Course Title: AP GermanCourse Syllabus: AP German
Meeting Times:
The timeframe of this course is 36 weeks. Students engage in the online class according to the same academic calendar of their schools. Additionally, they can expect to spend additional time on student activities such as reading, writing, researching and completing assignments. Course Description: The AP German Language Course is a college level course, conducted entirely in German, that prepares students to communicate proficiently through three modes: interpretive (receptive communication), presentational (1-way productive communication), and interpersonal (2-way interactive communication). This course emphasizes the five domains of learning found in our Foreign Language Standards: Communication, Cultures, Connections, Comparisons, and Communities. These 5 domains of learning involve the skills of listening, speaking, reading, writing, and developing cultural awareness. Students will obtain practical cultural knowledge in this course which enables them to interact in a variety of German speaking countries.
This course is open to all interested students with the expectation that they have a relatively sophisticated knowledge of German language and Germanic cultures through prior appropriate sequence of study or equivalent experience. The course uses authentic materials and resources along with the required text. The instructor has read the most recent AP German Course Description and this course adheres to the College Board Curricular Requirements. The resources listed in this syllabus are in accordance with those suggested by the May 2006, May 2007 “AP German Language Course Description” as found on the College Board website. Students are expected to take the AP German Language Exam at the end of this course.
Course Purpose & Goals:
It is our mission that students achieve at high levels. The Foreign Language Department intends to graduate students linguistically proficient and culturally competent in a 2nd language. Successful completion of AP German coursework requires students to possess a solid ability to communicate in German. This course involves an intensity that significantly advances student proficiency and achievement in German. Students enrolling in this course should be committed to this challenge. The analysis and examination of authentic literary texts is part of this course; it opens students to new viewpoints, inspiring them to appraise foreign opinions as well as their own. AP German Language is equivalent to a 3rd year college German language course.
By the end of this course, the successful AP German Language student will:
- Demonstrate strong communication skills (Pre-Advanced on ACTFL scale) in the interpersonal, presentational, and interpretive modes through telephone oral proficiency interviews.
- Demonstrate the ability to extract purposeful information as-well-as summarize information from spoken and written texts through listening to and reading short stories, news articles and other authentic literature.
- Demonstrate a strong command of German linguistic skills (Pre-Advanced on ACTFL scale) to support communication (accuracy/fluency) through Oral Proficiency Interviews each quarter.
- Comprehend German (Advanced level or above on ACTFL scale) that is intended for native speakers in a variety of settings, including understanding a German speaker’s attitude and point of view on a particular topic through imbedded listening activities.
- Produce spoken German (Pre-Advanced on ACTFL scale) comprehensible to many native speakers in a variety of settings, including demonstrating the ability to participate in discussions on a variety of topics through Oral Proficiency Interview.
- Produce writings on a variety of topics using reasoned argument and linguistic coherence.
- Acquire information from authentic sources in German through radio, television and online.
- Demonstrate an awareness of practical cultural perspectives, practices, and products of German peoples and countries, including gaining an understanding of German socio-cultural, economic, and political perspectives through “Cultural Tidbits” and authentic articles.
Course Format and Policies:
AP German Language is for students who wish to develop strong proficiency and integrate their language skills, using varied and authentic materials. The online courses have the same level of rigor and adhere to the same standards set forth by the school system and the College Board. To access all courses, students need access to a computer and the Internet via a web browser. All classes are offered via the Blackboard Learning Management System. This class is conducted almost entirely in German. The interactive nature of this course carries with it the expectation that students will be actively involved in all assignments and projects. The academic rigor for this course is high. Weighted grades are calculated for students completing the course and taking the requisite AP exam. The policies for student performance and work are as follows:
Grading Policy:
The grading policy for this course is described below. Students are expected to take the AP Exam. Those who complete the course and are tested on the AP exam will receive a weighted final grade.
GRADE POINT VALUE SYSTEM POLICY
A = 90–100% 4.0
B = 80–89% 3.0
C = 70–79% 2.0
D = 60–69% 1.0
F = 59% and below 0.0
Unweighted Scale A=4 Weighted Scale A=5
Unweighted Scale B=3 Weighted Scale B=4
Unweighted Scale C=2 Weighted Scale C=3
Unweighted Scale D=1 Weighted Scale D=2
Unweighted Scale F=0 Weighted Scale F=0
Materials:
The following texts and supplementary materials are used in AP German Language:
A) Adopted Text:
Moeller, Jack, Winnifred R.Adolf, Barbara Mabee, Helmut Liedloff. Kaleidescope. 2001. New York: Houghton Mifflin.
A) Supplementary Texts:
Crowner, David and Klaus Lill. Impulse. 1999. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
Kossuth K., David R. Antal. Alte Legenden und Neue Literatur. 1986. New York: Holt Reinhart Winston.
Reimann, Monika. Grundstufen-Grammatik für Deutsch als Fremdsprache. 2000. München: Max Hueber Verlag.
Teichert, H. and L.Teichert. Allerlei zum Lesen. 1992. Lexington, Massachusetts: D.C. Heath.
Turneau, Brigitte. Der Treffende Ausdruck. 1996. New York: W.W. Norten & Company.
Wells, Larry. Mitlesen, Mitteilen. 1995. New York: Holt, Reinhart, Winston.
B) Additional college level AP German materials:
Course Outline:
The following outlines the major course content, major assignments, due dates, and major assessments throughout the year.
This course covers approximately two to three online modules per quarter. Within a quarter students generally have 40-50 assessed assignments with feedback from the instructor. This course is designed to reinforce already learned grammatical concepts, improve writing skills and stylistics, and broaden historical, literary and cultural awareness of the German speaking world. The cultural tidbits are time related – as various holidays are celebrated in the German-speaking world, they are addressed. Each module then spirals activities and concepts in order to attain the Pre-advanced communication skills of the ACTFL standard. Below are more specific factors which pertain to course activities and assignments:
- Communication and instruction with students is done exclusively in German. This is done in instructions, explanations, announcements and during individual assistance of students in Sametime (instant messaging).
- There is a minimum of one Oral Proficiency Interview according to ACTFL guidelines by telephone per grading period.
- The majority of students have access to German speaking television and radio as they live in German speaking countries and are encouraged to listen/watch German programs. The few students not in German speaking countries are encouraged to listen/watch Deutsche Welle online.
- Some Cultural Tidbits are voice clips produced by the teacher, and to which students give a short impromptu response as a voice clip.
- Listening/speaking activities from past AP tests are extensively used for practice.
- Authentic listening materials produced by the Goethe Institute and InterNationes are embedded in the course for short story listening activities.
- Students participate in asynchronous, online discussion both in writing and by submitting voice clips.
- Students call each other and record their conversations/dialogues for teacher evaluation.
- The course revisits and addresses the 10 most common errors in German made by English speakers (spelling/gender, word order, relative pronouns, subject/verb agreement, case, adjective endings, das/dass, als/wenn/wann, nach/zu/in, auxiliary verb) through explanation, review and practice
- Students write extensive an number of compositions. Each assignment is graded holistically by the teacher and errors marked with the code system of the 10 most common errors. Students make these corrections and revisions and resubmit for a second evaluation. A very precise scoring rubric is used, thus forcing the student to recognize repeated errors and eliminating them.
- Students also use other authentic written materials such as literature, newspapers, and magazines to strengthen reading abilities and provide background for writing exercises (i.e. letters, reports, literary writings such as poems, plays, short colloquial exchanges).
Support Services:
To help students maintain successful participation, each student has a designated local facilitator who serves as the liaison between the teacher, the student, parents and school administrators.
Unique Requirements:
Computer with internet access. Headset and microphone, Access to instant message tool used with the system, telephone
Syllabus: AP German 