Revised 06/2013

GER 202 - Intermediate German II (3 CR.)

Course Description

Continues to develop understanding, speaking, reading, and writing skills. German is used in the classroom. Part II of II. Lecture 3 hours per week.

General Course Purpose

This course will enable students to achieve German proficiency in listening, speaking, reading and writing at or above the intermediate-mid level as defined by the ACTFL (American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages) Proficiency Guidelines. In keeping with the National Standards for Foreign Language Education, culture (music, art, gastronomy, social mores, and others) is embedded in this language course. This is reflected in our written and oral assessments.

Course Prerequisites/Corequisites

Prerequisite: GER 201 or equivalent. Students who have not taken GER 201 should have German proficiency at or above the Intermediate-mid level as defined by the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines

Course Objectives

Upon completion of the course, the student should be able to:

  • Listening

    The student will be able to understand sentence-length utterances on a variety of topics including personal interests, leisure activities and cultural events in German-speaking societies. Students will be able to understand a native speaker speaking slowly on the telephone, and short radio and television announcements.

  • Speaking

    The student will be able to initiate, sustain, and close a general conversation with a number of strategies appropriate to a range of circumstances and topics. The student will generally be understood even by native speakers who are not accustomed to conversing with non-native speakers, although some repetition may still be required.

  • Reading

    The student will be able to read consistently with full understanding simple connected texts dealing with basic personal and social needs about which the reader has personal interest and/or knowledge. The student will be able to read brochures, articles from German-language newspapers and magazines, and short examples of literary prose and poetry by German authors.

  • Writing

    The student will be able to meet most practical writing needs. S/he will be able to take notes in some detail on familiar topics and respond in writing to personal questions. S/he will be able to write simple letters, brief synopses and paraphrases, summaries of biographical data, work and school experience. The student’s writing, though faulty, will be generally comprehensible to natives used to the writing of non-natives.

  • Culture

    The ACTFL standards include Culture, Connections, Comparisons and Communities as part of foreign language instruction and assessment. Within these areas, students will be able to:

    • Demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between the practices and perspectives of the culture studied
    • Demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between the products and perspectives of the culture studied
    • Acquire information and recognize the distinctive viewpoints that are only available through the foreign language and its cultures
    • Demonstrate understanding of the concept of culture through comparisons of the cultures studied and their own
    • Use the language both within and beyond the school setting
    • Read, discuss and write about topics concerning the German-speaking cultures featured in textbooks and in target language media at the Intermediate level

Major Topics to Be Included

  • Work and leisure in German society
  • Lodging, transportation, and travel in German-speaking areas.
  • Aspects of German and German history
  • Cross-cultural comparisons
  • Art and Music appreciation in German