The purpose of this course is to provide students with the skills necessary to use the German language at a third-year level. Included are vocabulary for topics of intelligent everyday discussion, grammatical concepts to be able to use that vocabulary in a meaningful way, and cultural information about numerous aspects of life in (both present and past) in the German-speaking countries.

German III has been carefully designed to meet the standards of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL). These standards call for a method of teaching that focuses on successful communication through speaking, writing, reading, and listening, as well as a thorough grounding in various aspects of culture. Vocabulary tips are included in each unit. Students will review and expand upon skills learned in German I and II, always proceeding from the known to the new. Course strategies include warm-up activities, vocabulary study, reading, threaded discussions, multi-media presentations, self-checks, practice activities and games, oral and written assignments, projects, quizzes, and exams. Learning activities in each unit are focused upon a specific theme.

German II

None

Two Semesters or Block

Unit 1: Ferien

• Themes: vacations, driving, travel and transportation, leisure time
• Grammar: review of 4 tenses (present, imperfect, perfect, future); conjunctions
• Culture: German automobiles, getting a driver's license, the Romantic Road

Unit 2: Gesund leben

• Themes: healthy living, body parts and ailments, family members, daily routine
• Grammar: review 3 cases, add the genitive; reflexive verbs
• Culture: health care, Kurorte (spas), Roman baths in Germany

Unit 3: Rechte und Pflichten

• Themes: rights and responsibilities, household chores, university study, military service
• Grammar: two-way prepositions; da- / wo- compounds; more meanings of modals
• Culture: universities in German-speaking countries; military service

Unit 4: Beziehungen

• Themes: personal relationships, importance of appearance, emotions
• Grammar: relative pronouns; review reflexives, dative verbs, wenn
• Culture: East/West Germany (past and present)

Unit 5: Märchen

• Themes: fairy tales, animals
• Grammar: review imperfect and adjective endings
• Culture: Grimm Brothers, Romanticism

Unit 6: Medien

• Themes: media, advertising, computers
• Grammar: subjunctive part I (würde, past subjunctive, modals in subjunctive)
• Culture: propaganda (Nazis), Heimatmusik, role of English in advertising

Unit 7: Generationen

• Themes: childhood, generation "gap"
• Grammar: wenn, wann, als, ob; subjunctive part II (non-past subjunctive)
• Culture: Käthe Kollwitz, advice columns

Unit 8: Meine Zukunft

• Themes: my future: study, occupations, world of work
• Grammar: review relative pronouns; infinitive phrases (um ... zu, etc.)
• Culture: Gastarbeiter, foreigners

Unit 9: Guten Appetit

• Themes: food and drink, restaurants, cooking, shopping
• Grammar: passive, review commands and modals; Was für..
• Culture: restaurant customs (e.g. Stammtisch), regional foods, more use of English in German-speaking countries

Unit 10: Die Umwelt

• Themes: environment, recycling, European Union
• Grammar: verbs as nouns, review grammar
• Culture: public transportation, recycling, BYOB (bring your own bag/basket), environmental issues and groups, renewable energy.