GERM10006-GERM20007-GERM30005: German 5

If you take this as a level 2 or 3 subject, it might vary a bit.
One hour written language exam during the exam period [25%]
One hour written lecture exam during the exam period [12.5%]
One essay of 500 words for the language seminar component during semester [12.5%]
Two essays of 500 words each for the cultural studies component due in weeks 8 and 12 [25%]
10 minute oral presentation for the language seminar component during semester [10%]
Listening comprehension test for the language seminar component during semester [5%]
Mid-semester test for the language seminar component in week 7 [10%]

The best part about this subject is the 2-hour language seminar. The usefulness and enjoyability of the lecture and respective tutorial absolutely pale in comparison to the seminar, which is the perfect blend of language skills and cultural knowledge.

My biggest gripe with this subject was the tutorials/lectures. The readings typically fluctuated in difficulty, and basically nobody completed the readings anyway, so there was little class discussion. At the end of the semester, I was calculating the number of tutorials I could miss and still pass on attendance because there was typically little to gain from them. The idea of the tutorials is that you come in with a translated, read text and written responses to the corresponding questions, but these were normally quite boring and there felt little reason to do them.

The previous review of this subject mentions how the subject is great if you want to learn about tiny bits of German literature, and I think this really hit the nail on the head. Imo this subject could function very well with just 2, 2-hour seminars separate from any kind of lectures. The lectures and tutorials felt more like the department was trying to cram archaic German novels and cultural fun facts down your throat and little learning actually came out of them. The best way to learn a language is in a classroom.

Moreover, one other thing I wasn't fond of in the subject was that it didn't really test the effort you put in, but rather gauged how good you were at the language coming into it. While there is definitely room to improve, it is easy to fly through this subject if you already have decent German skills. If you show up to the lectures and seminars and do some broad readings of the texts, you'll be able to get a pretty good mark. While this isn't necessarily a bad thing, I don't think the subject actually challenged me to do well or improve from where I was in German. I feel as competent in the language as I was in preparation for my exams in year 12. To give an example, you go through and are assessed multiple times on adjectival endings, an area of grammar that is typically handled much earlier. This leads to some pretty easy marks.

You are given some vocab lists throughout the semester, but these aren't assessed at all, to my knowledge. That being said, putting in the effort to at least learn some of the words will obviously help your language skills holistically. I personally gave up on them, so it's just extra work that's up to you. If you have other weaknesses, focus on them first.

I'll briefly go over each piece of assessment and add my thoughts. The 500 word essay for the language seminar should be a good way to understand where you're at in the subject as it's the first essay you'll get marked. The same applies to all essays, but the earlier the start, the better off you'll be. Make sure you get all of the referencing stuff correct or you'll lose easy marks. Similarly, it's crucial to avoid silly mistakes in your essays, because these will undermine your piece the most. Throw in many "new" grammar rules you've learned in the seminar into this piece.

The MST rewards you if you're good with the language side of things. If you want to succeed in this, just spam questions from B Grammatik and work on your general writing/grammar skills. The activities you do in class are sufficient to prepare you for the reading task and everything else, so that's no stress.

The 10 minute oral isn't as intimidating as it sounds when you realise you only really have to speak for 5 minutes (you get a partner), and you can bring in cue cards to read off. This assessment honestly separated those who had done VCE German before and those who hadn't, so make sure you're prepared as it's literally the only speaking you do for the entire semester. If you want to do well, prepare early and get someone you trust to help go over your oral and iron out mistakes.

For first year students, you do a listening task that is assessed. In our semester, this was super easy and the average was somewhere above 90%. What separated people was simply silly mistakes. I thought this was a fair piece of assessment with correct weighting.

The lecture/tute essays require a fair chunk of work. However, you do get to pick a single topic of many, so playing to your strengths should let you pull through. If you want to do well in these, don't do as I did and start them a few days before the deadline. The best scores will come from a carefully planned out essay that isn't trying to be too complex for itself. Realise that 500 words does not give you a large space for complexity of ideas, so be succinct and smart in how you write.

One weakness of this subject was that it had no past exams that I could find. No sample questions are given, either However, Daniela was really nice and tells you exactly what every section will cover. The best way to prepare for the exam is to:
1) understand the grammar rules (and the language behind the grammar -- different types of conjunctions, prepositions, etc.)
2) go through lectures/readings (it's hard to bs your way through the 2nd part of the exam, because it tests specific, random trivia, such as 'what is the text type of this text you read?')

At the end of the day, it felt more like I was taking a German cultural studies or literature class instead of a language one when I was in the lectures. The true problem of this subject is that it doesn't know what it wants to be. It's like it's fighting itself as to whether it wants to teach the language, or teach tidbits of information about German history and culture, depending on whether or not you were in one type of class or the other. And it that sense, it lacks clear direction.

The above paragraph is a bit harsh, considering I actually enjoyed this subject a fair bit. I actually really liked the language seminars and thought they were engaging, not to mention the teaching staff are super nice and helpful. If you did German in VCE, you should not struggle with the content at all (apart from the readings, but these just take time). Sorry for the length.

Yep.

A bunch of different lecturers from the German faculty. This changes every week.

Nope.

3.5/5

"B Grammatik" is the prescribed text. I honestly think you could do well in the subject without the book, depending on how good your grammar skills are going into the subject.

1 x 1-hour lecture, 1 x 1-hour tutorial (based on the lecture), 1 x 2-hour language seminar

Semester 1, 2016

H1

3 essays (3 x 12.5% each), Mid-sem (10%), Oral Presentation (10%), Listening test/Vocab List/Encyclopaedia Entry (5%), Exam (37.5%)

Ah German 5. Out of the 4 subjects that I did this semester, this was most definitely my 4th favourite.

Positives:
1.You get exposed to some great German literature and you talk about some great German authors and playwrights like Keun, Goethe, Brecht, etc. Some of the essay topics are quite interesting.
2.Tutors are nice and friendly.
3.Lectures are recorded, so you can skip lectures and watch them at home.
4.Lecture slides are uploaded, so you can skip watching lectures at home.

Negatives:

1.Lectures and Tutorials
The first 2 lectures contained some truly intellectually stimulating content, such as: what books you need, how not to plagiarise, hurdle requirements, a list of online dictionaries, the role of the lecture and a meme asking you why you are here at the German 5 lecture. I kid you not, there is literally a Harry Potter meme asking why you are at the German 5 lecture.
The 1st tutorial is spent on learning how not to plagiarise, how to use a dictionary, and finally, how not to plagiarise. The 2nd tutorial is a compulsory library tour in which you are shown how to search up a library catalogue and how to find a book in the library. This helps you learn how not to plagiarise.

2.Assessments throughout semester (and some tips)
Oral presentation: You are allowed to bring in cue cards, but if you use them too much, you will be penalised heavily. Huge penalty if you read.

Mid-sem: allocation of marks is bizarre, 3 marks for one sentence. Good luck.

Essays:
You aren’t allowed to ask any native speaker for help, not even to proofread. Feedback is quite vague. You will be told that you have used the wrong word. BUT YOU WILL NOT BE TOLD WHAT THE RIGHT WORD IS.
At some point in history, a genius decided that the best way for university students to learn a foreign language was to a) prohibit them from learning from native speakers and b) provide vague feedback that highlights what is wrong but never explains what is right.

3.Grammar!
All grammar is done at home and when you struggle with grammar there will be a puzzled face looking at you telling you that you should have done grammar at home so you should know your German grammar.
Yes, because apparently doing exercises from a textbook is meant to replace face-to-face education.

4.The exam
This is the true pinnacle of German 5.
There are 0 past papers. And 0 sample questions. Oh yeah, and it’s always at the end of the exam period, so everybody will be partying but you’ll still have an exam.
Some tips:
Lecture/Tutorial component: Memorise lots of random context, history and plots of the texts and authors you’ve studied. You’ll be asked obscure questions like, what psychological concepts did Sigmund Freud invent (yes, highly relevant to German 5)
Language seminar component: There’s no real way to prepare. You just have to know how to write some simple but grammatically correct sentences.
Grammar: learn the grammar terms for German, e.g. know how to translate “preposition” and “conjunction” and “adverbial clause” into German, and then learn how to explain (in German) when these are used in a sentence. Then there are some normal grammar exercises.

TL;DR:
Pretty good if you want to learn lots of little tiny bits of German literature. Really bad if you want to actually get good at speaking/writing German. You will be paying money to tour the library. At the end of the course you will learn how not to plagiarise.

Yes

Varies, different tutors take different lectures

No, no past exams, no sample exams, no sample questions, no clear indication of exam structure

1.5/5

Grammar Book, never used in class, tutors expect work to be done at home. Buying it will make your life a bit easier.

1 x 1-hour lecture, 1 x 1-hour tutorial, 1 x 2-hour seminar

Sem 1, 2015

H2