Frame and Preparation
Zwei Çaylöffel Şekir
Conceptual Frames and Background
- belonging, Heimat, assimilation, migration, mother tongue, multiculturalism, multilingualism
- Zugehörigkeit, Heimat, Integration, Migration, Muttersprache, Multikulturalität, Mehrsprachigkeit
Introduction
“Zwei Çaylöffel Şekir” was first published in 2020 in the “Sprache” issue of Berlin-based Literarische Diverse Magazin, and was later featured by the American Literary Translators Association for their 2021 “English-German Translation Slam” on International Translation Day in cooperation with Sand Journal in 2021. The original text, along with two ensuing translations, is available for open-access online.
This is a two-day unit. Both days are included in this lesson plan.
Preparation
There is no necessary prep for the first day of this discussion. For the second class day, however, students should read the remaining stanzas of the poem not discussed on day 1 for homework.
Materials
Students can access the pdf of the poem in Literarische Diverse through this link.
Instructor resources include a powerpoint of the activities here, and a grammar worksheet for students here.
Discussion & Activity
Activity
First day:
- Have students work in pairs as they read the first stanza of the poem.
- After reading it once together, students should alternate reading lines aloud while their partner writes down what their partner is reading in High German to the best of their ability.
- Students should finish by responding to the first discussion questions in the slideshow.
- Hausaufgaben für morgen:
- Students write ca. 50-100 words responding to the prompt: “Was bedeutet [Ich binn di deutsche schbrache]?
- Read remaining stanzas of poem
Second day:
- To prepare for class, students should read the remaining stanzas of the poem, thinking about the discussion prompts from the slides.
- Students will complete a grammar worksheet related to the text to reinforce ongoing German proficiency.