Fall 2011 Syllabus - Saddleback College

Saddleback College GERMAN 2, Fall 2011
GERMAN 1 (#19235) T Th 4:30 -6:45 in room Vill. 31-2)
and Germ 999A online(# 21860)
INSTRUCTOR: Douglas Smith
TELEPHONE: (949)582-4900 ext. 3091
E-MAIL:dsmith114@saddleback.edu, derdouglas1@gmail.com
Office hours: By appointment only
TEXTBOOKS: DEUTSCH—NA KLAR! (Donato, et al., McGraw-Hill, 5th ed.) with ONLINE
QUIAWORKBOOK and LABORATORY MANUAL. In addition to those books I recommend English
Grammar for Students of German (Zorach, Cecile and Charlotte Melin., Olivia and Hill Press, 2001) And a
good German-English dictionary
Welcome to German 2, This course focuses on the four major skills of language learning—listening
comprehension, speaking, reading and writing—and the grammar and vocabulary necessary to acquire these
skills. Included is an introduction to customs, culture, and civilization of German-speaking countries. This
course is conducted primarily in German.
It is my personal goal to provide a non-threatening learning environment that makes learning German fun,
exciting and rewarding. It is my hope that students will be actively engaged and encouraged to express one self
without inhibition.
By the end of the semester, you will be able to talk about yourself and your preferences, needs, abilities, and
interests simply in present, past and future tenses. You will know how to greet others, introduce and describe
yourself, handle basic social situations, talk about past activities, use the phone, and make suggestions and
inquiries.
Important Information:
To withdraw: If you decide to withdraw from this course, you must make that decision by the drop date, which
is September 23rd, 2011, in order to drop without receiving a “W” on your transcript. The last day to drop a
class with a “W” is November 3rd , 2011. It is the students’ responsibility to officially drop classes they stop
attending. Failure to withdraw in this instance will result in an “F” grade.
Grade Distribution: Participation(20 %), Homework(20%), Exams(20%), Quizzes(10%),
Final Exam(20%), Oral Exam (10%) Presentation (5%)
Participation: Since attaining communicative competence is the primary goal of this course, you must be
willing and prepared to express and share ideas and to cooperate in any group activities. Therefore, it is
essential that you attend every class. Please be punctual. Tardiness is disruptive and disrespectful both to your
classmates and to the instructor. Participation means actively and cooperatively involved in the classroom
session. Your attendance grade will be calculated on a strict percentage basis. It is expected that you be in class
every day. However, if you do not miss more than 2(two) times, your participation grade will not be affected.
Participation is graded on a hundred- point system. Per class session you will be given a number grade between
0 and 100 points, based on your participation. If you are absent your participation grade for that given day will
be “0”. If you are Tardy your participation grade will be lowered by at least 20 points. Absence or tardiness is
not an acceptable excuse for missing quizzes, tests, or assignment deadlines. The use Cell Phones during
class time will not be tolerated. If your cell phone goes off during the class, your participation grade for that
day will be lowered.

Homework: Assignments are intended to complement and reinforce the work done in class. Completing the
exercises and readings before coming to class is essential to the learning process. All assignments must be
completed and turned in by the assigned deadline. No late written work will be accepted unless it is covered
by an excused absence. All assignments from the text book must be corrected with a different colored pen
using the answer key provided by me. Whether or not the answers are correct or not will not affect the grade.
However, if the corrections are not made or the answers are just copied from the back of the book, you may not
receive credit. Please turn in a printout of a status summary of the Lab manual and the Workbook
together at the time of the exam or as otherwise stated on the syllabus.
Lab Requirement: Listening Comprehension activities assigned from the Laboratory Manual are to be
completed in the Language Lab or online. Each student must register for the co-requisite lab GER 999A,
#21860. The lab is .25 units and is CR/NC. The 16 lab hours must be completed online using the quia
workbook and laboratory from home or at school in the language lab which is located on the Saddleback
College campus in CC 4. The Quia online software is available in the bookstore. You will need to use the
following class code for Quia: ATFG749
Presentation: Each student will find a German song to present to the class. A copy of the text with a translation
shall be included for all in the class. Included in this presentation should be a few lines about the artist as well
as a personal response to the text itself. This can be in the form of an interpretation or a story of some sort. The
presentation should be about seven to ten minutes long including the playing of the song. The easiest and most
fun way of preparing this presentation is to come with a creative story that is either what happened before the
song was written or an ending..
Blackboard: The handouts and printed activities for this class will be posted on Blackboard. It is the students
responsibility to print out the print outs for each given chapter and bring them to class. Failure to bring the
printouts to class will result in the participation grade for that day to be lowered. It is also the students
responsibility to check Blackboard frequently for any notifications. It will be required that the student gain
access to Blackboard by no later than the end of the first week.
Student Evaluation:
DISTRIBUTION
GRADING SCALE
Participation 20% A 90%--100%
Homework 20% B 80%--89%
Exams 20% C 70%--79%
Quizzes 10% D 60%--69%
Final Exam 20% F below 60%
Presentation 5%
Oral Exam 10%