German 52                                              Spring Semester 1996
Intermediate German                                Professor Dennis Mahoney


Texts:         Isabelle Salaün, Weiter! (New York: Wiley, 1994)
               a) Grammatik.
               b) Arbeitsheft and Laboratory Tape Program (prepared by Sara
Steinert                 Borella and Anke Finger).
          Jillian S. Haesseler, Palette: Readings for Intermediate German 
(New
York:                    McGraw-Hill, 1995).

Objectives:    The objective of Intermediate German is to reinforce and 
build upon
students' reading, writing, listening, and conversational skills. In 
addition, we
will concentrate on building vocabulary in context; this will be aided by the
reading and discussing of texts dealing with modern German culture and
literature that also allow comparison with our own perspectives and 
experiences.
Finally, we will make use of audio-visual materials and Internet 
resources as
springboards for discussion and group work in class. By the end of the
semester, students will be in a position to make use of their newly-expanded
skills in German in a variety of settings, such as more advanced 
coursework in
German literature, culture, composition and conversation, or even study 
abroad.
     
     In the Spring semester, we will complete our review of German grammar
and structure with the help of chapters 7-12 of Weiter! Grammatik. The 
grammar
review exercises will be integrated with corresponding exercises from the
workbook. The workbook (Arbeitsheft) exercises are designed to review and
extend students' grammar, listening comprehension, reading, and writing 
skills;
tapes for the audio portion of the workbook exercises are available for 
listening
in the UVM Language Lab, located in the Southwick Building on Redstone Campus
(See the handout on "Language Lab Information" for hours and services
available). Workbooks will be collected and evaluated at the end of each 
chapter.
Finally, in addition to continuing with the readings in German literature,
language, and culture in Palette, we will also explore information 
available in
media such as "Deutsche Welle" telecasts and "WWW" sites; in the process, 
we will
be studying aspects of the German language, such as the passive voice and the
quote-subjunctive, that are frequently employed in these media. In order to
encourage the exchange of information prior to our class discussions, 
students
will write an informal journal (auf deutsch, natürlich!) whose entries 
will be
distributed via e-mail to everyone else in the class; these bi-weekly 
entries will
also be part of the required reading for the course.

Evaluation:    Three quizzes                                            30%

          Formal Writing Assignments and Workbook                       30%

          Final Examination                                             20%
               Friday,  May 5, 4 p.m.

          Class Preparation, Participation, Performance                 20%
                    (including e-mail entries; see accompanying explanation)

German 52, Spring 1995                             Professor Dennis Mahoney
p. 2

     The approximate dates for the three quizzes will be February 16, 
March 15,
and April 21. Exact dates for quizzes will be announced at least a week in
advance. As a rule, the workbooks will be collected 2 class periods prior 
to a
quiz, so as to allow students time for additional review.

     The evaluation of class performance for Intermediate German will consist
of two components. One component will reflect your attendance, 
homework/e-mail
journal entries, and level of preparedness/activity in the course. In 
other words,
this grade indicates performance when you are present in class.

     The second component will correspond to the number of unexcused
absences. Each unexcused absence from class counts as a zero for that day and
will be calculated as such into your classroom performance grade.

     Example: 42-day spring semester
          --Unexcused absences = 4 
          --Class performance grade:          85 (B)
          -- Final Grade for performance: 
                         (85 x 38) ÷ 42  = 77 (C)

     The moral of the story is: attend class regularly and faithfully. 
This will
not only help your grade   you will also learn German better and will 
enjoy it
more as you do! And if you have a valid reason for missing class 
(illness, family
emergency), please notify me in a timely fashion.



Office:        Waterman 422A
               (telephone: 656-1476)
               (e-mail: dmahoney@moose.uvm.edu)


Office Hours:       Monday, Wednesday, Friday                10:00-11:00 am
                                                               1:30-2:30 pm

               Tuesday, Thursday                               1:30-2:00 pm
                                                               3:15-4:00 pm
                    or by appointment