Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

Welcome to German 103! I look forward to another great term with you!

Placement: 

GER 103 is for students having completed GER 102 or the equivalent.  If you are unsure if GER 103 is the right class for you, please email me about taking a placement test at: sstober@pcc.edu. 

Attendance Requirements: 

GER 103 is a remote 4 credit course with two classes per week Monday and Wednesdays from 6pm-7:50pm via Zoom. You can access the Zoom link under your "My Courses" page on D2L. Each class session includes the teaching of new material and lots of in-class practice with other students. Attendance at these classes is required; however, students can make up to 3 "excused" absences (within a week) by watching the recorded Zoom class via the "cloud recording" link on D2L, recording themselves doing all of the activities and posting it in D2L Assignments Tab, under Make-up Assignments. *Please note: 6 or more "unexcused" absences will result in an automatic non-passing grade.

Once completing GER103, students then can move into second year German (GER 201) fall term, GER 202 winter term and GER 203 spring term the following academic year. GER 201 is ONLY offered in the fall. Please note: completion of 2 years of a language at the college level is required for a Bachelor of Arts degree and 2 terms will count towards the Gen Ed requirements for a Bachelor of Science degree. Please consult with an advisor from a 4 year university if you have questions about transferability (e.g. PSU, U of O, etc.).

Class Structure:

In class, I’ll introduce new material and we’ll practice it together as a whole class and in small groups. The course will be taught in full German immersion, so you’ll hear and speak German as much as possible. It's a great way to learn a language!  Improving speaking proficiency is a primary goal of this class, and we’ll have fun practicing together while incorporating cultural components, games (Kahoot rocks!), and music…all in German! Camera use is strongly encouraged and very much appreciated, but not required during the class meetings for reasons of equity.

Time Commitment: 

The time commitment for this course includes 4 hours of in Zoom class instruction plus another 3-4 hours a week spent on studying and completing homework assignments per week.

Assignments will consist of vocabulary and grammar exercises, listening comprehension exercises, writing exercises, discussion boards, recordings and online practice. In addition, we will have online quizzes over the previous week’s materials due by Friday at 5pm with a grace period until Sunday night at midnight.

Textbook Requirements: 

We use the first year German textbook and online website Kontakte Connect for GER 101-102-103 and the online access is valid for 24 months. Students will need to purchase the materials via the McGraw-Hill store at this link:  the Purchasing and Registration Link for Kontakte Connect ("textbook").

For students using financial aid, the textbook is also available for purchase.  Go to this link and you can enter the CRN for the course or the name of the book. *Please note that the book is more expensive through the PCC bookstore and may cause a delay in receiving your textbook since financial aid does not always come in by the first week of the term. However, you can sign-up for the free two-week trial via this link. 

Student Success: 

Students who have taken German classes at PCC really appreciate how we make learning German in immersion accessible and fun and how much they can understand and say even after just one week of classes! I’m happy to report that students attain excellent levels of oral, written, and listening proficiency and are very successful in higher level classes at a 4 year university. I would love to have you as part of this class!

Bis bald! (See you soon!)

Frau Professor Susan Stober

Students will need access to a microphone for recorded speaking exercises. Using the camera during Zooms is highly encouraged to create a collaborative and communicative environment.