Weekly Email for Spring/Summer German Courses – 23. Juli 2024

Liebe Studis – Dear students,
 
Today, you have the opportunity to watch “Detroit’s Olympic Uprising“, a documentary about Detroit’s 1963 bid for the 1968 Olympics. The film was produced by Aaron Schillinger, Stefan Szymanski (Professor, Kinesiology), and Silke Weineck (Professor, Germanic Languages and Literatures.) The screening takes places at 5 p.m.
 
This month’s German Park Picnic (Saturday, July 27; 4-9 p.m., 5549 Pontiac Trail) is coming up this weekend!
 
CGIS has scheduled its annual Study Abroad Fair for Tuesday, October 8, 12-4 p.m., Michigan Union, Rogel Ballroom. We highly recommend finding time for Study Abroad if you possibly can – many students look back on their time studying abroad as the highlight of their college years.
 
Reminders from previous emails:
 
The Deutschtisch for Summer 2024 is associated with German 230, but all are welcome! The group meets TTh 12:00-12:45. You can find the group with your ears (i.e. listen for a group of people speaking German). In good weather, look for the group in the “Courtyard Garden” of the League, across from UHS (one way to get to it would be to go directly through the League from the front doors (facing the Bell Tower) to the back doors); in bad weather, the group will meet inside the League, most likely at Maizie’s.
  • If the weather is doubtful, please email the instructors to confirm the location: Tina ODonnell (tinodon “at” umich.edu) OR Laura Okkema (lokkema “at” umich.edu).
  • If you are looking for additional conversation opportunities, add your name to the LRC Conversation Partner Database to find a conversation partner. Please notify the LRC if you notice problems (e.g. outdated records etc.). Don’t be shy: the more people sign up, the better the site will work!

If you are looking for additional resources for working on German over the summer, note that you can sign up for free access to Pimsleur, Mango, and Yabla German through the LRC. Pimsleur is a great resource for building fluency and practicing listening and speaking; Mango Languages (based in Farmington Hills, MI!) offers more traditional online instruction and practice. You could also check out this list of ideas for keeping up with German in Spring/Summer! If you are looking for German films/series to watch over the summer, many suggestions are in the “Miscellaneous” section near the end of this email.

Here is the list of German dept. classes offered in Fall 2024. Please note that even if you already know your plans for German language classes, the list also includes a wide variety of interesting courses in English. If you have questions please contact our advisors, Mary and Kalli. We also strongly encourage you to contact one of the German Peer Mentors, who are undergraduates and who have taken/are taking our German courses. See the “German Courses & Majoring/Minoring in German” section below for contact info.

Advisor office hours and contact info: You can reach the German advisors through a general email: germanadvising@umich.edu. We have two advisors. They are available for advising hours throughout the semester:

A link to their current office hours will always be included in the full text of these weekly emails, which you can find online:  scroll down to the section “German Courses & Majoring/Minoring in German.” You can schedule appointments with Mary and Kalli here.
 
Other highlights from this week’s email, and what section to check for more details:
  • Conversation Opportunities – Conversation Hours, German Lab
  • Study Abroad, Internships, Scholarship Deadlines – Study Abroad/Internships/Scholarship Info
  • Advising Info – German Courses & Majoring/Minoring in German
  • Conversation Partner Options – Miscellaneous
  • International Center Global Engagement and Education Abroad email list – Miscellaneous
  • Finding German Films and Series Online – Miscellaneous
  • Chrome Extension for Dual-Language Subtitles – Miscellaneous
* 1. Detroit’s Olympic Uprising (Tuesday, July 23; 5 p.m., University of Michigan Detroit Center, 3663 Woodward Ave., Suite 150, Detroit)
 
  2. German Park Picnic (Saturday, July 27; 4-9 p.m., 5549 Pontiac Trail)
 
  3. German Bundestag Internship Program 2025 (Wednesday, July 31; Application Deadline)
 
  4. Job Posting: CGIS Peer Advisor (Thursday, August 1; Application Deadline)

5. Fulbright U.S. Student Program 2025-2026 (Sunday, August 25; Application Deadline)
 

  6. Study Abroad in Germany – Winter 2025 in Tübingen (Sunday, September 15; Application Deadline)

 
The Deutschtisch for Summer 2024 is associated with German 230, but all are welcome! The group will meet TTh 12:00-12:45. You can find the group with your ears (i.e. listen for a group of people speaking German). In good weather, look for the group in the “Courtyard Garden” of the League, across from UHS (one way to get to it would be to go directly through the League from the front doors (facing the Bell Tower) to the back doors); in bad weather, the group will meet inside the League, most likely at Maizie’s.
  • If the weather is doubtful, please email the instructors to confirm the location. Until July 19, email Silvia Grzeskowiak (sgrzesko “at” umich.edu) or Shubhangi Dabak (dabaks “at” umich.edu. As of July 22, email Tina ODonnell (tinodon “at” umich.edu) OR Laura Okkema (lokkema “at” umich.edu).

The “German Lab” will reopen in the Fall.

LRC Conversation Partner Site Check out this site to find a conversation partner, and/or register so others can find you on the site. Please notify the LRC if you notice problems (e.g. outdated records etc.). Don’t be shy: the more people sign up, the better the site will work!

A2 Stammtisch

  • Meets every other Thursday at 8:00 pm at Grizzly Peak, 120 West Washington St. Pre-registration is requested: Contact Mechthild Heerde-Olind at heerdeolind “at” yahoo.com to be added to the email list. You can also check the event listings in the Ann Arbor Observer for info on meeting times and locations. [last verified: 1/23/2023]
  • This is NOT something you can do to make up an absence, but you can still go for fun and/or write about it for an AMD.
German Club events will resume in the Fall!
 
Check the “Upcoming Deadlines and Events” section to see upcoming German Club events. You can earn 2 “A&P” make-up/bonus points by attending any of these events!
 
The German Club works to connect students of all levels with a passion for German language and culture to opportunities for language practice, cultural events, and networking. You are encouraged to come to as many or few events as you would like!

Email germaneboard@umich.edu to get put on the email list, or “like” the club on Facebook at facebook.com/germanclubumich for updates!

Faculty Advisors Mary Rodena-Krasan & Kalli Federhofer

Contact our two faculty advisors, Mary or Kalli, for advice on study abroad, internships abroad, a German major/minor, upper-level German courses, career opportunities in German, study-abroad and work-abroad opportunities, etc.

German Peer Advisors/Mentors

If you would like to get in touch with a peer mentor in our Department, please write to: germanmentors@umich.edu. Their expertise includes:

  • Current classes and potential courses
  • Study abroad, internship, and traveling in Germany
  • Academic requirements (major/minor, LSA language requirement) and combination (engineering, pre-health, etc.)
  • Max Kade House
  • Departmental scholarships/fellowships
  • On- and off-campus German opportunities (German Club, German Day, etc.)
  • Career/job search
  • Getting involved – enhancing your undergraduate experience with the German Department

[This page will only include entries in this category when there is a job/internship etc. aimed at German students at all levels. To see more internship and job opportunities, scroll through Kalli’s blog, addressed to all upper-level German students]

There is a German Department facebook group, and a German Department facebook page:

  • “German Advising at University of Michigan” [Read news here!] Join this group to see much of the information you see in this email, as well as other relevant info, in the form of individual announcement posts.
  • German Department facebook page: Check it out!

You can find weekly updates similar to this email but with lots more content on this blog.

We also encourage you to join us on our LinkedIn site: ‘University of Michigan German Department’

You can also follow us on Twitter: @umichGerman

Conversation Partner Options: Various options for finding conversation partners are listed on this page.

Sign up here for the International Center’s Global Engagement and Education Abroad email list. Weekly emails include info on workshops regarding travel and work abroad, conversation groups, cultural info sessions etc. SEHR interessant!

Finding German Films and Series

Chrome Extension for Dual-Language Subtitles

A German 101 student has found a Google Chrome extension that allows for subtitles in two languages, and has found this very helpful for watching e.g. “Dark” in German for his AMDs. I have not had time to try this, but if you find the dual language subtitles in the “Easy German” videos helpful, then this may be worth checking out. The extension is called Language Reactor.