GERMAN STAGE 1 - 2020/1

Module Overview

This is a module of the Global Graduate Award in Languages programme. It is taught over 19 weeks in the autumn and spring semesters, two contact hours per week, and covers the four core skills of speaking, listening, reading and writing in the target language. It also offers an introduction to the cultures and societies in which the target language is spoken and aims to raise a sense of cultural awareness. Students prepare for everyday communication in the target language and for work or study periods abroad.

A weighted aggregate mark of 40% is required to pass the module.

Module provider

School of Literature and Languages

Module Leader

MARLEY Dawn (Lit & Langs)

Number of Credits: 15

ECTS Credits: 7.5

Framework: Global Graduate Award

Module cap (Maximum number of students): N/A

Module Availability

Year long

Prerequisites / Co-requisites

No previous knowledge of German required

Module content

Indicative content includes:

 

Topic areas

• 
  social introductions and greetings


• 
  personal details (age, family, nationality, work and study)


• 
  counting, spelling, addresses, phone numbers, names of days/months/seasons, telling the time


• 
  expressing likes and dislikes, leisure pursuits and daily routine


• 
  basic transactions (shopping, café and restaurant, buying tickets)


• 
  directions


• 
  booking hotel rooms and making appointments


• 
  writing short messages and emails

Grammar

• 
  pronunciation and spelling


• 
  genders (definite, indefinite articles)


• 
  basic word order


• 
  present tense (regular and key irregular verbs)


• 
  introduction to modal verbs and separable verbs


• 
  accusative (direct objects and accusative after prepositions)


• 
  dative (after prepositions)


• 
  personal pronouns (nominative)


• 
  future conveyed by the present tense


• 
  introduction to expressing past events


• 
  simple commands (formal)


• 
  questions


• 
  basic negation


• 
  plurals (introduction)

 

 

 

 

 

  

Assessment pattern

Alternative Assessment

A timed assessment covering the relevant skills, to be completed under exam conditions, or online.

Assessment Strategy

The assessment strategy is designed to provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate

 

·         their linguistic progress over the duration of the course;

·         their growing ability to understand and produce basic German;

·         their increasing awareness of German culture and the German-speaking world;

·         the level of German they have achieved at the end of the course.

 

Thus, the summative assessment for this module consists of:

Four in-class assessments, covering the four skills of listening, reading, speaking, and writing. Assessments 1 and 2 to be held at the end of Semester 1; Assessment 3 before the Spring break and Assessment 4 at the end of Semester 2.

Formative assessment and feedback

 

Students will receive in-class verbal feedback on homework tasks and in-class performance.    

Module aims

• encourage students to develop basic communicative competence in the four language skills (reading, writing, speaking and listening)
• instil a basic proficiency in handling grammatical structures
• provide students with basic German vocabulary used in everyday communication
• give some insight into the German-speaking world and the socio-cultural issues relevant to the countries involved
• take a different perspective and view the world from different cultural viewpoints
• analyse and understand linguistic and cultural barriers
• reflect on the influence of cultural values on behaviour
• become conscious of stereotypes and prejudices
• communicate with others in culturally appropriate ways
• encourage students to self-assess their progress and map their linguistic competence against the descriptors of the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR)
• support students in acquiring language learning strategies and techniques
• inspire independent learning and facilitate the acquisition of other foreign languages

Learning outcomes

Methods of Teaching / Learning

The learning and teaching strategy is designed to:

 

• 
  Enable students to acquire explicit knowledge of the linguistic structures, grammar and vocabulary through attending classes regularly;


• 
  Encourage student participation and learner autonomy, through small group work, reading and practicing/preparing outside contact hours, and participating in class activities;


• 
  Develop ability to use linguists’ tools, such as dictionaries and IT resources;


• 
  Enable students to engage in analytical and evaluative thinking, to analyse and interpret texts and other cultural products, through attending classes and engaging in individual study;


• 
  Develop communication skills through interactions in class.

 

 

The learning and teaching methods include:

 

• 
  Two contact hours per week over 19 weeks in Semesters 1 & 2


• 
  Teaching will be in the target language as far as possible.


• 
  Classes will include group work, such as role play, and short presentations in the language.


• 
  Consolidation of learning will be by the practice of language skills inside and outside the classroom, using a variety of means, including computer-assisted language learning.

Students are expected to complete regular homework tasks in order to practice new structures and to prepare for in-class activities.

 

 

Indicated Lecture Hours (which may also include seminars, tutorials, workshops and other contact time) are approximate and may include in-class tests where one or more of these are an assessment on the module. In-class tests are scheduled/organised separately to taught content and will be published on to student personal timetables, where they apply to taken modules, as soon as they are finalised by central administration. This will usually be after the initial publication of the teaching timetable for the relevant semester.

Reading list

https://readinglists.surrey.ac.uk
Upon accessing the reading list, please search for the module using the module code: GERL026

Please note that the information detailed within this record is accurate at the time of publishing and may be subject to change. This record contains information for the most up to date version of the programme / module for the 2020/1 academic year.