Admission requirements
This course is only available for students in the BA International Studies programme who have passed German 1 Pre-Intermediate and German 2 Upper-Intermediate.
Description
In this course you learn how to handle successfully a variety of complex social situations you may encounter in daily life in Germany or other German speaking countries.
You learn to cope with a wide range of demanding, longer texts, and recognize implicit meaning. We will focus on speaking and understanding the language with a variety of oral and written communication tasks to enable you to express ideas fluently and spontaneously and to use German flexibly and effectively for social, academic and professional purposes as well as produce clear, well-structured, detailed text on complex subjects, e.g. social, cultural and political issues.
These learning targets are acquired by using the textbook and through a wide range of real-life situations, performed either individually or in groups. Grammar, cultural topics, current issues and pronunciation are main concerns, too.
Course objectives
This course enables the student to achieve level B1+/B2+ of the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR).
This course is the last course in a series of three language acquisition courses within the International Studies program. The final objective of this course series is to obtain an intermediate level of proficiency in German, aimed at communication with people in the region in everyday social situations and enabling students to follow current affairs in the region via various media.
| Skill | CEFR Level |
|---|---|
| Reading | B2+ |
| Writing | B1+ |
| Listening | B2 |
| Speaking | B1+ |
Timetable
The timetable is available on the BA International Studies website.
Mode of instruction
Tutorials
Two two-hour tutorials every week, with the exception of the midterm exam week. Attending all tutorial sessions is compulsory. If you are unable to attend a session, please inform your tutor in advance, providing a valid reason for your absence. Being absent will result in a lowering of the participation grade with 0.5 for every absence after the first two (2) times.
Course Load
Total course load for this course is 5 EC (1 EC = 28 hours), which equals 140 hours, broken down by:
Attending classes (4 hours per week over 12 weeks): 48 hours
Preparing for classes, exams and extra activities: 86 hours
Assessment hours (exams and other assessment): 6 hours
Assessment method
Assessment
- Written exams, quizzes, in-class oral/listening performance.
Weighing
| Partial grade | Weighing |
|---|---|
| Reading | 20% |
| Writing | 20% |
| Listening | 20% |
| Speaking | 20% |
| Participation | 20% |
End Grade
To successfully complete the course, please take note that the End Grade of the course is established by determining the weighted average of the in-class oral and listening performance, and written exams.
The End Grade needs to be a 6.0 or higher to pass the course.
Resit
If the End Grade is insufficient (lower than a 6.0), there is a possibility of retaking the full 80% of the exam material (reading, writing, speaking, and listening). No resit for the tutorial (participation) is possible.
Retaking a passing grade
Please consult the Course and Examination Regulations 2018 – 2019.
Exam review
How and when an exam review takes place will be determined by the examiner. This review will be within 30 days after official publication of exam results.
Blackboard
Blackboard will be used for this course. Students are requested to enroll on Blackboard, but only after correct enrolment in uSis.
Reading list
- Erkundungen Deutsch als Fremdsprache B2, Integriertes Kurs- und Arbeitsbuch (+CD), by Anne Buscha, Susanne Raven und Gisela Linthout, Schubert Verlag ISBN: 978-3-929526-96-7
To support student’s selfstudy the following book can be recommended:
- C-Grammatik, Übungsgrammatik Deutsch als Fremdsprache, Sprachniveau B1/B2 (+CD), by Anne Buscha, Szilvia Szita und Susanne Raven, Schubert Verlag, Leipzig, 2013. ISBN 978-3-941323-11-7
Registration
Enrolment through uSis for Tutorials is mandatory.
Students will be enrolled for Exams by the Administration Office, as long as they have a valid Tutorial enrolment.
Registration Studeren à la carte and Contractonderwijs
Not applicable.
Contact
When contacting lecturers or tutors, please include your full name, student number, and tutorial group number.
Remarks
This course uses an integrated communicative language learning method. Therefore active participation in the classroom activities is essential for successful learning outcomes.