand the main topic of what is being said
5. understand familiar words, phrases, and sentences in short and simple texts related to everyday life
6. sometimes understand the main idea of a more difficult text you have read

Supplementary Skills

In the process of teaching the above objectives, this course will also nudge students to develop best practice aptitudes vital to continuing success in both academic and future settings. Such skills include:

1. time management discipline, including meeting deadlines and intermediate term planning
2. self-reflection related for instance to study habits and self-correction
3. active learning and recognizing good faith effort
4. self-driven exploration and sociability that conjoins experiences inside and outside the classroom
5. media literacy in reference to the measured use of appropriate tools

Required Course Materials

Niko Tracksdorf, et. al., Impuls Deutsch 1, Blended Bundle, 2019 [ISBN: 9783126053068]. Includes physical print book Machen and online workbook components Lernen and Zeigen.

• You must have a hard copy of the Machen textbook.
• You must have access to the online workbooks Lernen and Zeigen through one of the following means:
  • If you buy a (used) copy of the Machen textbook on its own, you can buy the online workbooks here through the publisher separately.
  • Dowdy Bookstore and UBE sell the complete bundle (including the Machen textbook and the online workbooks), or you can order it online through the publisher's web site.
• Class code: CL64245125
• These are the same texts required in GERM 1001 over the last year.
• Always bring your Machen book to online and in-person meetings. We will work with it every session.

In-person: A smartphone or laptop for any online activities we might do in class.

Online: A laptop, desktop computer, or tablet with a functioning camera and microphone. Smartphones are not allowed. You may borrow equipment from ECU's libraries.

Grading and Assignments

Grading Scale

Participation (25%)

Please let Dr. van der Kolk know if you will be absent for a class, whether excused or not.

For each class, you will receive between -1 and +2 points for your participation grade based on the following criteria:

1. Participation Criteria. To get the "Participated" status for a session, you must accomplish all of the following for the whole session:
   • Engage. You involve yourself in the class, including group and whole-class activities, and make a good faith effort to express yourself in German. However:
     • Linguistic Correctness. You are not expected to speak perfectly, just to try your best as often as you can with the language you have learned!
   • Prepared. You come to class ready and willing to practice the vocabulary, grammar, and topics touched on in your homework and previous class sessions. You bring all necessary materials, including our Machen textbook, a pencil, and paper.
   • Cooperate. You support and encourage your fellow students. Be an asset to others, and they will be an asset to you.
   • Online only: You respond to whole-class prompts and questions via Webex text chat during whole-class discussions.
   • Online only: You respond by voice on demand, that is, you are ready to speak when called upon at any time.
2. Absent/Excused is an absence for official ECU activities, military training, extreme personal or medical emergencies, death of an immediate family member, and religious holidays. It must have documentation compliant with university policy.
   • If you end the semester with six excused absences, your final grade will be an Incomplete ("I").
   • Excused absences will not count for or against your grade, but you should review the class recordings or see Dr. vdK in office hours afterward to get caught up.
3. Absent/Unexcused is for all absences without a university-sanctioned excuse. See the official university policy on attendance for details.
   • If you end the semester with six unexcused absences, your final grade will be an "F".
   • If you must be absent from your regular section, you can make up your absence:
     • In-person students may attend the online section on the same day with prior notice and/or an officially recognized excuse.
     • If all else fails, you can recuperate an unexcused absence by meeting with Dr. van der Kolk in office hours to set up a remediation plan. Completed remediation plans are due within two weeks of the missed session, and will involve at least twice as much work as the missed session.

Homework (25%)

You will complete a set of homework assignments for nearly every class period, so check Canvas every day. Expect to spend up to 2 hours on homework and preparation for each class session.

There is no partial credit for assignment sets. To get credit for an assignment set, you must do all of the following:

• Complete the assignment set on time, even if you will be absent that day.
  • All assignments will be available well before their due date; if you will be absent, complete them ahead of time.
• Complete all parts of the assignment set. Every single blank of every single exercise must be filled.
• Make a good faith effort to complete exercises as they are intended. For instance, if an exercise asks for a complete sentence, you provide a complete sentence and not a one-word answer.
• Reattempt exercises at least once if the autograder shows them as incorrect.

A missed or incomplete assignment set can only be made up after you get full credit on three assignment sets in a row. You must then submit the missed assignment set by the next class period.

Quizzes (22%)

Every third class period will have a short quiz on vocabulary and grammar. Each quiz assumes continued mastery of previous topics.

• Corrections. You can earn back up to 50% of the points you lost on a quiz by resubmitting your quiz with corrections within two class periods of receiving it back.
• Missed quizzes can be taken in the next office hour with Dr. van der Kolk.

Projects (25%, 3% for the first, 10% for the second, 12% for the last)

You will complete three projects that showcase your communicative skills (reading, writing, listening, speaking, and culture) in German. Missed submissions will not be accepted.

Cultural Engagement (3%)

Over the semester, you will participate in activities outside of class related to German-speaking culture, such as a film viewing, a talk by a speaker, or a German Club chat hour. Elligible activities will be announced at the beginning of the semester. You will submit a report for each of the three events through Canvas.

Class Etiquette and Course Policies

In the Classroom

Our class will be a respectful environment, where all students feel comfortable sharing their thoughts and opinions. Please let me know if anything in or outside of class makes you feel uncomfortable.

• Bitte keine Handys! Please stay off phones, laptops, and tablets unless required for class activities. Inattention will deduct a point from your participation grade for that day.
• Check email and Canvas frequently as I use them for class communication and posting assignments, respectively.
• Pronouns and Preferred Names. Let me know if you have a preferred name that differs from your legal name listed in the university's records, or if you have specific pronouns that you would prefer.

Academic Integrity

Aside from the university policy on academic integrity, note the allowed and disallowed behaviors specific to our class:

Accommodations

East Carolina University seeks to comply fully with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Reasonable accommodations will be made for students with verifiable disabilities. In order to take advantage of available accommodations, students must be registered with the Department for Disability Support Services located in Slay 138, 252-737-1016. Accommodation Information & Processes.

Emergency Information

In the event of a campus emergency that disrupts academic activities, course requirements, deadlines, and grading percentages are subject to change. Information about changes in the course will be communicated as soon as possible by email and on Canvas. If we are not able to meet face-to-face, students should log onto Canvas and read any announcements and/or access alternative assignments. (http://www.ecu.edu/alert). Emergency info hotline: 328-0062

Semester Schedule

This outline contains all major assignments. It is, however, subject to change at my discretion. For daily homework, see the detailed plan online on Canvas.