Sharon DiFino
Professor
365 Dauer Hall
Telephone: 392-2101x221
difino@ufl.edu
Office hours
Tuesdays: 12:00-12:50
Thursdays: 10:00-12:50
T.A. Links:
T.A. Info
Got Questions?
E-mail me or one of the TAs (check their e-mail addresses under "List of T.A.s")
T. A. Tip of the Week!
- In order to get students to participate in the class, each of them has to present one cultural topic. They prepare a five minute presentation in English and talk to their classmates about things that are interesting about Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein... It has worked out fine. The steps to a successful presentation:
- Tell the students about the idea. Landeskunde is an important part of the Beginning German section
- Provide a sign-in sheet. Have the students come up with a topic on their own. Some ideas are Fasching, Oktoberfest, Die deutsche Bundesregierung, Reisen in Deutschland.... Do not forget to set a presentation date.
- Remind the student of the presentation. Ask him/ her about any additional things like CD-player, VCR, slide projector they might need. Reserve in advance!
- After the presentation, talk about it. Tell the students about your own experience, give them some vocabulary like "Kellnerin, no a Maß!" or something similar. Students like to hear slang expressions they can use while traveling.
submitted by Sebastian Heiduschke
- Are you having trouble getting students to speak in class? Perform dialogues? Here is what one of our teaching assistants is doing to remedy the situation.
For each time his students in beginning German have to act out dialogues from each of the chapters, the teaching assistant also creates and performs his own dialogue. Before he performs his dialogue he hands out a copy of it to his students, highlights specific grammar points and explains idiomatic statements in the dialogue. Because the teaching assistant’s dialogue is ongoing, he perpetuates the theme of his dialogue in episodes. At the end of the semester he will have a total of four episodes. Since the teaching assistant is requiring his students to video their dialogues as part of their final exam, he, too, will video his dialogue. The value of this exercise is twofold. The teaching assistant practices what he preaches as he serves as a model for his students. Most importantly, the teaching assistant is helping his students overcome their speaking inhibitions in class.
Archives
Check out our archive of tips HERE!
