Syllabus
Quick Links
Course Materials
Assignments
Exams
Grading
Course Duration
Getting Help
What You Should Already Know
This is a beginning course; there are no prerequisites.
Learning Outcomes
1. Comprehend German through listening and reading unique, not
memorized, German sentences.
2. Use memorized words and phrases at appropriate times and answer
common questions.
3. Write German words at a level similar to your ability to speak them.
4. Create connections between German language, grammar, culture,
history, geography, art, music, and other areas.
Course Materials
Everything you need for the course is included, with the exception of headset
or speakers and a microphone. These are necessary for your live speaking
appointments in every lesson. A webcam is preferred, but not required. For
optimal connection speeds during speaking appointments, it is
recommended that you use a hard-wired, high-speed internet connection
during the appointment.
Course Organization
Mistakes are expected. When you learn a language, du make mistakes.
Mistakes are wunderbar (wonderful), because they mean du are trying. Your
goal is to understand and be understood. You do not have to have perfect
grammar and perfect vocabulary before du start to communicate.
Listening und reading comprehension precede speaking und writing ability.
Listening and reading are receptive skills. That means you receive them or
take them in. Speaking and writing are productive skills. That means you
produce something with them or send them out. It is easier to understand a
paragraph of Deutsch than it is to speak a paragraph of Deutsch. Du kannst
(you can) expect to understand more than du kannst say. We assume that
you are beginning with little or no understanding of German. Guessing is an
important skill in learning a language, so do not be afraid to guess.
Du wirst (You will) need to interpret and write German. That does not require
a lot, but the main Ding (thing) du need ist (is) to work at it regularly und mit
(and with) enthusiasm.
Live Lesson Activities
This course includes live online activities in every lesson with your instructor
and other students. These activities are not required and are not graded;
however, they will review lesson content and include fun activities that will help
you be better prepared for the assignments and the final exam. In addition,
participating in these activities will help you pace yourself through the course
so that you will finish on time. You can learn more about these activities and
see a schedule of when they take place on the Live Lesson Activities page.
This course also includes a live online course orientation with your
instructor.You must complete the orientation before continuing in the
course. More information, including the schedule, is available on the Course
Orientation page.
Other Resources
This course also includes an appendix with useful information pertaining to
each lesson, as well as a course discussion board and a course wiki. The
discussion board is designed for students to connect, discuss course-related
matters, and share ideas with each other. The wiki is designed for the
instructor to post information that may provide enrichment or to post relevant
information for the course.
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Other Technical Considerations
In order for the Flash games to perform properly, and for the pages to display
correctly, you must have the most current version of either Firefox or Chrome,
and the most current Flash player installed. If some of the games don't seem
to work quite right, or you can't see all of the options, try downloading a newer
version of the Flash player to fix the problem. The course functions best in
Firefox or Chrome. Contact technical support at 1-877-897-8085 for further
assistance.
Assignments
Summary: six computer-graded Speedback Assignments, six Speaking
Appointments, four Writing Assignments; no assignments may be
resubmitted; lowest Speaking Appointment score will be dropped.
There are six lessons in this course. For the six lessons, you will work at your
own pace and participate in various writing, speaking, and cultural activities.
Each lesson contains various “Self Check” questions. These are intended to
help you practice and master your German skills. Although these are not
graded, they are very helpful in preparing you for your assignments and
exams. At the end of each lesson, you will complete a Speedback
assignment. The score you get on the Speedback assignment is your grade
for that lesson. In each of the six lessons, you will be asked to complete a
Speaking Appointment. Ich will try to introduce you to Deutsch by weaving
the Deutsch mit dem (the) Englisch. The Deutsch will be italicized, and the
Englisch translation will come after dem Deutschen Wort (the German word)
in parentheses at first. Later, as ich believe du will guess the translation of
the Wort correctly, I will omit the English translation.
The six speaking appointments that take place one-on-one with a Germanspeaking TA or your instructor are required, scheduled appointments (more
information in the speaking appointment pages within each lesson). Prepare
well and do your best on these, as well as all your other, assignments. You
may drop your lowest speaking apointment score (except the final speaking
appointment).
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Exams
Summary: 1 proctored computer-graded final exam and 1 final speaking,
no retakes allowed, must pass both computer-graded and speaking final to
earn credit for the course.
There are two parts to the final exam: a final speaking appointment (which is
scheduled and conducted before you request the written final) and the written
portion. These scores combined make up your final exam grade, which is
worth 22 percent of your final grade. You must pass the final to pass the
course.
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Grading
Your grade will be based on the following:
You must pass the final exam with a 60 percent or higher to pass the course
6 Speedback Assignments (5% each) 30%
6 Speaking Appointments (6% each)
36%
4 Writing Assignments (3% each)
12%
Final Exam
22%
Total
100%
GRADING SCALE
A
100–93 C
76–73
A− 92–90
C−
72–70
B+ 89–87
D+
69–67
B
D
66–63
B− 82–80
D−
62–60
C+ 79–77
E (fail) 59 or below
86–83
Note: You must pass the final exam in order to pass this course. 60 percent
or above is a passing grade in this course. There are no paid retakes or
resubmissions in this course.
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Course Duration
You have 1 year to complete this course, but if you need more than a year,
you may purchase one 3-month extension. Because of the nature of some
assignments, you will not be able to complete this course in less than 2
months.
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Getting Help
If you need to contact the TA by email, this is it: [email protected]
(mailto:[email protected]). In Brainhoney, under Course Resources, you
will find the TA schedule, a vocabulary review, and many other useful helps.
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Inappropriate Use of Course Content
All course materials (e.g., outlines, handouts, syllabi, exams, quizzes, media,
lecture content, audio and video recordings, etc.) are proprietary. Students
are prohibited from posting or selling any such course materials without the
express written permission of BYU Independent Study. To do so is a violation
of the Brigham Young University Honor Code.
Copyright © 2012 Brigham Young University. All rights reserved.
Published by the
Department of Independent Study
Division of Continuing Education
Brigham Young University
120 MORC
Provo, Utah 84602-1514
USA