Module LANG3351: AREA STUDIES IN GERMAN

Department: LANGUAGE CENTRE

LANG3351: AREA STUDIES IN GERMAN

Prerequisites

• Year Aboard in Germany.

Corequisites

• None.

Excluded Combination of Modules

• No other German language module available within the Language Centre or MLAC

Aims

• To enable students to access, explore and express complex conceptual ideas in German.
• To deepen students' understanding of German political and socio-cultural issues and to provide them with the linguistic skills and applied terminology to discuss them in German.
• To promote academic research using English and German language sources.

Content

• This module is delivered in German and aims to build upon the students' year abroad experience.
• It will provide students with an opportunity for critical reflection of their year abroad.
• To this end students will be asked to produce a critical evaluation of aspects of their year abroad, which they will present to their peers for discussion.
• This exercise will provide an opportunity to compare experiences with others and to explore intercultural similarities and dissimilarities.
• This module will also help students to deepen their understanding of current affairs, cultural and socio-political issues as well as to refine their linguistic abilities by extending the range of dossier materials studied to include academic sources.
• This will prepare students for the competent use of German within an academic context and the production of a supervised extended essay in German will give students the opportunity for independent and student centred learning.
• Students will develop their reading and writing skills as well as their ability to understand apply and contrast English and German academic genres.

Learning Outcomes

• On successful completion of this module learners will be able to:
• carry out undergraduate level research into an agreed topic, demonstrating the ability to identify and critically evaluate relevant English and German source material.
• produce an extended essay/research report on an agreed topic demonstrating the ability to express complex conceptual ideas and arguments in accurate and coherent German.
• give a 15-minute seminar presentation on a political or socio-cultural aspect of contemporary Germany, demonstrating appropriate presentation skills as well as the linguistic ability to explain complex conceptual ideas to others.
• initiate and sustain group discussions, displaying the linguistic ability to present their position coherently and with fluency in the target language and to engage with the view of others.

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• This module is delivered in German through seminar style classes which will meet twice weekly, supplemented by one-to-one tutorial sessions.
• In preparation for each sessions students will be expected to prepare a set of material, either individually or in small groups, which will be presented and discussed during class time.
• At this advanced stage the tutor's role as facilitator of the language learning process will become more evidence as students will play a more active part in the organisation of the module by acting as discussion leaders.
• Classes will partly function as a forum to promote and review independent learning.
• The assessment scheme for this module is designed to test students' level of attainment in language production (speaking and writing) and reception (listening and reading) as well as their level of intercultural learning and understanding.
• In order to reflect the continuous nature of language learning, the module will be assessed by a combination of formative and summative in-course assessment and by formal examination.
• Summative assessments will also fulfil a formative function since fee-back on all summative in-course assessment will be made available to students.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

One formative presentation. One essay plan for extended essay. Extended essay draft. Regular assignments in preparation for seminars.

■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University