Learn Hardcore German: Im Kurs setzen wir die neue Grammatik sofort im Gespräch um. - In the course we immediately put the new grammar into practice in conversation.

Umsetzen is a separable-prefix verb (trennbares Verb). In main clauses, the conjugated part goes in second position and the prefix moves to the end of the clause:

Infinitive: umsetzen
Present tense, wir: wir setzen … um

So in a normal main clause you get:
Im Kurs setzen wir die neue Grammatik sofort im Gespräch um.

In forms where the verb goes to the end (infinitives, past participles, some subordinate clauses), it stays together:

… weil wir die neue Grammatik sofort im Gespräch umsetzen.
Wir wollen die neue Grammatik sofort im Gespräch umsetzen.

What does umsetzen mean here, and why not just use something like anwenden?

In this context, umsetzen means to put something into practice / to implement something.

die neue Grammatik umsetzen = to implement / put the new grammar into practice

You could also say:

die neue Grammatik anwenden = to apply the new grammar
die neue Grammatik benutzen / verwenden = to use the new grammar

Subtle nuance:

umsetzen often suggests turning theory into practice, taking something you learned and making it real.
anwenden focuses more neutrally on applying a rule / method.

So umsetzen fits very well in a course context: “We immediately put the new grammar into practice in conversation.”

What exactly does im Kurs mean grammatically, and why is it dative?

Im Kurs is a contraction of in dem Kurs:

in
- dem (dative masculine or neuter) → im

Kurs is masculine (der Kurs), so:

Dative singular: dem Kurs → im Kurs

The preposition in can take dative or accusative, depending on meaning:

in
- dative = location / situation (where?)
  - im Kurs = in the course (as a setting / during the course)
in
- accusative = direction / movement (where to?)
  - in den Kurs gehen = go into the course

Here, im Kurs describes the setting / context, not movement, so it uses the dative.

What is the difference between im Kurs and im Unterricht?

Both can be translated as in class / in the lesson, but there are nuances:

im Kurs
- Refers to the course as a whole (e.g. a German course that runs for weeks).
- More like “In the course (as a general practice in this course)…”
im Unterricht
- Refers more to the actual teaching time / lesson.
- More like “During class / during the lesson…”

In your sentence:

Im Kurs setzen wir … um.
→ Suggests: “In this course, as our general approach, we immediately put the new grammar into practice in conversation.”

You could say Im Unterricht setzen wir … um, but that would sound more like “During the class sessions, we put … into practice,” focusing less on the concept of the course and more on the active teaching time.

Why is it die neue Grammatik and not some other case form?

Die neue Grammatik is in the accusative case as a direct object.

Subject: wir
Verb: setzen … um
Direct object (What do we put into practice?): die neue Grammatik

For feminine nouns, nominative and accusative singular have the same article:

Nominative: die Grammatik
Accusative: die Grammatik

So you can’t see the case change on the article itself, but the function in the sentence is clearly direct object, so it’s accusative. The adjective neue also looks the same in nominative and accusative feminine singular:

Nominative: die neue Grammatik
Accusative: die neue Grammatik

What does im Gespräch mean literally, and why is it singular, not plural?

Literally, im Gespräch = in (the) conversation.

Grammar:

Gespräch (neuter noun): das Gespräch
Dative singular: dem Gespräch
in dem Gespräch → im Gespräch

Meaning-wise, im Gespräch often has a general sense:

im Gespräch = in conversation, while we are talking, through speaking

It doesn’t necessarily refer to one specific single conversation; it can mean “in conversational practice / when speaking with each other” in general.

That’s why singular is natural here. You could use other phrases with slightly different nuances:

in Gesprächen = in (various) conversations
im Dialog = in (a) dialogue (often two people)
beim Sprechen = when speaking

But im Gespräch is idiomatic for “in conversation” as the normal practice in a language class.

Why is sofort placed between Grammatik and im Gespräch? Could it go somewhere else?

Sofort means immediately / right away and is an adverb of time. In German main clauses, adverbs like this usually go into the middle field (between the conjugated verb and the end of the clause).

In your sentence, the middle field is:

setzen (verb 2nd position)
→ wir die neue Grammatik sofort im Gespräch
→ um (separable prefix at the end)

Inside the middle field, German has some typical preferences for adverb order (often summarized as time–manner–place). A natural order here is:

Direct object: die neue Grammatik
Time adverb: sofort
Locative phrase: im Gespräch

So:
… die neue Grammatik sofort im Gespräch … feels very normal.

You can move sofort a bit, but the emphasis changes:

Im Kurs setzen wir sofort die neue Grammatik im Gespräch um.
– Slightly stronger focus on how quickly you start using it.
Im Kurs setzen wir die neue Grammatik im Gespräch sofort um.
– Possible, but less neutral; often the earlier placement of sofort sounds better.

The original sentence is the most natural, neutral-sounding version.

Why is the verb setzen in second position even though the sentence starts with Im Kurs?

German main clauses follow the V2 (verb-second) rule: the conjugated verb must be the second element in the sentence.

“Second” means second constituent, not second word.

In your sentence:

First constituent: Im Kurs (a prepositional phrase)
Second constituent: setzen (the conjugated verb)
Then the rest: wir die neue Grammatik sofort im Gespräch um

So the structure is:

Im Kurs | setzen | wir die neue Grammatik sofort im Gespräch um.

If you started with wir, you would still keep the verb second:

Wir setzen im Kurs die neue Grammatik sofort im Gespräch um.

Different element in the first position = changed emphasis, but the verb remains second.

Could I also say Wir setzen im Kurs die neue Grammatik sofort im Gespräch um? Is there any difference?

Yes, this is perfectly correct:

Wir setzen im Kurs die neue Grammatik sofort im Gespräch um.

Both sentences are grammatical; the difference is emphasis:

Im Kurs setzen wir … um.
→ Fronts im Kurs, so it highlights the course as the context:
“In the course, we (as a general method) immediately put … into practice.”
Wir setzen im Kurs … um.
→ Starts with wir, which is the most neutral word order:
“We put the new grammar into practice in conversation in the course.”

German allows a lot of flexibility in the order of the middle elements, as long as:

the conjugated verb is in second position, and
the separable prefix stays at the end of the clause.

Why is the present tense used in setzen wir … um when this sounds like a plan or regular practice?

German Präsens (simple present) is often used for:

General habits / regular practices
- Im Kurs setzen wir die neue Grammatik sofort im Gespräch um.
  → “In this course, we (always) immediately put the new grammar into practice in conversation.”
Future events that are scheduled / planned
- Morgen machen wir eine Übung. = We’re doing an exercise tomorrow.

In English, you might use the present simple or present progressive:

“In this course, we immediately put the new grammar into practice…”
“In this course, we’re going to put the new grammar into practice right away…”

So using Präsens here is completely normal and idiomatic to express the standard procedure in the course.