Syllabus for German 1134, Elementary German, fall semester 2014
Professor: Staff
Office: Bea Wood 110. Telephone: 397-4857. Please leave your number with your message so that I can return
your call. You can e-mail to stuart.mcclintock@mwsu.edu
Office Hours: T, Th, F 9-11am and T/Th 1:30-3:30, and by appt.
Further, I am often in my office outside of office hours, and you are welcome if I am there.
Required Texts: Deutsch Heute (ISBN: 9780547180588) and accompanying edition workbook
Goals and Language of instruction: There are three interrelated objectives for this course.
The first goal is to begin to be able to speak, understand, write, and read the German language. We gradually
move towards total immersion in German as the semester progresses.
The second goal is to study germanophone (German-speaking) cultures. We will focus on German culture but
also become familiar with the unique cultures and modes of expression of many other germanophone countries.
While learning about germanophone cultures, you will be encouraged compare your own culture with those of
germanophone societies.
The third goal is to tie language and culture together by learning to use the German language appropriately in a
variety of cultural contexts in the germanophone world.
Assessment: Your grade is made up of the following components
Lab (1 per chapter)
10%
Attendance
10%
Quizzes
10%
Homework, personal journals (1 per chapter), oral work
10%
Tests (1 per chapter)
40%
Final
20%
Absence policy: Attendance is mandatory. A student can be dropped after four unexcused absences. Only an
excused absence, defined as a university-sponsored event, is not counted as an absence. After second absence,
attendance grade is lowered ten points, then five points per absence for the next three absences. Each absence
after your fifth s ten points off your attendance per absence. Repeated late arrival will count as an absence as
well. You are responsible for knowing how many absences you have. A student with perfect attendance or one
absence is given an extra ten points on his/her attendance grade.
Homework: Homework is due at the beginning of class; no work is accepted after class. If you are absent, turn
in assignment the day you return. Please submit neat work that is legible, without cross-outs, and on one side of
paper. Sloppy work will be returned with a zero.
Quizzes: Quizzes are administered at the beginning of class. No make-up quizzes are given for late students.
Quizzes are usually announced; however pop quizzes will also be administered. If you are absent, you may
make up your quiz, but you must be ready to do it at the beginning of the class to which you return. It is your
responsibility to follow through on making up the quiz.
Lab homework: Each chapter has a lab assignment made up of two parts to be done in the language lab in
Moffett Library . (It is not the lab assignment in the workbook.) The two parts must be completed in one seating
because you hand in your work when you leave. The first part is a dictation (dictée). You listen to the tape and
write in German the paragraph that is spoken. The second part of the lab tape is made up of questions or
prompts. You write the answers to these questions/prompts in full sentences in German. You may listen to the
tape as many times as you like. When you have finished, recopy your paragraph and answers neatly and hand
them in to the lab assistant. The lab assistant is instructed to only accept work done in the lab. You should do
the lab at the end of the second week of the chapter. I collect the lab work at noon following the day of the
chapter test, which is the day we start the next chapter. (Chapter 1 lab is due 9/1.) You do not consult with
anyone about any part of the lab when you are in the lab.
Schedule: There is a test for each chapter of three to four pages. It is always on the last day of the chapter as
listed below.
8/27-9/10:
chapitre 1
10/23-11/5:
chapitre 5
9/1-9/24:
chapitre 2
11/6-11/20:
chapitre 6
9/25-10/8:
chapitre 3
11/26--12/7:
chapitre 7
10/9-10/22:
chapitre 4
final exam:
December 12, 1-3
Notes:
Extra Credit: You can do something related to German for extra credit to replace a poor grade for homework,
quiz, or lab. It can be just about anything such as going to a museum with German art, reading a German novel,
or watching a German movie. Write up what you've done and submit it. The bigger the project, the more it's
worth. You may do a maximum of two extra credit projects. Clear your project with me before you do it.
Academic honesty: Any work that you submit that is not your own is reason for censure for all parties involved.
Procedure for censure follows the academic dishonesty policy in the student handbook.
Students with disabilities: MSU provides students with documented disabilities academic accommodations. If
you are a student with a disability, please contact me.
Electronic communication: Turn off all cell phones and refrain from any electronic communication while
in class. If you have something urgent that requires your being in touch with someone electronically, please let
me know before class starts.
Words of advice for success in this class and in German:
1. A beginning language class is different from most college classes because of the pace and the amount and
kind of homework assignments. We meet three times a week. There is usually both written work and
memorization required for every class. Memorization is fundamental to learning a new language. You make
progress slowly. You must keep up on a daily basis to succeed.
2. Arrive in class with enough time to get yourself ready. Always bring both of your course books. Be prepared
when class begins. This means that you should have your books and homework out and your book turned to the
page we’ve most recently covered.
3. Pay attention to the professor and to those around you. A good language learner is a good listener. I will
consistently repeat many phrases. Try to pick up on them and be able to say them to yourself.
4. Force yourself to use the language as much as possible. The more this becomes a habit, the more natural it
will become. Do not worry about errors; your effort will result in increased confidence, a prime ingredient in
using language. The more you force yourself to use the language, the more self-reliant you are and the prouder
you will feel. Pretend that the speaker does not speak English , and you must communicate.
5. Remember that each language is a unique system. You must adapt to that system. Try not to filter German
through English unless you see a similarity that helps you.
6. Remember that 25% of your daily grade is based on your speaking skills.
Homework rules and procedures
1. Arrive in class with work completed. Do not do your homework in class or start doing your homework just
before class starts!
2. Head your paper with your name, section (8am or 11am), and assignment (page and exercise numbers).
3. Write out everything in an assignment. For example, the whole paragraph or sentence in a fill-in-the-blank
exercise should be written in full.
4. We go over homework each class, and you are responsible for properly grading your own paper. Bring a red
pen to mark errors and/or make corrections.
6. You should keep a German folder into which you put your returned homework assignments, quizzes, and test
study sheets. You can refer to these at test times, and you have a record of your work in case there is some
discrepancy between a grade I have for you and what you have as the actual grade.
German at Midwestern:
1. There is a German Club open to anybody interested in germanophone culture.
2. There are possibilities for studying German in another country over the summer. See me.