2024 Faculty Courses Liberal arts and basic science courses Second foreign language courses
German Seminar: Culture and Society 2
- Academic unit or major
- Second foreign language courses
- Instructor(s)
- Makiko Antoku
- Class Format
- Exercise (Face-to-face)
- Media-enhanced courses
- -
- Day of week/Period
(Classrooms) - 5-6 Wed
- Class
- -
- Course Code
- LAL.G432
- Number of credits
- 010
- Course offered
- 2024
- Offered quarter
- 2Q
- Syllabus updated
- Mar 14, 2025
- Language
- Japanese
Syllabus
Course overview and goals
This course is for students who have a basic knowledge of German and want to acquire reading comprehension. Students will read German sentences on various content such as German nature, culture, history, philosophy, and technology.
The focus of the class is to comprehend German and think in German, to know German culture and history widely. Those who wish to study in German-speaking countries can also acquire knowledge to enrich their study abroad life.
Course description and aims
1. Improve your ability to read and understand German
2. Understand the lives and culture of German people
Keywords
German
German-speaking culture
German grammar
Study abroad
Competencies
- Specialist skills
- Intercultural skills
- Communication skills
- Critical thinking skills
- Practical and/or problem-solving skills
Class flow
Text materials will be provided to students in the class. (The materials are actually written by German-speaking people. Grammar and vocabulary that should be noted are accompanied by explanations.) Students will listen to the commentary, translate German sentences into Japanese, and submit a Japanese translation. In the class, the instructor will show an example of translation, explain the points of reading. We will consider the substance of the text together.
Course schedule/Objectives
| Course schedule | Objectives | |
|---|---|---|
| Class 1 | We read the works of the master of biographical fiction, Stefan Zweig. The amount of reading at one time is adjusted according to the level of understanding. There will be a total of 7 classes. People act, situations change. Specific descriptions are suitable for polishing the reader's language skills. This is because when the reader translates the text into Japanese and the translation does not make sense, he realizes his mistake. Let's absorb and enjoy expressions. Introduction. Pronunciation and sentence structure of German. Stefan Zweig: Sternstunden der Menschheit. (1927) Das Erste Wort über den Ozean. Cyrus W. Field, 28. Juli 1858 - Der neue Rhythmus - Die Vorbereitung - Der erste Start - Mißgeschick - Noch einmal Mißgeschick - Die dritte Fahrt - Das große Hosianna - Das große Crucifige - Sechs Jahre Schweigen The telegraph connects the continents of the earth across the ocean for the first time――The will and activities of the people involved in this grand project are depicted in detail. | Please translate the German sentence into Japanese and submit it in class. If you have a dictionary or grammar book, please bring it with you and use it. |
Study advice (preparation and review)
Use the grammar book to grasp German basic grammar. (If you are a beginner, the instructor will introduce you to grammar books.) Please memorize the words in the text along with the example sentences in the dictionary.
Textbook(s)
The text materials will be provided in the class.
Reference books, course materials, etc.
German-Japanese dictionary is necessary.
Evaluation methods and criteria
Based on all submissions, the instructor will evaluate the accuracy of students' translations and reading comprehension（60％）. The results of exercises during the class are also evaluated (40%).
Related courses
- German:Basic Course
- German:Intermediate Course
- German: Advanced Course
- German Conversation
Prerequisites
It is desirable to have knowledge of German grammar. If you are a beginner, please consult with the instructor.
Other
If you are a beginner, please consult with the instructor. In the beginning of lectures, the pronunciation and the main points of the German sentence structure will be explained. There is also intensive courses (no credits, the outline is on the "Foreign Language Section" website) as an introduction to German.
Please don't hesitate to ask questions, even if they are small. Nothing is more difficult and interesting than the basics of grammar. Let's think together about what kind of logic in German is contained in it.