GE203-30 Modern German Language 2 (Post Beginners)
Introductory description
This foundation module in Modern German Language for post beginners follows the first year Module GE103 and seeks to consolidate the language skills gained in students’ first year of study. It covers the main linguistic (oral, aural, written, spoken) skills, and seeks to promote the continued acquisition of grammatical awareness and essential communicative competences.
Module aims
By the end of the year students will be able to sustain everyday conversations in German, read authentic texts (e.g. newspaper articles), follow the gist of TV extracts and be able to write a range of texts at an intermediate level in German.
Students willalso work on basic translation into and out of German as a means of consolidating relational grammatical and syntactic competence. In addition to tasks undertaken during class-time, students will also be required to complete a range of (formative) study tasks aimed at complementing and deepening the material covered in formal instruction. The module will also prepare students for their year abroad.
Outline syllabus
This is an indicative module outline only to give an indication of the sort of topics that may be covered. Actual sessions held may differ.
Classes integrate the four skills – listening, speaking, reading and writing – with an emphasis on
form by targeting some essential structures for intensive practice within a communicative
context.
Students will also practice some elementary/intermediate translation. All these activities will
entail students´ self-study to broaden vocabulary and aural understanding.
Grammar points covered:
- Pronunciation, alphabet, introducing oneself, regular conjugations, the verb ‘sein’.
- Subject pronouns, definite and indefinite articles, numbers, conjunctions, colours and
adjectives, the verb ‘haben’. - Gender and number of nouns, demonstrative and possessive adjectives, questions: wo?,
woher?, wer?, was?, wen?, wann?, the accusative case. - Separable verbs, regular verbs in the perfect tense.
- Reflexive verbs and pronouns, adjectives of origin and numerals.
- Modal verbs, the dative case.
- Prepositions of place and movement (Wechselpräpositionen).
- Irregular verbs in the present tense and past tense, word order (weil, dass, etc).
- The future tense (werden).
- The passive tense (present tense), the genitive case.
- Comparatives and superlatives.
- The passive tense (perfect tense).
- The imperfect tense, the pulperfect tense..
- The indefinite article and pronouns (jed-, kein-, all-, viel-, wenig-).
- Adjective endings 1.
- Adjective endings 2.
- Relative sentences and pronouns.
- The subjunctive 1.
- The subjunctive 2.
- Sentense constructions: ‘(sich) lassen’, ‘sowohl-als auch’, ‘weder-noch’, ‘Je-desto‘.
- Indefinite articles: ‘manch-‘, ‘einig-‘, Relative sentences and pronouns using the genitive
case.
Learning outcomes
By the end of the module, students should be able to:
- demonstrate individual skills in writing and reading in German, and some cross-lingual awareness through translation.
- single out and discuss, when necessary, specific problems of grammar and syntax
- demonstrate familiarity with different language variations and register
- demonstrate a strong command of basic structures of German grammar and their use in various contexts
- demonstrate competence in different registers
- demonstrate skills of aural comprehension and oral communication over a wide range of topics
- identify and discuss intercultural awareness in the German context and German-English-speaking contexts
- Adequate language competence in written and spoken German so as to enable a student to follow courses (of an appropriate level) at a university in a German-speaking country and/or to take up a work placement in a German speaking country.
Indicative reading list
Oxford German Dictionary or Collins German Dictionary
Anna Buscha, Szilvia Szita: Begegnungen (B1+) Integriertes Kurs- und Arbeitsbuch
International
All modules delivered in SMLC are necessarily international. Students engage with themes and ideas from a culture other than that of the UK and employ their linguistic skills in the analysis of primary materials from a non-Anglophone context. Students will also be encouraged to draw on the experiences of visiting exchange students in the classroom and will frequently engage with theoretical and critical frameworks from across the world.
Subject specific skills
This module will develop students’ linguistic skills through engaging with primary materials in the target language. It will build students’ capacity to engage with aspects of German culture through analysis of this primary material and through seminar discussion aimed at deeper critical thinking. In particular, students’ awareness of modern German language will be enhanced through lectures and seminars which engage in scholarship in the field.
Transferable skills
All SMLC culture modules demand critical and analytical engagement with artefacts from target-language cultures. In the course of independent study, class work and assessment students will develop the following skills: written and oral communication, creative and critical thinking, problem solving and analysis, time management and organisation, independent research in both English and their target language(s), intercultural understanding and the ability to mediate between languages and cultures, ICT literacy in both English and the target language(s), personal responsibility and the exercise of initiative.
Study time
Type | Required |
---|---|
Practical classes | 88 sessions of 1 hour (29%) |
Private study | 212 hours (71%) |
Total | 300 hours |
Private study description
Students will be expected to make use of the TRC, directed learning and self-study options to complement taught class hours e.g. through VLE / Moodle.
Costs
No further costs have been identified for this module.
You do not need to pass all assessment components to pass the module.
Assessment group D1
Weighting | Study time | |
---|---|---|
December Assessment | 15% | |
Consists of tasks assessing:
|
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March Assessment | 15% | |
Consists of tasks assessing:
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In-person Examination | 50% | |
Exam covers grammar in context, translation, reading and writing.
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Oral Examination | 20% | |
15 minute oral examination |
Feedback on assessment
Feedback will be provided in the course of the module in a number of ways. Feedback should be understood to be both formal and informal and is not restricted to feedback on formal written work.
Oral feedback will be provided by the module tutor in the course of seminar discussion. This may include feedback on points raised in small group work or in the course of individual presentations or larger group discussion.
Written feedback will be provided on formal assessment using the standard SMLC Assessed Work feedback form appropriate to the assessment. Feedback is intended to enable continuous improvement throughout the module and written feedback is generally the final stage of this feedback process. Feedback will always demonstrate areas of success and areas for future development, which can be applied to future assessment. Feedback will be both discipline-specific and focussed on key transferrable skills, enabling students to apply this feedback to their future professional lives. Feedback will be fair and reasonable and will be linked to the SMLC marking scheme appropriate to the module.
Courses
This module is Core for:
- Year 2 of UGEA-RN21 Undergraduate German and Business Studies
This module is Core optional for:
- Year 2 of ULNA-R1A2 Undergraduate French with German
- Year 2 of ULNA-R2L4 Undergraduate German and Economics (4-year)
- Year 2 of UGEA-RW24 Undergraduate German and Theatre Studies
- Year 2 of ULNA-R2R4 Undergraduate German with Spanish
- Year 2 of UETA-Q1A2 Undergraduate Linguistics with German (with Intercalated Year)
- Year 3 of UFRA-R900 Undergraduate Modern Languages
- Year 2 of ULNA-R9Q1 Undergraduate Modern Languages and Linguistics
- Year 2 of ULNA-R9Q2 Undergraduate Modern Languages with Linguistics
This module is Optional for:
- Year 2 of UETA-Q1A2 Undergraduate Linguistics with German (with Intercalated Year)
This module is Core option list A for:
- Year 2 of UCXA-Q802 Undergraduate Classics (Latin) with Study in Europe
- Year 2 of ULNA-QR37 Undergraduate English and German
- Year 2 of ULNA-RR14 Undergraduate French and German
- Year 2 of UGEA-R200 Undergraduate German Studies
- Year 2 of UGEA-RN21 Undergraduate German and Business Studies
- Year 3 of ULNA-R2L4 Undergraduate German and Economics (4-year)
- Year 2 of UGEA-R2V1 Undergraduate German and History
- Year 2 of ULNA-R2Q3 Undergraduate German and Linguistics
- Year 2 of UFRA-R900 Undergraduate Modern Languages
- Year 2 of ULNA-R9L1 Undergraduate Modern Languages and Economics (4-year)
- Year 3 of ULNA-R9Q2 Undergraduate Modern Languages with Linguistics
-
UPOA-M164 Undergraduate Politics, International Studies and German
- Year 2 of M164 Politics, International Studies and German
- Year 3 of M164 Politics, International Studies and German
This module is Core option list B for:
- Year 3 of ULNA-R4RG Undergraduate Hispanic Studies and German
- Year 2 of UPOA-M164 Undergraduate Politics, International Studies and German
This module is Core option list C for:
- Year 2 of ULNA-R2Q2 Undergraduate German Studies with Linguistics
- Year 3 of ULNA-R9L1 Undergraduate Modern Languages and Economics (4-year)
This module is Core option list D for:
- Year 3 of UFRA-R900 Undergraduate Modern Languages
This module is Core option list E for:
- Year 2 of ULNA-R4RG Undergraduate Hispanic Studies and German
This module is Core option list G for:
- Year 2 of ULNA-R2A0 Undergraduate German with Chinese
- Year 2 of ULNA-R9Q1 Undergraduate Modern Languages and Linguistics
This module is Option list G for:
- Year 2 of UCXA-Q821 Undergraduate Classical Civilisation with Study in Europe