B2/C1 Oberstufe Kulturkurs (ONLINE/Hybrid ~ Mon. PM)

Course Description:

B2/C1 Oberstufe Kulturkurs (Advanced) - For students who have completed at least one class at the B2 level. This class focuses on exploring various facets of German culture with the objective to improve learners’ German skills, especially in writing, speaking, and advanced vocabulary. This is an intensive, ongoing/rolling course, in which the instructor and students collectively decide on the course topics in the first week of class or prior to the first week of class. Students will be challenged in all areas of the German language, culture, politics, history, etc. 

Aktuelle Ereignisse in Deutschland und der Welt werden unter die Lupe genommen und auf den Zahn gefühlt in unserem Kulturkurs für Fortgeschrittene. Durch eine Vielfalt von Themen aus dem Bereich Politik, Gesellschaft und Kultur wird der Kurs aktiv von den Teilnehmenden mitgestaltet. Die Kursteilnehmenden können ihre sprachlichen Kompetenzen durch ihre Beiträge zu den vorgegebenen Rubriken sowie durch die Teilnahme an Diskussionen verfeinern.

Course Dates, Location, & Time:

This course will be primarily online with 4 to 5 class meetings that will be offered as hybrid sessions for students who are able to meet in-person at the GAI Haus and hybrid for students who are not able to attend in-person on those 4 to 5 class meeting dates. This coursewill meet for 12 weeks on Monday evenings from 6:30pm - 8:30pm. Additionally, the instructor will offer a weekly "office hour" (30 min) for homework questions and review. The course instructor will decide on a day/time to offer the 30-minute office hour and communicate day/time of week with all registered course participants.

Please Note: Four to five out of the 12 sessions will take place in person with hybrid option at the Germanic-American Institute (301 Summit Ave, St. Paul, MN):

• Week one/two
• Mid-Semester (2 sessions)
• Final week 

Participants will receive a Welcome Email, Zoom link, and an invitation to the Google Classroom prior to the first class meeting. 

**Important**: Participants are required to have their own laptop or device in order to participate in this hybrid course, access to Zoom, and a general understanding or independence in regards to technology/hybrid/virtual courses so that the course can stay on track for all participants. 

No Class Dates:

• Monday, January 19, 2026 in observance of Martin Luther King Day. The GAI offices are closed.
• The last class session/meeting date will be Monday, March 30, 2026.

Textbooks:

No textbook required; course instructor (Valentin) will provide materials for this course. Students are encouraged to contribute their ideas or preferences on topics of this class, as the content changes from semester to semester, keeping it updated and current with the times!

Minimum Enrollment:

If there are too few students registered to run a class section, the Director of Language Education will contact the student(s) in the week prior to the term’s start date to discuss other class options.

Questions?

Contact the Language Education Department: [email protected]