Christina Overstreet, Ph.D.
255 Dauer Hall
overstre@ufl.edu
Office hours: M 3:15-5:00pm; W 10:00-11:00am and by appointment
Technology Tools
GER 2200 (3400) Discover German III, Spring 2008
Course Description
Instructor: C. Overstreet, Ph.D.
Little Hall 225 Language Classroom
Final Grade
Participation & Homework 20% (includes discussion board)
Quizzes 15%
Unit Tests 35%
Project 15%
Final 15%
Congratulations! You have successfully completed the beginning sequence of German and you decided to continue your studies of the German language and culture. In order to determine your level of proficiency and how to get to the next level, I have provided you with an overview of the "Common European Framework of Reference for Languages" (CEFR) and the "can-do statements" used by the Association of Language Testers in Europe" (ALTE).
We will approach the online course materials for GER 2200 with the "can-do" statements in mind. The objective of this intermediate level course is to provide the data (spoken and written samples), the information about the German language and culture, and opportunity for practice in order to help you use the language for specific “real-life’ tasks.
The following points focus primarily on the organization of the course.
1. Participation and Homework: While all materials are online, this is not a distance
learning course! In fact, interaction and collaboration with your peers is vital to your language learning. Please, come to class every time we meet. More than 3 unexcused
absences will seriously affect your grade. We will meet in the LIT
225 Computer Classrooms. Using the e-learning system this university provides, we have the capacity
to not only listen to dialogs, but also record and send
sound files as attachments (i.e. answers to questions about the
dialogs and other homework). I will show you around the online environment. No one will get lost in cyberspace:)
The internal
discussion board will serve as a springboard for conversation.
I will post questions
concerning your personal life, i.e., how you spent your summer, about the cultural topics of the Discover German dialogs. Try to post your responses before you come to class.
Look on the calendar
for homework assignments. For example, the assignments listed
on January 9 are due that day - not on the following class period. Please,
send in your homework the night before if at all possible. Otherwise I cannot give you feedback
before that class period. Homework assignments must be completed within a set time. It is important to read the grammar pages before
class. We want to spend as much class time as possible using the
German language - both by speaking and doing online exercises. The online
material is designed to empower you to do much of the work on your own
and at your own pace. Grammar pages are written in English and are mostly
self-explanatory. The key is to work consistently
2. Quizzes and roleplay: We will frequently have quizzes on grammar items, vocabulary, and/or cultural topics. Quizzes may be announced or unannounced. Take advantage of review pages. Poor performance on quizzes is usually an indication that you need to spend more time studying grammar and/or vocabulary. Quizzes cannot be made up. In addition, you will learn how to communicate in a variety of situations (see ALTE can-do list!) by writing and performing short skits.
3. There will be a review quiz and 4 chapter tests (11,12, 13, 14): Click on the Course Calendar for more information. Please note that this schedule may change if we need to spend more time with one chapter and less with another. For the first two weeks we will get to know each other, review basic grammar items, and you familiarize yourself (or review as the case may be) with the cultural topics of chapters 1-10 of Discover German. The review quiz will help us determine your level of proficiency and how to build on what you already know and can do with German. Chaptertests will cover the grammar items of each chapter and the dialogs (cultural topics and relevant vocabulary). You can make up a unit test if you miss class due to serious illness or a death in the family.
4. Project: We will spend the last month of the semester developing ideas, writing scripts, and recording video segments for group projects. The goal is to give you an opportunity to creatively use your cultural knowledge, language skills and technical know-how:)
5. There will be a final exam focusing mainly
on grammar.
Viel Spaß!
Dr. Overstreet
