(On Zoom) Beginner 3 Tuesday 6:00pm - 7:00pm PST (April 9th to May 21st) Instructor: Carolyn
This class will meet on Zoom from April 9th to May 21st.
About the instructor: Carolyn holds an M.A. and Ph.D. in German from UC Berkeley and a B.Mus. (Bachelor of Music) from McGill University. Her research in the German Department at UC Berkeley focused on the development of German noun inflection since 1350, and, more generally, on frequency effects in language change. Before moving to Berkeley in 2006, she spent two years in Freiburg (Breisgau), Germany, studying German and Scandinavian Linguistics and Literature at the Albert-Ludwigs-Universität and exploring the Black Forest. She has been teaching German continuously since 2008 at various institutions in the Bay Area, including UC Berkeley, the German School of Fremont, the Bay Area Kinderstube (BAKS+, an after-school full immersion program for children who speak German at home), and, of course, PLA (since 2019), and has worked with both children and adults at all levels of proficiency. She has also taught English — both ESL/EFL and composition classes for native speakers — and has done a fair amount of proofreading and translating. Since 2018, she has held a part-time position at McGraw Hill Higher Education in the World Languages department, where her duties include creating and editing online activities to accompany McGraw Hill’s many college language textbooks. When she’s not teaching or tinkering with language textbooks, she enjoys taking long walks in the Berkeley hills, singing, playing the piano, watching German detective series, and making things out of yarn.
About the class: Welcome to German beginner 3 class, the next level of German language-learning program designed for students who have completed German beginner 2 or have a basic understanding of German. In this class, we will continue to build upon the foundation laid in previous classes and help you take your German language skills to the next level.
The emphasis in German beginner 3 class will continue to be on oral comprehension through group discussions and interactive exercises. Through these activities, you will further develop your vocabulary, improve your pronunciation, and gain confidence in communicating in German.
We will also continue to introduce and reinforce basic grammatical structures, building upon the concepts covered in previous classes. We will delve deeper into topics such as verb tenses, modal verbs, and prepositions, which are essential for forming more complex sentences and expressing more nuanced ideas in German.
In German beginner 3 class, we will expand on the topics covered in previous classes and introduce new themes to broaden your understanding of the language. You will learn how to describe your daily routine, your work or studies, and your future plans. We will also explore cultural topics, such as holidays and traditions in German-speaking countries, to help you gain a deeper understanding of the language and its context. Our teaching approach will remain interactive and engaging, with a focus on practical communication skills that you can use in real-life situations.
By the end of German beginner 3 class, you will have a solid foundation in the language and be able to communicate more confidently and effectively in German. You will be able to understand and respond to more complex questions and statements, express your ideas more clearly, and participate in more extended conversations.
In conclusion, German beginner 3 class is the perfect next step for students who have completed German beginner 2 or have a basic understanding of German. We will build on the foundation laid in previous classes, continue to develop your oral comprehension and introduce more complex grammatical structures, and broaden your understanding of the language and culture. Join us and take your German language skills to the next level!
Course Book: Robert Di Donato, Monica D. Clyde and Jacqueline Vansant. Deutsch: Na klar! An Introductory German Course. Fifth Edition. ISBN: 978-0-07-353532-6
Other recommended materials: A hardcopy (Harper Collins, Langenscheidt, Oxford Duden) or online (linguee.com, dict.cc, leo.org) dictionary Durrell, Martin. Hammer's German Grammar and Usage. Sixth Edition. ISBN: 9781138853713 (if you plan to continue with German)