Introductory German II (Revision 2)

GERM 203 Course website

Revision 2 is closed for registrations, replaced by current version

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Delivery Mode: Individualized study online. Computer access required. Audio/video/CD-ROM component*.
*Overseas students, please contact the University Library before registering in a course that has an audio/visual component.

Credits: 3

Area of Study: Humanities

Prerequisite: GERM 202 or equivalent.

Precluded Course: Students who have successfully completed GERM 201 may not take GERM 203 for credit.

Faculty: Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences

German Home Page

GERM 203 has a Challenge for Credit option.

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Overview

German 203: Introductory German II is a continuation of Athabasca University’s German 202. This course is intended for students who have completed German 202, one semester of university German or the equivalent.

In this course you reinforce and expand the speaking, listening, writing and reading skills you gained in German 202. You read about contemporary Germany, Switzerland and Austria and meet some important German authors.

Outline

Lesson 1: Homes, city life, public transportation and architecture

  • two-way prepositions
  • imperatives
  • wissen/kennen

Lesson 2: Hotels, banking, official time telling

  • der- and ein-words
  • separable-prefix verbs
  • flavoring particles

Lesson 3: Postal service, telephones and travel

  • genitive case
  • time expressions
  • sentence structure

Lesson 4: Hobbies, leisure activities, physical fitness

  • adjective endings
  • reflexive verbs
  • infinitives

Lesson 5: Entertainment

  • verbs with prepositional objects
  • da- and wo- compounds
  • endings of unpreceded adjectives

Lesson 6: Relationships

  • simple past
  • conjunctions als, wann, wenn
  • past perfect

Lesson 7: Professions, education, employment

  • comparison of adjectives and adverbs
  • future tense
  • predicate nouns
  • adjectival nouns

General Course Objectives

German 203: Introductory German II presents students with the necessary skills to acquire a basic knowledge of the language and to communicate in German. The textbook, Wie geht's, along with the CD program, workbook / lab manual, and video component, are designed to achieve the following course objectives:

  • Writing: Students will learn how to express themselves in German in simple sentences.
  • Reading: After studying the Wie geht's? texts and learning the necessary vocabulary, students will understand texts at a similar level of difficulty.
  • Speaking: Students will communicate in German with German speakers using simple sentences modelled on dialogues and lab exercises.
  • Aural Comprehension: Students will understand the German of everyday situations spoken at moderate speed. The lab program and pronunciation sections of the lab manual will enhance students' listening skills.

Evaluation

The final grade in GERM 203 will be based on the grades students achieve on the assignments and the oral and written exams. To receive credit for the course you must achieve an overall course grade of “D” (50 percent) or better and must achieve a minimum grade of 50 percent on the written examination. All assignments are required in order to pass the course. The following indicates the assignments for credit and their weighting toward the final grade.

8 Written Assignments 4 Oral Assignments One Oral Exam One Written Exam Total
20% 10% 20% 50% 100%

To learn more about assignments and examinations, please refer to Athabasca University's online Calendar.

Course Materials

Textbooks and Electronic Materials

Sevin, Dieter and Ingrid Sevin. Wie geht's? An Introductory German Course. 8th ed. Boston: Thomson Heinle, 2007.

Wie geht's? Student Listening CD to accompany the “Hören Sie zu!” sections. (This CD is in the textbook.)

Wie geht's? Arbeitsbuch. Workbook/Lab Manual.

Wie geht's? Lab Audio CDs.

Wie geht's? DVD.

Wie geht's? Audioscript and Answer Key.

Optional: Horizon Wimba, an asynchronous voice discussion board and voice email program.

Other materials

Thomson Heinle provides a Wie geht's? website. The AU course guide and student manual are available on Moodle, the AU learning management system.

Challenge for Credit Course Overview

The Challenge for Credit process allows students to demonstrate that they have acquired a command of the general subject matter, knowledge, intellectual and/or other skills that would normally be found in a university level course.

Full information for the Challenge for Credit can be found in the Undergraduate Calendar.

Challenge Evaluation

To receive credit for the GERM 203 challenge registration, you must achieve a grade of at least “D” (50 percent) on each part of the examination.

Oral Conversation Exam Total
30% 70% 100%

Undergraduate Challenge for Credit Course Registration Form

Athabasca University reserves the right to amend course outlines occasionally and without notice. Courses offered by other delivery methods may vary from their individualized-study counterparts.

Opened in Revision 2, June 30, 2009.

View previous syllabus