BA Politics and German / Course details

This core language module consists of the following three elements:

1) TRANSLATION FROM AND INTO GERMAN (seminar: one hour per week)

Through its focus on translation skills (English-German and German-English) this element of the module aims to develop students' abilities to write accurate and idiomatic German and their sensitivity to different registers of written German.

2) SPRACHPRAKTISCHE ÜBUNG (tutorial: one hour per week)

This element of the module focuses on the development of oral communication.

3) GRAMMATIK UND AUSDRUCK (seminar: one hour per week)

This hour aims to improve students' competence in German grammar and their expression in written German including essay writing skills.

REQUISITES

On successful completion of this module, students will be able to:

- Demonstrate mastery of a large range of grammar topics

- Demonstrate a high level of competence in translating from German into English, with an excellent understanding of stylistic considerations

- Demonstrate a good level of competence in translating from English into German, with a high level of understanding of stylistic considerations

- Understand virtually any speech, TV news and current affairs programmes as well as films

- Read and analyse articles and reports concerned with contemporary issues

- Speak with a high degree of fluency and accuracy, and take an active part in discussion covering a large range of contexts, including academic issues

- Orally present clear descriptions on a considerable range of subjects (including those of an academic nature), and discuss and evaluate conflicting viewpoints, spelling out in detail the advantages and disadvantages of various options

- Write clear and linguistically sophisticated text (including essays and reports) on a range of subjects, giving reasons in support of or against a particular point of view

- By the end of this course unit students will be able to perform at Level C1/C2 of the Common European Framework (CEF).

Nature and Timing of Feedback:
Details of the extensive range of feedback opportunities available to students can be found on the GERM51050 Blackboard website.

Set texts:

Collins German Dictionary, 9th edn. 2019. Glasgow: HarperCollins.

Durrell, Martin. 2017. Hammer's German Grammar and Usage. 6th edn. Abingdon: Routledge.

Durrell, Martin, Katrin Kohl and Claudia Kaiser. 2017. Practising German Grammar. 4th edn. Abingdon: Routledge.

EITHER: Wahrig-Burfeind, Renate (ed.). 2012. WAHRIG Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache. 3rd edn. Munich: Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag.
 

OR:

Langenscheidt Großwörterbuch Deutsch als Fremdsprache, Neubearbeitung. 2015. Berlin: Langenscheidt.

Further reading:

Durrell, Martin, Katrin Kohl, Claudia Kaiser and Gudrun Loftus. 2015. Essential German Grammar. 2^nd edn. Abingdon: Routledge.

Fernández-Toro, María & Francis R. Jones. 2001. DIY techniques for language learners. London: Centre for Information on Language Teaching and Research (CILT)