Language Residents

an archive of lesson plans

Author: Martin Siebert

DE S17 ADV Banking and Jobs

May 5, 2017 /

Conversation Class Lesson Summary

 

Language Resident Name: Martin Siebert

  

Day and Date: Thursday, April 06, 2017

 

Language and Level (intermediate or advanced class): German Advanced Conversation

 

Class theme/topics discussed:

 

Jobs and banking

 

Goal of the class:

 

Students learn and employ vocabulary about jobs and banking and use the formal “Sie”.

 

How did you structure the class?

 

In this lesson, students were supposed to address each other formally, using “Sie” and their last names.

 

10-15 minutes: Conversation about recent and upcoming events on Campus. Casual conversation about summer plans.

 

10-15 minutes: Students collected several professions on the board and different clarifications were made.

 

10-15 minutes “Who am I” with jobs. Students assigned a job to another student without him/her knowing which it was. By using the right questions, students were able to find out their professions.

 

15 minutes: I showed a picture of a bank’s interiors to the students. We then collected vocabulary about banking on the board and talked about the differences regarding these things between the U.S. and Germany.

 

What technology, media or props did you use? (internet resources, playmobiles, handouts, etc.)

 

Whiteboard, bank picture

 

What worked well in this class? What did not work?

 

Students were very interested about the differences and liked to learn new vocabulary.

 

How could this class be improved/ modified?

 

Productive class! Keep it as it is.

 

Additional files also contain additional information sheets for a role play that we didn’t have time for anymore.

20170406_Bank_Vokabeln

20170406_Bilder_Bank

20170406_Info_Banken

20170406_Vokabeln_Berufe

DE S17 ADV Personalities and personal experiences

May 5, 2017 /

Conversation Class Lesson Summary

 

Language Resident Name: Martin Siebert

  

Day and Date: Thursday, February 2, 2017

 

Language and Level (intermediate or advanced class): German Advanced Conversation

 

Class theme/topics discussed:

 

Personalities and personal experiences.

 

Goal of the class:

Students reveal more things about themselves and talk about personal experiences.

 

How did you structure the class?

 

10-20 minutes: Definitions. One of the students leaves the room. The remaining students choose an unknown word from a German dictionary, write it on the board and make up definitions for it. Only one student memorizes the correct definition. The students that was sent out gets called back in, listens to the definitions and tries to determine the correct one. He is allowed to ask additional questions in order to succeed.

 

10-30 minutes: Personalities. The students are asked to think about their lives and the people they know/have known. Each student should find at least two people who have influenced him/her in his/her life (parents, friends, personalities from history or literature) and take some notes on how these persons influenced them. The students then tell in turns how/why they were influenced, the other students can ask questions.

 

10-15 minutes: Same or different? Students get in pairs. Every pair receives two different handouts with drawings that differ a little or that are exactly the same. Through a lot of description, they try to determine which of these is the case. In the end, the LR presents them with solutions.

 

What technology, media or props did you use? (internet resources, playmobiles, handouts, etc.)

 

Same or different sheet, dictionary for the definitions-game.

 

What worked well in this class? What did not work?

 

The definitions game was not that much fun or worked in a different way than expected. The task where students revealed a lot about themselves and persons that influenced them was very interesting for all the students. The “Same or different” game worked well as students talked a lot.

 

How could this class be improved/ modified?

Keep it as it is.

20170202_Same_Different

20170202_Vokabeln

DE S17 INT Zoo plan cooperation game

May 5, 2017 /

Conversation Class Lesson Summary

 

Language Resident Name: Martin Siebert

 

Day and Date: Wednesday, February 1, 2017

 

Language and Level (intermediate or advanced class): German Intermediate Conversation

 

Class theme/topics discussed:

 

Zoo plan cooperation game.

 

Goal of the class:

 

Students learn or recap vocabulary (animals) and cooperate to solve a small riddle.

 

How did you structure the class?

 

5-10 minutes: Vocabulary quiz. The LR shows the students a power point with pictures of different animals in a quick sequence. The students write down the animals’ names if they know them. After the sequence the students compare; the student with the most correct vocabulary wins.

 

25 minutes: Zoo plan. The students receive a plan of a zoo with different enclosures and the respective animals living in it. They are handed out a plan and slips with the different animals on it and work together in groups. Following a few rules they have to come up with a new layout that regards all these and decide on new animals for the zoo, too.

 

20-25 minutes: Sentence starters. Students draw a slip of paper from a box. The slip contains a sentence starter. They have to complete the sentence and provide some more details (a few sentences) to reveal something about themselves. The other students are welcome to ask questions.

 

 

What technology, media or props did you use? (internet resources, playmobiles, handouts, etc.)

 

Pictures of different animals on the TV screen, Zoo plan layouts, animal paper slips, printed rules of the game, sentence starter paper slips.

 

What worked well in this class? What did not work?

 

Students liked the initial vocabulary quiz and enjoyed the sometimes very simple compound words that are used in German as the animals’ names. The zoo-plan layout game worked quite well, students cooperated and talked much. The sentence starter game is a good way to have people reveal interesting things about themselves.

 

How could this class be improved/ modified?

 

Good class, would keep it as it is.

20170201_Bedingungen

20170201_Tierbilder

20170201_Tierkarten

20170201_Zoo_Layout_blank

20170201_Zoo_Layout_sol

20170201_Zoo_Layout

DE S17 INT German and U.S. education system

May 5, 2017 /

Conversation Class Lesson Summary

 

Language Resident Name: Martin Siebert

 

Day and Date: Wednesday, January 25, 2017

 

Language and Level (intermediate or advanced class): German Intermediate Conversation

 

Class theme/topics discussed:

 

The German and U.S. education system in comparison

 

Goal of the class:

 

Students learn or recap vocabulary about school and education, talk about their educational background and compare it with the German system.

 

How did you structure the class?

 

20 minutes: Match the people. The LR presents a list of about ten jobs on the board. Then each student writes down ten associations that he or she has with one of these jobs. All of these have to be a single word, no matter if noun, adjective or verb. The students then work in pairs: they have to guess to which of the job the associations correspond. The associations shouldn’t be too obvious. When the partner guessed correctly, the explanation for each of the associations should be provided.

 

40 minutes: The German and U.S. education system in comparison. Students get in pairs. Together, they work to provide an overview of the U.S. school system (regarding all educational institutions from birth to the first real job). This should entail information such as the different schools (e.g. kindergarten, primary school), the age groups, the subjects studied, curriculum, the classes within the school, the qualification of teachers, hours that children stay in school daily, compulsory schooling, difficulty of studying, private vs. public schools, job training, university education, tutoring, grading/grades, food at schools, homeschooling etc. The students then share their collected information with the group. Subsequently, they watch a short video about the German school system and compare in their groups the most obvious differences. Then they share their thoughts and comments with the group. The LR provides vocabulary and additional information.

 

What technology, media or props did you use? (internet resources, playmobiles, handouts, etc.)

 

Whiteboard, Video about the German education system, Vocabulary sheet.

 

What worked well in this class? What did not work?

 

Both activities went well. It was interesting for the students to hear about the different educational backgrounds that they each had and liked to get to know new information about the “German way”.

 

How could this class be improved/ modified?

 

Maybe I would provide a table/sheet that helps the students to better organize their educational background.

20170125_Das_hessische_Schulsystem

 

DE S17 ADV Prisoners

May 5, 2017 /

Conversation Class Lesson Summary

 

Language Resident Name: Martin Siebert

 

Day and Date: Monday, January 23, 2017

 

Language and Level (intermediate or advanced class): German Intermediate Conversation

 

Class theme/topics discussed:

 

Prisoners: collective decision making.

 

Goal of the class:

 

Students learn useful expressions to communicate their opinion on various topics. They discuss slightly ethical questions, defend their position and persuade others of theirs.

 

How did you structure the class?

 

60 minutes: Prisoners. Students are given a sheet with information regarding several prisoners. The information is about the crimes that those prisoners have committed as well as their personal traits. As it turns out, the local prison is so overcrowded that one of the prisoners has to be released on probation. The students first make up their own minds and then discuss with their partner. After that, the whole group discusses their respective decisions. They have to come to a unanimous decision which is why a certain degree of persuasion is needed. The LR provides additional vocabulary.

 

What technology, media or props did you use? (internet resources, playmobiles, handouts, etc.) 

Conversation class agreement. Sheet with the information about the prisoners. Sheet with useful phrases to express opinion, agreement and disagreement.

 

What worked well in this class? What did not work?

Students discussed very well which is why it seemed inappropriate to stop them mid-game.

 

How could this class be improved/ modified?

I’d keep it as it is.

 

20170123_Gefangenenspiel

20170123_Useful_Expressions

DE F16 INT NASA Game

December 9, 2016 /

Conversation Class Lesson Summary

Language Resident Name: Martin Siebert 

Day and Date: Thursday, November 16, 2016

Language and Level (intermediate or advanced class): German Intermediate Conversation

Class theme/topics discussed: 

The N.A.S.A. game. 

Goal of the class:

Students express priorities, and reason in order to persuade others and reach a common goal.

How did you structure the class?

60 minutes: N.A.S.A. game. Students are given a scenario (moon landing) and a list of items they can use in order to reach their goal, which is to survive and get to the moon base. First, they rate the different items regarding to the importance by themselves. Afterwards they start discussing about their ratings with their partners (there need to be at least two smaller groups). Because they are a group, they have to come to unanimous decisions as a whole, too. There can be no majority votes (just in extreme cases), they need to persuade or to be persuaded. In the end, the LR reveals the official N.A.S.A. solutions to the group.

What technology, media or props did you use? (internet resources, playmobiles, handouts, etc.)

The N.A.S.A. game list, prepared sheets.

What worked well in this class? What did not work?

Students discussed a lot! Very good game.

How could this class be improved/modified? 

Perfect conversation class exercise.

 NASA Spiel

 

DE F16 ADV Understanding of a song and analysis

December 9, 2016 /

Conversation Class Lesson Summary

Language Resident Name: Martin Siebert

Day and Date: Thursday, October 13, 2016

Language and Level (intermediate or advanced class): German Advanced Conversation

Class theme/topics discussed:

Basic understanding and interpretation of a German song.

Goal of the class:

Practicing listening comprehension and understanding of texts (also stylistic devices) and justification.

How did you structure the class?  

20-25 minutes: Odd man out. The class is divided in two groups or pairs to have a competition. The LR provides 4 to 5 different words. Each group has to provide the reasons for each of the words to be the odd man out. The students are given a time limit during which they have to make up their reasons. They take notes so that they have proof that they do not copy from the other group that is presenting. Each word that they were able to describe as the odd man out will be rewarded a point. The LR varies the intensity by setting tougher time limitations. 

25-30 minutes: Song analysis of “Madsen – Geschichte”. The students listen to the song “Geschichte” by Madsen. They try to remember as much as possible (words, phrases, the general issue). The ideas are then shared with the class. Afterwards, they receive the songtext with gaps. The song is played a second time. The students then try to fill out the blanks in pairs. The LR then helps them to clarify misunderstandings and questions. Each pair gets to analyze one paragraph, the LR provides the categories that help them understanding the meaning. They present their ideas in class

3 minutes: Information about study break on 21st of October. Information about film festival next week (class will be dismissed at 4:55). Information about conversation class project – what is needed. 

What technology, media or props did you use? (internet resources, playmobiles, handouts, etc.)

Music so that they cannot hear each other that easily, wordlist for odd man out, TV/speakers to play the song, Songtext with gaps, questions for interpretation

What worked well in this class? What did not work?

Students liked both the song and the activities of this class.

How could this class be improved/ modified?

I would keep it as it is!

 

Sheets:

Katze, Hund, Schildkröte, Elefant

Löwe, Katze, Tiger, Bär

Mensch, Delphin, Hai, Wal

wütend, fröhlich, Gewalt, eifersüchtig/neidisch

Krieg, Flut, Trockenheit, Plage/Seuche

Adler, Eule, Fledermaus, Pinguin

Arzt, Psychologe, Priester, Dichter

Archäologe, Soziologe, Historiker, Paläontologe

Helikopter, Flugzeug, Bus, Vogel

Roman, Zeitung, Zeitschrift/Magazin, Radiosendung

Apfel, Orange, Mango, Banane, Traube, Pfirsich

Indien, China, Frankreich, Uganda, U.S.A, Neu-Guinea

Finger, Blut, Herz, Auge, Muskel, Zunge

Socke, Mantel, Kleid, Unterhosen, Schal, Jeans

Rotkäppchen, Hänsel und Gretel, Schneewittchen, Dornröschen, Aschenputtel

Baum, Busch, Blume, Unkraut, Pflanze, Gras

Trompete, Trommel, Geige, Flöte, Harfe, Klavier

Fluss, Wasserfall, See, Meer, Moor/Sumpf, Pfütze

ruhig, wütend, zierlich, schüchtern, bescheiden, flott/lebendig

Frieden, Freude, Harmonie, Schönheit, Delikatesse/Spezialität

DE F16 INT The Fall of the Wall

December 9, 2016 /

Conversation Class Lesson Summary

Language Resident Name: Martin Siebert

Day and Date: Monday, October 3, 2016

Language and Level (intermediate or advanced class): German Intermediate Conversation

Class theme/topics discussed: 

The “Tag der Deutschen Einheit”.

 Goal of the class:

Students gain basic historic knowledge about the fall of the wall. They develop skills to describe movie scenes.

How did you structure the class?

 20-25 minutes: Scattergories. Students are handed out a table with different categories. One of the students silently “counts” the alphabet, another student tells him to stop after a certain time. Now the students have to find words starting with that letter for each category. The first one to have a word in each category calls the others to stop. Everybody who has something in a category receives a point. If their word is only mentioned once, they receive three points. If a person is the only one to have a word in a category, he/she receives ten points.

35-40 minutes: Students are divided in two groups. One is facing the screen, the other isn’t. They partner up and watch a short video but without the sound (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tqEyhkyzr8 ). They describe what happens and what they can see. After half of the video they take turns. Afterwards, they try to make sense of what they’ve seen. Then they share their ideas with the class and discuss what happened in each scene. They then watch parts of the video again and try to figure out what the speaker and people in the video could have said. The information is then presented in class. Then all the students watch the video again, but with sound. They then discuss the things they understood and make sense of the video. The LR provides additional information and questions.

5 min: Short heads up for conversation class project.

What technology, media or props did you use? (internet resources, playmobiles, handouts, etc.) 

Scattergories sheet, Short film, TV-screen, pictures GDR

What worked well in this class? What did not work?

The students had some problems to come up with words for the scattergories warm-up game but still had fun. The students were very interested in the movie about the events that led to the fall of the wall. 

How could this class be improved/modified?

Maybe other categories for the scattergories game would have worked better.

DE F16 ADV Berlin: Orientation and Adverts

December 9, 2016 /

Conversation Class Lesson Summary

Language Resident Name: Martin Siebert

Day and Date: Tuesday, September 27, 2016

Language and Level (intermediate or advanced class): German Advanced Conversation 

Class theme/topics discussed:

Students re-learn to tell easy stories, to improvise and to orientate. 

Goal of the class:

Students re-learn to tell stories fitted to their capabilities and to improvise. They learn to provide directions and guidance to orientate themselves on a given map and start to understand short film scenes.

How did you structure the class?  

15-20 minutes: Warm-up story-telling with story cubes. Students get into two groups so everyone has more opportunities to speak. Students choose after each round which story is the best.

10-15 minutes: Students get in pairs. They get parts of a Berlin map. One of them is marked, the other isn’t. One student describes the starting point and how to walk through the map. The other student tries to find out as well as possible where he ends up. During the description game, they are not allowed to compare the maps. Only at the end they can share the original and the result. They take turns. Depending on how much time they needed, they get another pair of maps. In the end, the LR shows pictures and gives short information about the history of these destinations.

10-20 minutes: BVG Video: https://youtu.be/2pic3FnvUrY

Video about public transportation in Berlin. LR hands out questions. The students watch the video and answer the questions together with their partner and discuss their ideas. 

What technology, media or props did you use? (internet resources, playmobiles, handouts, etc.)

TV-screen, youtube video handout questions, story cubes, prepared maps, pictures of the mentioned important Berlin landmarks.

What worked well in this class? What did not work?

Everything worked out fine. Students like the “noun”-story-cubes better than the “action”-story-cubes.

How could this class be improved/ modified?

Only use the “noun”-story-cubes.

 

Sheets:

BVG  Werbespot

 

Was kostet das Jahresabo im Monat?

Warum ist das Ticket so teuer?

Welche Leistungen gibt es für diesen Preis?

Leistung 1

Leistung 2

Leistung 3

Leistung 4

 

Ist das ein guter Werbespot?

Warum? Warum nicht?

DE F16 INT Describing and Paraphrasing

December 9, 2016 /

Conversation Class Lesson Summary

Language Resident Name: Martin Siebert

Day and Date: Monday, September 19, 2016

Language and Level (intermediate or advanced class): German Intermediate Conversation

Class theme/topics discussed:

Description of persons. Description of words. Recent campus events.

Goal of the class:

Students should discuss and talk as much as possible about familiar things. They also (re)learn how to describe people and talk about campus events.

How did you structure the class?

15-20 minutes: Warm-up taboo. Students get into two teams. Regular taboo rules, but the cards are preselected by the LR to eliminate words that are too hard to describe. Also – because this is a warm-up activity – the game is not played all the way through.

20-30 minutes: Students get in pairs. They draw a card from a deck (persons). Then one student describes the person to the other student. He/she tries to draw the person as exactly as possible. Then they take turns. The LR provides vocabulary so the students can describe the persons more easily. The students then present their descriptions first, then they show the original picture and the drawing. There is a prize for the picture that came closest to the original. Both the describer and the person drawing the card are expected to share the prize.

10 minutes: Turf-dinner. The students share how they experienced the turf dinner. How will they get involved? Why? Why not? How was the food? Something they disliked about the event?

 

What technology, media or props did you use? (internet resources, playmobiles, handouts, etc.)

 Taboo game, pictures/drawings of persons, slips of paper so that the students can draw, maybe colored pencils.

What worked well in this class? What did not work? 

All the activities went very well!

How could this class be improved/modified?

I’d keep it as it is.

Personenbeschreibung

DE F16 ADV German colloquial language/slang and its usage

December 9, 2016 /

Conversation Class Lesson Summary

Language Resident Name: Martin Siebert

 Day and Date: Thursday, September 8, 2016

Language and Level (intermediate or advanced class): Advanced

Class theme/topics discussed:

German colloquial language/slang and its usage

Goal of the class:

After the lesson students should have learned basic ways to sound more German: basic shortenings of expressions, slang and alteration of sentence structures while speaking German.

How did you structure the class?

15-20 minutes: The students each receive one or two slips of paper with English expressions/filler words. They try to describe, what function the respective filler word has. The LR helps in explaining the German usage or word for it.

10-15 minutes: The students get in groups of two. They tell each other how their days of the week went (or what their last essay was about, what they learned in the last lesson) and use as much of these filler words as possible. They should also try to explain certain things. After that, they should present their “filler word”-stories to the class.

20-25 minutes: Idiom taboo. Students receive each a paper slip with an idiom (in English). They try to explain their idiom to the other person. They should also attempt to translate it as much as possible to see later if it matches the “official translation”. Quick groups receive more sheets. 

What technology, media or props did you use? (internet resources, playmobiles, handouts, etc.)

Whiteboard to write down mentioned vocabulary, paper slips for the Idiom taboo, paper slips with the filler words.

What worked well in this class? What did not work?

Everything worked as expected. Students were very motivated to engage in class and were really interested about the colloquial sentence structures. 

How could this class be improved/ modified?

 I would keep it as it is.

 

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