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UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MILWAUKEE

Afrikaans 102 SYLLABUS

Instructor: Jacques du Plessis
Location: xxx
Phone: xxx
Fax: xxx
Office Hours: online, or by appointment in the office
Meeting: Online (Thu Evenings)

CATALOG DESCRIPTION:

Follow-up course to Afrikaans 101. Emphasis on the fundamental skills of understanding, speaking, reading, and writing Afrikaans. 4 credits.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION:

Devote between six to eight hours of study per week. All four foreign language skills (reading, writing, speaking, and listening) are addressed to help students acquire communicative competence in the Afrikaans language while being sensitized to the links between language and culture. As the second semester of Afrikaans, this course is for is for students with some prior knowledge of Afrikaans or Dutch an possibly other Germanic languages.

PREREQUISITES:

Afrikaans 101, Dutch 101, German 201 or equivalent experience.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

Upon completion of the course, students will be able to:

1. Express an emerging competency with the linguistic functions of Afrikaans pronunciation, spelling, vocabulary, and grammar.
2. Understand written and fundamental spoken communicative tasks.
3. Write and speak about essential communicative needs in Afrikaans.
4. Expand your cultural contextual awareness of Southern Africa and the role of Afrikaans in the broader context.

METHOD:

Asynchronous and Synchronous Online Students with special test and learning needs should contact the instructor as early as possible for accommodations. See policies below.

REQUIREMENTS:

Technology: Broadband Internet access. Firefox Browser with the Flash Plugin. A webcam and microphone to record yourself online. We will use either Skype or Google Talk.
The Course Website: www.afrikaans.us  (www.openlanguages.net/afrikaans)
Books: An Afrikaans-English Dictionary: (choose any) Afrikaans-Engels / Engels-Afrikaans Woordeboek
E.g
1. Pharos Woordeboek ISBN: 9781868900442
2. My Eerste Afrikaans/Engelse Woordeboek Met Sinne ISBN: 9781770077218
3. Afrikaans-English/English-Afrikaans Dictionary (Hippocrene Practical Dictionary) ISBN: 0781-80846-4 or ISBN 13: 978-0781-80846-0
Try: www.kalahari.net; www.amazon.com; www.addall.com;

COURSE SCHEDULE:

See http://www.openlanguages.net/afrikaans/general/curriculum/afr-102-uwm/102-leerplan/

ASSIGNMENTS & EVALUATION:

24%SkryfWEEKLY (See example link at the bottom of this page)
Do 12 weekly journal submissions in Afrikaans. Do at least half a page per day on any of the topics below. Have 2 to 3 classmates edit it during your StudyBuddy session (Fri or Sat), then do a rewrite and submit by Monday 8 am. Example Topics Options: news (local, African), personal events, discussion and questions about Afrikaans (pronunciation, culture, grammar, vocabulary etc.). Also focus on including new grammar principles and vocab topics.
8%LeesMIDTERM & FINAL
You will be given reading assignments that you have to know well.
(Suggestions: The Gideons Bible Society produces an Afrikaans-English New Testament. It is a great way to get going.
9%LuisterMIDTERM & FINAL
You will be given audio pieces. Listen to a piece up to 4 times in a row - each time it will be clearer and improve your ease of understanding.
24%PraatWEEKLY
Develop a vocabulary for new topics and be able to talk about 101 topics (see below).
5%KultuurFINAL
Do an oral presentation about selected images
10%WoordeskatMIDTERM & FINAL 
Know all the terms so that you can do an English to Afrikaans test on all the terms.
10%GrammatikaMIDTERM & FINAL
Know the concepts, explain each principle and give examples. Do sentence translations.
10%UitspraakMIDTERM & FINAL
Practice reading from the literature, fables, short stories,  Web-based newspapers, etc.For all pronunciation and speaking assignments, record yourself and submit your recordings. Here is the 5 point numbering system:
0 = Not comprehensible for the most part.
1 = Very difficult to follow. Many terms not comprehensible.
2 = Some parts still incomprehensible, but mostly comprehensible language with a mix of accurate and flawed pronunciation. Hard to follow.
3 = A mix of good parts in pronunciation and words that are incorrectly pronounced, but still understandable. Inconsistent, but understood
4 = A few errors but mostly clear and well pronounced. Reasonably consistent and easy to follow.
5 = Only minor errors. Everything was easy to understand and the pronunciation was clear and correct.

Speaking and Writing Topics for 102:

(See example link at the bottom of this page) You should cover one of these topics for every week's journal entry and write about it every day of that week. Also, record yourself as you talk about the week's topic and submit your recording (.mp3 or .ogg) any of the following topics:

i)     Introductions and greetings
ii)     Describe an event for each day of the week
iii)    Numbers: Count; tell time; temperature in each season; basic math
iv)    What do you take on a trip?
v)     Describe 5 very different people based on photographs
vi)    Describe your favorite sport
vii)   Describe your living quarters
viii)  Tell me what you did on the weekend
ix)    Describe a news event
x)     Interview someone - e.g.
        * find who they are
        * inquire about their education
        * where they and their family come from (by generations)
        * where they live (as about the locale)
xi)    Describe how to get from A to B (e.g. office, classroom, bus stop, etc.)
xii)   Describe your family

General Suggestions

Pronounce and Understand Fluently: Listen several times with attention to pronunciation only. Reread the text a few times to perfect your pronunciation. When you feel comfortable with your pronunciation, look at the translation. Now focus on understanding everything. Repeat the listening and speaking until you understand the Afrikaans fluently. Make notes of words that you feel are difficult for you to pronounce or that you still do not understand. Share that with the instructor on your blog. a. Review these pronunciation topics: The Alphabet; Pronunciation Lists; Prefixes; All Vowels; Consonants; and Plurals.
b. Review these pronunciation topics: Diminutives; Assimilation; Glottal Stop; Exceptions; Stress and Emphasis; Spelling Rules; Names and Places 

Speech production: This does not mean you can read a prepared written speech. You can prepare cryptic notes and use them as a reference as you tell or talk about the topic in your own words.

Tip: You will be tempted to speak in full complex sentences like can in English. That is not advised. Break the language down in smaller bite sizes.

Example of what to avoid: "Due to inclement weather, the search party was advised to follow all precautions to avoid risk to their own lives during the expedition in looking for the stranded passengers."

Example of what to emulate: "The weather was bad. Some people on the road were lost. A team looked for them. The boss told the team to be careful. He told them to dress warm." With vocabulary, initially focus on pronunciation, then on recall of each term. Persist until your recall is without any hesitation. Practice repeatedly with Flexitutor and other tools available (e.g. the spinning carousel).

Grammar principles: Do all activities on the Web site to express each grammar principle with good examples.

PARTICIPATION & DEADLINES:

1. Participation: Studying is invaluable, and then the best things happen when you connect with others in a study group to help you to pronounce well, recall vocabulary, formulate sentences correctly, and understand cultural clues. The Web offers a rich resource to achieve all these objectives, but you have to come to the river to drink. Exploit the communicative potential of online education. You will be in discussion groups where you will be encouraged to partner with other class members to compare experienced, devise effective strategies and help the course to be optimize on the best learning experiences. Use Google Talk (or Skype) to practice with class members. Your active participation in each study-buddy session.

2. Deadlines: Monday morning at 8 am is the weekly journal deadline. Work submitted late (within a week) will be graded and you will get 2/3 of the points (max.). Submit 12 weekly journals.

GRADING SCALE:

A95-100B-80-83.99  D+ 67-69.99
A- 90-94.99 C+ 77-79.99   D 64-66.99
B+ 87-90.99 C 74-76.99   D- 60-63.99
B 84-86.99 C- 70-73.99   F -60 

GENERAL UWM ACADEMIC POLICIES

The following links contain university policies affecting students. Many of the links below may be accessed through a PDF-document maintained by the Secretary of the University: http://www.uwm.edu/Dept/SecU/SyllabusLinks.pdf. Undergraduates may also find the Panther Planner and Undergraduate Student Handbook useful (http://www.uwm.edu/Dept/OSL/DOS/Handbook2005-06.pdf).

Students with disabilities. If you will need accommodations in order to meet any of the requirements of a course, please contact the instructor as soon as possible. Students with disabilities are responsible to communicate directly with the instructor to ensure special accommodation in a timely manner. There is comprehensive coverage of issues related to disabilities at the Student Accessibility Center (http://www.uwm.edu/Dept/DSAD/SAC/MainOffice.html ), important components of which are expressed here: http://www.uwm.edu/Dept/DSAD/SAC/SACltr.pdf.

Religious observances. Students' sincerely held religious beliefs must be reasonably accommodated with respect to all examinations and other academic requirements, according to the following policy: http://www.uwm.edu/Dept/SecU/acad%2Badmin_policies/S1.5.htm. Please notify your instructor within the first three weeks of the Fall or Spring Term (first week of shorter-term or Summer courses) of any specific days or dates on which you request relief from an examination or academic requirement for religious observances.

Students called to active military duty. UWM has several policies that accommodate students who must temporarily lay aside their educational pursuits when called to active duty in the military (see http://www3.uwm.edu/des/web/registration/militarycallup.cfm), including provisions for refunds, readmission, grading, and other situations.

Incompletes. A notation of "incomplete" may be given in lieu of a final grade to a student who has carried a subject successfully until the end of a semester but who, because of illness or other unusual and substantial cause beyond the student's control, has been unable to take or complete the final examination or some limited amount of other term work. An incomplete is not given unless the student proves to the instructor that s/he was prevented from completing course requirements for just cause as indicated above (http://www.uwm.edu/Dept/SecU/acad%2Badmin_policies/S31.pdf).

Discriminatory conduct (such as sexual harassment). UWM and SOIS are committed to building and maintaining a campus environment that recognizes the inherent worth and dignity of every person, fosters tolerance, sensitivity, understanding, and mutual respect, and encourages the members of its community to strive to reach their full potential. The UWM policy statement (http://www.uwm.edu/Dept/SecU/acad%2Badmin_policies/S47.pdf) summarizes and defines situations that constitute discriminatory conduct. If you have questions, please contact an appropriate SOIS administrator.

Academic misconduct. Cheating on exams and plagiarism are violations of the academic honor code and carry severe sanctions, ranging from a failing grade for a course or assignment to expulsion from the University. See the following document (http://www.uwm.edu/Dept/OSL/DOS/conduct.html) or contact the SOIS Investigating Officer (currently the Associate Dean) for more information.

Complaints. Students may direct complaints to the SOIS Dean or Associate Dean. If the complaint allegedly violates a specific university policy, it may be directed to the appropriate university office responsible for enforcing the policy.

Grade appeal procedures. A student may appeal a grade on the grounds that it is based on a capricious or arbitrary decision of the course instructor. Such an appeal shall follow SOIS appeals procedures or, in the case of a graduate student, the Graduate School. These procedures are available in writing from the respective department chairperson or the Academic Dean of the College/School (http://www.uwm.edu/Dept/SecU/acad%2Badmin_policies/S28.htm).

Examinations, Finals. The Secretary of the University is authorized to prepare the final examination schedule. The time of the final examination for an individual or a class may be changed only with the prior approval of the dean or director of the respective college/school. The change will involve a postponement to a later date. For individuals with exam conflicts, a separate week at the very end of the exam week will be reserved to take one of the conflicting exams (http://www.uwm.edu/Dept/SecU/acad+admin_policies/S22.htm).