UCL CENTRE FOR LANGUAGES
& INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION
Course Units 2015-2016
German Syllabus A
Prerequisite for entry
For complete beginners or those who have had only very little contact with the language.
Course duration
20 x 2-hour classes.
Self-Study
80 hours in total.
Course codes
LCGE6001, LCGEG001, LCGEM001, LCGE6012, LCGEG012, LCGEM012 (together with German syllabus B).
Aims and Objectives
The aim of the course is to enable students to function at a basic everyday survival level (basic vocabulary, grammar,
morphology, syntax and phonetics).
Students should be able to communicate in and understand German on a number of practical everyday matters. Cultural
awareness will be developed. Language learning skills, including autonomous learning and how to approach authentic
material, will be enhanced. Some transferable skills will also be covered.
Functions
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greeting people and responding;
introducing oneself and others;
spelling names and addresses;
counting;
thanking, apologising, basic enquiries;
asking people about themselves, giving information about oneself;
naming and describing objects;
enquiring about prices;
correcting statements;
describing eating habits;
ordering and paying in the restaurant;
shopping;
telling and asking for the time of day;
expressing agreement/disagreement;
suggesting, accepting, refusing;
asking for information;
Course Content
Main topics/themes to be covered
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first contacts;
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personal details;
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family relationships;
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closer acquaintance, friends;
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countries, nationalities;
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household goods;
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working, studying;
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food and drink: restaurant, supermarket, social occasion;
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numbers, time of day, days of the week, months, dates;
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hobbies, spare time activities, holiday activities;
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calendar of events;
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weekly diary;
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throughout the course: aspects of Landeskunde.
Linguistic Structures
Phonetics
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pronunciation of standard spoken German (stress, intonation, consonants, vowels, diphthongs);
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connection between spelling and pronunciation.
Grammar
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verbs: conjugation, present tense, modals, separable verbs, introduction to the perfect tense;
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nouns: capitalisation, gender, case, number, compound nouns;
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definite and indefinite articles;
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demonstrative pronouns;
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possessive pronouns;
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adjectives: predicative use;
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personal pronouns;
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adverbs (especially of time);
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basic prepositional phrases;
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case: nominative, accusative, dative;
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cardinal numerals;
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imperative;
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sentence functions: subject, verb, direct object;
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syntax: basic word order in main clauses, interrogatives (yes/no questions and wh-questions), negations,
imperatives.
Learning Resources
Syllabus A Course Book
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Themen aktuell 1: Lektion 1-5 Kursbuch + Arbeitsbuch + CD combined, (Hueber) – ISBN: 9783191816902
Syllabus A/B Course Books
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Erste Schritte: Book + CD combined (Hueber) – ISBN: 9783190016860
Themen aktuell 1: Lektion 1-5 Kursbuch + Arbeitsbuch + CD combined, (Hueber) – ISBN: 9783191816902
Additional material
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A selection of authentic material will also be used (e.g. information from German tourist offices, travel guides,
press articles on current affairs, internet websites).
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Deutsch Plus (Video) (BBC)
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Foundations German 1(Palgrave)
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Bilingual dictionary (e.g. Collins)
In addition there is a wide range of language learning materials available for self-study in the Self-Access Centre.