Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

Welcome to German 203!  I look forward to a great term with you!

GER 203 is the second quarter of a three quarter second year German sequence. Students should have completed GER 202 or have the equivalent experience with German to be successful in this course. If you have experience with German and are unsure if GER 203 is the right class for you, please email me about taking a placement test. Susan Stober at: sstober@pcc.edu. 

Class Structure: 

During our Zoom class sessions, I’ll teach new material and we’ll practice it together. 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! You can expect to be interacting in groups of 2-3 classmates in breakout rooms. Improving speaking, reading, writing, and listening skills 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 is an important part of building our language learning community. However, if students need to have their cameras off at times that is okay too.

Attendance Requirements: 

GER 203 is a remote 4 credit course with two classes per week Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9am-10:50am 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 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.

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.).

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. Weekly homework is due on Fridays at 5pm, with a grace period until Sunday at midnight.  Mini homework assignments are due at midnight on Tuesday and Thursdays.  Assignments will consist of vocabulary and grammar exercises, listening comprehension exercises, writing exercises, discussion boards, recordings and online practice. In addition, we may 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 Klett’s LINIE 1 B1 Print Text/Workbook + DVD ROM, ISBN: 9783126070942, Author: DENGLER

PURCHASE HERE:  Linie 1 B1 on Klett publishing site- with 2-5 day shipping

Just a reminder, we are using the Linie 1B1 text/workbook, not the Intensive Trainer. This book also has online audio, so you do not need a DVD drive.

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. 

Student Success: 

Students who have taken remote German classes love interacting as a class and with partners during breakout rooms and getting immediate feedback from me during the live Zoom classes. They also appreciate the option to attend the live Zoom class or watch the asynchronous class video and do the make-up assignments. This combination of synchronous and asynchronous formats provides flexibility and allows you to fit GER 203 into your busy schedule. Students in our remote classes consistently attain the same levels of oral, written, and listening proficiency as they do in face-to-face classes. This isn’t surprising because everything about the remote German courses is the same as with in-person classes, except we meet over Zoom instead of in a classroom on campus. So, please do not let learning German remotely deter you from continuing your German language journey in the spring of 2024! I would love to have you as part of this class!

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.