UCL CENTRE FOR LANGUAGES
& INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION
Course Units 2015-2016
German Current Affairs and Culture
(Social, Historical and Political)
Prerequisite for entry
Successful completion of Syllabus German for Business and Current Affairs at the UCL CLIE, a high ‘A’ level grade, if you
have spent an extended period of time in a German speaking country and if you have a very good grasp of the language
and are able to conduct a conversation without difficulty in a variety of situations (both formal and informal).
Course duration
20 x 2-hour classes.
Self-Study
80 hours in total.
Course codes
LCGE6006, LCGEG006, LCGEM006, LCGE6056, LCGEG056 and LCGEM056 (together with German Business and Current
Affairs).
Aims and Objectives
The course is designed for advanced level students requiring the language for different purposes such as study abroad
(non-German specialist students) or personal interest. The course is taught entirely in the target language with a
balance of receptive (reading, listening) and productive (speaking, writing) skills.
The course develops and enhances detailed knowledge and understanding both of the more complex structures of the
German language and of the social, historical, economic and political contexts in which German is currently used.
It enables participants to use their language skills in a wide variety of situations. The course covers recent history,
current affairs and the latest issues in German society as well as other related topics. Cultural awareness will be further
developed and raised within a European/global context. Various transferable skills will also be further enhanced.
Functions
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expressing complex ideas and opinions, critical topic-related comments;
debating; speculating;
suggesting, accepting, refusing; negotiating
describing (detail) and paraphrasing; defining; explaining;
composing written pieces of information for different purposes;
conducting short presentations on a variety of topics;
summarising complex / extensive authentic written and audio-visual material;
selecting and editing authentic material autonomously according to relevance and suitability for particular tasks;
quoting and referencing
Course Content
Main topics/themes to be covered (selection):
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Overview of the political and administrative structure of German speaking countries (historical and
contemporary);
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Demographic developments, gender roles and family life;
Current affairs in German society (e.g. daily news, politics, economic issues, culture, education etc.);
Ethnic minorities and issues of integration;
The European Union and global affairs (political and economic);
Arts (music, literature, film, art, cultural heritage)
Skills
Reading
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reading for gist, scanning for specific information;
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reading specific and complex texts autonomously as part of research for the project;
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in-depth analysis and evaluation of complex topics in major newspapers/magazines and specialised publications ;
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autonomously selecting reading materials relevant to particular tasks
Writing
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essays;
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analysis and review of different materials (films, literature, press articles; audio/video clips);
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summaries;
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critical commentary
Listening
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authentic radio, TV, audio- and video-clips and internet sources;
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directed listening for specific tasks;
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presentations, summaries
Speaking
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formal and informal discussions, debates, round table;
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presentations;
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role-plays
Linguistic Structures
Discourse Strategies
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spontaneous conversation in a variety of situations;
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analysing/comparing texts from various sources (different text types);
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recognising and applying different linguistic registers in writing and in speaking;
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preparing oral contributions for different audiences
Main aims of these strategies
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improving confidence in using German as a foreign languages in a broad variety of situations;
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consolidating and improving listening and reading skills by dealing with a variety of complex authentic materials;
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consolidating and improving oral and written linguistic range as well as accuracy in a wide variety of contexts;
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developing effective paraphrasing skills
Grammatical Features (selection)
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complex sentences and connectors;
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passive and alternative forms;
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subjunctives I & II;
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revision of adjective declension;
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past tenses;
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verbs and prepositions;
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the use of nouns with prepositions versus the use of clauses with a connector (stylistic considerations);
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fixed nouns-verb-connections and idiomatic expressions
Learning Resources
Syllabus Current Affairs and Culture
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Mittelpunkt Neu C1: Lehrbuch (Klett) – ISBN: 9783126766609
Materials for the course will be drawn from:
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various authentic sources such as Deutsche Welle, Goethe-Institute, Die Zeit, Der Spiegel, Frankfurter Allgemeine
Zeitung, Die Wirtschaftswoche, Financial Times Deutschland etc.
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authentic audio and audio-visual material;
German films on DVD and video
variety of internet sources
In addition there is a wide range of language learning materials available for self-study in the Self-Access Centre. Also,
there will be regularly updated information on cultural events connected with Germany, German language and culture,
which can be accessed through the Language Centre website.