German

On the basis of current debates in Germany, this course forms a picture of the state of German debate culture. The course addresses questions in this seminar including: How factual or polarizing are debates in different media? Where do the boundaries lie between free expression of opinion and punishable speech? How do parliamentary debates in Germany formally proceed and what influence does federalism have on political debates and decision-making processes? As a concrete example of debate, the course discusses, among other topics, the current debate on Corona measures such as compulsory vaccination.

This course is designed for students who have successfully completed the basic level of German and who have a sound knowledge of German. This course is intensive and is intended for dedicated, highly self-motivated students who take responsibility for their learning. This course helps students to expand their competences in listening, speaking, reading, and writing as well as strengthen their knowledge of grammar, while emphasizing self-correction. Students also expand their knowledge of the German culture and analyze and interpret cultural, political, and historical topics in German-speaking countries and compare them with their own cultural background. Through this course students develop and regularly use new strategies for language acquisition and are able to engage in detailed discussions on above mentioned topics. Furthermore, students develop reading strategies that help to understand different text types in detail. In addition, students improve their essay writing skills and are able to write short texts on different topics, revise, and proofread them.

The German social system has long been considered the archetype of the conservative welfare state. Germany introduced a far-reaching social security system as early as the 1880s, which has shown amazing durability despite wars and across forms of government. But has the social security system remained true to its conservative reputation, or has it moved away from this ideal type in recent decades? And what are the effects of these changes on the social impact of social policy? In this seminar students consider these questions.

This course for foreign students is designed to improve students’ language skills and vocabulary. Areas of focus include grammar, conversation, writing exercises, and listening and reading exercises. In addition, excursions are planned to introduce students to German culture. Students work with cultural and historical topics on an academic level and broaden their intercultural knowledge. They are introduced to independent learning methods and familiarize themselves with typical learning situations at German universities. In this class at the B1 level according to the CEFR, students further develop their vocabulary and command of grammatical structures as well as corresponding competencies in university-specific situations. The class takes intercultural and methodological aspects of foreign language learning into consideration, and students are introduced to German culture and society in more depth. 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.