GERMAN LANGUAGE

The course is part of the core educational activities of the MA degree program LLEAP. It aims at:

- improving the students' written and oral skills at the C2 level of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages;
- developing the ability of understanding diachronic changes and synchronic variation in contemporary German (competing forms and morphological/syntactic change in progress).

Attending the course, taking actively part in it, and learning individually, students will gain:

1. Knowledge and understanding:
- Active and passive knowledge of the German language in its morphological, syntactic and semantic aspects (C2 level of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages)
- Knowledge of historical and variational features of present-day German

2. Ability to apply knowledge and understanding:
- Summarize (both in written and oral form) the contents of scientific texts on German language
- Ability to discuss (both in written and oral form) evident and implicit theses of a scientific text

3. Ability to judge:
- Ability to evaluate and compare the ideas presented in scientific papers on the German language as well as to justify the own, critical position

4. Communicative skills:
- Ablity to present in class the topics dealt with in a scientific text
- Ability to participate in seminars with other students and lecturers using proper linguistic and rhetorical tools

5. Ability to learn:
- Taking notes and sharing them in a collaborative form with other students
- Consulting critically the texts of reference and the bibliographies contained therein, also as a preparation for writing a master’s thesis

General aim: improve written and oral language skills to reach the C2 level of the CEFRL

Knowledge of the German language as requested by the regulations of the degree course Foreign languages and literatures (LLEAP):
min. 24 ECTS L-LIN/14 Language and translation - German;
Required language level: C1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages

Contents of the language assistants' classes:
- Exercises on written and oral skills at the C2 level of the CEFRL
- Techniques of writing a summary based on scientific texts about German language, literature and culture
- Rhetorical and stylistic devices for writing summaries and developing academic speaking and discussion skills
- Analysis of complex scientific texts (from linguistics and/or German studies)

Specific contents of the lecturer's module:
- Identification and detailed analysis of current developments within the morphology and syntax of present-day German
- Diachronic and/or diatopic explanation of the synchronic variation in (standard) German

TEACHING MATERIALS (e.g. slides) will be provided by the lecturer and language assistants

FOR THE LECTURER’S MODULE:

Dudenredaktion/Hennig, Mathilde (eds.) (2021): Sprachliche Zweifelsfälle. Das Wörterbuch für richtiges und gutes Deutsch (= Duden 9). 9th edition. Berlin: Dudenverlag.

Klein, Wolf Peter (ed.) (2003): Sprachliche Zweifelsfälle. Theorie und Empirie / Grammatical uncertainties. Theoretical and empirical aspects. Linguistik online 16/4.

Klein, Wolf Peter (2018): Sprachliche Zweifelsfälle im Deutschen. Theorie, Praxis, Geschichte. Berlin/Boston: De Gruyter.

Müller, Astrid/Szczepaniak, Renata (eds.) (2017): Grammatische Zweifelsfälle. Praxis Deutsch - Zeitschrift für den Deutschunterricht 264.

Schmitt, Eleonore/Szczepaniak, Renata/Vieregge, Annika (eds.) (2019): Sprachliche Zweifelsfälle. Definition, Erforschung, Implementierung. Hildesheim/Zürich/New York: Olms.

Szczepaniak, Renata (ed.) (2021): Themenheft Sprachliche Zweifelsfälle: Aufspüren, Erklären, Lehren. Muttersprache - Vierteljahresschrift für deutsche Sprache 131/4.

The exam will be articulated in two parts (over two consecutive days):

1. a written reading comprehension and summary of an essay/paper concerning German language, literature or culture (C2 level)
2. answering questions on the specific contents of the lecturer’s module (trends in the grammar of contemporary German; synchronic variants and their diachronic and/or diatopic explanations)

Interactive frontal teaching with seminar elements

Language of instruction: German

written