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Academic Success and Wellness

Learning a language is a work in progress that requires steady practice and continuous interactions with instructors and peers. There are times, however, when learners will experience interruptions of their language study, for example, if:

  • a student takes German 2 in the spring term and wishes to practice German independently over the summer to prepare for German 3 in the fall
  • a student takes German 1 in the fall term but cannot enroll in German 2 until spring.
  • a student must miss classes for excusable on-campus activities, such as sports competitions 
  • a student faces academic or personal challenges, including injuries and mental health concerns

Keine Panik: We are here to help. Below are resources that will help you bridge a potential language gap to keep you on track toward your learning goals:

  • Our German Studies Fulbright TA and Free University exchange student hold regular tutoring hours during the term and are available for conversation practice and grammar review. 
  • We work closely with the Peer Tutoring Program to make student language tutors accessible throughout the term.
  • Consider joining our Max Kade Housing LLC to meet like-minded peers and converse in German with our Fulbright TA.
  • Our Berlin summer or Fall Of Campus Program LSA(+) is an excellent way to practice language skills in an immersive and culturally rich environment. Students return to campus with greater confidence and are highly successful in intermediate and advanced classes. For the LSA and LSA+, you need to complete German 2 or 3 on-campus respectively.
  • Once you have completed German 3, sign up to become a German drill instructor. Helping others benefits your own learning
  • Studies show that external stressors create a barrier to language learning. If you experience emotional or physical challenges contact on-campus campus resources that are here to help including the Dartmouth College Health Services for medical and counseling appointments and education on sleep health and nutrition, the Academic Skills Center for establishing study routines, and the Student Accessibilty Services for learning adjustments.
  • Over the summer, winterim, or any term without a German class try any or a combination of the following:

 

 

DartDrill

DartDrill is a program that allows students to practice grammatical forms and receive feedback on their efforts. It is the most recent in a series of increasingly sophisticated versions of a computer program begun by Emeritus Professor Bruce Duncan at Dartmouth College in 1969.

German Chatterbox 1.0

German Chatterbox 1.0 is a program that allows language learners to practice German vocabulary, grammatical form and cultural awareness by communicating with 10 life-like virtual chat partners about a range of personal and professional interests. Each chat partner features read-out-loud vocabulary lists, microphone input and downloadable worksheets that can be assigned in class or at home. The online application is under development by the German Department's Language Director Nick Ostrau.

Grammar Review

Grammatik is a systematic survey of German grammar by Emeritus Professor Bruce Duncan.

TV and Video Resources

The Dartmouth campus DarTV carries two German stations: Deutsche Welle and, for more popular fare, Pro7Sat1world.

In the iTunes Music Store, a search on “ZDF” produces everything from audio and video “Nachrichten” to “Der Krimi Podcast” to children’s “Podcast der Logo.” They are about 30 minutes each and are updated every day.

Two other valuable sites for downloadable and streaming media: tagesschau.de and dradio.de.

Annotext

Annotext is a web-based application that was developed at Dartmouth College to assist students in understanding linguistically difficult literary texts.