Grades

Grades
(Festlegung der Modalitaten für die Leistungsnachweise
und Dokumentation der Fachnoten)

Your grade for this course is based on five components:

20% - Write a C.V.

20% - Write a cover letter

If you correct your written exercises within one week of receiving my correction, you can get 5 extra points if you have zero mistakes in the second version. You can only correct each exercise once. You cannot correct exercises handed in later than one week before the last lecture.

15% - Three recorded interview questions. These will be done in class. They will be graded for grammar, pronunciation, and the overall quality of the answer in relation to the question. These cannot be corrected.

35% - Presentation -> students choose the topic. You have to talk for 10-12 minutes. This does NOT include, e.g., showing a video. If you want to do this, your presentation must be longer.

10% - Class attendance/participation. You don't have to be present for every class, but you cannot get a grade if you only come for the exam and do the assignments.

All components are based on grades of 100 points except the presentation, which is based on a maximum of 35 points.

Here's the story in more detail.

Leistungsbeurteilungen(von der Publikation „Informationen für die Professorinnen / Professoren und Lehrbeauftragten des FBI", Stand WS 1999 / 2000): Für alle Studiengänge gelten nach der neuen RPO II die folgenden Leistungsbeurteilungen

sehr gut	1,0 / 1,3
gut	1,7 / 2,0 / 2,3
befriedigend	2,7 / 3,0 /3,3
ausreichend	3,7 / 4,0
nicht ausreichend	5.0

Diese Leistungsbeurteilungen gelten auch für Service-Lehrveranstaltungen und die allgemeinwissenschaftlichen Ergänzungsfächer.

Here's a sample calculation for the student "Alfred E. Neumann".

cover letter and c.v. (20% each) Score: 85 + 80 = 17 + 16 points

interview questions (5% each) 75 + 80 + 80 = 235 ÷ 3 = 78.3 x .15 = 11.7 points

presentation
(see assessment criteria below) 29 out of 35 = 29 points

participation 70 x .10 = 7 points

Total
80.7 = 2,3

Here's how the grades "are translated" into the BHT system.

Final Grades

96%-100% = 1,0

90%-95% = 1,3

87%-89% = 1,7

83%-86% = 2,0

80%-82% = 2,3

77%-79% = 2,7

73%-76% = 3,0

70%-72% = 3,3

67%-69% = 3,7

65%-66% = 4,0

0-64% = 5,0

Decimal results are rounded as follows:

x,6 - x,9 (e.g. 74,7) = 75
x,1 - x,5 (e.g. 74,5) = 74

Here's some other important information.

(a) An email from FB1 Dekan, Prof. Dr. Kurt Bangert from 26 Sep 2012 says

(b) Laut RSPO, hiermit ist der Prüfungsversuch begonnen worden. Ein Rücktritt von der Prüfungsanmeldung (Belegung) ist jetzt nicht mehr möglich.

(d) If you don't do all the written homework tasks, you won't get a grade.

(e) You don't have to come to every class, but I hope / believe the class work will help you learn English, which - after all - is what this whole thing is all about. Therefore, if you miss more than three classes without a doctor's excuse, you won't get a grade.

(f) If you don't understand any of this, please ask me.

(g) If you don't understand AND you don't ask, good luck.

Assessment of Presentation

Pronunciation Mistakes*
>10

5 – 10

<5

Points

6

8

10

Structure / Grammar Mistakes
>10

5 – 10

<5

Points

6

8

10

Read from notes
Usually

Rarely

Never

Points

6

8

10

Visuals ≈ Text
Same

Similar

Different

Points

2

3

5

* Some (but not all) definitions of "pronunciation mistakes"
(1) I had to stop the video and listen again because I wasn't able to understand what you said for other than "technical" reasons. A "technical reason" means there was a problem with the video.
(2) Incorrect pronunciation of the English "th sounds" (think vs. this). Every time it occurs is one mistake.
(3) "Mixing" English sounds. Every time it occurs it's one mistake.
e.g.
"s" and "z" (loose vs. lose)
"j" and "ch" (jeep vs. cheap)
"sh" and "ch" (ship vs. chip)
"sh" and "zh" (pressure vs. pleasure)
"f" and "v" (have vs. half)
"v" and "w" (veil vs. whale)
etc.

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Updated: 24.02.14