Elementary German II

Course Description

GER1121C – Elementary German II is a 4-credit, integrated lecture-and-laboratory course continuing the development of German-language proficiency begun in GER1120C (Elementary German I). Students at the second-semester elementary level expand their command of German grammar (full conversational past, dative case, genitive case, two-way prepositions, subordinating conjunctions and complex sentence structures, comparative and superlative, the subjunctive at an introductory level), broaden their vocabulary into more sophisticated topics, develop reading skills with longer authentic and adapted texts, and engage in more substantive spoken and written communication. The integrated "C" format combines class meetings with required language-laboratory work, typically delivered through online materials.

The course sits within the Florida Statewide Course Numbering System (SCNS) under Foreign Languages and Literatures > German and is offered at approximately 18 Florida public institutions. GER1121C completes the elementary-level German sequence and is the standard prerequisite for intermediate-level study (GER2200 Intermediate German I). Together with GER1120C, this course provides the foundation needed to continue toward fulfillment of SUS foreign-language graduation requirements at most Florida institutions.

By the end of GER1121C, students typically achieve ACTFL Novice-High to Intermediate-Low proficiency — sufficient to handle predictable everyday transactions, engage in simple conversations on familiar topics, read short authentic texts, and write basic personal narratives. Students completing GER1121C with strong performance are well-prepared for intermediate-level work, study abroad, and continued language development.

Learning Outcomes

Required Outcomes

Upon successful completion of GER1121C, students will be able to:

• Demonstrate elementary-level proficiency in German across the four traditional skills — generally aligning with the ACTFL Novice-High to Intermediate-Low proficiency range by course end.
• Apply expanded grammar structures: the full conversational past tense (Perfekt) including verbs with sein and haben; the simple past (Präteritum) for selected verbs (sein, haben, modals, regular and common irregular verbs); the dative case (with verbs, prepositions, and indirect objects); the genitive case at an introductory level; two-way prepositions and the dative-vs-accusative distinction; subordinating conjunctions and word order in subordinate clauses; relative clauses; comparative and superlative adjectives and adverbs; the imperative across all forms (du, ihr, Sie, wir).
• Apply introduction to the subjunctive mood: hypothetical (würde + infinitive); polite forms (möchte, könnte, hätte gern); conditional sentences at an introductory level.
• Apply the full case system: nominative, accusative, dative, and genitive cases; case marking on definite articles, indefinite articles, possessive adjectives, and pronouns; the rationale of the case system.
• Communicate orally in German on a range of topics: narrate past events; describe people, places, and things in detail; ask and answer more complex questions; express preferences, opinions, and recommendations; give and follow directions; make plans; describe daily routines, travel, work, education, and entertainment.
• Listen to and understand authentic spoken German: native-speaker conversations at moderate speed; short news segments; dialogues; short songs; introductory podcast and video content with German subtitles.
• Read and understand authentic and adapted written German: simple newspaper articles; short cultural readings; correspondence; menus, schedules, signs; simple narratives and descriptions.
• Write in German on a range of topics: multi-paragraph compositions; narratives in the past; descriptive essays; correspondence (letters, emails, postcards); responses to prompts.
• Apply expanded vocabulary: education and the workplace; health and the body; travel and tourism; the home and household; food and dining; emotions and personal preferences; current events at a basic level; technology and digital life; transportation; environment.
• Apply cultural knowledge at the elementary level: deeper engagement with the geography, history, and contemporary life of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland; major holidays and celebrations; cuisine and regional specialties; the educational and political systems at a survey level; contemporary German-speaking culture (music, film, sports, social topics).
• Demonstrate cross-cultural competence: recognize cultural differences in communication norms, social interaction, and daily life; engage respectfully with German-speaking cultural perspectives.
• Use language-learning strategies effectively: contextual inferencing of meaning; productive use of dictionaries and online language tools; effective independent practice; preparing for sustained immersion or study abroad.
• Recognize and discuss regional variation in the German-speaking world: differences in vocabulary, expression, and cultural conventions between Germany, Austria, and Switzerland; introduction to dialects.

Optional Outcomes

• Engage with authentic literature: short stories, poems, or excerpts from German-language authors at the elementary level.
• Engage with German-language film and media: short films, music, and accessible films with German subtitles.
• Engage with study-abroad preparation: language and cultural preparation for travel or study in German-speaking countries.
• Engage with specialized vocabulary for students' specific interests (technical/engineering German, music German, etc.).
• Engage with contemporary issues: current events in German-speaking countries; immigration and integration; environmental policy; European Union issues.

Major Topics

Required Topics

• Review and Extension of Elementary German I: Present-tense verbs; the nominative and accusative cases; basic word order; modal verbs; possessive adjectives; basic vocabulary domains.
• The Conversational Past (Perfekt): Formation with haben or sein + past participle; common past participles (regular, irregular, mixed); choosing between haben and sein auxiliary; word order in past constructions.
• The Simple Past (Präteritum): Simple past for sein, haben, and modal verbs; introduction to simple-past forms of common verbs; the relationship between Perfekt and Präteritum (spoken vs. written register).
• The Dative Case: Indirect-object marking; dative-only verbs (helfen, gefallen, danken, etc.); dative prepositions (mit, nach, bei, von, zu, aus, seit, gegenüber); dative pronouns (mir, dir, ihm, ihr, uns, euch, ihnen, Ihnen).
• Two-Way Prepositions: Prepositions that take either accusative or dative depending on meaning (an, auf, hinter, in, neben, über, unter, vor, zwischen); the location-vs-direction distinction; the wo? vs. wohin? question pattern.
• The Genitive Case: Introduction to genitive case for possession; common genitive prepositions; the increasing replacement of genitive with von + dative in spoken German.
• Subordinating Conjunctions and Subordinate Clauses: Common subordinating conjunctions (weil, dass, ob, wenn, als, bevor, nachdem, obwohl); verb-final word order in subordinate clauses; the comma rule; main-and-subordinate clause combinations.
• Relative Clauses: Relative pronouns (der, die, das forms across cases); relative-clause word order; the relationship between relative pronouns and antecedents.
• Comparison: Comparative adjectives and adverbs (mit -er and umlaut); superlative (am ___sten and der/die/das ___ste); irregular comparison forms; making comparisons (so ... wie, als).
• The Subjunctive Mood at Introductory Level: Hypothetical/conditional with würde + infinitive; polite forms (möchte, könnte, hätte gern); introduction to conditional sentences.
• Vocabulary Expansion: Education and the workplace; travel and tourism; health and the body; the home and household management; food and dining (including Austrian and Swiss specialties); emotions and personal preferences; current events at a basic level; technology and digital life; transportation; environment and weather.
• Listening and Reading: Authentic and adapted German-language audio (instructor speech, recorded dialogues, songs, short news segments); written texts at the elementary level (cultural readings, simple correspondence, simple narratives, menus, schedules).
• Speaking and Conversation: Past-tense narrative; extended description; expressing opinions and recommendations; making plans; giving and following directions; introductory negotiation in service contexts.
• Writing: Multi-paragraph compositions; past-tense narratives; descriptive essays; formal and informal correspondence; responses to prompts.
• Cultural Content: Deeper geography of German-speaking Europe (regions of Germany, Austria, Switzerland); major historical reference points (the German Empire, Weimar, the Nazi period and Holocaust at appropriate level for the course, post-war division and reunification); contemporary issues; daily life and customs; differences among Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein; regional cuisine and traditions.

Optional Topics

• German-Language Literature: Selected short stories, poems, or excerpts from accessible German-language authors at the elementary level.
• German-Language Film: Short films and accessible features with German subtitles.
• Specialized Vocabulary: Technical/engineering, music, classical-studies, business, or other discipline-specific German for students with focused interests.
• Contemporary Issues: Current events in German-speaking countries; the European Union; immigration and integration; environmental policy.
• Study-Abroad Preparation: Practical and cultural preparation for travel or study in German-speaking countries.

Resources & Tools

• Most-adopted textbooks at Florida institutions: Treffpunkt Deutsch by Gonglewski, Moeller, and Liedloff (Pearson) — among the most widely-adopted; Deutsch: Na klar! by Di Donato, Clyde, and Vansant (McGraw-Hill); Vorsprung by Lovik, Guy, and Chavez (Cengage); Kontakte: A Communicative Approach by Tschirner, Nikolai, and Terrell (McGraw-Hill). Most institutions use the same textbook for GER1120C and GER1121C.
• Open-access alternatives: Deutsch im Blick (free, open online German curriculum from the University of Texas, coerll.utexas.edu/dib); Goethe-Institut Deutsch für Dich (free supplementary practice); some Florida institutions have moved toward instructor-curated readers and OER materials.
• Online learning platforms: Pearson MyLab German (paired with Treffpunkt Deutsch); McGraw-Hill Connect German; Vista Higher Learning Supersite; Quia (widely used for online language-lab work); Duolingo and Babbel (supplementary practice for review).
• Authentic-content resources: Deutsche Welle (DW) Learn German — extensive free resources at multiple levels (dw.com/learn-german); Goethe-Institut online resources; German-language news (DW, Tagesschau, Süddeutsche Zeitung, Der Spiegel); Easy German YouTube channel (street interviews with German and English subtitles); Slow German podcast (slowgerman.com).
• Reference and practice tools: LEO Online Dictionary (free, comprehensive German-English dictionary, dict.leo.org) — widely regarded as the best free German dictionary; Linguee German-English; Conjuguemos (free verb-conjugation practice); the Duden online dictionary.
• Florida cultural resources: Annual Oktoberfest celebrations in Florida cities (Tampa, Orlando, Naples, others); the German-American Society of Central Florida (Orlando area); the German-American Club of Pinellas County (St. Petersburg); the Goethe-Institut online programming; the Atlanta-based regional German consulate provides cultural programming accessible to Florida students.
• Tutoring and support: Institution language labs; language-conversation partners; faculty office hours; institution German-language clubs where they exist.

Career Pathways

• Engineering, Manufacturing, and Technical Careers — Germany's status as a global engineering and manufacturing leader makes German valuable for engineering students; Florida engineering students with German skills have advantages in firms with German parent companies (BMW, Siemens, BASF, Bosch, ZF, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, etc.).
• International Business and Trade — Germany is the U.S.'s largest European trading partner.
• Philosophy, Theology, and Classical Studies — German-language scholarship is foundational; graduate programs typically require German reading proficiency.
• Music (Classical, Opera) — extensive classical and operatic repertoire is in German; performers and scholars need German fluency.
• History (European, Holocaust, World War) — German-language sources are central to many historical fields.
• Research Sciences — Germany remains a major research nation; substantial scientific scholarship in German.
• Tourism and Hospitality — Florida's tourism economy serves substantial numbers of German-speaking visitors annually.
• Diplomacy and Foreign Service — German-language proficiency is valued in U.S. State Department careers.
• Translation and Interpretation — court interpreters, technical translators, business translators.
• K–12 World-Languages Teacher — German remains taught in some Florida high schools.
• Higher Education / Academia (with Graduate Study) — pathway into German-studies graduate programs.

Special Information

Articulation and Transfer

GER1121C articulates to all Florida SUS institutions and is the standard second-semester elementary German course. The SUS foreign-language requirement for graduation typically requires completion through the intermediate level (GER2200 or equivalent); GER1121C is the prerequisite for that intermediate work. Specific application varies by institution and degree.

Position in the German Sequence

Florida institutions typically structure the German sequence as:

• GER1120C — Elementary German I
• GER1121C (this course) — Elementary German II
• GER2200 — Intermediate German I
• GER2201 / GER2220 — Intermediate German II
• GER3xxx — Advanced German (composition, conversation, literature, civilization)

The SUS foreign-language requirement is typically satisfied by completion through the intermediate level, or by demonstrated proficiency at an equivalent level (high school courses, AP/IB credit, or proficiency exam).

Prerequisites and Placement

The standard prerequisite is GER1120C (Elementary German I) with a minimum grade of C, or equivalent placement. Equivalent placement may include:

• Two years of high-school German with strong performance
• AP German Language exam score
• IB German exam score
• Institution placement examination

Students with prior German experience should consult their institution about placement testing — placing into a higher-level course is appropriate for students with significant prior background.

Course Format and Workload

GER1121C is typically a 4-credit integrated course meeting 4–5 hours per week (lecture plus integrated lab time, often delivered through online language-lab platforms). The "C" suffix and 4-credit structure reflects the additional time commitment required for language-lab work. Expect: weekly textbook reading and online quizzes; weekly compositions or short writing assignments; regular oral practice; 2–4 unit exams; a comprehensive final exam (often including listening, reading, writing, and speaking components). Out-of-class workload typically runs 6–9 hours per week — sustained daily engagement (15–30 minutes daily) is more effective than concentrated weekend study for language acquisition.

Course Code Variations

Florida institutions consistently use GER1121C for this course, titled "Elementary German II" or "Beginning German II." The course is consistently 4 credits with integrated lab. Some institutions offer the lecture-only variant GER1121 (3 credits) without integrated lab; the 4-credit "C" form is more common at Florida public institutions.