Czech 101
Autumn Quarter 2004
MWF 10:30-11:20,

Course Information and Policies

Instructor : Petr Barton

Primary contact: mail (pbarton, this is really quick, I get the first three lines of any email on my pager so this is by far the most efficient way of contacting me, even at short notice)

Phone: (home) 773-324-2085

Office Hours: W 11:30-13:00 and by appointment

Drill/Conversation Group : Esther Peters (empeters)

Textbooks:

Main text: „Red book“ Ceština hrou / Czech for Fun . Susan Kresin and Ilona Koránová. McGraw-Hill. There is a tape accompanying the textbook. The sound quality is relatively poor, there may be an improvement coming soon.

Reference text: “White book” Contemporary Czech. Michael Heim. Slavica Publishers

NOTE: The textbooks may be purchased at the Seminary Co-Op bookstore. Other materials will be available as class handouts or on the internet. The white book is also available directly from Slavica Publishers for a 10% discount, 20% if you buy more than one book from them.

Course Description

This is a thorough introductory course in elementary Czech. In the course of the year, we will cover all of the basics of Czech grammar, including all seven cases, verbal conjugation, verbs of motion, and basic differences between the spoken and written languages of the Czech Republic . This course has strong emphasis on reading, writing, speaking, and listening to Czech, so that by the end of the first year, students should be able to communicate in Czech fairly well should they travel to the Czech Republic, or indeed to the Belmont/Central or Berwyn areas of Chicago. After laying a firm foundation in Czech in the Autumn quarter, films, readings, and other types of activities will be introduced in the Winter and Spring quarters.

BONUS OPPORTUNITY : Czech Table m eets Wednesdays, 3-4.30 pm in Hutchinson Commons of the Reynolds Club. No matter how little Czech you know, you should make a habit of coming, listening to Czech being spoken and trying out your new skills. No pressure or stress! Czech table will start soon. Watch for the announcement.

Requirements

Attendance and Preparedness:

This course meets three times a week, plus one additional organized drill/conversation group. You are expected to attend ALL sessions. More than four (4) unexcused absences will result in the lowering of your final grade by one letter. A good attendance record and active class participation are two important components of your learning, not to mention of your final grade..

The Red Book has 12 chapters, and we'll cover it cover to cover over the course of the year, which roughly works out to 4 chapters a quarter. Before we begin a new chapter, you should make time to read through it in order to acquaint yourself with new grammatical concepts, expressions, and vocabulary. Specific readings for each class are listed on the syllabus. Before each class, you should thoroughly read again the section to be covered and try to understand, learn, and commit to memory as much of the material and new vocabulary as possible and come to class prepared to begin using the new material and with any questions you might have. This is a miraculous dirty trick to learning languages. Even if you don't understand ahead, at least you will have seen it and once we go through it in the lecture, it will have already reserved its nest in your brain, and almost nobody will be able to dislodge the properly booked guest. If you have made an effort to do the reading and homework in advance, class time can be used more efficiently and we will all have more fun actually speaking Czech instead of talking about speaking Czech. Of course, you are always encouraged to ask questions in class or to talk to your classmates about material that you still do not understand after reading through it on your own.

Homework Assignments and Essays

You will have homework due in each class. These assignments are due on time every class meeting (unless you have prior approval from your instructor) and will be graded on a 10 point scale. Late assignments will be graded accordingly and will not be accepted if they are more than one week late. Homework exercises are opportunities to test what you know without being penalized for mistakes, but you must show effort and turn in complete assignments in order to receive full credit. This also removes the incentive to cheat. Language is a bit like mathematics, if you skip something, you will get lost.

Tests and Quizzes

You will have four chapter tests (usually take-home) which will include concepts and vocabulary from the chapters you have been studying. You will also have frequent short quizzes on material covered between tests so that you can gauge your progress. Missed tests and quizzes will be an automatic zero. If you have any conflicts with scheduled quiz dates, please let me know well in advance so that arrangements can be made for an alternate time. If you are sick on the day of a quiz or test, please notify me or your drill/conversation instructor as soon as possible. At the end of the quarter, your one lowest quiz grade will be dropped.

Tapes

Your textbook is accompanied by tapes. You should listen to the tapes and practice pronunciation for at least one hour every week to practice your Czech speaking and listening skills. Listening to the same dialogues many times will assist you in pronunciation, understanding spoken Czech, and in memorizing useful phrases.

Grading

Your final grade will be based on the following:

Attendance/Participation (28 days) 10%

Drills/Conversation 20%

10% vocabulary and grammar quizzes
5% attendance/participation
5% oral quiz

Homework 25%

Tests (4 tests) 25%

Final Exam 20%
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