German, Introductory Course

The course is offered as a freestanding course.

The course TY1110, German, Introductory course, 30 credits, consists of the following four modules:

Module 1:
German Grammar, 7.5 Higher Education Credits
The students gain a deeper insight into the morphological system of German and are also given an introduction to word formation and syntactic analysis. In the course, a contrastive perspective is applied on the basis of comparisons between German and Swedish. Grammatical analysis and linguistic awareness are trained primarily on the basis of the morphological system of German.

Module 2:
Culture in German-speaking countries after 1945, 7.5 Higher Education Credits
With German-speaking cultures as a starting point, the course attempts to create a general theoretical understanding of how cultures can be designed, manifested and changed. This is examined on the basis of different themes such as history, politics, geography, education, art. The students develop their proficiency with the help of, among other things, films, literature and articles in German, and through discussions, and oral and written presentations during the course.

Module 3:
Language proficiency, 7.5 Higher Education Credits
In this module, students develop their language proficiency both through their own text and speech production and through analysis of their own texts and those of others. The module contains exercises to help understand spoken German and to communicate in German in different situations and in different subject areas. Strong emphasis is also placed on students' actively practicing vocabulary, phraseology and pronunciation. In the module, written production is practiced through exercises where the goal is grammatical correctness and idiomaticity as well as the adaptation of the language to different text types. The students work with a broad spectrum of different types of texts.

Part 4:
German literature and literary history, 7.5 Higher Education Credits
The course deals with some central literary works in German language 20th-century literature. The students are introduced to the history of German literature and provided with tools for analysing literary texts. The course primarily examines how literature processes human history. Special focus is placed on questions about the difference between historiography and literary narration and what importance literature can have for understanding and analysing historical and contemporary events. The students practice their reading skills and vocabulary through the reading of literary texts in the original language, and develop their productive proficiency through oral and written presentations.

Together the different parts of the course aim to give the student increased knowledge of and skills in the German language, in-depth knowledge of German literature and culture as well as to develop the student's scholarly approach. In addition, the course aims to lay the foundation of the development of the knowledge of sustainable development and a refinement of generic skills.

Upon successful completion of the course, the student should be able to:

Knowledge and understanding

• from a contrastive perspective account for the grammatical structures of German with special focus on morphology and some focus on word formation, syntax and phonology;
• on the basis of different cultural themes reflect on how different cultures are created, manifested, and changed;
• both orally and in writing use knowledge of the structure of different text types and lexical distinctive features;
• describe and reflect on differences between historiography and literary narration;
• describe different problems in the historical development of German 20th-century literature;

Competence and skills

• analyse the grammatical structures of the German language in order to achieve correctness in written and oral language production;
• describe and reflect on different cultural concepts and apply them on German-speaking cultures; 
• use correct, varied and idiomatic German in speech and writing as well as demonstrate skills in reading and listening comprehension, conversation/oral and interaction at a level that corresponds to B1- B2 according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages;
• orally and in writing on the basis of set questions analyse seminar texts using literary terminology, methodology and literary knowledge;

Judgement and approach

• critically reflect on his/her own learning process and on the importance of the knowledge gained in the course for the surrounding society and humans' responsibility for how this knowledge is used;
• critically reflect on reference material and his/her own learning process.
  
  

The teaching is conducted in the form of on-campus lectures and seminars as well as different web-based activities.

Language of instruction: Swedish and German

To what extent the student has achieved the aim of the course is tested through written and oral presentations and oral reviews. Parts of the course where assessment occurs, e.g. oral presentations, individually or in groups, have compulsory attendance.

Module 1 is assessed continuously with written and oral assignments and a written final examination.

Module 2 is assessed through written assignments and oral reviews as well as an oral final examination.

Module 3 is assessed continuously during the course with oral and written presentations.

Module 4 is assessed partly continuously during the course with oral and written presentations, partly through a written home assignment as well as through an oral final examination on the seminar texts.

Students who have failed any part of the course are given the possibility to sit a new test. In connection with written assignments, supplementary assignments may be offered in order for the student to achieve a Pass grade. Such a supplementary assignment should be done within the stipulated time (normally five working days after the result has been posted). Otherwise a Fail grade will be reported.

A student who has passed a subtest may not do a new test for a higher grade. Nor do students have the right to withdraw a submitted test and in such a way avoid being graded.

If a student who has failed the same examined course component twice, wishes to change examiner before the next examination, a written application should be sent to the department responsible for the course and be granted unless there are special reasons to the contrary (Chapter 6, Section 22, Higher Education Ordinance).

In case the course is discontinued or goes through major changes, examination is available for a maximum number of three attempts (including the regular examination) for a period of one year on the basis of the previous set-up of the course. As regards internships/placement the same as above applies, with the exception that examination is offered on only one occasion.

The grading scale comprises: Pass with Distinction (VG), Pass (G) and Fail (U). To pass the course with distinction, the grade Pass with distinction is required on at least 50 % of the credits of the course.

The students are given the opportunity to make a written evaluation of the course. The results of the evaluation are published digitally.

Equality aspects should be taken into consideration in content, literature, teaching and evaluation.