German Language in Context: Independent Abroad I
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Students who enter this level are able to accomplish everyday needs required to live in a new culture. In this course, students will begin to develop independence and autonomy so that, when communication does break down, they have some tools at their disposal to resolve these challenges independently. Students should welcome correction and guidance from their instructors, hosts, and others in the community as they progress.
By the end of this course, students will begin to converse at a rate of speed approaching normal conversation. They will start to become creative, spontaneous, and self-reliant as they solve problems, interpret texts, negotiate, and express their opinions, likes, and dislikes in the culture. Although students will make errors and experience communication breakdowns, they are sometimes able to resolve these on their own. Students will understand some colloquial expressions and slang, and will begin to understand a wider variety of native speakers from different backgrounds. By the end of this level, students will be capable of achieving the learning outcomes outlined below.
All IES courses require attendance and participation. Attendance is mandatory per IES policy. Any unexcused absence may count against your final grade. Any student who has more than three (3) unexcused absences will receive an “F” as the final grade in the course. Absences due to sickness, religious observances, and family emergencies may be excusable at the discretion of the Center Director.
In the case of an excused absence, it is the student’s responsibility to inform the Academic Officer of the absence with an Official Excused Absence Form, as well as any other relevant documentation (e.g. a doctor’s note), and to keep a record thereof. This form must be turned in as soon as possible before the class, in the case of a planned absence, or immediately after the class, in the case of an unplanned absence, in order for the absence to be considered excused. It is also the student’s responsibility to inform the professor of the missed class.
Students can download the Official Excused Absence Form at https://eu.elearning.iesabroad.org.
QUIZZES MISSED DURING UNEXCUSED ABSENCES CANNOT BE MADE UP!
The use of laptop computers during class is not permitted. Cell phones are to be switched off.
Updated information on your course can be found at https://eu.elearning.iesabroad.org.
Students who are placed in this level should have achieved the outcomes in the Emerging Independent Abroad level as defined by the IES Abroad MAP for Language and Intercultural Communication.
By the end of the course, students will be able to achieve some of the outcomes for the Independent 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 begin to identify at a basic level key host cultures, subcultures, habits, norms, and behaviors in a variety of settings, and they will be aware of the risk that generalizations can lead to stereotypes.
B. Students will start to identify their own cultural beliefs, behaviors, and values by contrasting and comparing them with those of the host cultures.
C. Students will be able to identify some gestures and body language, and they may be able to integrate some of those nonverbal actions into their interactions with native speakers.
II. Listening
A. Students will be able to understand some spoken communications of moderate complexity (media, speeches, music, conversations, etc.) on a wide range of concrete everyday topics as well as abstract topics covered in classes.
B. Students will begin to understand native speakers from a variety of backgrounds and limited experience with non-native speakers, and they will comprehend common colloquial expressions and slang.
III. Speaking
A. Students will be able to speak on and discuss concrete everyday and personal topics, abstract topics covered in classes, as well as other topics of particular interest to them.
B. Students will be able to participate and respond actively in a variety of interactions.
C. Students will be able to give short presentations on topics related to the host culture.
IV. Reading
A. Students will be able to read and understand articles, stories, and online texts using background knowledge to aid their comprehension.
B. Students will begin to read and understand the key ideas of academic texts on familiar topics with assistance.
V. Writing
A. Students will be able to meet many everyday writing needs (notes, text messages, formal and informal letters, emails, chats, online forums).
B. Students will be able to write essays for class that narrate, describe, report, compare, contrast, and summarize on a wide range of topics with developing degrees of grammatical and lexical accuracy.
C. Students will be able to edit their own and their peers’ writing for common errors covered in class.
Homework and daily participation, essays, Moodle, field studies, class project
Quiz 1: 10%
Quiz 2: 10%
Participation, homework & The Berlin Project: 30%
Class project (including oral presentation & 2 written assignments): 30%
Final exam: 20%
The Berlin Project
The Berlin Project is an integral part of the German classes and gives the students the chance to learn more about German history and culture while they visit historic sites in Berlin. Its focus is on the cultural knowledge and thus on furthering the students’ intercultural competence.
Course projects may be The Jewish Museum, the GDR Museum, the Holocaust Memorial, or the Topography of Terror outdoor Museum.
The Berlin Project is prepared in class both in terms of procedure and in terms of content. The topic of the Berlin project will be implemented in the Intensive Phase class content. You may for example read poems by Jewish authors if your class project is on the Jewish Museum.
Students will receive a booklet containing background information about the venue of their project as well as directions of how to get there. Furthermore, they will receive a set of questions to be answered while or after the visit to the historic site.
The Berlin Project is integrated into the academic program of the field trip to Berlin. Students will be given a time slot to visit the site independently. For the most part these visits should be done in groups.
The experience of this project will be reflected upon in writing as well as in discussions during class. Returning from the Field Trip to Berlin and Prague, the students will have to present their answers in class and hand in the booklet with their notes. They will be graded by the teachers.
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Week |
Content
|
Assignments |
Corresponding Learning Outcome(s) |
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Week 1 (intensive) |
1.Functional:
2.Grammatical:
3.Vocabulary:
4.Culture:
|
Interviewing classmates
Interviewing German flatmates
Reading: “Der erste oder der einzige Tag”
Field study: shopping in Freiburg
Field study: Berlin Project “Holocaust Memorial”
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I.B., I.A, III.A., III.C., IV.A., |
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Week 2 |
Field Trip Berlin-Prague
|
Field study: Berlin Project “Holocaust Memorial”
|
|
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Week 3 |
1.Functional:
2.Grammatical:
3.Vocabulary:
4.Culture:
|
Group presentation Field Trip
Discussion Berlin Project
Making plans for the weekend
Reading German Newspapers
Class project
|
I.A., II.B., III.B., IV. A., IV. B. |
|
Week 4
|
1.Functional:
2.Grammatical:
3.Vocabulary:
4.Culture:
|
Listening comprehension on Moodle
Interviewing International flat mates
Reading: “Ich brauche Urlaub!”
Class project
|
II.A., III.A., IV.A., IV.B., V.B. |
|
Week 5
|
1.Functional:
2.Grammatical:
3.Vocabulary:
4.Culture:
|
Quiz 1 (tue, 9.10.)
Presentation “Meine WG”
Role-play “Probleme in der WG”
Listening comprehension on Moodle
Class project
|
I.A., II.B., III.A., III.C. |
|
Week 6
|
Field Trip Institutions Paris-Brussels
|
|
|
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Week 7 (22.-26.10.) |
1.Functional:
2.Grammatical:
3.Vocabulary:
4.Culture:
|
Feedback Quiz 1
Listening comprehension on Moodle
Class project
|
II.A., II.B., III.A., V.C. |
|
Week 8
|
1.Functional:
2.Grammatical:
3.Vocabulary:
4.Culture:
|
Listening comprehension on Moodle
Interviewing classmates: “What if…”
“Guten Tag, Herr Doktor“: a play in the class room
Class project |
I.B., I.C., II.B., III.B., IV.A., V.C. |
|
Week 9
|
1.Functional:
2.Grammatical:
3.Vocabulary:
4.Culture:
|
Presentation “Lieblingsfilm/ Lieblingsserie/ Lieblingsbuch”
Review for quiz
Quiz 2
Class project |
I.A., I.C., II.A., III.A., III.C., V.B. |
|
Week 10 |
1.Functional:
2.Grammatical:
3.Vocabulary:
4.Culture:
|
Feedback Quiz 2
Interviewing classmates on work experiences etc.
Listening comprehension on Moodle
Presentation: “Mein Traumjob”
Class project presentations
|
I.A., II.B., III.A., III.C., IV.A., IV.B. |
|
Week 11
|
1.Functional:
2.Grammatical:
3.Vocabulary:
4.Culture:
|
“Who am I?”: Describing people
Reading: “Deutschland ist so unsittlich”
|
I.A., I.B., II.B., III.A., V.A. |
|
Week 12 |
Field Trip member states
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|
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Week 13
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1.Functional:
2.Grammatical:
3.Vocabulary:
4.Culture:
|
Group Presentations Field Trips
Listening comprehension on Moodle
Field study: “Weihnachtsmarkt” |
I.A., II.B., III.A., III.B., IV.A. |
|
Week 14 |
1.Functional:
2.Grammatical:
3.Vocabulary:
4.Culture:
|
Review for Final Exam |
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Week 15 |
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Final exam
|
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Subject to changes depending on level and progress of class
IES Abroad Reader for German 301/351 – Corinna Hardt
This syllabus contains a representative course calendar and field studies. Cultural topics and field studies may vary by semester and by season.
