1. Montag (FK)

On the first Monday of each session, some villagers will be arriving at Waldsee, going through the Grenze and meeting you for the first time. Even those villagers who have been to Waldsee before may not have heard or spoken a word of German since last summer. Although this Ankunftstag has no scheduled formal language learning groups, our focus, as always, should be on language learning. The following ideas are broken down according to the different activities during the Ankunftstag.

Remember to use as much German as possible, expect physical responses to commands, not necessarily verbal responses, be animated with gestures and talk about German culture.

An der Grenze:

Use the following commands with hand gestures and any physical hints in order to get responses without resorting to English. Help villagers with pronouncing their names and houses correctly.

Guten Tag! (Be sure to greet each villager and shake his or her hand.)

Deinen Paß, bitte. (Point to a sample passport.)

Dein Gepäck, bitte. (Point to their suitcase)

Am Parkplatz bitte parken! (Direct parents to parking area)

Geh bitte zur Anmeldung! (Direct villagers to the beginning of the Grenze.)

Wie heißt du? (Point to your Namenschild and expect verbal response.)

Wo wohnst du? (Point to name in Paß and expect verbal response.)

Komm mit mir, bitte! (Lead villagers to their house, zum Strand or zum Gasthof.)

Am Strand:

All villagers should take a swim test on the first day. After they have dropped their Gepäck in the cabin, encourage them to go zum Strand. If you are a Bademeister/in or are scheduled to help am Strand, you can do the testing auf Deutsch. Explain the test procedure auf Deutsch using hand signals, skits, or other villagers as samples. But be sure the villagers really understand the 10 minute swim test first!!!

Zu Hause unit in der Zwischenzeit:

Some villagers will arrive early and there may be some lag time while waiting for the busses to arrive or before Abendessen. Use this opportunity to use German and expose the villagers to the culture of the village. If several villagers are together, play a few of the following games found in the appendix to get them acquainted and having fun with the language. These games focus on responding to commands, and practicing pronunciation, names and numbers. They can be great for any level and any age group.

Beim Abendessen:

This is the first time your whole house will sit together. Try to establish some rituals and expectations during this first meal together. The following suggestions may help you maximize the German at your table.

1. Say the German name of each dish and have the villagers repeat it before beginning to eat. Even after the Essensvorstellung most will not know the names of the foods.

1. Expect villagers to ask for Milch, Kartoffeln, Fleisch, usw. auf Deutsch. If you set this standard at the beginning, they will learn quickly!

2. Introduce the Gasthof vocabulary with commands, hand gestures, and props. These work especially well during the table clean‑up, procedure.

3. Expect villagers to be courteous and quiet during Ansagen.

4. When you give Ansagen, be sure to speak loudly, use a Gegenstand to illustrate your activity, and be enthusiastic. Ansagen can become mini‑lessons and skits, if you are creative.

5. Explain German mealtime etiquette and encourage villagers to adopt it. (ie. eating with Gabel und Messer.)

Während des Rundgangs:

Immediately following Abendessen on the first night, villagers will go on some sort of Rundgang to get acquainted with the village and procedures. You will go with your house or be asked to lead a station. If you go with your house, use the Rundgang as an opportunity to get to know your villagers, introduce the names of houses/cities and corresponding geography, practice numbers, and answer any questions they may have. If you lead a station, try to explain the procedures at your station auf Deutsch. Use skits with counselors or villagers who speak well, props and gestures to illustrate the procedure bei der Bank, beim Cafe Einbeck, am Strand, bei der Gesundheitsstation,etc. Practice key phrases with villagers as you travel from one station to the next:

Am Abend zu Hause:

After the Rundgang and perhaps a Lagerfeuer, the villagers will be back at the cabin. Use this first evening time together to begin establishing some cabin unity, explain the Tagesplan, answer any questions and emphasize the use of German at the village.

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