Aims

By the end of the course, students will:

- Be able to communicate in the foreign language with greater fluency, accuracy and confidence.
- Have gained more insight into the current issues related to the country/-ies and culture(s) where the foreign language is spoken.
- Be able to locate information from different sources (eg. internet) in order to contribute their own materials and ideas to the module.

This is the first part of a German Advanced course designed with the non language specialist in mind. It is open to students who have obtained an A-Level Grade B or above. It is also open to students who have received a lower A-Level grade in the past but have had tuition, undertook self-study or lived in the country since and feel that they can communicate in the foreign language fluently. The module covers the four skills: writing, reading, speaking and listening. At the end of the module, students will have gained a body of vocabulary and grammatical structures sufficient to allow them to communicate orally and in writing with confidence at an advanced level (B2/C1 on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages).

Outline Of Syllabus

TBA

Teaching Rationale And Relationship

1. Teaching in the language seminars will focus on communication skills. Grammar will be taught systematically to enable students to produce and manipulate the foreign language. Use of the target language will be made as much as possible to develop listening skills. All four skills: listening, reading, writing and speaking are fully integrated in the language seminars and associated work and preparation, and will be tested equally.

2. Independent learning and learner autonomy are further developed through online guided tasks, pair and group work, assessment preparation and completion, and self-study at home, via the University’s Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) and in the Language Resource Centre. Particular initiative is expected from students, e.g. course participants will be asked to contribute their own materials to the classes and activities.

3. Depending on numbers we may be able to offer one online only group and the Teaching Activities will differ as follows.
Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities / Small group teaching / 11 weeks / 2 hours weekly / 22 hours / Online synchronous language seminars

Assessment Rationale And Relationship

The portfolio will help students assess their progress and identify their strengths and areas for improvement. It will test student’s ability to communicate effectively, identify relevant information and produce a structured text in the target language.