- Die Reise A
- Learning Objectives
- Tools
- Vocabulary
- Grammar and Structures
- Cultural Knowledge
- Tasks
- Activity 1: Interpreting Information
- Activity 2: Presenting Information
- Activity 3: Exchanging Information
- Take-Aways
- Self-Reflection
- Digging Deeper: Follow-up Activities
- Die Reise B
- Learning Objectives
- Tools
- Vocabulary
- Grammar and Structures
- Cultural Knowledge
- Tasks
- Activity 1: Interpreting Information
- Activity 2: Presenting Information
- Activity 3: Exchanging Information
- Take-Aways
- Self-Reflection
- Digging Deeper: Follow-up Activities
- Die Reise C
- Learning Objectives
- Tools
- Vocabulary
- Grammar and Structures
- Cultural Knowledge
- Tasks
- Activity 1: Interpreting Information
- Activity 2: Presenting Information
- Activity 3: Exchanging Information
- Take-Aways
- Self-Reflection
- Digging Deeper: Follow-up Activities
- Die Reise D
- Learning Objectives
- Tools
- Vocabulary
- Grammar and Structures
- Cultural Knowledge
- Tasks
- Activity 1: Interpreting Information
- Activity 2: Presenting Information
- Activity 3: Exchanging Information
- Take-Aways
- Self-Reflection
- Digging Deeper: Follow-up Activities
Die Reise A
Learning Objectives
In these activities, you show that you can:
- communicate using high-frequency vocabulary and structures such as infinitives with zu and um…zu.
- interpret short texts and videos and identify relevant information about vacation preferences.
- communicate with others in scripted presentations and unscripted conversations on topics related to vacation preferences.
Tools
Vocabulary
| Topic | Words and Phrases |
|---|---|
Organizing arguments | einerseits, andererseits, jedoch, selbstverständlich
erstens, zweitens, drittens, zum Schluß |
Vacation | die Luft, das Meer, der Monat, das Schiff, der Urlaub
bezahlen, rechnen, überlegen
bereit, endlich, der Druck, die Verantwortung |
Grammar and Structures
| Structure | Usage |
|---|---|
Expressing facts and opinions with man and finden | Man hat . . .Man kann . . .Ich finde / wir finden . . . |
zu + infinitive | Europa ist ein guter Ort, … zu (verb).In Europa ist es schön/möglich/billig, … zu (verb).Hast du Lust nach Hamburg zu fahren? |
um…zu | Man findet in Europa alles, um…zu (verb).Ich gehe um besseres Wetter zu genießen und neue Menschen kennen zu lernen. |
Cultural Knowledge
| Fact | Effect |
|---|---|
Germans love to travel, especially to warmer climates in southern Europe and in Asia. For the top-10 destinations in 2020, see Deutsche Welle. | Covid-19 has changed travel patterns, leading to a big uptick in camping in Germany. |
Tasks
Activity 1: Interpreting Information
- Listening/viewing/reading
- Interpreting Information
We all need a vacation from time to time, but sometimes the best vacations don’t involve traveling all that far. In preparation for the upcoming activities, please review read about the benefits of “staycations” and take written notes using the questions below:
After reading the text linked above, gather notes to the following prompts:
What are the six reasons why a vacation at home is more rejuvenating (erholsamer)?
What rationale is provided for each?
Self-Reflection: Which 2-3 reasons are most convincing? Why?
Activity 2: Presenting Information
Using your notes from the previous activity and new ideas, please record yourself presenting why you think Europe (especially Germany, Austria, and/or Switzerland) is the best place to take a vacation: “3 Gründe, warum Urlaub in Europa besser ist!” Include at least one relevant photo, 3 reasons (each with a 2- to 3-sentence justification), and a conclusion in your presentation. Here’s a model for how you might begin: Erstens, Berlin ist billig. Einerseits kostet ein Flug nach Berlin viel Geld. Andererseits sind die Lebensmittel in Deutschland billig.
Please use high-frequency words and provide as much detail as you can. Use the structures and words in the table above to organize your presentation.
This activity should take you 10 minutes to prepare and your presentation should last about 2 minutes.
Activity 3: Exchanging Information
Practice with partner(s) (interpersonal activity).
Taking the previous activity as a guide, engage in a brief conversation with a partner covering the following topics:
Get to know your conversation partner, then ask them about their vacation preferences, with an emphasis on using the structures and vocabulary in the tables above to communicate accurately and effectively.
These activities should take you 10 minutes to prepare and your presentation and conversation should last about 5 minutes.
Take-Aways
Self-Reflection
Ask yourself what went well, where you or your partner(s) struggled to communicate, and how you could improve next time. To help you keep speaking in German, try these strategies:
| Problem | Strategies |
|---|---|
I don’t know a word | Look it up, use its opposite with “nicht” or “kein-“ use gestures, Pantomime |
I don’t understand my partner | Repeat the word you don’t understand and inflect at the end to indicate it’s a question.
Ask for repetition with the phrase “Wie bitte?” |
Digging Deeper: Follow-up Activities
You can find lists of reasons why travelling is beneficial at Urlaubsguru und ichreise. Discuss with your classmates which benefits a longer-term stay abroad (1 month or more) offer that short-term, tourist adventures do not.
For tips and destination suggestions for travel in Germany, see the “Reisen in Deutschland” page on Deutschland.de.
Die Reise B
Learning Objectives
In these activities, you show that you can:
- communicate using high-frequency vocabulary and structures such as simple past tense.
- interpret short texts and videos and identify relevant information about travel narratives.
- communicate with others in scripted presentations and unscripted conversations on topics related to travel narratives.
Tools
Vocabulary
| Topic | Words and Phrases |
|---|---|
Travel | das Hotel, die Lage, bestätigen, feiern, überraschen |
Comparisons and Opposites | der Vergleich, vergleichsweise, vergleichen
besser – schlechter
nah – fern
oft / häufig – selten
allein(e) – miteinander
hin – her |
Structure words | danach, darüber, insgesamt, gewiss, zuvor |
Travel related verbs (from activity 1) |
Grammar and Structures
| Structure | Usage |
|---|---|
Simple past tense (standard) | kaufen: Ich kaufte einen Ticket nach…
planen: Wir planten eine Reise von…nach…
kennen lernen: Ich lernte viele neue Menschen kennen. |
Simple past tense (mixed and irregular) | müssen: Ich musste… Wir mussten…
dürfen: Ich durfte nicht… Wir durften nicht…
denken: Ich dachte… Wir dachten…
bringen: Ich brachte… Wir brachten…
fahren: Ich fuhr… Wir fuhren…
gehen: Ich ging… Wir gingen…
fliegen: Ich flog… Wir flogen…
sehen: Ich sah… Wir sahen… |
Connectors / Organizers | Zuerst, dann, außerdem, danach, deshalb, zum Schluß |
Question formats | W-questions: Warum bist du nach Florida gereist? Wo genau hast du übernachtet? Wie war das Hotel?
Yes/no-questions: Hast du einen Delphin gesehen?
Tag questions: Das war eine Überraschung, oder? |
Cultural Knowledge
| Fact | Effect |
|---|---|
Both German and English have two past tenses. In English, these two expressions are fairly interchangeable:I bought, I have boughtI saw, I have seenIn German, there is likewise little difference in meaning, but there is a cultural preference for the situations in which one uses one versus the other. | In German, the simple past (Ich kaufte…) is mainly used in writing—particularly when telling a story—and the Perfekt (Ich habe…gekauft) mainly used in writing. Hence, these are sometimes called the “narrative past” and the “conversational past.” |
Tasks
Activity 1: Interpreting Information
- Listening/viewing/reading
- Interpreting Information
No vacation or work/study abroad experience is complete without telling your friends and family all about it on social media or, for a longer adventure, on a blog or Vlog. In preparation for the upcoming activities, please read this first-person account of a German student’s travels in Australia and take written notes using the questions below:
After reading the account, gather notes to the following prompts:
What thoughts and feelings did he have right before departure? And after returning?
How did he meet friends in Australia? What activities did he participate in?
What challenges and adventures were part of his abroad experience?
After answering the questions, do a quick re-read or skim of the text and make a list of the verbs he uses. This list will help you in activities 2 and 3 below. After gathering the list, make a note of which verb tense he is using in this travel narrative.
Activity 2: Presenting Information
Using your notes from the previous activity, please record yourself presenting to your classmates a short account on the topic “Mein bester Urlaub” using the simple past tense. The account may be real or fictional. Include at least one relevant photo in your presentation. Please use high-frequency words and provide as much detail as you can. Use the simple past tense consistently in your presentation. Use connectors to report events in a logical order.
This activity should take you 10 minutes to prepare and your presentation should last about 2 minutes.
Activity 3: Exchanging Information
Practice with partner(s) (interpersonal activity).
Taking the previous activity as a guide, engage in a brief conversation with a partner covering the following topics:
Meet your conversation partner(s) and take turns reading aloud your prewritten travel narratives. After hearing a story, the other partner(s) should ask 4-5 questions each. The presenter should respond spontaneously in German using primarily simple past tense. As preparation for the Q&A, you should anticipate the questions your classmate(s) might ask and expand your list of verbs and their simple past forms for quick reference. You should also brainstorm questions you might ask using the structures table above.
These activities should take you 10 minutes to prepare and your Q&A conversation should last about 5 minutes.
Take-Aways
Self-Reflection
Ask yourself what went well, where you or your partner(s) struggled to communicate, and how you could improve next time. To help you keep speaking in German, try these strategies:
| Problem | Strategies |
|---|---|
I don’t know a word | Look it up, use its opposite with “nicht” or “kein-“ use gestures, Pantomime |
I don’t understand my partner | Repeat the word you don’t understand and inflect at the end to indicate it’s a question.
Ask for repetition with the phrase “Wie bitte?” |
Digging Deeper: Follow-up Activities
Additional travel reports (of K-12 students studying abroad) using simple past tense can be found on the Carl Duisberg website.
A range of affordable short- and long-term study and work abroad opportunities for all majors and for every year of your studies are available at KSU. Contact your KSU German professors to begin planning!
Die Reise C
Learning Objectives
In these activities, you show that you can:
- communicate using high-frequency vocabulary and structures such as simple past tense.
- interpret short texts and videos and identify relevant information about travel narratives.
- communicate with others in scripted presentations and unscripted conversations on topics related to travel narratives.
Tools
Vocabulary
| Topic | Words and Phrases |
|---|---|
Travel | das Hotel, die Lage, bestätigen, feiern, überraschen
die Freiheit, der Sinn
geschehen, lachen, schließen, vermeiden, wünschen |
Comparisons and Opposites | der Vergleich, vergleichsweise, vergleichen
besser – schlechter
nah – fern
oft / häufig / meistens – selten
allein(e) – miteinander
hin – her
laut – ruhig
leicht – schwer
absolut – wahrscheinlich – kaum |
Structure words | danach, darüber, insgesamt, gewiss, zuvor |
Travel related verbs (from activity 1) |
Grammar and Structures
| Structure | Usage |
|---|---|
Simple past tense (standard) | kaufen: Ich kaufte einen Ticket nach…
planen: Wir planten eine Reise von…nach…
kennen lernen: Ich lernte viele neue Menschen kennen. |
Simple past tense (mixed and irregular) | müssen: Ich musste… Wir mussten…
dürfen: Ich durfte nicht… Wir durften nicht…
denken: Ich dachte… Wir dachten…
bringen: Ich brachte… Wir brachten…
fahren: Ich fuhr… Wir fuhren…
gehen: Ich ging… Wir gingen…
fliegen: Ich flog… Wir flogen…
sehen: Ich sah… Wir sahen… |
Connectors / Organizers | Zuerst, dann, außerdem, danach, deshalb, zum Schluß
später, am nächsten Tag, täglich |
Question formats | W-questions: Warum bist du nach Florida gereist? Wo genau hast du übernachtet? Wie war das Hotel?
Yes/no-questions: Hast du einen Delphin gesehen?
Tag questions: Das war eine Überraschung, oder? |
Cultural Knowledge
| Fact | Effect |
|---|---|
School spirit an unfamiliar concept for German-speakers, in part because German schools focus on academics. There are no competitive sports in schools and very few other extracurricular activities. | While reading her narrative, look for her reaction to the role of sports, dances, and other extracurricular activities in an American high school. |
Tasks
Activity 1: Interpreting Information
- Listening/viewing/reading
- Interpreting Information
No vacation or work/study abroad experience is complete without telling your friends and family all about it on social media or, for a longer adventure, on a blog or Vlog. In preparation for the upcoming activities, please read this first-person account of a German K-12 student’s exchange year at an American high school and take written notes using the questions below:
After reading the account, gather notes to the following prompts:
What thoughts and feelings did she have right before departure? And after returning?
How did she meet friends in the USA? What activities did she participate in? What did she think about these new cultural activities?
What challenges and adventures were part of her abroad experience?
After answering the questions, do a quick re-read or skim of the text and make a list of the verbs he uses. This list will help you in activities 2 and 3 below. After gathering the list, make a note of which verb tense he is using in this travel narrative.
Activity 2: Presenting Information
In the previous unit, you wrote about your best travel or vacation experience. But we’ve all had some pretty terrible ones too and often they make the best stories. Besides, learning to laugh at these frustrations not only healthy, but a necessary skill for a longer-term experience in another country. Using your notes from the previous activity, please record yourself presenting to your classmates a short account on the topic “Mein schlechtester Urlaub” using the past tense. The account may be real or fictional. Include at least one relevant photo in your presentation.
Please use high-frequency words and provide as much detail as you can. Use the simple past tense consistently in your presentation. Use connectors to report events in a logical order.
This activity should take you 10 minutes to prepare and your presentation should last about 2 minutes.
Activity 3: Exchanging Information
Practice with partner(s) (interpersonal activity).
Taking the previous activity as a guide, engage in a brief conversation with a partner covering the following topics:
Meet your conversation partner(s) and take turns reading aloud your prewritten travel narratives. After hearing a story, the other partner(s) should ask 4-5 questions each. The presenter should respond spontaneously in German using primarily simple past tense. As preparation for the Q&A, you should anticipate the questions your classmate(s) might ask and expand your list of verbs and their simple past forms for quick reference. You should also brainstorm questions you might ask using the structures table above.
These activities should take you 10 minutes to prepare and your Q&A conversation should last about 5 minutes.
Take-Aways
Self-Reflection
Ask yourself what went well, where you or your partner(s) struggled to communicate, and how you could improve next time. To help you keep speaking in German, try these strategies:
| Problem | Strategies |
|---|---|
I don’t know a word | Look it up, use its opposite with “nicht” or “kein-“ use gestures, Pantomime |
I don’t understand my partner | Repeat the word you don’t understand and inflect at the end to indicate it’s a question.
Ask for repetition with the phrase “Wie bitte?” |
Digging Deeper: Follow-up Activities
Additional travel reports (of K-12 students studying abroad) using simple past tense can be found on the German Youth for Understanding webpage. The right bar allows you to narrow your search by the country the student lived in, with the USA being just one of about 40 options.
A range of affordable short- and long-term study and work abroad opportunities for all majors and for every year of your studies are available at KSU. Contact your KSU German professors to begin planning!
Die Reise D
Learning Objectives
In these activities, you show that you can:
- communicate using high-frequency vocabulary and structures such as organizing arguments.
- interpret short texts and videos and identify relevant information about alternative vacation plans.
- communicate with others in scripted presentations and unscripted conversations on topics related to alternative vacation plans.
Tools
Vocabulary
| Topic | Words and Phrases |
|---|---|
Organizing arguments | einerseits, andererseits, jedoch, selbstverständlich
erstens, zweitens, drittens, zum Schluß
statt, trotz, wegen |
Vacation | die Insel, die (frische) Luft, das Meer, der Monat, das Schiff, der Strand (am Strand), der Urlaub
außerhalb – innerhalb (außerhalb der Stadt)
die Erinnerung, das Heimweh, das Fernweh, erleben, lächeln
bereit, endlich, völlig, der Druck/der Stress, die Verantwortung
reisen, fahren, schwimmen, buchen, bestätigen, bezahlen, besichtigen, vermeiden, liegen, bleiben, fliegen, shoppen gehen, überlegen |
Expressing ambiguity | irgendetwas, irgendwo, irgendwie |
Grammar and Structures
| Structure | Usage |
|---|---|
Expressing hypotheticals
(würden + infinitive) | Ich würde…gehen.
Würdest du mit der Bahn fahren?
Wir würden im Hotel übernachten. |
Expressing preferences(würden + gern + infinitive) | Sie würde gern Hamburg besichtigen.
Wir würden gern zusammen nach Erfurt fahren, um die Fahrtkosten zu sparen. |
Cultural Knowledge
| Fact | Effect |
|---|---|
Facing a worker shortage after World War II, the West German government invited tens of thousands of immigrants as so-called “guest workers” from southern European countries like Italy, Greece, and Turkey from 1955-73. Without these workers, the German economic boom of this period would have been impossible. These immigrants worked primarily in factories, industrial settings, and construction in order to provide a better future for their children and grandchildren. Many of these “guest workers” established families and lives in West Germany and never returned to their home countries. Today, Germans of Turkish descent make up the largest ethnic minority, the majority of whom were born and raised in Germany. | The first COVID-19 vaccine—a joint-venture of the German firm BioNTech and Pfizer—was created by two children of Turkish immigrants. He moved to Germany at age 4 when his father secured employment at a Ford factory in Cologne. She was born in Germany to a Turkish physician. |
Tasks
Activity 1: Interpreting Information
- Listening/viewing/reading
- Interpreting Information
We all need a vacation from time to time, but sometimes the best vacations don’t involve traveling all that far. In preparation for the upcoming activities, please review read about the benefits of “staycations” and take written notes using the questions below:
Unsere Umfrage: Urlaub in Coronazeiten (neu eins) [Note: some dialect; playback speed can be adjusted using the gear icon]
After reading the text linked above, gather notes to the following prompts:
What had the interviewees originally planned to do in Summer 2020?
What specific reasons do they list for staying at home?
Several are still travelling: Where? And what are they doing there?
Activity 2: Presenting Information
Using your notes from the previous activity and new ideas, please record yourself presenting your own experience with “Urlaub in Coronazeiten.” Did you travel? Where? Did you stay at home and find other ways to relax or to “get away” virtually? Include at least one relevant photo.
Please use high-frequency words and provide as much detail as you can. Use the structures and words in the table above to organize your presentation.
This activity should take you 10 minutes to prepare and your presentation should last about 2 minutes.
Activity 3: Exchanging Information
Practice with partner(s) (interpersonal activity).
Taking the previous activity as a guide, engage in a brief conversation with a partner covering the following topics:
Role-Play: Now that vaccines for COVID-19 are coming out, we can look forward to future travels that will finally relieve our Fernweh! You and your friend are discussing what to do to get away and celebrate. You have never traveled to Europe but your lucky friend has! Converse about where (wohin) to go and why that might be a good choice. What sort of activities are there? How can you travel? How long you would like to stay? What is the weather like? When (wann) you would like to go?
When your friend gives you suggestions ask them if they have already visited your chosen destination. They should reply with some specific memories of what he/she experienced. For ideas about a specific destination, see the “Digging Deeper” section below for short videos profiling three highlights from travel locations in Germany.
Remember this should be a conversation, not an interview. The question-asker should also respond to what the respondent says with their own opinions and preferences: Ich finde…, ich denke…, ich meine…
These activities should take you 10 minutes to prepare and your presentation and conversation should last about 5 minutes.
Take-Aways
Self-Reflection
Ask yourself what went well, where you or your partner(s) struggled to communicate, and how you could improve next time. To help you keep speaking in German, try these strategies:
| Problem | Strategies |
|---|---|
I don’t know a word | Look it up, use its opposite with “nicht” or “kein-“ use gestures, Pantomime |
I don’t understand my partner | Repeat the word you don’t understand and inflect at the end to indicate it’s a question.
Ask for repetition with the phrase “Wie bitte?” |
Digging Deeper: Follow-up Activities
For German travel suggestions that you might consider in activity 3, watch one of the short videos in the series “Drei Gründe für….” Each focuses on three reasons why the profiled city or area is a good destination.