Course Information Course Number/Section Course Title Term Days and Times Instructor Contact Information Instructor Email Address Home Phone Office Location Office Hours
Course Prerequisites, Corequisites, and/or Other Restrictions None. Course Description The course develops and strengthens the students understanding, speaking, reading and writing in German. It is designed to build a firm foundation in the language by focusing on grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation and speech patterns. Repetition and creativity are essential in language study, and this course is planned and organized to supply both. Students will encounter and work on mastering beginning communication skills in German and acquire an understanding of, and respect for, cultural differences. Acquiring a foreign language is learning a new skill, and this requires practice to become proficient. The emphasis will be on classroom interaction, so students are urged to attend class at all times, to be on time, and to be prepared. Required Textbooks and Materials Sevin & Sevin, WIE GEHTS 8th edition, which includes an Audio-CD Sevin & Sevin, ARBEITSBUCH WIE GEHTS, a lab manual/workbook Suggested Course Material Sevin & Sevin, Lab CDs (also available in the bookstores) For additional exercises and activities, see also www.wiegehts.heinle.com A German Dictionary
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Assignments & Academic Calendar WG=WIE GEHTS AB=ARBEITSBUCH Date W August 24 Class Topic Introduction Schritte (Steps) 1: pp. 2-7 Schritte 2-3: pp. 7-15 WG: Wortschatz (pp. 5, 8-9, 11-12) AB: Zum Schreiben (pp. 2, 3, 5) WG: Wortschatz (pp. 16-17, 20-21) WG: Do (p. 18): bung D (only odd numbers, answer in complete sentences) AB: Zum Schreiben (pp. 6, 8) Hrverstndnis p. 24 Assignment
M August 29
W August 31
M September 5 W September 7
Labor Day! No class! Rckblick (Review): Schritte 1-5 Vocab. Quiz (Schritte 1-5) Expert Group 1 (Schritte 1-5 Wortschatz) AB: Read (pp: 11-12) AB: Rckblick (pp. 13-14): bung A-C (answer on your own, then go to answer key in the back of the AB, check your answers and correct if necessary) WG: Wortschatz 1 (pp. 29) WG: Read Dialoge (p. 28): bung A WG: Do (p. 32): bung D Hrverstndnis! p. 32 WG: Read/do (pp. 33-35): bung B, D WG: Read/do (pp. 36-40): bung E, F.1, H AB: Zum Schreiben (p. 21): bung C WG: Wortschatz 2 (p. 43) WG: Read/do (p. 40-41): bung J WG: Read Text (p. 44): bung A, D AB: Aufsatz (p. 24): bung G
M September 12
Kapitel 1: pp. 26-32 Vocab. Quiz (Kapitel 1: Wortschatz 1) Expert Group 2 (Kapitel 1 Wortschatz 1) Kapitel 1: pp. 33-35 Expert Group 8 (1.1) Kapitel 1: pp. 36-40 Expert Group 7 (1.2, 1.3)
W September 14
M September 19
W September 21
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M September 26
Kapitel 2: pp. 48-55 Vocab. Quiz (Kapitel 2 Wortschatz 1) Expert Group 3 (Kapitel 2 Wortschatz 1) Kapitel 2: pp. 56-61 Expert Group 6 (2.1, 2.2) Kapitel 2: pp. 61-66 Expert Group 5 (2.3)
WG: Wortschatz 1 (pp. 51-52) WG: Do (pp. 52-53): bung B, C, E AB: Kreuzwortrtsel (p. 30): bung C WG: Read/do (pp. 56-61): bung A-E WG: Read/do (pp. 63-65): bung J, O AB: Einkaufsbummel (p. 31): bung D WG: Dialog (pp. 69-70): bung A-B Hrverstndnis! p. 71 WG: Wortschatz 2 (p. 67)
W September 28
M October 3
W October 5
Kapitel 2: 67-71 Vocab. Quiz (Kapitel 2 Wortschatz 2) Expert Group 4 (Kapitel 2 Wortschatz 2) Midterm Review: Schritte 1-5, Kapitel 1-2 MIDTERM (Schritte 1-5, Kapitel 1-2) Kapitel 3: pp. 72-79 Vocab. Quiz (Kapitel 3 Wortschatz 1) Expert Group 5 (Kapitel 3 Wortschatz 1) Kapitel 3: pp. 80-82 Expert Group 4 (3.1) Kapitel 3: pp. 82-90
M October 10
W October 12
M October 17
WG: Wortschatz 1 (p. 75) WG: Do (p. 76): bung B-C AB: Was ist was? (p. 40): bung C WG: Dialoge (p. 74): bung A
W October 19
M October 24
WG: Read/do (pp. 82-90): bung E-G, J.1, L.1, M, O WG: Wortschatz 2 (p. 91) WG: Text (93-94): bung A-B Hrverstndnis! p. 97 WG: Aufsatz (p. 97): bung I
W October 26
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M October 31
AB: Read (pp. 43-45) AB: Rckblick (pp. 46-51): bung A, F-I (answer on your own, then go to the back of the AB and check your answers, correct if necessary) WG: Wortschatz 1 (pp. 101-102) WG: Dialoge (p. 100): bung A AB: Kreuzwortrtsel (p. 59): bung F
W November 2
Kapitel 4: pp. 98-107 Vocab. Quiz (Kapitel 4 Wortschatz 1) Expert Group 6 (Kapitel 4 Wortschatz 1) Kapitel 4: pp. 108-113 Expert Group 3 (4.1, 4.2) Kapitel 4: pp. 114-118
M November 7
WG: Read/do (pp. 108-113): bung A-D, F, H WG: Read/do (pp. 114-118): bung I-K
W November 9
M November 14 W November 16
Guest Lecture Kapitel 4: pp. 119-125 Vocab. Quiz (Kapitel 4 Wortschatz 2) Expert Group 7 (Kapitel 4 Wortschatz 2) Kapitel 5: pp. 126-132 Vocab. Quiz (Kapitel 5 Wortschatz 1) Expert Group 8 (Kapitel 5 Wortschatz 1) Kapitel 5: pp. 133-136 Expert Group 2 (5.1) Kapitel 5: pp. 136-143 Expert Group 1 (5.2) WG: Wortschatz 2 (p. 119) WG: Text (pp. 121-123): bung A-B Hrverstndnis! p. 125 WG: Aufsatz (p. 117): bung N WG: Wortschatz 1 (pp. 129-130) WG: Do (pp. 130-131): bung B-C AB: Do (pp. 66-69): bung A, D
M November 21
W November 23
WG: Read/do (pp. 133-136): bung A-E WG: Read/do (pp. 136-143): bung H-I, N AB: Do (p. 67): bung B WG: Wortschatz 2 (p. 144) WG: Text (pp. 145-147): bung A-C
M November 28
W November 30
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M December 5
Review: Schritte 1-5, Kapitel 1-5 Final Exam Review and course wrap-up FINAL EXAM at 5:00 pm!
W December 14
Course Policies Attendance and Participation This course is NOT a conference or correspondence course. Attendance in class is REQUIRED, not optional. The material covered in this course is cumulative, so it is important that you do not miss out on what we cover in class. Repeated unexcused absences and tardiness will affect your grade significantly. Being repeatedly late or leaving class before the end of the period will also lower your grade. You are expected to consult with me whenever an absence is necessary, or for unexpected absences, you are required to contact me immediately. Attending class is important. When you do not attend, you miss the class discussion and activities. Every absence will put you in a catch-up situation, and that will affect your performance in class, your achievements on tests, and ultimately your overall grade. Therefore, attend class regularly and be on time! You will need to sign in when you come to class. Besides being in class you are required to actively participate. Class participation is an essential foundation for learning a language. Not participating or only passively attending class will lower your participation grade. Consistent and constructive participation is expected from all students. Homework The homework may be a written and/or an oral preparation and will include reading assigned pages and sections, writing, listening comprehension, memorization of lists and paradigms, drills and so forth. Assignments are due at the beginning of class on the assigned day and are to be put on the instructors desk when you walk in. Sometimes written assignments will be graded by your instructor; on other occasions the material assigned will be discussed and corrected in class. You may be tested on the homework material (oral and written) in the form of quizzes. Your written homework must be neat and legible. Please use double space so that comments or corrections can be more easily inserted. Please do not use red pen or pencil. Your homework will be evaluated on the basis of: 1) the percentage of work completed at that time, and 2) whether the work has been done correctly. Note: Homework will not be accepted after the beginning of the class and must be turned in by the student him/herself.
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Quizzes Quizzes will be given on either vocabulary or structure (grammar). It is therefore imperative that you keep up with your studies on a daily basis. Vocabulary quizzes are listed on your syllabus. Grammar quizzes will not be announced beforehand. Note: There will be NO make-up quizzes unless cleared in advance.
Tests There will be one midterm and one final exam for this course. They will mainly test vocabulary and grammar. The exams may include: 1) listening comprehension, 2) reading, 3) writing, and 4) grammar. Exams will reflect everything covered in class and assigned as homework. There will be NO make-up tests unless cleared with your class instructor. The FINAL EXAM will be comprehensive, and taking the Final Exam is mandatory to receive a passing grade. The final exam for this class will be given on Wednesday, December, 14th at 5:00 pm. Expert Groups To make learning and reviewing grammar and vocabulary fun and to get a break from listening to your instructor, groups of 3-4 students will be designated to act as experts on a specific grammar point or the vocabulary assigned for a particular day. The idea is that each team of experts should prepare a short creative activity (game, skit, competition, drill, etc.) which invites participation by the class and practices the grammar or vocabulary assigned for that day. In the case of grammar, please do not give a lecture on grammar. You may review the assigned reading very briefly but practicing grammar in a fun and creative way is the purpose of this team effort. I will always review the grammar for that day and answer any questions students might have. Vocabulary should also be practiced with the whole class in a creative way using drills, props, games, or media. You will have about 15 minutes of class time. Every student on the team in charge should help prepare and participate. The experts will be graded on preparation, creativity, usefulness and accuracy. A sign-up sheet will be passed around on the second day of class. Extra Credit There will be extra credit opportunities throughout the semester. For example, by attending the German Clubs Filmnacht or Stammtisch, and other events TBA, I will add 1% to your overall grade for each attendance.
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Grading Attendance and participation: Homework: Quizzes: Midterm: Final Exam: Expert Groups (5% each): 15% 20% 20% 15% 20% 10%
Keep in mind that an average of your written test scores alone is not always a true indicator of the grade you will earn by the end of the course. Homework and attendance play a significant part in your total grade. I will also take into consideration whether your grades have consistently improved or gone down over the span of the semester. If you have questions about your performance during the course or about your final grade, please come see me. I will make changes in objectives, assignments, and due dates for this course if necessary.
Academic Integrity
The faculty expects from its students a high level of responsibility and academic honesty. Because the value of an academic degree depends upon the absolute integrity of the work done by the student for that degree, it is imperative that a student demonstrate a high standard of individual honor in his or her scholastic work. Scholastic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, statements, acts or omissions related to applications for enrollment or the award of a degree, and/or the submission as ones own work or material that is not ones own. As a general rule, scholastic dishonesty involves one of the
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following acts: cheating, plagiarism, collusion and/or falsifying academic records. Students suspected of academic dishonesty are subject to disciplinary proceedings. Plagiarism, especially from the web, from portions of papers for other classes, and from any other source is unacceptable and will be dealt with under the universitys policy on plagiarism (see general catalog for details). This course will use the resources of turnitin.com, which searches the web for possible plagiarism and is over 90% effective.
Email Use
The University of Texas at Dallas recognizes the value and efficiency of communication between faculty/staff and students through electronic mail. At the same time, email raises some issues concerning security and the identity of each individual in an email exchange. The university encourages all official student email correspondence be sent only to a students U.T. Dallas email address and that faculty and staff consider email from students official only if it originates from a UTD student account. This allows the university to maintain a high degree of confidence in the identity of all individual corresponding and the security of the transmitted information. UTD furnishes each student with a free email account that is to be used in all communication with university personnel. The Department of Information Resources at U.T. Dallas provides a method for students to have their U.T. Dallas mail forwarded to other accounts.
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Disability Services
The goal of Disability Services is to provide students with disabilities educational opportunities equal to those of their non-disabled peers. Disability Services is located in room 1.610 in the Student Union. Office hours are Monday and Thursday, 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.; Tuesday and Wednesday, 8:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.; and Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. The contact information for the Office of Disability Services is: The University of Texas at Dallas, SU 22 PO Box 830688 Richardson, Texas 75083-0688 (972) 883-2098 (voice or TTY) Essentially, the law requires that colleges and universities make those reasonable adjustments necessary to eliminate discrimination on the basis of disability. For example, it may be necessary to remove classroom prohibitions against tape recorders or animals (in the case of dog guides) for students who are blind. Occasionally an assignment requirement may be substituted (for example, a research paper versus an oral presentation for a student who is hearing impaired). Classes enrolled students with mobility impairments may have to be rescheduled in accessible facilities. The college or university may need to provide special services such as registration, note-taking, or mobility assistance. It is the students responsibility to notify his or her professors of the need for such an accommodation. Disability Services provides students with letters to present to faculty members to verify that the student has a disability and needs accommodations. Individuals requiring special accommodation should contact the professor after class or during office hours.
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intent of TEC 51.911(b), and the student and instructor will abide by the decision of the chief executive officer or designee.
These descriptions and timelines are subject to change at the discretion of the instructor.
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