Syllabus: How the course works, ATs, Guidelines, Expectations, Assessment, and Extras

Willkommen! So lernen wir Deutsch an Davidson.

We work in German as much as possible, but some basics here in English. Our main textbook also uses English for guidelines and explanations. If something is in German, we mean for you to try to understand it.

wann und wo

In diesem Kurs treffen wir uns 5 Mal in einer Woche! So ist das:

Montags mit Prof. Denham
Einführung in die Woche, Fokus auf Wortschatz

Dienstags in AT mit Abby und Tiffany (Übungsstunde in Kleingruppen) — um 17.00 Uhr oder um 21 Uhr; ATs begin second week
Übung, Wiederholung, Zusammenarbeit mit euren Gruppen in der AT-Stunde

Mittwochs mit Prof. Denham
intensive Arbeit mit Wortschatz im Kontext

Donnerstags in AT mit Abby oder Tiffany
Lerngruppen in AT-Gruppen

Freitags mit Prof. Denham
Vorzeigen, vorspielen—euer Lernen der Gruppe zeigen auch durch die Freitagsprüfung. Es gibt jede Woche Freitag eine Prüfung.

Weekly Structure:

Montags – Einführung in die Woche, Fokus auf Wortschatz und Grammatik
Dienstags – AT Strukturen und Wortschatz üben
Mittwochs – intensive Arbeit mit Wortschatz und Grammatik im kulturellen Kontext
Donnerstags – AT Strukturen und Wortschatz üben
Freitags – Sprachproduktion; zeigen, was du gelernt hast

In addition to these five weekly meetings, you will also attend:

Treffpunkt Deutsch at least 7 meetings per semester; ideally go to one every week

Treffpunkt Deutsch: Fall 2024

• Prof. Denham: Tuesdays 12:30-2:00 p.m. (Outpost)
• Alina-Sophie Gruber: Wednesdays 12:00-1:00 p.m. (Vail Commons)
• Prof. McCarthy: Wednesdays 3:00-4:00 p.m. (Outpost)
• Prof. Henke: Thursdays 2:30-3:30 p.m. with Prof. Henke by appointment (Outpost)

details / dies und das

Expectations

This class meets five times a week, three times with your professor, twice with your AT. Attendance at all five meetings is mandatory, participation essential. Should you anticipate being absent, please let us (instructor and your AT) know ahead of time. (No need to say why you are absent. We trust you that it’s necessary.) Virtual attendance is not possible. If you are absent you are not learning to communicate in German.
You must visit our course website (https://introgerman.dcreate.domains/) daily. All assignments (with links), deadlines, and other resources for the class will be posted on the Stundenplan page. We are not using Moodle for this course, nor for 102.
All work submitted for credit for this course is pledged. You record your homework on the various tabs on this sheet called Berichte (reports):
- When you finish all the exercises in each of the Lektionen, check off (by noting the date) your work by your name on the Lektionen tab. You will normally do that work and check off your work on Sundays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays.
- When you finish the Quizlets vocabulary exercises correctly, check the box by your name in the Wortschatz (Quizlets) tab on the Berichte sheet. That will happen more or less constantly all semester! Soooo many quizlets!
You must attend Treffpunkt Deutsch at least seven times over the course of the semester. You may attend any sessions you’d like! When you attend mark the date and the session on the Treffpunkt Deutsch tab of our Berichte sheet.
Various campus programming is related to German studies: arts, political science, literature, translation studies, environment things, democracy and deliberation… so much is connected. Try to attend a half dozen events this semester and mark those under the Programme tab in the Berichte sheet. You’re the judge about what counts as related to learning German and German studies.
Always be on time. German punctuality is really a thing; sometimes phrased as “Fünf Minuten vor der Zeit ist des Kaisers Pünktlichkeit“; Austrians may disagree.
You’ll be making amazing progress. Enjoy it!

See what your professors expect from you regarding the honor code, AI, and academic integrity here. When in doubt, you can refresh your memory about the Davidson College Honor Code here.

Lernziele

The learning outcomes for this course are defined by the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages for the basic user (A1 level). By the end of the course, you will be able to understand and use familiar everyday expressions and very basic phrases aimed at the satisfaction of needs of a concrete type. You will be able to introduce yourself and others and can ask and answer questions about personal details such as where you live, people you know and things you have. You will be able to interact in a simple way provided the other person talks slowly and clearly and is prepared to help.

Reception—		Interaction—		Production—
Listening	Reading	Spoken Interaction	Written Interaction	Spoken Production	Written Production

I can recognize familiar words and very basic phrases concerning myself, my family and immediate concrete surroundings when people speak slowly and clearly.	I can understand familiar names, words and very simple sentences, for example on notices and posters or in catalogues.	I can interact in a simple way provided the other person is prepared to repeat or rephrase things at a slower rate of speech and help me formulate what I’m trying to say. I can ask and answer simple questions in areas of immediate need or on very familiar topics.	I can write a short, simple postcard, for example sending holiday greetings. I can fill in forms with personal details, for example entering my name, nationality and address on a hotel registration form.	I can use simple phrases and sentences to describe where I live and people I know.	I can write simple isolated phrases and sentences.

Assessment and grading

At the end of the semester you will complete the full can-do assessment sheet.

We practice liberatory pedagogy in our course, which has as a key aspect self-grading or ungrading. Read about that here. Detailed instructions about your responsibilities for ungrading will show up in the Stundenplan as we go along. At the end of the semester, we will meet and you will assign your grade.

College Disability Statement

The college welcomes requests for accommodations related to disability and will grant those that are determined to be reasonable and maintain the integrity of a program or curriculum. To make such a request or to begin a conversation about a possible request, please contact the Office of Academic Access and Disability Resources by emailing AADR@davidson.edu. It is best to submit accommodation requests within the drop/add period; however, requests can be made at any time in the semester. Please keep in mind that accommodations are not retroactive.

Religious Observances

Have a look at the Stundenplan. If any of the assignments conflict with a major religious holiday for your faith let us know. We will accommodate your needs.

Names and Gender Pronouns

Class rosters are provided to the me with the your preferred name. Let everyone know which gender pronouns you prefer in English. In German, a highly grammatically gendered language, pronouns are more fixed and less fluid than in English. So in German, everyone will have either feminine class (grammatical “gender”) or masculine class pronouns. Contemporary German uses both formal (Sie) and informal (du, ihr) pronouns for second-person “you.” Grammatical gender (class) in German often maps on to social gender. We will teach you about how this works. We even have a full unit on this in December. You can always address your teachers with the formal “Sie” (you) pronoun, though in German formal and informal address is highly context-dependent and in flux. Address me as “Scott,” (du) or “Dr. Denham” (Sie) or “Professor Denham” (Sie) — all are great. I will generally address you with the informal pronoun “du” to signify that we are all on the same team and are working as comrades toward a common goal. (I will teach you about the social history of this grammar move if you’d like.)