Have your DC taken OK State's online German classes?

[RoughCollie]

DS1 wants to take an online German class. We are looking at OK State's program.

 

If anyone has personal experience with this, would you please tell me about it. I don't want to waste money on some hokey course. DS1 is very serious about learning German. He takes it at the public high school, but the teacher is dead wood -- they cover 1 page *per week* and he won't answer questions that move the student ahead of that page.

 

DS1 wants to become fluent in several languages and has a talent for learning them. Currently, he is learning Spanish and German, and he is far ahead of his classes at school because he is taking every opportunity to learn more on his own.

 

Thank you!

RC

[SkateLeft]

I'm interested in hearing about other's experiences with OK State German also!

 

My dd is currently taking German I through MNVA, using K12's Powerspeak, and since we're going back to homeschooling independently, I can either continue using Powerspeak for German II (with the credit option) or switch to OK State German. I'm really leaning towards OK State since it seems the more rigorous of the two.

[J-rap]

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Edited February 28, 2023 by J-rap

[Annie G]

Dd took German 1 and 2 through OSU's German Online. She did very well and it was the most pleased we've ever been with an outsourced class.

 

Weekly phone calls to ask questions/converse in German, easy access to the program coordinator, self paced, grades always available (though I don't like that they can retake a quiz if they aren't happy with a grade), and an adequate amount of material covered during the course were things we appreciated.

 

By Thanksgiving of her first year, dd was about halfway through the first course and we went to the Christkindlmarket in Chicago. She was able to understand and converse with vendors. Our other three kids couldn't come close to that after having six months of a language class so we knew OSU was a good fit for this kid. (Our other kids used Rosetta Stone, BYU, and local high school courses)

 

The best thing is that OSU doesn't bill you until your student has a month or two under their belt...that way you can try it and cancel before they bill you. We weren't billed until at least 4 months into the program.

[VBCaroline]

My daughter took an on-line German class last year, since she wasn't old enough to take it at the public high school (you have to be in 10th grade to take that and my daughter was in 9th). I was very skeptical of an online foreign language class... But it turned out to be GREAT!

 

I'd love to know which class she took.

Thanks!

Caroline

[Moira in MA]

If anyone has personal experience with this, would you please tell me about it. I don't want to waste money on some hokey course. DS1 is very serious about learning German.

 

My dds have both taken OSU German Online -- dd1 is finishing up German IV and dd2 is midway through German III.

 

The courses use skits, music videos, German web sites, and TV programs including comedy, as well as video shot specifically for the course. German III and IV use novels and radio plays. The weekly phone calls are wonderful.

 

It is an engaging, well thought out series, I give it a thumbs up.

 

HTH

~Moira

[CO MOM]

This isn't exactly personal experience, but while we were touring a nearby Christian school, they mentioned that 2 of their students were taking German through OSU since they didn't have a German teacher on staff (they only offered Spanish on site). They said that they were so pleased with it, they were going to continue with the second year. The school is considered to have fairly high academic standards, and they seemed to think it was well worth the investment.

[Storm Bay]

Dd took German 1 and 2 through OSU's German Online. She did very well and it was the most pleased we've ever been with an outsourced class.

 

Weekly phone calls to ask questions/converse in German, easy access to the program coordinator, self paced, grades always available (though I don't like that they can retake a quiz if they aren't happy with a grade), and an adequate amount of material covered during the course were things we appreciated.

 

By Thanksgiving of her first year, dd was about halfway through the first course and we went to the Christkindlmarket in Chicago. She was able to understand and converse with vendors. Our other three kids couldn't come close to that after having six months of a language class so we knew OSU was a good fit for this kid. (Our other kids used Rosetta Stone, BYU, and local high school courses)

 

The best thing is that OSU doesn't bill you until your student has a month or two under their belt...that way you can try it and cancel before they bill you. We weren't billed until at least 4 months into the program.

 

 

Thanks for this. We're seriously considering having dd take this. I think we'll even have her do German 1 even though she's been doing German is Fun & Rosetta Stone so that she can get used to doing an online course.

 

Since we're mastery based and dd is doing this only because she needs a foreign language (not my reason, but hers) I don't mind if she can retake a quiz. I'd like her to be able to use the German she's learning, and it sounds like it will lead to that.

[RoughCollie]

Thank you all for your replies.

 

It sounds like the OSU German course is a pretty good one. I appreciate the recommendations.

 

If anyone wants to recommend any other German classes for me to check out, please do. I am not interested in the K-12 version, btw. Rigor is important to DS1 -- he likes it, begs for it, can't wait.

 

RC

[Annie G]

OSU might be just what your ds wants. Dd always writes tons when she's asked to recall a passage. At first they told her she only had to write three sentences or so but she told them she 'needed' to write more so they let her expand all she wanted. They also had her ( and I'm assuming all of their students) take the national German exam- now she really loved seeing where she stood in relation to kids all over the country!

At the end of a course Sabine sends certificates to the kids who earn A's and congratulates them for their achievement. She's what makes the program special- it's so clear that she loves teaching and the language.

[Joan in GE]

I'd been meaning to answer this earlier then got distracted.

 

My son is quite happy with the German courses. Personally I think it is the German professor (Sabine Lewis) who has made it what it is.

 

Last year the course filled up so I would not wait too long to sign up. You can sign up and say you will start in September.

 

Joan

[Laura in CA]

They also had her ( and I'm assuming all of their students) take the national German exam- now she really loved seeing where she stood in relation to kids all over the country!

 

Annie, was the NGE administered through OSU? I was interested in this and asked at our local school, but they're cutting their German program next year :glare:

I was about to look farther afield, but it would be great if OSU gives these tests ... I called AATG and they said the NGE needed to be proctored, and to ask at local schools. We're doing the NGE1 on our own, but I was looking for a place to take NGE2 next December.

 

At the end of a course Sabine sends certificates to the kids who earn A's and congratulates them for their achievement. She's what makes the program special- it's so clear that she loves teaching and the language.

 

My kids have gotten Sabine a few times for the weekly tutoring session, and she talks to them in German, explains things, etc. - just wonderful. (The other "tutors" are students and are good, also; it's just that Sabine is a native speaker and, like you say, is passionate about teaching.)

 

To the OP: OSU German is perfect for our needs! I speak German and have lived in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland, but don't have a clue how to teach German! It's so well planned and easy to use, and the weekly tutoring helps keep us honest ... plus it's flexible (we're taking two weeks off right now because of an extra-heavy load in other areas). We *did* have a problem where the graders (who don't see the students' names) thought my son was copying or doing a dictation, because he wrote so much (like Annie's dd), but a quick email to Sabine and the matter was settled. A friend in town doing the program also had this problem and it was also settled within a day. I had heard about this on these boards, but didn't think it would happen to us! Sabine said they've had a rash of internet translations recently, and the graders are frustrated.

 

I would recommend doing a board search for OSU German -- there's a lot more info in the archives.

 

~Laura