Interactive Competence in German : Academic German

Teacher(s)

Suner Munoz Ferran;

Language

Deutsch

Prerequisites

Proficiency in German of an 'ìndependent user' (B2+ in terms of CEFRL)

Main themes

1. Enlargement of vocabulary : qualitative and quantitative development of the academic vocabulary that is necessary in professional and academic life.
2. Improvement of writing skills : development of lexical and linguistic instruments that are necessary for understanding long and complex academic texts and for the production of clearly, fluently, and well structured texts.
3. Improvement of speaking skills : development of the ability to give presentations in professional and academic life and to formulate ideas and opinions with precision.

Learning outcomes

At the end of this learning unit, the student is able to :
1	To develop a conversational competence in German at the level of " proficient user " in the four skills. The course has the aim to sensitise the student for the different variants of using German. We explore especially the registers of spoken and written academic German. The student will be able : - To understand complicated texts, i.e. texts that contain academic argumentation and meanings that are not signaled explicitely (only implied meanings). - To participate efficiently in conversations in his social, professional and academic life. - To express himself in clear, well-structured texts on academic topics, using academic vocabulary in coherent discourse. - To follow complex presentations/talks, also if they are not clearly structured.

Content

At the beginning, we will focus on the development of the vocabulary of professional and academic German. Two types of vocabularies will be developed: a general professional and academic vocabulary, and a specific professional and academic vocabulary as it is used in professional, academic and scientific texts.
In a second step, we will turn to discourse and linguistic skills that are necessary to understand complex texts and discourse at the academic level and to write professional and academic texts. Different kinds of exercises will be used to improve the conversational competence, the ability to give presentations and the stylistic academic competence.

Teaching methods

A mixed approach consisting of brief lectures by the instructor, phases of presentation and discussion of various sources researched and utilized by the students, as well as individual or group tasks.

Evaluation methods

Continuous assessment: active participation, scientific presentation on a research topic (30% of the final grade), which will later be the subject of a written assignment as part of the final evaluation.
Final evaluation: a scientific written paper on a topic of choice (70% of the final grade), through which the student must apply the knowledge and skills developed in class. The paper will be based on the topic of the initial oral presentation previously conducted and discussed during the course (see continuous assessment).
Generative artificial intelligence (AI), if used at all, must be used responsibly and in accordance with the practices of academic and scientific integrity. Since scientific integrity means citing sources, the use of AI must always be reported.

Other information

Course materials available on moodle.

Faculty or entity

> ELAL