M T W Th  10:00-12:00; 314-PGH
Michael Brims
Office: 454 Agnes Arnold Hall
Tel: 713-743-3040
Office Hours: After class and by appointment
Email: michaelbrims@hotmail.com
WWW: http://www.uh.edu/~mcbrims

Texts:

Wells: Handbuch zur deutschen Grammatik, 2nd Ed. (book and Arbeitsheft)
Wells: Mitlesen - Mitteilen
??Frisch: Biedermann und die Brandstifter??
additional handouts, videos, audio materials

A good, inexpensive German-English dictionary (or a more expensive one if you think you will continue with German).  Before you buy any dictionary, make sure it's "user-friendly," i.e., can you easily determine the gender and plural form of nouns, the forms of verbs, etc.  Collins and Langenscheidts are good.

Optional:  Cecile Zorach: English Grammar for Students of German.  If grammatical terms confuse you, you need this book.

Objectives:

Literary texts, films, and audio recordings will serve as the basis for improving and expanding your ability to read and analyze in German.  Discussions of these texts and their related topics are intended to sharpen your speaking skills.  Weekly writing assignments (Aufsätze) will increase your ability to express yourself in more formal German.  Since a working knowledge of fundamental (1st year) German grammar is a prerequisite for this course, grammar work is intended as a review.  If you are not familiar with basic German grammar you must enroll in German 1501 instead.  Please note that although we will move "forward" in grammar and vocabulary, language learning is a constant process of reviewing and relearning.  You will often need to go "back"—on your own initiative—and revisit material covered in previous semesters.

Requirements:

Class attendance and active participation are mandatory, as these are essential for meeting the course objectives.  “Active” participation means preparing all homework assignments well and applying them in class.  It does not mean only speaking when you are sure you have the “right” answer.  Learning a language requires preparation and risk! Irregular attendance or passivity is unfair to the other students and myself since we will learn and work as a group.  While any lateness and unexcused absences will effect your grade, each absence after 3 absences will lower your participation grade by one grade (e.g. from B+ to B).  Late assignments are normally not accepted nor are make-up tests given, though these will not count against your grade for excused absences.  Please contact me whenever something may interfere with your ability to participate, preferably in advance.  I will do my best to help you solve these problems.

Writing: Essays are due every week. The first version of every essay is due on Wednesdays, the corrected version is due the following Monday. Essays are graded the following way: You will get a grade for your draft. Depending on how much you corrected on your rewrite the grade for the rewrite can be up to 15% better or worse than the grade for the draft. Only the grade for the rewrite counts. Example: If you get 80 for your draft and don’t hand in a rewrite you’ll end up with 65, if you correct all marked mistakes you’ll end up with 95, if you correct about half of the mistakes you’ll end up with 80. Alles klar? The essays should be typed and double-spaced.

Reading: Thorough and careful reading of all assignments is necessary for meaningful discussion. You are required to maintain a reading journal (a separate notebook used only for this purpose). Each time you read, see a video, or hear a tape, write new and useful vocabulary and expressions as well as questions and comments on the texts in your journal.  This way you will expand your vocabulary and be prepared to discuss the material.  Although they will not be graded for grammar, I will collect and check them every Tuesday. Bring the journal to every class.

Grammar and vocabulary: While we will do grammar exercises and quizzes in class, you are primarily responsible for your own grammar review.  There is an answer key to the workbook exercises and you are required to complete and correct your own work and review as necessary.  If grammar remains unclear after significant effort on your own, please do tell me so that we can review further in class.  Grammar will be checked in short, weekly quizzes (usually on Tuesdays), and in a final exam.  These will be based upon exercises in the book and in class and on assignments in the self-correctable Arbeitsheft.  Vocabulary will be drawn primarily from the Wortschatz sections of your grammar.

Final Presentation: During the last two weeks of the term, students (alone or in groups) will prepare a discussion on a topic of your choice.  The topics must be cross-cultural, however, that means you must clearly show how the topic is relevant to both German culture and to your (our) culture.  You will be required to consult a minimum of 5 sources, of which at least 2 must be in German.  An "A" presentation will be lively and clear, intellectually stimulating, spoken rather than read, and incorporate visual/audio aides, role-playing, explain difficult vocabulary (preferably in German), etc.  Furthermore, a 1-2 page written summary of your presentation and a bibliography are required.

Final Exam: A grammar-oriented final will be held on Thursday, July 5, 8:00 – 11:00 am

Internet:

You will find it helpful to check the Web regularly.  I will try to post homework assignments and class announcements on my homepage (www.uh.edu/~mcbrims).  I have cataloged several German-related links and other information sources that will increase your access to authentic German materials and help you prepare your final presentation.  Please also let me know if you find any other sources of possible interest to the class.  If you have any problems using the Internet tell me immediately.  UH Computing also offers help and training in using the Web.  Contact them in 110 Social Work.

Evaluation:

Your performance will be evaluated according to the following scheme:

Class Participation       30 %
Essays         20 %
Reading Journal       10 %
Quizzes        20 %
Final Presentations (last week of class)    10 %
Final (July 5)        10 %

 Korrektursymbole

Carefully compare these symbols with the comments on your paper and try your best to understand and correct the error.  Consult your grammar and/or dictionary.

Agr = subject and verb don't agree (wrong conjugation for that subject)
Art = insert (or remove) definate (def.) or indefinate (ind.) article. (der, etc.; ein-, etc.)
Awk = awkward formulation
C  = wrong case (due to use in sentence or determined by preposition or verb)
Conj = wrong use of a conjunction
Cs = use a form of the conditional subjunctive (subjunctive II)
End = wrong adjective or noun ending
Engl = you've simply translated from English to German where German uses a different
formulation.  Consult your dictionary.
Gen = wrong gender and therefore wrong definite or indefinite article
Ids = use the indirect discourse subjunctive (subjunctive I)
Inf = use verb in infinitive form or an infinitive construction (e.g. um ... zu, etc.)
Neg = wrong form of negation (e.g. using "nicht ein" instead of "kein" or wrong
position of negation)
Pl = wrong plural form or a request to use the plural instead of the singular form
P = wrong or missing punctuation mark
Prep = wrong preposition
Pron = wrong pronoun
Refl = you need a reflexive pronoun
Rel = use a relative clause (e.g. "Das ist der Mann, den ich kenne.")
Sng = use the singular form of a noun
Sp = spelling error
T = wrong/incorrect tense
V = wrong/inappropriate verb
Vf = wrong verb form, e.g., wrong mood or confusion of "weak" and "strong" verbs
Voc = wrong vocabulary choice (see your dictionary)
Wo = wrong word order (marked under verb, but you may have to change more than
  the verb position)
/ = if a letter has a / (slash) through it, change it from upper to lower case
= = a double line under a letter means change from lower to upper case
V = marks the place where a missing item should be inserted
[...] = brackets mark a larger segment that needs to be changed
 

This syllabus is intended as an outline.  Specific assignments and changes will be announced in class and posted on the course homepage.

Key:
Grammar chapters (Handbuch) given in parentheses
MM = Mitlesen-Mitteilen (reader)
BB = Biedermann und die Brandstifter (play)
Videos and audio tapes will be on reserve in the language lab unless otherwise noted

Day/Date/Lesson#    Gram. Chapter/Gram. Quiz     Text                                     Read J. Essay

T 5/29 1/2              (1) Word Order                                MM: 66 Fragen                                  E1 draft
W 5/30 3/4            (2) Present Tense                              MM: Familie in Kuerze
TH 5/31 5/6           (3) Present Perfect

M 6/4 7/8               Review                                                                                                        E1 rewr.
T 6/5 9/10              QUIZ  Q1: Ch.1/2/3                                                               collect
W 6/6 11/12           (7) Simple Past                              MM: Imitation  E2 draft
TH 6/7 2/13            (5) Articles + Pron.

M 6/11 14/15         (6) Neg. + Poss. + Rev                                                                               E2 rewr.
T 6/12 16/17         QUIZ  Q2: Ch. 5/6/7                                                              collect
W 6/13 18/19        (4) Cases + Declensions               MM: Rotkaepchen                                  E3 draft
Th 6/14 20/21        (8) Future

M 6/18 22/23        (9) Modal Verbs + Rev                                                                               E3 rewr.
T 6/19 24/25         QUIZ  Q3: Ch. 4/8/9                                                              collect
W 6/20 26/27       (10) Prepositions                           MM: Ali Stern                                        E4 draft
Th 6/21 28/29       (11) Conjunctions

M 6/25 30/31       (12) Nouns + Rev     E4 rewr.
T 6/26 32/33        QUIZ  Q4: Ch. 10/11/12                                                         collect
W 6/27 34/35      (13) Adjectives                           ?Biedermann?                                          E 5 draft
Th 6/28 36/37      (14) Comparatives + Rev

M 7/2 38/39         QUIZ  Q5: Ch. 13/14                                                              collect       E5 rewr
T 7/3 40/41         REVIEW FOR FINAL EXAM

 Final Exam
 5. Juli: 8:00 – 11:00 Uhr  Schöne Ferien!