This course is designed for students with little or no prior knowledge of the language.
By the end of the course, the successful student will develop a basic foundation in the five skills: intercultural communication, reading, writing, listening and speaking to accomplish a variety of basic everyday needs in the host culture as described in the learning outcomes below.
Attendance policy:
Attendance at all IES Abroad courses is mandatory. Absences will only be excused if you present a doctor's note. Unexcused absences will negatively affect the grade for participation. Excessive absenteeism will negatively affect the final grade.
Learning outcomes:
By the end of the course, students will be able to achieve some of the outcomes for the Novice Abroad level as defined by the MAP for Language and Intercultural Communication. The key learning outcomes from the MAP are summarized below:
I. Intercultural Communication
A. Students will be able to meet basic everyday needs using verbal communication, they will be able to use compensatory strategies when they do not know the word or expression (repetition, body language, etc.), and they will be able to identify some basic non-verbal communication strategies.
B. Students can recognize basic appropriate and inappropriate expressions and behaviors in the host language.
C. Students will be able to distinguish between basic representations of formality and informality in the language.
D. Students will start to make informed comparisons between the host culture and home culture.
II. Listening
A. Students will be able to understand most basic statements, requests, descriptions, and questions in specific cultural context relevant to them (interactions in class and with hosts, studying, shopping, transportation, meals).
B. Students will be able to use context to understand the gist of some basic spoken language they overhear, including the media, conversations between others, and announcements.
III. Speaking
A. Students will be able to use some basic phrases appropriately in some everyday situations (home, new acquaintances, the IES Abroad Center, and the community).
B. Students will be able to express some basic needs by asking questions, and get what they need in uncomplicated, everyday situations.
IV. Reading
A. Students will be able to identify and understand basic sentences.
B. Students will be able to interpret main ideas in short and simple texts as well as news headlines, but their understanding is often limited to the words or groups of words that they have seen in class.
C. Students will be able to use basic reading strategies (cognate recognition, scanning for meaning, identification of text types, etc.) in order to interpret main ideas.
V. Writing
A. With limited accuracy, students will be able to write short sentences and short paragraphs about basic and concrete topics they have studied, such as themselves, their families, their friends, their likes and dislikes, and their daily routines.
B. Students will be able to send basic emails, text messages, postcards, and fill out some basic forms.
Method of presentation:
Homework and participation, Moodle, field studies, presentations
Required work and form of assessment:
Midterm 20 %
Final 30 %
Participation, homework, presentations, Moodle, field study 50 %
content:
Week
Content
Assignments
Corresponding Learning Outcome(s)
Week 1
(intensive)
German Language and Culture Week
1. Functional:
• How to introduce oneself
• Talking about personal identity
• Spelling names
2. Grammatical:
• Alphabet, pronunciation
• "sein" und "haben" present tense
• Personal pronouns (nominative)
• W-questions “Wer?, Wie? Woher?, Wo?”
3.Vocabulary:
• Nationalities and languages
• Countries and continents
• Key data to Potsdam and Frederick the Great
4. Culture:
• Greetings in German-speaking countries
• City Search
• Visiting a museum / an exhibition or similar in Berlin
• Field Trip to Potsdam
Asking and giving reasons to study German
Role-play: My second identity
Field trip Berlin:
discovering the city
(city search)
Field trip: Potsdam,
presenting and performing facts about Frederick the Great
II.A, III.A
III.B, I.A
I.D, IV.A, IV.B
I.A, I.B., II.B, IV.A, V.A
Week 2
1.Functional:
• Introducing oneself and others (formal and informal, Sie vs du),
• Talking about personal identity
• Using “class language”
• Describing and guessing favorite or famous persons
2.Grammatical:
• Basic regular Verbs, the present tense
• Word order: Statement, W-Questions
• W-Questions Wie?, Was?, Warum?, Welche?
• Possessives: mein, dein, sein, ihr
• Adverbs of schon and erst
3.Vocabulary:
• Countries and nationalities
• Cardinal numerals
• Colors
4.Culture:
• The meaning of: Federal Republic of Germany and its states
• Neighboring countries
• Field trip to Dresden
Interviewing classmates and teacher or staff
Filling out a form with personal information
Describing people:
“Who am I?”
Collecting and exchanging information about history and sights in Dresden
I.A, I.C., II.A., III.A., IV.A., III.B., I.B,
I.D.
Week 3
1.Functional:
• Talking about job/profession and hobbies
• Talking about free-time activities
• Giving personal information
2.Grammatical:
• Word order: Ja/Nein-Questions
• Article words: definite/indefinite article, the zero article
• Nouns (genre and plurals)
• Conjunctions: und, aber, oder
3.Vocabulary:
• Job and profession
• Free-time activities
• Opposite Adjectives
4.Culture:
• Working life
Listening comprehension on Moodle
Presenting “My dream job”
Performing emotional adverbs and adjectives
II.A, V.A, III.A
I.A,
Week 4
1.Functional:
• Understanding and telling times
• Asking and answering questions about appointments
• Writing an informal email
2.Grammatical:
• Pronoun man
• Ordinal numbers (date and year)
3.Vocabulary:
• Days of the week
• Times of the day
• Describing people and places
• Weather
4.Culture:
• The meaning of time in Germany and the US
• Appointments, punctuality, clichés and stereotypes
Writing an informal e-mail
Practising
pronounciation covering accent marks for vowels
Interviewing a classmate about their schedule
V.B, I.B, III.A, I.A, II.B,
Week 5
1.Functional:
• Making appointments and planning activities
• Understanding cultural activities and offers
2.Grammatical:
• Review for Midterm
• Negation with nicht and kein
3.Vocabulary:
• Review for Midterm
• Months and seasons
4.Culture:
• German movie focusing on Berlin and young adults (subtitled)
• European Cities: Paris
Making plans for the weekend
Reading comprehension using ws questions
Comparing German and American schedules
Review for Midterm
Writing about a movie or favorite TV series and edit with classmates
III.B, V.A, IV.B, I.A, I.D, I.E, III.A,
Week 6
Midterm
Midterm
Week 7
1.Functional:
• Talking about travel experiences and plans
• Talking about daily activities
2.Grammatical:
• Accusative forms of the definite, indefinite, and negative articles
• Simple Past of haben and sein
3.Vocabulary:
• Holiday, vacation, leisure, means of transport
• Vocabulary to describe cities and landscapes.
4.Culture:
• Visiting german cities
Presentation: excursion to a German city
Writing e-mails for special occasions (birthday, chrismas etc.)
Ondrej Kotas earned his M.A. in German Language and Literature and in German as a Foreign Language at the Catholic University Eichstätt. Between 1998 and 2008, he worked at the Goethe Institute in Prague, Czech Republic. 2009 he moved to Berlin where he has been teaching German at several institutions such as the International Fellows Program at the Institute for Advanced Study (Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin) and he has been working as a course director of the International German courses for teenager and young adults (Goethe-Institute). Since 2008 he has been working for the publishing house Ernst Klett Sprachen as an author and editor and for the publishing house PONS as an online editor. Ondrej Kotas has been a teacher at IES Abroad Berlin since January 2009.
German Language In Context: Novice Abroad I
This course is designed for students with little or no prior knowledge of the language.
By the end of the course, the successful student will develop a basic foundation in the five skills: intercultural communication, reading, writing, listening and speaking to accomplish a variety of basic everyday needs in the host culture as described in the learning outcomes below.
Attendance at all IES Abroad courses is mandatory. Absences will only be excused if you present a doctor's note. Unexcused absences will negatively affect the grade for participation. Excessive absenteeism will negatively affect the final grade.
By the end of the course, students will be able to achieve some of the outcomes for the Novice Abroad level as defined by the MAP for Language and Intercultural Communication. The key learning outcomes from the MAP are summarized below:
I. Intercultural Communication
A. Students will be able to meet basic everyday needs using verbal communication, they will be able to use compensatory strategies when they do not know the word or expression (repetition, body language, etc.), and they will be able to identify some basic non-verbal communication strategies.
B. Students can recognize basic appropriate and inappropriate expressions and behaviors in the host language.
C. Students will be able to distinguish between basic representations of formality and informality in the language.
D. Students will start to make informed comparisons between the host culture and home culture.
II. Listening
A. Students will be able to understand most basic statements, requests, descriptions, and questions in specific cultural context relevant to them (interactions in class and with hosts, studying, shopping, transportation, meals).
B. Students will be able to use context to understand the gist of some basic spoken language they overhear, including the media, conversations between others, and announcements.
III. Speaking
A. Students will be able to use some basic phrases appropriately in some everyday situations (home, new acquaintances, the IES Abroad Center, and the community).
B. Students will be able to express some basic needs by asking questions, and get what they need in uncomplicated, everyday situations.
IV. Reading
A. Students will be able to identify and understand basic sentences.
B. Students will be able to interpret main ideas in short and simple texts as well as news headlines, but their understanding is often limited to the words or groups of words that they have seen in class.
C. Students will be able to use basic reading strategies (cognate recognition, scanning for meaning, identification of text types, etc.) in order to interpret main ideas.
V. Writing
A. With limited accuracy, students will be able to write short sentences and short paragraphs about basic and concrete topics they have studied, such as themselves, their families, their friends, their likes and dislikes, and their daily routines.
B. Students will be able to send basic emails, text messages, postcards, and fill out some basic forms.
Homework and participation, Moodle, field studies, presentations
Week
Content
Assignments
Corresponding Learning Outcome(s)
Week 1
(intensive)
German Language and Culture Week
1. Functional:
• How to introduce oneself
• Talking about personal identity
• Spelling names
2. Grammatical:
• Alphabet, pronunciation
• "sein" und "haben" present tense
• Personal pronouns (nominative)
• W-questions “Wer?, Wie? Woher?, Wo?”
3.Vocabulary:
• Nationalities and languages
• Countries and continents
• Key data to Potsdam and Frederick the Great
4. Culture:
• Greetings in German-speaking countries
• City Search
• Visiting a museum / an exhibition or similar in Berlin
• Field Trip to Potsdam
Asking and giving reasons to study German
Role-play: My second identity
Field trip Berlin:
discovering the city
(city search)
Field trip: Potsdam,
presenting and performing facts about Frederick the Great
II.A, III.A
III.B, I.A
I.D, IV.A, IV.B
I.A, I.B., II.B, IV.A, V.A
Week 2
1.Functional:
• Introducing oneself and others (formal and informal, Sie vs du),
• Talking about personal identity
• Using “class language”
• Describing and guessing favorite or famous persons
2.Grammatical:
• Basic regular Verbs, the present tense
• Word order: Statement, W-Questions
• W-Questions Wie?, Was?, Warum?, Welche?
• Possessives: mein, dein, sein, ihr
• Adverbs of schon and erst
3.Vocabulary:
• Countries and nationalities
• Cardinal numerals
• Colors
4.Culture:
• The meaning of: Federal Republic of Germany and its states
• Neighboring countries
• Field trip to Dresden
Interviewing classmates and teacher or staff
Filling out a form with personal information
Describing people:
“Who am I?”
Collecting and exchanging information about history and sights in Dresden
I.A, I.C., II.A., III.A., IV.A., III.B., I.B,
I.D.
Week 3
1.Functional:
• Talking about job/profession and hobbies
• Talking about free-time activities
• Giving personal information
2.Grammatical:
• Word order: Ja/Nein-Questions
• Article words: definite/indefinite article, the zero article
• Nouns (genre and plurals)
• Conjunctions: und, aber, oder
3.Vocabulary:
• Job and profession
• Free-time activities
• Opposite Adjectives
4.Culture:
• Working life
Listening comprehension on Moodle
Presenting “My dream job”
Performing emotional adverbs and adjectives
II.A, V.A, III.A
I.A,
Week 4
1.Functional:
• Understanding and telling times
• Asking and answering questions about appointments
• Writing an informal email
2.Grammatical:
• Pronoun man
• Ordinal numbers (date and year)
3.Vocabulary:
• Days of the week
• Times of the day
• Describing people and places
• Weather
4.Culture:
• The meaning of time in Germany and the US
• Appointments, punctuality, clichés and stereotypes
Writing an informal e-mail
Practising
pronounciation covering accent marks for vowels
Interviewing a classmate about their schedule
V.B, I.B, III.A, I.A, II.B,
Week 5
1.Functional:
• Making appointments and planning activities
• Understanding cultural activities and offers
2.Grammatical:
• Review for Midterm
• Negation with nicht and kein
3.Vocabulary:
• Review for Midterm
• Months and seasons
4.Culture:
• German movie focusing on Berlin and young adults (subtitled)
• European Cities: Paris
Making plans for the weekend
Reading comprehension using ws questions
Comparing German and American schedules
Review for Midterm
Writing about a movie or favorite TV series and edit with classmates
III.B, V.A, IV.B, I.A, I.D, I.E, III.A,
Week 6
Midterm
Midterm
Week 7
1.Functional:
• Talking about travel experiences and plans
• Talking about daily activities
2.Grammatical:
• Accusative forms of the definite, indefinite, and negative articles
• Simple Past of haben and sein
3.Vocabulary:
• Holiday, vacation, leisure, means of transport
• Vocabulary to describe cities and landscapes.
4.Culture:
• Visiting german cities
Presentation: excursion to a German city
Writing e-mails for special occasions (birthday, chrismas etc.)
III.A, IV.A, V.A
V.B, I.A.
Week 8
1.Functional:
• Expressing abilities, possibilities, obligations, wishes
• Talking and asking about prices
2.Grammatical:
• Modal verbs in present tense: können, möchten and müssen
• Word order for modal verbs
3.Vocabulary:
• Food, prices, meals
• Ingredients
• Healthy living
• Food-related adjectives
4.Culture:
• German food
• Menus and meals in Berlin
Interviewing a classmate about food
Writing a shopping list
Role play: dialogue in a restaurant
Internet research, field study and oral presentation about typical German dish
II.A, III.A, I.B, V.A, I.A, I.C, III.B, IV.A, IV.B
Week 9
1.Functional:
• Talking about shopping, food and eating habits
• Asking in restaurants
• Asking about products and clothes.
2.Grammatical:
• Irregular verbs in present tense
• Accusative as direct object
• Personal pronouns (nom. and acc.)
3.Vocabulary:
• Shopping items, shops
• Clothes
4.Culture:
• Shopping in Berlin/Germany
Role play: dialogue in a shop
Field trip: Food market
Writing a menu for a restaurant.
Survey on a favorite bar or restaurant in Berlin
Internet research and oral presentation about German brands
I.C, I.B, II.A, III.B, I.A, I.D, II.B, III.A, IV.A, IV.B
Week 10
1.Functional:
• Expressing likes/dislikes and preferences about leisure times
• Reading up about sport offers
2.Grammatical:
• Modal verbs: dürfen, wollen and mögen
• Conjunction denn
3.Vocabulary:
• Kinds of sport
• Places and activities in the city
4.Culture:
• Typical music and districts in Berlin
Reading articles about sport events in Berlin
Interview outside classroom and presentation in class.
Free time activities: Writing a short text contrasting German and American people.
Presentation of students' neighborhoods
Comparing Berlin with hometown of students
I.D, IV.B, I.A, I.B, II.B, III.A, V.A, II.A,
Week 11
1.Functional:
• Review for final
• Searching for a room
• Talking and writing about the past
2.Grammatical:
• Review for final exam
• Past participle forms in the present perfect tense (basic verbs)
3.Vocabulary:
• Room search
• Furniture
• Accommodations
4.Culture:
• Comparing the style of home, places to live
• Places for holidays in Germany and Berlin
Course review
Internet research and interview:
comparing German and American students
Writing about when an action happens
I.A, I.B, I.D, III.A, IV.B, V.A
Week 12
Final exam
Final exam
Subject to changes depending on level and progress of class.
Braun et.al, DaF kompakt, Klett Verlag, 2011.
Reimann, Essential Grammar of German, Hueber, 2001.
Willmann et. al, Langenscheidt Euro-Wörterbuch Englisch, Langenscheidt, 2006.
Ondrej Kotas earned his M.A. in German Language and Literature and in German as a Foreign Language at the Catholic University Eichstätt. Between 1998 and 2008, he worked at the Goethe Institute in Prague, Czech Republic. 2009 he moved to Berlin where he has been teaching German at several institutions such as the International Fellows Program at the Institute for Advanced Study (Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin) and he has been working as a course director of the International German courses for teenager and young adults (Goethe-Institute). Since 2008 he has been working for the publishing house Ernst Klett Sprachen as an author and editor and for the publishing house PONS as an online editor. Ondrej Kotas has been a teacher at IES Abroad Berlin since January 2009.