Kulturraumbezogene Wirtschaftsthemen, Homework for Week Six (April 26th-29th)

For homework, please: 

- begin work on your second Teilleistung (see the folder "Second Teilleistung" on Ilias). 

- watch this episode of Netflix's explained on the stock market and complete the questions in the "stocks" folder on Ilias (file name: Questions for Netflix explained stock market): Explained | The Stock Market | FULL EPISODE | Netflix - YouTube

- do the exercises in the "Business Spotlight" files in the "stocks" folder on Ilias and check your answers with the answer key file 

- read the first two pages entitled "Financial markets". The exercises are included in the folder for extra practice or enrichment; you do not need to do them

- the files "financial centres" and "shareholder value" are also included in the Ilias stocks folder for review, extra practice, or enrichment

Optional essay: some people say the stock market is just one big casino. How do you respond to this? Is this good reasoning for choosing not to invest? Write an essay consisting of 250-350 words and submit it as a print-out or a hand-written essay in our class on Tuesday, May 3rd. 

Kompetenzerweiterung II (Tuesday/Thursday Group), Homework for Week Six (April 26th-29th)

Don't forget to meet with your partner this week if you won't be present in Thursday's class.

For homework, please read Units 25 and Units 26 from Destination and do all of the accompanying exercises. Make sure you have completed this by May 2nd. 

This video is a very nice recap from BBC Learning English that covers quite a few verbs that are used in conjunction with reported speech. (It's important to learn a set of verbs for reporting because they must be used in order to introduce the reporting in English. Compare this with German in which your Konjunktiv I does all of this work on its own.) VOCABULARY: How to use reporting verbs like insist, demand and advise - YouTube

All three questions below for your optional essay center on the theme of hobbies and free time from your vocabulary unit for this week.

1. Watch the TED talk "How to gain control of your free time" and take note of the speaker's main message and points. Do you agree with/can you relate to her advice? Write an essay taking one of her messages and expanding on it or refuting it: How to gain control of your free time | Laura Vanderkam - YouTube
2. Watch the video "Screen Time Rules for Kids from NPR" and answer the question, "How much screen time is too much for kids?" (The video doesn't give any specifics here, so it's up to you to determine this.) Screen Time Rules For Kids | Let's Talk | NPR - YouTube
3. Read the article "Why Don't Millennials Have Hobbies Anymore?" and answer the question posed in its title on your own terms (you are welcome to rephrase the prompt to "Why Doesn't Gen Z Have Hobbies?": https://www.elitedaily.com/life/millennials-hobbies-anymore/1287244

Choose one of the above questions for your optional essay of 250-350 words and submit it to me printed out or handwritten IN CLASS on Tuesday, May 3rd. 

Kulturraumstudien USA, Homework for May 2nd

 Please read (at least skim, please) the first chapter of Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God (featured in the Hurston folder on Ilias). What stands out to you about the text, particularly for the time in which it was written?

Kompetenzerweiterung II (Monday/Wednesday Group), Homework for Week Six (April 25th-29th)

Don't forget to meet with your partner this week if you weren't present in Monday's class.

For homework, please read Units 25 and Units 26 from Destination and do all of the accompanying exercises. Make sure you have completed this by May 2nd. 

This video is a very nice recap from BBC Learning English that covers quite a few verbs that are used in conjunction with reported speech. (It's important to learn a set of verbs for reporting because they must be used in order to introduce the reporting in English. Compare this with German in which your Konjunktiv I does all of this work on its own.) VOCABULARY: How to use reporting verbs like insist, demand and advise - YouTube

All three questions below for your optional essay center on the theme of hobbies and free time from your vocabulary unit for this week.

1. Watch the TED talk "How to gain control of your free time" and take note of the speaker's main message and points. Do you agree with/can you relate to her advice? Write an essay taking one of her messages and expanding on it or refuting it: How to gain control of your free time | Laura Vanderkam - YouTube
2. Watch the video "Screen Time Rules for Kids from NPR" and answer the question, "How much screen time is too much for kids?" (The video doesn't give any specifics here, so it's up to you to determine this.) Screen Time Rules For Kids | Let's Talk | NPR - YouTube
3. Read the article "Why Don't Millennials Have Hobbies Anymore?" and answer the question posed in its title on your own terms (you are welcome to rephrase the prompt to "Why Doesn't Gen Z Have Hobbies?": https://www.elitedaily.com/life/millennials-hobbies-anymore/1287244

Choose one of the above questions for your optional essay of 250-350 words and submit it to me printed out or handwritten IN CLASS on Monday, May 2nd. 

Kulturraumbezogene Wirtschaftsthemen, Homework for April 26th

 ***Please note that our next class meeting is on Tuesday, April 26th from 14:00-15:30 at the TH Köln, Uberring 48, Room 319.***

Please be advised that your first Teilleistung must be submitted by Friday, April 22nd at 5 pm to my university e-mail address. Late submissions will not be accepted.

Your Teilleistung should be submitted by ONE partner as a joint document with both/all of your names on it. Please only send me Teilleistungen as .docx (so that I can insert my comments directly and send these back to you.)

 For homework, please have prepared the following in advance of our first in-person session on April 26th: 

- submit your Teilleistung consent form, if you haven't done so already.

- first, read the vocab page and do the exercises in the two "risk and uncertainty" files the "crisis management and risk management" folder 

- then, watch the following 5-minute video on risk management and put the six questions outlined in the video in your own words: Risk management basics: What exactly is it? - YouTube

- thereafter, apply those questions to one of the following situations: 1) you're considering starting a business (you should specify what type of business it is) or 2) you're considering buying some stocks (you should specify what company the stocks belong to). 

- read the article on crisis management in the "crisis management and risk management" folder on Ilias, answer its accompanying comprehension questions, and answer the following: what is the difference between risk and crisis management? Do these two types of mangement ever overlap? If so, when/under what circumstances/in what situations?

Information and content for your second Teilleistung will be posted in a folder entitled "Second Teilleistung" on Ilias by Friday, April 22nd at noon. You are welcome to peruse it in advance of our session on Tuesday, April 26th from 14:00-15:30. Extensive information about how to complete that Teilleistung will be provided in our first in-person session. 

- Optional essay: consider the Hofstedian category of risk aversion/uncertainty avoidance. Research whether you come from a more risk averse culture or one that embraces more risk. (You can use this tool to compare countries: Country Comparison - Hofstede Insights (hofstede-insights.com) ) What implications does this finding have for business in your culture, in your opinion? If you choose to submit an essay in response to this prompt, make sure to keep it to 250-350 words and that it is sent to me as a .docx file to my email address by Friday, April 22nd at 5 pm. Late submissions and submissions that exceed the word limit will not be read. 

Kompetenzerweiterung II (Tuesday/Thursday Group), Homework for Weeks Four and Five (April 12th-22nd)

 Don't forget to meet up with your partner this week. 

Please read about inversion in Unit 19 and complete all of the accompanying exercises and learn ALL of the vocabulary for Unit 20 and complete its accompanying exercises. 

Inversion is important for sophisticated English usage and is tricky for German speakers as one has generally trained oneself to not let rules of German syntax (featuring the verb in the second position, otherwise known as "V2 position" in linguistics) interfere with English output. Page 154 of your Destination book features adverbials that trigger inversion in English. You should learn them by heart, read the examples in that table out loud and, ideally, write out your own examples. Just like the gerund or infinitive rules from last semester, learning the rules of inversion in English will make it truly sophisticated.

These videos are useful resources in explaining inversion further: 

Inversion BBC class  Inversion: BBC English Class - YouTube
English Masterclass inversion, negative or limiting adverbs BBC English Masterclass: Inversion 1: After Negative or Limiting Adverbs - YouTube
English Masterclass inversion, reduced conditionals BBC English Masterclass: Inversion 2: Reduced conditionals and more - YouTube

Here are some accompanying exercises from BBC English:
BBC Learning English - Course: Towards Advanced / Unit 25 / Session 1 / Activity 1

Additional online quizzes for inversion:
Inversion Exercise 1 (perfect-english-grammar.com)
Advanced Grammar | Inversion Multiple Choice Exercise | esl-lounge Student
INVERSION online exercise - verb before subject | Learn English Today (learn-english-today.com)
Test English - Prepare for your English exam (test-english.com)
'Inversion' - English Quiz & Worksheet - UsingEnglish.com

These videos tie into "power and social issues" and might be of interest to you, especially in considering your answers to the two essay prompts for this week:

How to understand power How to understand power - Eric Liu - YouTube
School of Life Machiavelli POLITICAL THEORY - Niccolò Machiavelli - YouTube
What "Machiavellian" really means What “Machiavellian” really means - Pazit Cahlon and Alex Gendler - YouTube
Good Morning Britain Is civil disobedience justified when protesting important issues? Is Civil Disobedience Justified When Protesting Important Issues? | Good Morning Britain - YouTube

Your optional essay topics for this week are: 
1. What does it take to be a great leader?
2. Is civil disobedience justified when protesting important issues? (Please make sure you understand what civil disobedience means before you respond to this question.)

Choose one of the above questions for your optional essay of 250-350 words and submit it to me via email as a .docx file by Thursday, April 21st at midnight. Essays must meet the word-limit guidelines and be submitted by the deadline in order to receive feedback.

Kulturraumstudien USA, Homework for April 25th

 ***Please bear in mind that our next Zoom session will take place on April 25th due to the federal holiday on April 18th.***

For homework, please select one text or work produced during the 1920s or 1930s in the US. Analyze the texts and works (using techniques we've used in class) and identify how they are products of their times. Then, find 21st-century texts or works that you argue were inspired by the 1920s or 1930s work/text and explain where you see a connection. (You might first identify a current artist and see if you can find background information about their inspirations/what artistic lineage they belong to.)

Kompetenzerweiterung II (Monday/Wednesday Group), Homework for Week Four (April 11th-14th)

Don't forget to meet up with your partner this week. 

Please read about inversion in Unit 19 and complete all of the accompanying exercises and learn ALL of the vocabulary for Unit 20 and complete its accompanying exercises. 

Inversion is important for sophisticated English usage and is tricky for German speakers as one has generally trained oneself to not let rules of German syntax (featuring the verb in the second position, otherwise known as "V2 position" in linguistics) interfere with English output. Page 154 of your Destination book features adverbials that trigger inversion in English. You should learn them by heart, read the examples in that table out loud and, ideally, write out your own examples. Just like the gerund or infinitive rules from last semester, learning the rules of inversion in English will make it truly sophisticated.

These videos are useful resources in explaining inversion further: 

Inversion BBC class  Inversion: BBC English Class - YouTube
English Masterclass inversion, negative or limiting adverbs BBC English Masterclass: Inversion 1: After Negative or Limiting Adverbs - YouTube
English Masterclass inversion, reduced conditionals BBC English Masterclass: Inversion 2: Reduced conditionals and more - YouTube

Here are some accompanying exercises from BBC English:
BBC Learning English - Course: Towards Advanced / Unit 25 / Session 1 / Activity 1

Additional online quizzes for inversion:
Inversion Exercise 1 (perfect-english-grammar.com)
Advanced Grammar | Inversion Multiple Choice Exercise | esl-lounge Student
INVERSION online exercise - verb before subject | Learn English Today (learn-english-today.com)
Test English - Prepare for your English exam (test-english.com)
'Inversion' - English Quiz & Worksheet - UsingEnglish.com

These videos tie into "power and social issues" and might be of interest to you, especially in considering your answers to the two essay prompts for this week:

How to understand power How to understand power - Eric Liu - YouTube
School of Life Machiavelli POLITICAL THEORY - Niccolò Machiavelli - YouTube
What "Machiavellian" really means What “Machiavellian” really means - Pazit Cahlon and Alex Gendler - YouTube
Good Morning Britain Is civil disobedience justified when protesting important issues? Is Civil Disobedience Justified When Protesting Important Issues? | Good Morning Britain - YouTube

Your optional essay topics for this week are: 
1. What does it take to be a great leader?
2. Is civil disobedience justified when protesting important issues? (Please make sure you understand what civil disobedience means before you respond to this question.)

Choose one of the above questions for your optional essay of 250-350 words and submit it to me via email as a .docx file by Wednesday, April 13th at midnight. Essays must meet the word-limit guidelines and be submitted by the deadline in order to receive feedback.

Kulturraumbezogene Wirtschaftsthemen, Homework for April 12th

  For homework, please: 

- don't forget to submit your Teilleistung consent form, if you haven't already.

- continue working (with your partner) on your first Teilleistung (due on April 22nd).

- in the "Brands and branding" folder on Ilias, you'll find three articles (one on Tony's Chocolonely, one on Rizla rolling papers, and one on Playstation 5 vs. Xbox Series X). Select one of those articles and take notes concerning what makes these companies and their products worth looking at from a branding perspective. Additionally, highlight five business words/expressions from the article that you would like to incorporate into your active vocabulary. 

- complete the remaining exercises featured in the "Brands and branding" folder on Ilias. 

- on YouTube, do a search for CNBC (a US television channel that has business reporting as its focus) and the key words "why failed", "the rise and fall" or "the rise of" (unfortunately the CNBC channel does not sort their videos into playlists). These separate searches will give you a variety of videos on how companies built their brands (in various markets) and either succeeded or failed. Please watch two videos of your choice that appear as a result of these searches and take notes concerning the decisions the companies made with regards to branding. Where did they make smart decisions and where were the missteps? Bring these notes with you to our next session. 

- Optional: you might be interested in this profile of Ben and Jerry's, their concept of linked prosperity (which links back to CSR) and their decision to sell their company to Unilever: Ben & Jerry's Activism is Anything but Half Baked - YouTube

- Optional essay: the prompt is featured at the end of the Brand Activism activity on Ilias. If you choose to submit an essay in response to this prompt, make sure to keep it to 250-350 words and that it is sent to me as a .docx file to my email address by Friday, April 8th at 5 pm. Late submissions will not be read. 

Kompetenzerweiterung II (Tuesday/Thursday Group), Homework for Week Three (April 5th-April 8th)

For homework, please: 

- read Units 13 and 14 and complete all of the accompanying exercises.

As you will see in Unit 13, the past in English serves many functions. For advanced learners, it's crucial to master "unreal time" because of its function in making statements and requests more polite. It is also essential to master "unreal time" in order to soften your speech in professional settings. (The speakers in these videos stress that British speakers place a premium on politeness, but politeness is important for the entire English-speaking world.) You will find overlap with German in many cases. (Some situations do call for directness and/or straight talk, however, so let the context dictate the language you use. You simply want to add polite forms to your repertoire so that you can use them when you deem them necessary. Having options is the essence of attaining fluency.) These videos are useful resources in explaining unreal time further:
BBC Learning English: When is the past not the past? Grammar: When is the past not the past? - BBC English Masterclass - YouTube
BBC Masterclass: Being polite (how to soften your English): Speaking: Being polite - how to soften your English - YouTube
BBC Learning English: Three ways to use "wish": Three ways to use 'wish' - BBC English Class - YouTube
BBC Learning English: Stop saying (Using the correct verb form for "I wish"...and, yes, the teacher's delivery is a bit odd in this one, but the content is good): Stop Saying: Using the correct verb form for 'I wish' - YouTube

- don't forget to meet with your partner this week. 

The following channels tie into "quantity and money" and are channels I draw material from for business English classes. Consider using content from these channels for your listening content for your partner this week. Even if you are not going to choose business as your focus at the TH, I recommend that all of you gain a solid foundation in the business register and with business terminology. Nearly every professional activity will involve business acumen in some capacity. All the better if you can maneuver in this environment in multiple languages.
CNBC Make It (with some interesting series like "Millennial Money," which features what kind of standard of living a certain salary can get you in various cities, and "Suddenly Obsessed," which chronicles the rise of featured products and trends): CNBC Make It - YouTube
Business Insider (known for their "So Expensive" series, which explains why certain brands and products have such high price points): Business Insider - YouTube
Freakonomics weekly podcast (hosted by the authors of the popular Freakonomics books): https://freakonomics.com/archive/

Your optional essay topics for this week are: 
1. Can money buy happiness?
2. Does money make the world go round?

Choose one of the above questions for your optional essay of 250-350 words and submit it to me via email in a .docx file by Thursday, April 7th at midnight. Late submissions/submissions that exceed the word limit will not be read. 

Kulturraumstudien USA, Homework for April 11th

For homework, please: 

- read pp. 5-8 (starting with "Photographs furnish evidence" and ending with "...so the reaction against these uses reinforced the self-consciousness of photography-as-art.") of On Photography featured in the "Reading for April 11th" folder on the Ilias Inhalt page. Sontag's language can be difficult, so take your time with her sentences and bring in any questions you might have to our next session.

- In On Photography, Susan Sontag writes, "From its start, photography implied the capture of the largest possible number of subjects. Painting never had so imperial a scope. The subsequent industrialization of camera technology only carried out a promise inherent in photography from its very beginning: to democratize all experiences by translating them into images" (pg. 7). Select 3-5 US photographs taken between 1890 and 1950 and consider whether this quote applies to them. Bring your findings with you to class. (There are two links below which might help you in finding images.)

The website "artnet" has a great search feature in which you can search by photographer and get their photographs in your search results. Clicking on their name will take you to the hyperlinked biography: Buy, Sell, and Research Contemporary Art Online: Artnet

The US National Gallery of Art has a fantastic page on which you can browse their thousands of photographic holdings here: Photography at the National Gallery of Art (nga.gov)

 

Kompetenzerweiterung II (Monday/Wednesday Group), Homework for Week Three (April 4th-8th)

  For homework, please: 

- read Units 13 and 14 and complete all of the accompanying exercises.

As you will see in Unit 13, the past in English serves many functions. For advanced learners, it's crucial to master "unreal time" because of its function in making statements and requests more polite. It is also essential to master "unreal time" in order to soften your speech in professional settings. (The speakers in these videos stress that British speakers place a premium on politeness, but politeness is important for the entire English-speaking world.) You will find overlap with German in many cases. (Some situations do call for directness and/or straight talk, however, so let the context dictate the language you use. You simply want to add polite forms to your repertoire so that you can use them when you deem them necessary. Having options is the essence of attaining fluency.) These videos are useful resources in explaining unreal time further:
BBC Learning English: When is the past not the past? Grammar: When is the past not the past? - BBC English Masterclass - YouTube
BBC Masterclass: Being polite (how to soften your English): Speaking: Being polite - how to soften your English - YouTube
BBC Learning English: Three ways to use "wish": Three ways to use 'wish' - BBC English Class - YouTube
BBC Learning English: Stop saying (Using the correct verb form for "I wish"...and, yes, the teacher's delivery is a bit odd in this one, but the content is good): Stop Saying: Using the correct verb form for 'I wish' - YouTube

- don't forget to meet with your partner this week. 

The following channels tie into "quantity and money" and are channels I draw material from for business English classes. Consider using content from these channels for your listening content for your partner this week. Even if you are not going to choose business as your focus at the TH, I recommend that all of you gain a solid foundation in the business register and with business terminology. Nearly every professional activity will involve business acumen in some capacity. All the better if you can maneuver in this environment in multiple languages.
CNBC Make It (with some interesting series like "Millennial Money," which features what kind of standard of living a certain salary can get you in various cities, and "Suddenly Obsessed," which chronicles the rise of featured products and trends): CNBC Make It - YouTube
Business Insider (known for their "So Expensive" series, which explains why certain brands and products have such high price points): Business Insider - YouTube
Freakonomics weekly podcast (hosted by the authors of the popular Freakonomics books): https://freakonomics.com/archive/

Your optional essay topics for this week are: 
1. Can money buy happiness?
2. Does money make the world go round?

Choose one of the above questions for your optional essay of 250-350 words and submit it to me via email in a .docx file by Wednesday, April 6th at midnight. Late submissions/submissions that exceed the word limit will not be read.