Deutsch für Touristen: German for Travel

Course Description

Deutsch für Touristen: German for Travel is an introductory German course designed for students with little to no prior knowledge of German. No previous German language experience is required.

The course is designed especially for students who are planning to travel to Germany, Austria, Switzerland, or another German-speaking region and want to develop practical German language skills before their trip. Students will learn useful German for everyday travel situations while gaining a basic understanding of German-speaking cultures, customs, and etiquette.

The course combines practical communication, foundational German language skills, and cultural knowledge. Rather than focusing exclusively on grammar, students will learn language they can use while traveling, along with the cultural context that helps them communicate more comfortably and appropriately.

The course is divided into two independent 6-week parts. Each part focuses on a different set of common travel situations.

Part I: Getting Around & Getting Settled

6 weeks

Part I focuses on the essential German needed to introduce yourself, navigate your surroundings, and settle into your accommodations.

Students will learn how to:

• Sich vorstellen – Introduce yourself
• Exchange basic personal information
• Greet people and use appropriate forms of address
• Nach dem Weg fragen – Ask for directions
• Understand and give basic directions
• Ask for basic information
• Im Hotel ein- und auschecken – Check in and check out of a hotel
• Communicate basic needs and requests at a hotel
• Understand common hotel vocabulary and expressions

Students will also build foundational vocabulary and grammar needed for these situations, including numbers, dates, times, common questions, and basic sentence structures.

Part II: Eating, Transportation & Reading Your Way Around

6 weeks

Part II focuses on situations travelers commonly encounter when eating out, using public transportation, and navigating unfamiliar places.

Students will learn how to:

• Im Restaurant bestellen – Order in a restaurant
• Ask about food and drinks
• Order meals and beverages
• Ask for the bill and handle basic payment situations
• Fahrkarten kaufen – Buy tickets
• Ask about routes, destinations, departure times, and fares
• Den öffentlichen Nahverkehr verstehen – Understand and use public transportation
• Become familiar with common public transportation vocabulary and announcements
• Schilder und typische Beschriftungen verstehen – Understand signs and common written information
• Recognize common signs, labels, and public notices
• Use context and familiar words to understand basic written information while traveling

Students will build practical vocabulary related to restaurants, food and drinks, transportation, tickets, stations, directions, signs, and other everyday travel situations.

Cultural Knowledge

Traveling in a German-speaking country involves more than knowing vocabulary. Throughout both parts of the course, students will also be introduced to German-speaking cultures, customs, and everyday etiquette.

Cultural topics may include greetings and forms of address, dining customs, hotel etiquette, public transportation, shopping, social conventions, and other aspects of everyday life.

The goal is to help students understand not only what to say in German, but also how to interact appropriately and confidently while traveling.

Course Dates, Location, & Time

Both parts are offered as in-person 6-week coursesmeeting on Tuesday evenings from 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM on zoom.

In addition to the weekly class, the instructor will offer a 30-minute weekly office hour for homework questions, review, and additional support. The instructor will determine the day and time of the office hour and communicate the schedule to all registered course participants.

Minimum Enrollment

If there are too few students registered to run a class section, the Director of Language Education will contact registered students during the week before the term begins to discuss alternative class options.

Questions?

For questions about the course, please contact the Language Education Department:

[email protected]