German language and society I

Aims

Aims

This module is intended to develop your language proficiency and academic skills; to consolidate and expand your written and oral proficiency in German in order to achieve accurate and idiomatic expression and sound comprehension of oral/aural material. This module will also lay the groundwork for the more advanced study of German at Levels I and H.

The module aims to introduce some aspects of German society and culture which will prepare students for a more in depth study of the ‘big debates’ in the second year. For instance discussions on trends in consumer behaviour, political attitudes in modern youth cultures in Germany, the energy debate or representations of crime in the media will give students an idea of the topics Germans care and talk about. By focusing on issues in society and culture we will start to develop students’ analytical, argumentative and presentational skills in German which will be crucial throughout the degree course.

After satisfactorily completing the module you should be able to show:

• Increased fluency and accuracy in spoken German
• Increased accuracy and sophistication in the production of a variety of written German texts
• Improved aural language comprehension
• Improved presentation skills
• An insight into certain aspects of German Society and current issues 

Prerequisites

Prerequisites

Students must have successfully completed:

•  A-level German, grade A or B, or equivalent.

Programme

Programme

Contact hours

The module lasts the whole year.  It is taught for 2 hours per week.  For each contact hour, you should expect to spend about two hours in preparation on average.  Advanced language study demands regular, active practice and revision. Weeks 3 and 4 of the summer term will focus on the oral presentations.   

Teaching programme

There will be: weekly seminars training oral communication and writing skills. The seminars will be in small groups, using general conversation, guided discussion and oral presentation on a range of subjects. Students will also practise the production and analysis of different texts. For the aural comprehension exercises, both CDs and videotapes will be used and students will be required to watch videos and do research online on a regular basis.

All the lessons are conducted as seminars in order to encourage discussion and interaction. Therefore, completing weekly tasks in preparation for class discussion is an essential part of students’ commitment. German is used as the medium of instruction and learning in all classes wherever possible.

Teaching materials

• A good notebook to record vocabulary and idiomatic phrases
• A good bilingual dictionary, one of the following:
  • The Collins German Dictionary, 4th edition or later. (2004). Collins. Glasgow
  • The Oxford Duden German Dictionary. (2005). Oxford University Press. Oxford
• A monolingual dictionary is strongly recommended, e.g.
  • Langenscheidts Großwörterbuch Deutsch als Fremdsprache. (2003). Langenscheidt. Munich. 
  • Duden – Deutsches Universalwörterbuch. 5th edition.  (2003). Duden

Assessment and feedback

Assessment and feedback

Feedback on formative work

Students will be expected to complete and submit exercises and other written assignments regularly and to present some of this work in seminars.  In addition, reading and other preparation for the seminars will be required.

• Written Formative work:
  • Written comments on the work, mark on University mark scale
  • Oral/written feedback in class
  • Discussions on major issues and mistakes/content/structure
  • Individual feedback during office hours, when necessary
• Oral Formative work:
  • Feedback on oral presentations and class discussions
  • Direct oral feedback in class discussions
  • Written Feedback form for oral presentations
  • Feedback includes mark on university marking scale
  • Comments on different aspects of the presentation, i.e. content, argumentation, logic, register etc.
  • Individual feedback during office hours, when necessary

Written feedback will usually be given within 1 or 2 weeks.

Assessment and feedback

There are three components to the final assessment:

• Written Assignment (1,000 words) (Paper 1)
  
  • Date: Spring Term, week 10
  • Weight: 30%
  • Feedback: written feedback form with a mark on the university marking scale, confirmed by the second marker, written comments on different aspects of the work, i.e. structure, content, logic and argumentation, grammatical accuracy, examples of typical mistakes (language).
• A 3-hour closed written examination,  consisting of reading comprehension and text production (Paper 2)
  • Date: Summer Term, Weeks 5-7
  • Weight: 40%
  • Feedback: Students will be allowed to see their exam paper with comments, under supervision, at an appointed date after the external examiner has reviewed the papers.
• Oral presentation
  • Date: Summer Term
  • Weight: 30%
  • Feedback: written feedback within 3 weeks.