* Finding out about this opportunity at the last minute? It's not at all too late to join the class for the 2024-2025 school year. We started Tuesday, 9/3/2024, but it's very possible to join the class late. Just send me a message and we can set up a plan for your learner to join in! *

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Guten Tag! German 1 for High Schoolers gets you started on an exciting language-learning journey that could eventually…
1. prepare you to meet college or university entrance requirements
2. enable you to read, write, speak, and listen to German with competence and ease
3. allow you to consider a career in international politics, business, engineering, global health, translation...the sky’s the limit!

There are real benefits to a continuous, sequential course of study with a group of like-minded learners, led by an expert in the field. The instruction in this course will be targeted right to your level every day and will lead you predictably and efficiently toward your goals.

Please read more below for class details. I so much hope you’ll join us!

--Dr. Jennifer

P.S. If you’d like to meet with me, feel free to sign up for my Sampler Class and/or an Open House session.
https://outschool.com/classes/german-for-high-schoolers-sampler-class-0UjkKPYE
https://outschool.com/classes/german-placement-assessment-open-house-8GBQiwIM

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PROVEN RESULTS
Students who take my German classes see results! 

+ By the end of German 1, you’ll be able to speak about yourself and everyday life around you.
+ By the end of German 2, you’ll be able to speak about higher-level topics, stating your opinion, defending your position, and explaining your reasoning.
+ As you move into German 3, 4, and 5, your speaking ability will become more natural, more automatic, and more nuanced.

Most students in my classes score in the A or B range on the exams. I think you’ll be surprised by how quickly you’ll learn and by how proficient you’ll become.

One of my favorite parent reviews (from German 2) says it best:
“My daughter’s ability to speak and understand German is growing by leaps and bounds. Dr. Jennifer is a great teacher, the class is interesting and it WORKS!”

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EXPERT INSTRUCTION
I am an expert instructor with 25+ years of experience.

You can see the details of my teaching credentials in the “Teacher Expertise” dropdown and on my profile page (https://outschool.com/teachers/Jennifer-Bjornstad).

A few highlights:
-	I have a PhD in German.
-	I am a near-native speaker of German.
-	I have lived and traveled in Germany extensively. 
-	I was a tenured professor at Valparaiso University.
-	I am a licensed high school teacher.
-	I homeschooled my own son for several years.
-	I have taught the German 1 class many, many times in this format, with this textbook.

I really know my stuff when it comes to German language, history, literature, and culture. I’m also an approachable and welcoming teacher—our virtual classroom is a lively, warm, and congenial place.

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PRICING & CLASS VALUE
This listing is for Part 1 of 4. The price is $25 for each 45-minute class session, so $800 for the 32 sessions in Part 1 (8 weeks, 4 sessions a week).

Total cost for the year: $3200

Note to Families:
I know that the cost of this class represents a significant investment in your learner’s education. 

The class price includes…
+ high-quality, expert instruction, 4 days a week
+ instructor-created lesson plans, activities, & materials
+ close communication via the once-a-week Family Letter and Outschool messages
+ individualized feedback on your learner’s progress via exam grades and Quarterly Reports

Teaching on Outschool is my full-time job. I take my work seriously and spend a lot of time thinking about how best to support each learner. I teach just a small number of students per year, so you can be sure your child is getting the personalized attention that builds confidence, honors each student’s unique abilities, and leads to language-learning success.

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WHY GERMAN?
Learners of German have all kinds of reasons they are interested in studying the language. 
 
Do any of these reasons apply to you?
+ I want to improve my understanding of how English is related to other languages.
+ I want to speak with my Oma in her native language.
+ I want to get world news coverage from a European perspective.
+ I want to understand the German I hear in my favorite movies about WWII.
+ I want to sing a Schubert lied with confidence.
+ I want to play video games in German.
+ I want to learn a bunch of cool long words like Geschwindigkeitsüberschreitung.

It is not a surprise that so many people want to learn German. After all, it is the language of one of the most important European cultures of the present era and the language of a rich political, philosophical, and artistic past.

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INTERACTIVE LEARNING & CLASSROOM COMMUNITY
This course, designed especially for teen learners, uses a highly interactive approach to language-learning that will keep you on your toes, learning more and more German each day. My teaching style focuses on getting everyone involved at the level they feel comfortable with, asking for lots of volunteers and giving everyone a chance to participate. You will get a lot of daily practice, and you will learn quickly!

Class activities will include a mix of whole-class discussions, small-group or partner activities, and individual work. A continually changing set of exercises and activities will keep things lively. We’ll use break-out rooms, “whiteboard” presentations, and PowerPoint slides; we’ll do activities from the textbook and activities I have created for the class; we’ll play “Biographical Bingo,” perform role-plays, practice “shopping” for birthday gifts, discuss our favorite (and least favorite!) foods, sing some songs, read some books, and have some great conversations together. 

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TEXTBOOK & MATERIALS: THE “NATURAL APPROACH”
The textbook we will be using, Kontakte: A Communicative Approach, has been around for quite a while in various editions, so it’s very well thought-out and carefully edited. It’s based on solid research and provides you with all of the tools you will need: activities, exercises, drawings, photos, reference materials, grammar tables, a verb list, and a thorough glossary.

In addition to the textbook, we will be using a lot of materials that I have created myself over the 25+ years of my teaching career. These materials bring contemporary Germany into the classroom, provide links to other fields of study (mathematics, history, art, literature, music, etc.) and keep things fresh and interesting.

These are the same materials I sell to other teachers and learners on my Teachers Pay Teachers storefront; you get them free as a part of the class!

Kontakte is designed around what is known as the Natural Approach to language learning. In the Natural Approach, beginners are given the chance to learn at a natural pace, listening to the instructor speaking simple German and responding appropriately with “ja” or “nein” or with simple one-word answers. You will be able to participate verbally as you feel comfortable, moving from one-word answers to longer phrases and eventually to full sentences when you are ready to do so.

Many people feel a little nervous when they first start learning a new language. Don’t worry—we will take it slow and we’ll all be in it together! You will be hearing a lot of German each class period, allowing you to be fully immersed in the language, but you will be able to ask a question in English at any time.

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THE 4 SKILLS: READING, WRITING, LISTENING, SPEAKING
In German 1, we will focus on all four communicative skills—reading, writing, listening, and speaking.

You will have the chance to READ lots of German in the textbook and in the materials I have created, starting with very simple sentences and moving on to paragraph- or story-length texts. In Chapters 1, 2, 3, and 4, we take the time to work with authentic texts—texts that were designed not for learners, but for real-life Germans. We will start with some information in very simple German designed for refugees new to Germany. We will move on to reading the text in the carbon-footprint calculator on the German Bread for the World website and one of the favorite books in the Cowboy Klaus series designed for German kids who are just learning to read (Cowboy Klaus und sein Schwein Lisa). We will cap off the year by reading a portion of Erich Kästner’s post-war biography, Als ich ein kleiner Junge war.

You will have the chance to WRITE a lot of German, starting with simple sentences and moving on to longer paragraphs. 

You will also do a lot of LISTENING and SPEAKING. We’ll talk in class, of course, and you’ll have the chance to hear lots of different German native speakers when we look together at a variety of video clips. I know that, for most people, when you say you want to learn German, you mean that you want to learn to speak German. You want to be able to communicate your thoughts and opinions to others and to hear and understand their thoughts and opinions in return! We will spend a lot of time in this class focusing on your spoken German skills.

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GRAMMATICAL COMPETENCE
Sometimes when people think of language classes, they think of grammar—lots of dry and boring tables, charts, and lists. Today’s language classes are not like that! Today, we focus on your functional abilities—what can you do with the language? Being accurate is still important, but we see grammatical accuracy in context, as a means of making you understandable to the people you want to communicate with.

Don’t get me wrong—we will be learning the rules of grammar, and we will be doing a lot of grammar-based practice. In my experience, an “immersion only” method doesn’t really work unless you can devote hours a day to being surrounded by the language and culture (i.e. move to Germany!), so we will learn by pairing our immersive experiences with targeted practice. This will let you learn both with your intuition and with your intellect.

All this is to say that I won’t be correcting every error. Broadly put, we will be working on grammatical accuracy in written work and in targeted speaking exercises, but when it comes to learning to put our thoughts, feelings, and ideas into words, we will focus more on general fluidity and confidence of expression. No one wants to be interrupted in the middle of what they’re trying to say, and one of the best ways toward improved speaking skills is simply lots and lots of unimpeded practice.

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CULTURAL KNOWLEDGE
One thing I really want you to know is that this class encompasses so much more than just learning to speak German! Along your way to fluency, you’ll learn a lot about German history, music, art, and literature.

You’ll also become an expert in the connections between German and English. (Did you know they were actually the same language—West Germanic—until around 1400 years ago?) Looking into word histories is one of my favorite pastimes, and I have converted many students into amateur etymologists! I think you will find this field of study fascinating, as well. Learning that “der Baum” (tree) is related to “beam” or that “die Apfelsine” (orange) means “apple from China” is a fun way to expand your vocabulary—in German and in English—and it is an exhilarating way to use all parts of your brain.

We will take time during the year to concentrate specifically on various cultural aspects of present-day Germany. In German 1, there will be mini-units on…

+ Deutschland ist…multikulturell (multicultural)
+ Deutschland ist…grün (green, i.e. environmentally conscious)
+ Deutschland ist…Cowboy-besessen (cowboy-obsessed)
+ Deutschland ist…wieder aufgebaut (rebuilt)

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THE COMPLETE CURRICULUM & COLLEGE PLACEMENT
Once you have completed German 1, you will probably want to go on to German 2. First of all, learning German together is fun, and you will probably want to continue with your classmates. Secondly, most colleges and universities want students to have completed at least two years of high school language as an entrance requirement, so you will want to be prepared for that.

After you complete German 2, you can go on to advanced-level work in my German 3, 4, and/or 5 classes.

Depending on the time and energy you give your German studies, you may be able to place directly into an upper-level German class in college. That would get you a nice head start on a German major or minor, which many people combine with another major such as history, engineering, English, another foreign language, business, nursing, etc. Advanced skills in a second language are always useful, both for job placement and for personal enjoyment.

Many colleges and universities offer foreign language placement tests, which you take the summer before you begin college, and I can help you prepare for that.

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FAQ—FOR FAMILIES
Q: Do you teach the class in GERMAN or in ENGLISH?
A: Both! I use what you might call a “partial immersion” approach. Most of our class time is focused on reading, writing, listening, and speaking—in German. But I believe there is a role for English in the classroom, as well. A targeted use of English can really promote student confidence and increase learning efficiency.

Q: Are you a NATIVE SPEAKER of German?
A: I am what is called a “near-native” speaker of German. I have a BA, MA, and PhD in German and I have spent significant time in Germany, so my language skills are top-notch. As a near-native speaker, I offer students the best of both worlds: not only do I have clear pronunciation, advanced vocabulary, and excellent grammatical accuracy, but I also speak a standardized German that is easy to follow, and I excel in adapting my speech to different ability levels.

Q: Does it matter that you are a TRAINED TEACHER?
A: I sure think it does! I have spent my career reading, thinking, and talking about how best to teach German and then putting those ideas into practice in the classroom. I am a member of the AATG (American Association of Teachers of German) and the MLA (Modern Language Association). I have attended and presented at dozens of teacher conferences and have published articles on pedagogical topics. All of this means that I am familiar with best practices and current thinking on effective teaching methods and that I’m able to use this knowledge to help lead your learner to success.

Q: We have a SCHEDULING CONFLICT. Can my learner still take the class?
A: Absolutely. Your learner can always catch up on a missed class by watching the class video, posted automatically by Outschool after each class session. If, for example, you have a standing conflict on Tuesdays, your learner can attend in real-time on Mondays, watch the video Tuesday evening, and attend in real-time on Wednesdays and Thursdays.

Q: Can we count this class for HIGH SCHOOL CREDIT?
A: Quite possibly. If you are a homeschooling family creating your own transcript, you can list German 1, Parts 1 – 4 as a full high school credit. If you are working with a high school guidance counselor, you can submit the class description, my credentials, and your learner’s exams scores and narrative reports for possible credit.

Q: We missed the beginning of the school year! Is it TOO LATE TO START?
A: I’m often able to accommodate learners with a late start. Message me and let’s see if we can make it work. If, for example, your learner has already done some work with German, they may be able to jump right in.

Q: I don’t think we’ll be able to get the TEXTBOOK by the first day. Is that a problem?
A: No problem. Last-minute enrollments are welcome. I can provide scans of the first few pages until your book arrives.

Q: I have more questions. Can we GET TOGETHER to talk?
A: Yes, please! I love getting together with learners and their families to learn about their particular questions, concerns, and needs. Send me a time that works for you, and we can do an Open House session: 
https://outschool.com/classes/german-placement-assessment-open-house-8GBQiwIM?refuid=zBNxOaog.