UCL CENTRE FOR LANGUAGES
& INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION
SSCs 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
Year 1 students: double-block (16 x 3-hour classes. Block 1: 8 x 3-hour classes; Block 2: workshops and tutorials related
to Project).
Year 2 students: single block (8 x 3-hour classes).
Self-Study
40 hours in total.
Course codes
LCGM6002.
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 and those which may arise in students’ future professional lives. This includes
revision and consolidation of vocabulary, grammar, morphology, syntax and phonetics. Medical related
issues/vocabulary will be covered specifically.
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, especially in relation to dealing, as medical practitioners, with
German native speaker patients and colleagues. 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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revision and more in-depth applications of functions covered in Syllabus A;
describing student activities and university life;
describing daily and weekly routines;
speaking about one’s family and friends;
describing anatomy, common physical complaints;
suggesting common remedies for illnesses;
describing emotions and mental states;
giving and asking for directions;
stating locations;
relating an event;
taking medical histories;
refusing and accepting;
describing simple processes and procedures.
Course Content
Main topics/themes to be covered
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student life, degree courses;
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hospitals, clinics, medical professions;
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countries, nationalities, languages;
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family relationships;
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typical doctor-patient-exchanges;
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common medical remedies;
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accidents and emergencies; emergency services;
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hobbies, leisure, weekday, weekend and holiday activities;
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chores, weekly activities;
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different types of accommodation: house, flat, student accommodation;
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town layouts, directions;
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basic geography, basic history of Germany;
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tourism, traveling in German-speaking countries;
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Bundesländer, Kantone.
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
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revision and more in-depth study of grammar covered in Syllabus A;
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perfect tense;
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imperfect of haben, sein and modal verbs;
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verbs with vowel change in the present tense;
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introduction to prepositions;
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personal pronouns (all cases);
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use of all four cases;
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introduction to comparison of adjectives;
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conjunctions;
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ordinal numbers;
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dates;
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introduction to subordinate clauses (weil, dass).
Learning Resources
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Themen aktuell 1: Kursbuch mit CD (Hueber) – ISBN: 9783190016907
Themen aktuell 1: Workbook (Hueber) – ISBN: 9783192516900
Additional material
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A selection of authentic material will also be used (e.g. information from German hospitals, internet websites).
Students on this course will be given access to download the audio material accompanying the course book from
the Language Centre website.
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.