Language Resident/Assistant Name:
Nicolai Diener
Class theme/topics discussed:
Konjunktiv & Kunstfreiheit (Teil 1) [Zoom-class]
Goal of the class:
Learn about “Konjunktiv II” (When and how to use it)
Discuss “Kunstfreiheit” (artistic freedom)
Put pictures in relation to “Kunstfreiheit” and discuss their historical context
Compare artistic freedom in Germany and the US
Discuss the content of a music video based on isolated pictures
How did you structure the class?
4.15 – 4.20: Welcome (Welcoming students to class, talking about how they feel and getting all the technology starting)
4.20 – 4.33: “Was würdest du machen, wenn…” (Practicing the Konjunktiv II with the “würde”-form, e.g. “What you would do if you were to win a million dollars?” “I would buy an island if…”. Students join breakout rooms and ask each other one of the two questions in groups of 2-3 people. Three rounds with 2 questions each + always different groups)
4.33 – 4.37: Review Konjunktiv II (short review of when to use and how to use the Konjunktiv II with its two forms. One of them the “würde”-Form, which we practiced in the task before)
4.37 – 4.45: “Kunstfreiheit” + pictures (The term “Kunstfreiheit“ (artistic freedom) is introduced and students are then asked to look at 4 pictures, describe them, tell the group what is depicted in the pictures (and the context) and then put that in relation to “Kunstfreiheit”. If the students do not know about some of the pictures, the teacher can help them and explain their context. After that we take a quick look at how artistic freedom is embedded in the basic law for Germany)
4.45 – 4.55: “Kunstfreiheit” experiences (students join breakout rooms first, and then come back to share with the group. They are asked to share their experiences with artistic freedom. Either because something that they themselves were involved, or something they have heard of and that has a relation to artistic freedom
4.55 – 5.00: “Danger Dan” impression (“Danger Dan” is the name of the musician we are going to hear a song from. The students are asked to share their impressions when hearing the name)
5.00 – 5.05: Pictures from the song (students see 4 pictures from the music video to the song “Das ist alles von der Kunstfreiheit gedeckt”. They are rather provocative and can be interpreted in different ways and the students are supposed to share their impressions of those pictures, and also what they think the video could be about and what it is supposed to express. Students discuss that in breakout rooms)
5.05 – 5.10: Watch music video
5.10 – 5.15: Music video impressions (students share their impressions from the music video and compare it with what they had shared before, when they just saw 4 isolated pictures from the music video)
What technology, media or props did you use? (internet resources, playmobiles, handouts, etc.)
Power Point Presentation
Zoom (+ Breakout rooms)
Pictures & videos (see Power Point Presentation)
What worked well in this class? What did not work (and how could it be improved)?
The introduction worked really well because the students seemed to be really engaged with the questions, as they had a lot of fun thinking about those scenarios and “what they could do, if…”. Also, it was a really good introduction and transition to explaining the Konjunktiv II, which is used a lot by Danger Dan in his song and therefore offers a great grammatical foundation for working with the song later on.
When we looked at the pictures, the students were able to identify most of them and put them in connection to artistic freedom. I chose the pictures because two of them are important pieces in the history of Germany, the Charlie Hebdo-picture is important in the context of contemporary European affairs, and the last one was a fun, little story that is connected to artistic freedom. We took a look at the basic law, and the exchange of their “Kunstfreiheit” experiences was really interesting. Same can be said for talking about the name “Danger Dan” and the pictures from the music video. Finally, we watched the music video and the students shared their impressions. Generally, it was a good mix of learning about current affairs in Germany, pop-culture and Konjunktiv II on the one hand, and sharing their impressions, thoughts and experiences on the other hand.