Liebe Studis – Dear students,
Willkommen in Deutsch 101, 102, 103, 221 oder 231 🙂
There are class email lists for all sections of German 101-231. I will send a message roughly once a week. My email will include a link to the full text of the message (always available online via this index), and a copy of the header section of the email. The full text of the email is divided into sections by general topic, with an outline of “highlights” at the top, so you can skip to what interests you and expand those sections. If you have time, I recommend clicking through all of the first couple of messages to get an idea of the various events going on in the department and around town, and the other kinds of info in the email. This is the first such message.
After a hot day today, we may find cooler temperatures during Festifall 2024 tomorrow. The German Department will have a table between 2:30-5 p.m., and you can learn more about the Department, the German Club, and the Max Kade German Residence. Representatives from “Schriftlich“, an undergraduate electronic journal in our Department, will be present between 6-8:30 p.m. during Festifall.
All incoming first-year students who were placed into German 232 or higher and all current (or future) German majors and minors are invited to a German Department Welcome Party on Thursday, August 29, 4-5 p.m., North Quad 2435.
Three regular conversation hours, “Schokoladenstunde” (Tuesdays, 2-3 pm in 3110 MLB), Convo on the Go (Wednesdays 10-11 am, meeting point Burton Tower), and “Kreativwerkstatt” (Thursdays 3-4, 3308 MLB) will take place in person weekly starting next week – look for more details in these weekly emails. All students at all levels are welcome to come to these events. You can earn 2 “A&P” make-up/bonus points by attending.
In addition, all students are welcome to participate in weekly German Club events and in “Kaffeestunde” and “Deutschtisch.” Kaffeestunde and Deutschtisch are coordinated through the Max Kade German Residence. Look for more details in this and future emails! You can earn 2 “A&P Tally” make-up points by attending any of these events! (German Club, Kaffeestunde, Deutschtisch)
The “German Lab” is a virtual office hour taking place Monday-Thursday 1-4 pm. It opens on Tuesday 9/3. You can ask shorter and longer questions, come for conversation practice, help with homework etc. Here is more info about the German Lab – please take advantage of this great resource! Please sign up in advance on the German Lab Signup: instructors will check the signup at the beginning of their German Lab hour, and will leave the lab for that hour if no one has signed up.
If you are looking for additional resources for working on German, 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, 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, in case you may still make changes to your schedule. 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.
- Mary Rodena-Krasan (MLB 3128; mkrasan@umich.edu)
- Karl-Georg Federhofer (MLB 3422; kallimz@umich.edu)
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. Festifall 2024 (Wednesday, August 28; 2:30-5 p.m.; 6-8:30 p.m.; Diag and Ingalls Mall)
2. German Department Welcome Party for Incoming Students and German Majors/Minors (Thursday, August 29; 4 p.m., North Quad 2435)
3. Job Posting: German-Speaking Babysitter Needed in Ann Arbor (Friday, August 30; Application Deadline)
4. German Park Picnic (Saturday, August 31; 4-9 p.m., 5549 Pontiac Trail)
5. German Bundestag Internship Program 2025 (Saturday, August 31; Application Deadline)
6. “The Third Man” (Monday, September 2; 7 p.m., Michigan Theater)
7. German Conversation Opportunities – “Schokoladenstunde” (Tuesday, September 3, 2-3 p.m., MLB 3110) and “German Convo on the Go” (Wednesday, September 4, 10-11 a.m., Burton Tower) and “Kreativwerkstatt” (Thursday, September 5, 3-4 p.m., MLB 3308)
8. Hadija Haruna-Oelker, “The Beauty of Difference” (Monday, September 9; 4:30 p.m., Vandenberg Room, Michigan League)
9. Study Abroad in Germany – Winter 2025 in Tübingen (Sunday, September 15; Application Deadline)
10. Study Abroad in Germany – Winter 2025 Social Sciences and Humanities in Berlin (Sunday, September 15; Application Deadline)
11. Immanuel Kant Essay Competition (Thursday, October 3; Application Deadline)
12. CGIS Study Abroad Fair (Tuesday, October 8; 12-4 p.m., Michigan Union, Rogel Ballroom)
Three regular conversation hours, “Schokoladenstunde” (Tuesdays, 2-3 pm in 3110 MLB), Convo on the Go (Wednesdays 10-11 am, meeting point Burton Tower), and “Kreativwerkstatt” (Thursdays 3-4, 3308 MLB) will take place in person weekly starting next week – look for more details in these weekly emails. All students at all levels are welcome to come to these events. You can earn 2 “A&P” make-up/bonus points by attending.
In addition, all students are welcome to participate in weekly German Club events and in “Kaffeestunde” and “Deutschtisch.” Kaffeestunde and Deutschtisch are coordinated through the Max Kade German Residence. Look for more details in this and future emails! You can earn 2 “A&P Tally” make-up/bonus points by attending any of these events! (German Club, Kaffeestunde, Deutschtisch)
The “German Lab” is a virtual office hour taking place Monday-Thursday 1-4 pm. It opens on Tuesday 9/3. You can ask shorter and longer questions, come for conversation practice, help with homework etc. Here is more info about the German Lab – please take advantage of this great resource! Please sign up in advance on the German Lab Signup: instructors will check the signup at the beginning of their German Lab hour, and will leave the lab for that hour if no one has signed up.
The Residential College offers lunch tables in multiple languages, including German. For purely logistical reasons, we do not offer A&P Tall points for attending, but this is a great opportunity to interact with the enthusiastic students in this great program, who are all enrolled in intensive courses and getting regular additional speaking practice through these lunch tables! [Don’t worry if the schedule page we have linked says Winter 2023: the times and locations are consistent and should still be accurate!]
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]
- You will NOT earn “A&P Tally” make-up/bonus points by attending, 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 email me if this does not work!
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.
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- Click here to see Mary’s and Kalli’s contact info and (frequent!) office hours
- To reach either advisor: germanadvising@umich.edu
- You can also schedule appointments with Mary & Kalli by clicking here
- …and you can contact Kalli via text message (734-277-7341) or via Facebook (Kalli Federhofer)
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
- CGIS Study Abroad Fair (Tuesday, October 8; 12-4 p.m., Michigan Union, Rogel Ballroom)
- Study Abroad in Germany – Winter 2025 in Tübingen (Sunday, September 15; Application Deadline)
- Study Abroad in Germany – Winter 2025 Social Sciences and Humanities in Berlin (Sunday, September 15; Application Deadline)
- German Chancellor Fellowship (Tuesday, October 15; Application Deadline)
- Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange for Young Professionals (CBYX) 2025/2026 (Friday, November 1; Application Deadline)
- LSA Internship Funding Page
[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 Instagram.
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
- Feli from Germany (2023): 8 German Netflix Shows You NEED To Check Out! The link should take you to 8 min 42 seconds into the video, when she starts discussing these series.
- Check the Telescope website for info on German films and series worth watching, including trailers and details on where they are available online.
- Here is a survey of German film series that you can watch in the US, compiled by the Goethe Insitute.
- Here is a 2022 list of German television and shows available on Netflix and Amazon Prime. The rankings seem arbitrary, but the descriptions and availability info are very helpful.
- Lingopie’s Learn German with Netflix Shows: Our 7 Best Picks offers an interesting list of 7 shows. Their selection is focused more specifically on shows that are well-suited for language learning.
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.