Syllabus for CZECH 403: Intermediate Czech
Welcome to Intermediate Czech! The purpose of this course is to hone our knowledge of
Czech and to begin to explore the differences between the spoken and literary varieties of
the language. By the end of this course, you should be able to: watch a feature-length film in Czech
(and enjoy it!), read newspaper articles with relative ease, and feel comfortable with both literary
and spoken varieties of Czech.
Logistics
Time
& Place: MWF 9-9:50 in Dey 303
Instructor: Laura A. Janda (janda@unc.edu;
962-7549; Slavic Dept CB # 3165; office in 312A Dey Hall; mailbox in 425 Dey Hall)
Office Hours: M 11-12 & W 2-3 & by appt.
Materials
- The following textbook has been ordered for this course and you should find
it in the bookstore:
- A Description of Spoken Prague Czech, by Charles E. Townsend (SPC in Assignment Schedule)
- We will use other
materials that can be accessed from this website
- In addition, you should purchase the following DVD:
- Miloš Forman's Lásky jedné plavovlásky (Loves of a Blonde), which can be purchased
by clicking this
link at amazon.com or from another distributor.
What we will accomplish
this semester
This is your course. Please take control of as much of it as you can, and use this
opportunity to make our classwork support your research and personal interests. You can
exercise your free will particularly in the following activities: newspaper presentations (you choose what you want to prepare),
class projects, and grammar topics. Additional topical readings or grammar topics may be suggested by you. Think about what topical readings and grammar topics
you would like to cover, and make suggestions to the class. These and other class activities
are described below and figure in the day-by-day syllabus. The following activities will be
graded: newspaper presentations, vocabulary lists, vocabulary dictations, class project
presentations, a midterm and a fnal.
How
to succeed in this course
Here are your keys to success in this course:
- Do a small amount of work every day -- don't try to cram several days'
worth of assignments into one evening
- Keep up with the readings and other
assignments, and print out all the material assigned from the website
- Come to class every day
- When you come to class, be sure to bring at least one piece of paper that
you have prepared for the class -- a newspaper article you have read, a movie script we are working on,
questions you have about an assignment, etc.
- Work on your Final Project early and often -- you should know
your topic and format before the midterm and work on it consistently after the
midterm
How grades will be assigned
We will have three main tasks in this course:
- Grammatical comparison of Literary Czech (LCz) and Colloquial Czech (CCz), which
will also provide an opportunity to review and refine all of the basic grammar (Mondays)
- Reading of newspaper articles, which will provide us with new vocabulary words to learn, as well
as topics for the composition of short essays and conversation (Wednesdays)
- Script exercises with the film Lásky jedné plavovlásky (Loves of a Blonde), which
will provide us with topics for conversation (Fridays)
Literary Czech and Colloquial Czech. We will read through the SPC text book, and in addition
I will provide grammar review on various topics. Please feel free to suggest additional topics!
Newspaper Articles. Each week you will select a newspaper article of your choice. Your article
can be from Lidové noviny or from another on-line newspaper. Please
do the following: select your article, copy the text into a Word document, and add to your document a
glossary of the five most important vocabulary words (in Czech with English glosses) that you found in your
article. Send this document to me by email by 9am on Tuesday, and I will merge the documents and post all
the articles and vocabulary to our website. Before class on Wednesday, please prepare in electronic format
a brief essay (a single paragraph of 3-5 sentences is sufficient) summarizing your article and have it
available for the class (by emailing it to me). You will present your essays and we will discuss both their
content and form. On Friday we will have a short (3-sentence) dictation to test the vocabulary.
Script Exercises. During the course of the semester we will watch the feature-length film
Lásky jedné plavovlásky, and work our way through the
script and exercises prepared by Prof. David Danaher at UWisconsin-Madison. For each assignment,
try to fill in the blanks in the script and also do the exercises. We will discuss the exercises and
the content in class. If we don't finish an assignment on a Friday, we can continue working on it on
the following Monday.
Topical Readings. If you have any special interests and would like to share some
reading materials with the class, please feel free to do so. This can include items that you
are reading for your research on an Honors Thesis or MA Thesis or the like as well.
Final Project. On the inspiration of a Newspaper Article, the film, a Topical Reading or other
relevant source, you will prepare a Final Project. It is expected that you will work on your Final Project throughout the semester. There will be two opportunities to present preliminary results of your Final Project, one in October and one in November. Each of these will consist of a 5min PowerPoint presentation delivered orally in Czech in class. At the October presentation you will tell us about the topic of your Final Project, how you got interested in it, and what your sources (bibliography) are. The November presentation will give us an outline and present some of the main ideas. The final version of the Final Project will be a 15-20min PowerPoint presentation delivered orally in Czech during the last week of class. You are welcome to work in groups on your
Final Projects if you wish to. The Final Project does not have to involve a topic of Czech culture or history, but your sources must be in Czech.
Midterm.There will be a midterm that will summarize what we have covered in terms of grammar,
vocabulary and content.
Final Exam and Project write-ups.You will take a brief final exam and
write up summaries (in Czech) of your classmates' final projects at the Final
Exam.
Grades. Here is how grades will be assigned:
| Item |
Number of Items |
Points per Item |
Total Points |
| Newspaper submissions & vocabulary lists |
10 |
1 |
10 |
| Newspaper summaries |
10 |
3 |
30 |
| Vocabulary dictations |
10 |
1.5 |
15 |
| October presentation |
1 |
5 |
5 |
| November presentation |
1 |
5 |
5 |
| Final Project (final presentation) |
1 |
10 |
10 |
| Midterm |
1 |
10 |
10 |
| Final Exam (includes summaries of all final projects) |
1 |
15 |
15 |
| |
|
Total: |
100 |
Important note: It is your responsibility to know
about the Honor System at UNC. Go
to this page and be sure you know how to avoid plagiarism and other forms of academic
cheating.
Useful References
Don't forget to have fun! Go to the Czech film series!
Please join us Tuesdays at 6:00. Click here to get the schedule! Sign in and receive 1 point extra credit for every film you attend.
Assignment Schedule
Aug 23: LJP I
- What to prepare for next time:
- LJP II
Aug 25: LJP II
- What to prepare for next time:
- SPC Introduction 10-22
- Refresh your knowledge of Masculine paradigms for Nouns, Adjectives, and Demonstratives
- What to prepare for next time:
- Select a newspaper article from Lidové noviny and
submit it and your vocabulary list by 9am Tuesday; prepare summary by Wednesday (N1)
- Go to see Sudeten Germans & Czechs: A Challenge for Europe (documentary about ethnic cleansing)at our film series on Aug 29!
- What to prepare for next time:
- LJP III
- Study for Dictation (D1)
Sept 1: Dictation (D1); LJP III
- What to prepare for next time:
- Be ready to suggest a Final Project idea
- What to prepare for next time:
- LJP IV
Sept 8: LJP IV
- What to prepare for next time:
- SPC Chapter 1, pp.23-47
- What to prepare for next time:
- Select a newspaper article from Lidové noviny and
submit it and your vocabulary list by 9am Tuesday; prepare summary by Wednesday (N2)
- Go to see Samotáři at our film series on Sept 12!
- What to prepare for next time:
- LJP V
- Study for Dictation (D2)
Sept 15: Dictation (D2); LJP V
- What to prepare for next time:
-
Sept 18: Grammar topic - Pronouns
- What to prepare for next time:
- Select a newspaper article from Lidové noviny and
submit it and your vocabulary list by 9am Tuesday; prepare summary by Wednesday (N3)
- What to prepare for next time:
- LJP VI
- Study for Dictation (D3)
In case you are interested:WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 5:00 PM, 120 VANCE HALL, UNC CAMPUS: "WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE A WRITER IN TODAY'S RUSSIA?" WRITERS WILL DISCUSS ISSUES ABOUT THE CONTEMPORARY RUSSIAN LITERARY SCENE AND ANSWER QUESTIONS IN A ROUNDTABLE FORMAT and THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 7:00 PM, BORDERS BOOKS IN CHAPEL HILL: WRITERS WILL READ FROM THEIR WORK. READINGS IN RUSSIAN AND ENGLISH.
Sept 22: Dictation (D3); LJP VI
- What to prepare for next time:
- SPC Chapter 2 pp. 48-55
Today at 5pm: listen to 89.3 FM wxyc -- Prof. Chad Bryant will be talking about The Politics of Czech Rock'n'Roll
Sept 25: SPC Chapter 2 pp. 48-55; Grammar topic - Cases & Prepositions
- What to prepare for next time:
- Select a newspaper article from Lidové noviny and
submit it and your vocabulary list by 9am Tuesday; prepare summary by Wednesday (N4)
- Go to see PF 77 at our film series on Sept 26!
- What to prepare for next time:
- LJP VII
- Study for Dictation (D4)
Sept 29: Dictation (D4); LJP VII + Extra scene!
- What to prepare for next time:
- SPC Chapter 2, pp. 55-74
Oct 2: SPC Chapter 2, pp. 55-74; Grammar topic - Verb Conjugations and Negation
- What to prepare for next time:
- Select a newspaper article from Lidové noviny and
submit it and your vocabulary list by 9am Tuesday; prepare summary by Wednesday (N5)
- What to prepare for next time:
- LJP VIII
- Study for Dictation (D5)
Oct 6: Dictation (D5); LJP VIII; SPC Chapter 2, pp. 74-81; Grammar topic - Aspect
- What to prepare for next time:
- SPC Chapter 2, pp. 74-81
Oct 9: SPC Chapter 2, pp. 74-81; Grammar topic - Conditionals and aby-clauses
- What to prepare for next time:
- Select a newspaper article from Lidové noviny and
submit it and your vocabulary list by 9am Tuesday; prepare summary by Wednesday (N6)
- Go to see Rok D'ábla at our film series on Oct 10!
- What to prepare for next time:
- LJP IX
- Study for Dictation (D6)
Oct 13: Dictation (D6); LJP IX
- What to prepare for next time:
- Study for Midterm, using the midterm study guide.
Oct 16: Midterm
- What to prepare for next time:
- Prepare 5min Powerpoint presentation on your topic and sources (bibliography) for your Final Project
- What to prepare for next time:
- SPC Chapter 2, pp. 81-90
- Please print out and bring this data sheet on až and než to class
Oct 23: SPC Chapter 2, pp. 81-90; Grammar topic - Comparatives, až and než;
Final Project Updates
- What to prepare for next time:
- Select a newspaper article from Lidové noviny and
submit it and your vocabulary list by 9am Tuesday; prepare summary by Wednesday (N7)
- Help get the Czech Republic inlcuded in the US Visa Waiver Program! Send a letter (sample letter you can download and sign) to your US Congress representatives (names and addresses)
- What to prepare for next time:
- LJP X
- Study for Dictation (D7)
Oct 27: Dictation (D7); LJP X
- What to prepare for next time:
- SPC Chapter 3, pp. 90-93
- Opportunity to volunteer for linguistic research
Oct 30: SPC Chapter 3, pp. 90-93; Grammar topic - Motion Verbs
- What to prepare for next time:
- Select a newspaper article from Lidové noviny and
submit it and your vocabulary list by 9am Tuesday; prepare summary by Wednesday (N8)
- Go to lecture on "Human Rights and Conflict in the Former Yugoslavia" Oct 30 7 pm Hanes Art Center
- What to prepare for next time:
- LJP XI
- Study for Dictation (D8)
Nov 3: Dictation (D8); LJP XI
- What to prepare for next time:
- SPC Chapter 3, pp. 95-109
- Prepare 5min Powerpoint presentation on your outline and main ideas for your Final Project
Nov 6: SPC Chapter 4, pp. 110-126; Grammar topic - Adverbs of Direction, Place, and Manner;
5min Presentations on outlines and main ideas for Final Projects: Charlotte, Jessica, Jaroslav, Catherine
- What to prepare for next time:
- Select a newspaper article from Lidové noviny and
submit it and your vocabulary list by 9am Tuesday; prepare summary by Wednesday (N9)
- Go to see Zapomenuté světlo at our film series on Nov 7!
- What to prepare for next time:
- LJP XII
- Study for Dictation (D9)
Nov 10: Dictation (D9); LJP XII
- What to prepare for next time:
- SPC Chapter 4, pp. 110-126
Nov 13: SPC Chapter 4, pp. 110-126; Grammar topic - Numerals and Quantifiers
- What to prepare for next time:
- Select a newspaper article from Lidové noviny and
submit it and your vocabulary list by 9am Tuesday; prepare summary by Wednesday (N10)
- What to prepare for next time:
- LJP XIII
- Study for Dictation (D10)
Nov 17: Dictation (D10); LJP XIII
- What to prepare for next time:
- SPC Chapter 4, pp 127-136
Nov 20: No class
Nov 27: SPC Chapter 4, pp 127-136; Grammar topic - Participles and Gerunds
- What to prepare for next time:
- Bring any questions about Final Projects or any other course materials
- SPC Chapter 4, pp 137-146
Nov 29: Final Study Guide (please print this out and bring it to class today)
- What to prepare for next time:
- Final Project Presentations
Dec 1: Final Presentations
- Presenters:
- Zlata: Romové v České republice
- Ludmila: Miloš Forman
- Kateřina: Náboženské vyznání v České republice
Dec 4: Final Presentations
- Presenters:
- Honza: Počátky Prahy
- Jana: Rodiče a děti v České Republice
- Helena: České knihovny a imigranti
Dec 6: Final Presentations
- Presenters:
- Danělka: Česká secese a Alfons Mucha
- Šárka: Česká Morfologie, Prefixes worksheet, Roots worksheet
- Jaroslav: České sociální zabezpečení
The FINAL EXAM is on Friday, December 8 at 8:00 am in Dey 303
- Be there or be SQUARE!
This website was last updated on: November 28, 2006
