German

In this seminar, students produce a program marking the 100th anniversary of the death of the poet Rainer Maria Rilke, which is broadcasted as part of the “Buchfunken” series on Uniradio. Working in pairs or individually, participants create their own approximately 5-minute segment on a topic related to Rilke. No prior knowledge of audio production is required; it is taught during the seminar. In the first part of the seminar, students explore the Rilke-related topics they selected at the beginning through presentations and texts; in the second part, they produce their segments. The topics of the segments are open (as long as they relate to Rilke): Students can present and reinterpret a well-known Rilke poem, explore biographical aspects, address Rilke’s themes, such as death, painting, or acrobats, or review a recent book such as Rilke and Fascism by Hans-Peter Kunisch. 

In this class on the B2/C1 level according to CEFR, students learn to understand complex texts on subject matters, and to sort statements and findings into new categories. They work to identify the position and opinion of an author, and to summarize and weigh information from different sources. Students practice to express themselves clearly and confidently in written and spoken form on relevant topics, and to contribute to university discussions. This course has a specific focus, such as academic communication, or working and producing academic texts.

In this class on the B1 level according to CEFR, students learn to understand the main points of clear standard input on familiar matters regularly encountered in work, school, leisure, etc. They deal with most situations likely to arise while traveling to an area where German is spoken. Students learn to produce simple connected texts on topics that are familiar or of personal interest. They acquire skills to describe experiences and events, dreams, hopes and ambitions and briefly give reasons and explanations for opinions and plans. The B1 level is split into two courses, the B1.1 course covers the first half of the level and the B1.2 course covers the second half of the level.

Gardens and parks embody particular ways in which humans interact with nature, perceive it, and shape it: they are places of origin and retreat; they can serve both to sustain human life and to fulfill our need for beauty. They offer the potential for profound experiences, yet they also symbolize humanity’s creative impulse and represent dominion over both humanity and nature. These particular orders have frequently been taken up and imbued with symbolic meaning in literature. Using selected examples from poetry and narrative literature spanning the 18th century to the present, students explore the thematic complex of literary gardens and parks and strengthen their text-analytical skills with regard to these two genres.

This intermediate level German course practices listening comprehension, reading comprehension, speaking, and writing skills in the context of current topics and various media. It develops skills to understand the main points when clear standard language is used and when dealing with familiar matters from work, school, leisure, etc; cope with most situations encountered while traveling in the language area; express oneself in a simple and coherent manner on familiar topics and areas of personal interest; and report on experiences and events, describe dreams, hopes, and goals, and give brief reasons or explanations for plans and opinions.