Newcastle University

Pre Requisite Comment

Level A or equivalent (A-level German).
Students who have previously taken Level A German are not advised to proceed to Level B unless they achieve at least 40%.

Note: Non-SML students are advised not to proceed to Level C unless they achieve at least 40% in this module.

Co Requisite Comment

None

Aims

In consonance with the overall aims of the degrees offered in the SML, this module will:

- Focus on developing the students' written communicative and oral communicative competences in the target language (including fluency, grammatical and lexical accuracy and range, register and pronunciation);
- Facilitate students' ability to establish and maintain effective social and working relations with
speakers of the foreign language in written and spoken media. This includes students’ ability to use and understand authentic material and produce their own written and spoken output.
- Prepare students for the future study of the target language (including written and oral communicative skills, and intercultural awareness) and for their future learning experience (including independent learning and study skills; reflective skills and self-regulation).

This module is available to all students with an A-level or equivalent in the target language.

Outline Of Syllabus

Topics:
1.
- Menschen in Deutschland
- Arbeit und Beruf
- Vergangenheit heute
- Der fast perfekte Mensch

2. Current affairs

This course will be taught predominantly in GERMAN. This course will be assessed in GERMAN.

Intended Knowledge Outcomes

By the end of the course, students will have had the opportunity to learn about:

- sentence and text structure, grammatical categories and their exponents and use, lexical fields and registers and their usage.
- all areas of grammar, vocabulary and background knowledge related to the skills listed below.

Intended Skill Outcomes

Subject specific skills:

By the end of the course, students will have had the opportunity to learn about:
- using varied lexical and grammatical structures in spoken and written communication.
- reading for information using authentic material of appropriate complexity and length and responding appropriately.
- writing and/or typing in the target language (e.g.: reports, essays, summaries)
- listening for information using different types of authentic sources in the foreign language and responding appropriately in written and/or oral form.
- conversing, discussing directly with target language speakers and producing/giving presentations in German using an appropriate range, on agreed topics.
- how to study grammar systematically.

Cognitive/ intellectual skills:

Students will learn:
- to locate, make use and critically evaluate materials for this level other than those provided by the teacher.
- to evaluate their own performance
- to apply a range of strategies for language learning appropriate for this level and module
- to work independently and confidently on their own or in a group, either within or outside the classroom.
- to locate information from different authentic sources (e.g. Internet) in order to contribute their own materials and ideas to the course.

Teaching Rationale And Relationship

1. Synchronous language seminars, either on campus if possible or online in case it becomes necessary for the teaching format to change in light of the public health situation.

2. Teaching in the language seminars will focus on communication skills while the recorded lecture materials and drop-ins will focus on key study skills and the formal structures of the language. All four skills: listening, reading, writing and speaking are fully integrated in the language seminars, associated guided work and preparation.

3. Independent learning and learner autonomy are further developed through the means of online grammar videos
and related activities, online guided tasks, pair and group work, assessment preparation and completion, and selfstudy, via the University’s Virtual Learning Environment (VLE), Canvas and in the Language Resource Centre. Particular initiative is expected from students at this level, e.g. course participants will be asked to contribute their own materials to the classes and activities.

4. All students will be supported in their study of formal and informal aspects of the German language and their study skills via a weekly synchronous drop-in surgery.

5. Stage 2 students who progressed from Level A attend a bridging hour to help bring them up to the standard of students studying Level B on entry. Stage 1 students directly studying Level B have an extra 22 hours of independent study.

Assessment Rationale And Relationship

-The portfolio (40%) will encourage regular work on the four language skills and enable students to receive regular formative feedback. It will help students assess their progress and identify their strengths and areas for improvement, thus stimulating their independent and reflective learning skills throughout the year. The oral component will test students’ ability to produce and present their own output orally. The listening/aural component will test the students’ ability to listen and understand video/audio sources (excluding written text) and to respond appropriately in written (or typed) or oral form. The written component will test students’ ability to write or type in the target language. [For in-class tests: Students may be allowed to type their own answers provided that spell check / grammar check has been disabled]. The reading component will test students’ ability to read and understand written sources in the target language and to respond appropriately in written (or typed) or oral form.

- The oral recording (20%) will test students’ ability to produce and present their own output orally and enable them to receive feedback on their work. This assessment provides summative information to staff and student on student's achievement in speaking in the module.

- The final written exam at the end of Semester 2 (40%) will test the students’ reading, grammar and written skills. Students may be allowed to type their own answers provided that spell check / grammar check has been disabled. This formal examination provides summative information to staff and student on student's achievement in reading / grammar and writing in the target language in this module.

*(Continued from above) Portfolio of 4 pieces of work covering reading, writing, speaking and listening (10% each), or of 2 pieces combining two skills (20% each) set in Semesters 1 and 2.

General Notes

N/A