The first course in German introduces students to the fundamentals of the German language. From the very beginning, emphasis is placed upon the four areas of communications: speaking, reading, writing, and listening. During the second semester, students are introduced to more extensive reading and writing activities with the introduction of literary texts, simplified for beginners.
The first course in German uses the Amsco text, German Is Fun. The course integrates cultural, grammatical, and literary aspects of the German language together with "tours" stressing the heritage and enduring presence of German in the Washington area. These tours have included trips to German bakeries, German grocery stores and cafes, along with sites of historic and cultural interest such as the Goethe Institute and Schaffhausen settler’s house in Frederick, Maryland.
Content and Skill Objectives
At the conclusion of the German 1 course, the student should be able to communicate in German at a basic level. The student will have been introduced to past tenses of the language as well as the present and future; the student will have an understanding of the elemental grammar structure of German and will be able to convey basic information, such as name, address, certain wishes and needs, as well as responding to commands and questions. The student will be poised to move to level 2 in German, which builds on these aspects of German 1.
Materials
Basic text for German 1 is German Is Fun (Amsco). Because it is a college text, we move more slowly through the chapters, covering only the first six chapters in German 1. Supplementary texts, such as the Graded German Reader (First Book), are added as the year progresses. In addition to this, Internet exercises call up the resources of the Internet for the German language (second most present language on the World Wide Web) as an added resource for classroom work. Zorach’s English Grammar for Students of German (Olivia and Hill) is a good background for weak grammar students; the book is recommended, although not used in class.
Methods of Evaluation
Chapter tests form the main criterion for grading student performance. There are weekly quizzes focusing on points of grammar, cultural topics, and vocabulary. Homework exercises are graded cumulatively, that is, work done is taken as a percentage of work assigned, and that is taken as the "homework percentage," rather than as a measurement of the quality of assigned exercises. This percentage is then integrated into the subjective element of the grading process. In general, tests are counted as twice the weight of quizzes, so that the objective grade is calculated as the sum of two test averages and one quiz average divided by three.
German 2 is a continuation of an introduction to German through basic German grammar.
The course continues to emphasize the fundamentals of German grammar. The first semester stresses the elements of grammar and the skills of reading and writing in preparation of the second semester’s concentration on a work of (simplified) German literature, Erich Kästner’s Emil und die Detektive.
As indicated above, German 2 focuses on the elements of written and spoken language in order to prepare the student for the more intense second semester examination of a literary work and subjects related to it (e.g., a study of Berlin). The grammar text, carried over from German 1, is finished in the first semester; the second semester stresses the use of our reading text as source for grammar, cultural, and historical topics.
Content and Skill Objectives
The main objective of German 2 is to deepen the student’s understanding of the basic structure of German. More complicated aspects are introduced, although the level of instruction remains targeted toward the mastery of more elemental German. Again, the four areas of communication form a central focus. At the end of this course, the student will be able to communicate in German on a basic level; the student will be poised for a more in-depth study of the language (passive voice, subjunctive mood, etc.) coming in German 3. The student will have been introduced to German culture, history, and literature through those areas of Deutsch heute as well as the classroom use of Berlin as a focal point for German culture, history, and literature, as presented in Kästner’s Emil unddie Detektive.
Materials
German Is Fun (Amsco), second volume, is the main grammar text for this class. As a second semester text, Erich Kästner’s Emil und die Detektive (the simplified version published in the series by EMC/ Paradigm) serves the class for the entire second half of the year. Additional texts for the private use of the student are Zorach’s EnglishGrammar for Students of German (Olivia and Hill Press), as well as Langenscheidt’s German/English–English/German dictionary (Pocket Books).
Methods of Evaluation
The methods of evaluation are consistent throughout this program. Tests and quizzes take on a two-to-one ratio in grading; they occur frequently and form the main objective grade. Homework is evaluated on a "percentage done" basis (see German 1) and assumes a more subjective grading role.
German 3 continues to build on the work of the previous two years. The course stresses written and spoken communication. Films also serve as an important aspect of the course, as do regular Wednesday tours. By the conclusion of this course, students have an understanding of the basics of the German language (including the passive voice and subjunctive mood). They also have a foundation of understanding for German-language culture (Germany, Austria, and Switzerland). As always, older students are encouraged to extend their understanding of German by participating in the EHS-Theresianum Exchange Program, which takes Episcopal students to Vienna each March.
Content and Skill Objectives
- To give students a full review of the basics of German grammar.
- To give students the opportunity to use those basics in everyday speech.
- To give students a continuing introduction to German-language literature and culture.
- Students will be able to converse using everyday German vocabulary.
- Students will be able to compose short essays in German.
- Students will be able to write objective tests totally in German.
- Students will understand the dynamic relationship between language and culture.
Materials
- Vails and Sparks, German in Review
- Erick Kaestner, Drei Maenner im Schnee
Methods of Evaluation
- Class participation
- Homework frequency
- Test, quizzes, short essays