GER 101 - Elementary German I, 4 credit hours

Prerequisite(s): None. Appropriate course for beginners. Students with more than two years of high school German must have special permission of the instructor to register for GER 101.
German 101 begins with an introduction to basic vocabulary, from numbers and greetings through foods and furniture to travel topics. Class time is used to practice speaking and listening skills, where you can expect to respond to questions, do numerous pair exercises and participate in role playing. Students learn about the gender of nouns and pronouns, the nominative, accusative and dative cases and the use of prepositions. Regular and irregular verbs in both the present and present perfect tenses are taught as well as modal auxiliary verbs. Among others, the basic functions of asking and giving personal information, making a purchase, ordering in a restaurant, and giving directions are stressed in written homework as well as in oral work in class. The reading assignments and supplements to the book provide interesting cultural information about the German-speaking countries.