UCL CENTRE FOR LANGUAGES
& INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION
Course Units 2015-2016
German Syllabus B
Prerequisite for entry
Successful completion of German Syllabus A at the UCL CLIE or a similar course and have limited experience of dealing
with authentic material.
Course duration
20 x 2-hour classes.
Self-Study
80 hours in total.
Course codes
LCGE6002, LCGEG002, LCGEM005, LCGE6012, LCGEG012 and LCGEM012 (together with German syllabus A).
Aims and Objectives
The aim of the course is to give students an opportunity to revise their survival skills and acquire more sophisticated
ways of dealing with practical matters. This includes revision and consolidation of vocabulary, grammar, morphology,
syntax and phonetics.
Students should be able to communicate in and understand German on practical everyday matters related to aspects of
German culture. 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











revision and more in-depth applications of functions covered in Syllabus A;
describing student activities, referring to university life;
describing daily and weekly routines;
expressing wishes and stating preferences;
speaking about one’s family and friends;
having conversations while sharing meals or drinks;
giving and asking for directions;
stating locations;
describing holidays or short trips;
making biographical statements, understanding famous people’s biographies (e.g. artists, scientists);
describing a region or town in Germany, Austria or Switzerland, describing famous sights, planning a holiday.
Course Content
Main topics/selection of themes to be covered

student life, degree courses;

working life, jobs, working in a German-speaking country;

countries, nationalities, languages;













family relationships;
hobbies, leisure, weekday, weekend, holiday activities;
types of accommodation, house, flat, student accommodation;
German-speaking towns and regions, sights and sightseeing, Bundesländer, Kantone;
means of transport, directions, locations;
food and drink, meals, social occasions;
health, ill-health and well-being;
shops in the high street, shopping, internet shopping;
basic geography, basic history of Germany;
tourism, traveling in Germany, Austria or Switzerland, staying in hotels, youth hostels or on camping-sites;
attending a language course in Germany;
cultural events, festivals;
famous German-speaking artists, composers or high-achievers, short biographies.
Linguistic Structures
Phonetics
Students are expected to pronounce German reasonably well when commencing the course. Where necessary,
attention will be paid to improve pronunciation through reading and oral practice. In addition, tapes specifically
targeted at pronunciation are available to students for self-study in the Self-Access Centre.
Grammar

revision and more in-depth study of grammar covered in Syllabus A;

perfect tense;

imperfect of haben, sein and modal verbs;

verbs with vowel change in the present tense;

introduction to prepositions;

personal pronouns (all cases);

use of all four cases;

introduction to comparison of adjectives;

conjunctions;

ordinal numbers;

dates;

introduction to subordinate clauses (weil, dass).
Learning Resources
Syllabus B Course Books


Themen aktuell 1: Kursbuch mit CD (Hueber) – ISBN: 9783190016907
Themen aktuell 1: Workbook (Hueber) – ISBN: 9783192516900
Syllabus A/B Course Books


Erste Schritte: Book + CD combined (Hueber) – ISBN: 9783190016860
Themen aktuell 1: Lektion 1-5 Kursbuch + Arbeitsbuch + CD combined, (Hueber) – ISBN: 9783191816902
Syllabus B/C Course Books




Themen aktuell 1: Kursbuch mit CD (Hueber) – ISBN: 9783190016907
Themen aktuell 1: Workbook (Hueber) – ISBN: 9783192516900
Studio D: Kurs- und Übungsbuch mit CD, Niveau A2, Teilband 1, Einheit 1-6 (Cornelsen) – ISBN: 9783464207673
Studio D: Vokabeltaschenbuch, Niveau A2 (Cornelsen) – ISBN: 9783464208328
Additional material

A selection of authentic material will also be used (e.g. information from German tourist offices, travel guides,
press articles, internet websites).

Deutsch Plus (Video) (BBC)

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.