German 8

Subject GERM30022 (2013)

Note: This is an archived Handbook entry from 2013.

Credit Points: 12.50
Level: 3 (Undergraduate)
Dates & Locations:

This subject is not offered in 2013.

Time Commitment: Contact Hours: Three hours of seminars per week
Total Time Commitment:

3 contact hours/week, 5.5 additional hours/week. Total of 102 hours.

Prerequisites:

German 7 or German Language and Culture 2A or equivalent.

Subject Code(s): GERM10008/GERM20001/GERM30021

Corequisites:

None

Recommended Background Knowledge:

None

Non Allowed Subjects:

GERM10009/GERM20002 German 8 or GERM20002 German Language and Culture 2B or GERM30006 German Post-Intermediate 3B

Core Participation Requirements:

For the purposes of considering request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Students Experiencing Academic Disadvantage Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Overview, Objectives, Assessment and Generic Skills sections of this entry.

It is University policy to take all reasonable steps to minimise the impact of disability upon academic study, and reasonable adjustments will be made to enhance a student's participation in the University's programs. Students who feel their disability may impact on meeting the requirements of this subject are encouraged to discuss this matter with a Faculty Student Adviser and the Disability Liaison Unit: http://www.services.unimelb.edu.au/disability/

Subject Overview:

This subject aims to extend students' proficiency in both written and spoken language and to further develop cultural literacy in German by engaging with broad themes relevant to modern German-speaking societies such as: affluence and education in the developed world. It builds on the development of communicative skills in more formal settings and expands students’ competence in using more formal registers of contemporary German, demonstrating the differences between colloquial, formal and specialised registers where appropriate, and furthering skills in a greater variety of formal and informal contexts. Students will develop more advanced reading and listening skills through working with newspaper and magazine articles, listening to lectures and watching film and television clips. They will produce more complex texts of different types (eg. expository and argumentative essays, evaluative reviews and summaries) and advance their discussing and debating skills in relation to contemporary and historical issues. Students will also gain a more advanced understanding of grammar and the use of idiomatic expressions and sentence structures. Students will begin to gain proficiency in using specialized terminology and developing analytical skills in relation to specialist texts that will begin to prepare them to undertake studies at a German-speaking university.

Objectives:

At the end of this subject students will be able to:

  • comprehend spoken German occurring in a range of audio-visual media and genres from personal narratives and accounts in films and television to more formal discourse in radio interviews and lectures;
  • interpret and analyse written texts and public genres of a moderate to high level of complexity from newspapers, magazines and specialist texts;
  • deploy more specialised vocabulary and complex linguistic and grammatical structures to express opinions and feelings as well as to summarise the opinions of others;
  • use analytical and expository language to produce written discourse about historical and contemporary topics;
  • demonstrate greater proficiency in understanding and producing specialist terminology in preparation for tertiary studies at a German-speaking university.
Assessment:
  • 2 x 1-hour listening comprehension tests in Weeks 5 and 10 [20%]
  • 2 analytical research essays in German of 700 words each due in Week 4 and Week 8 [30%]
  • 12-minute oral presentation in class during semester [20%]
  • 2-hour final written examination during the examination period [30%]

This subject has the following hurdle requirements:

  • Regular participation in tutorials is required with a minimum of 75% attendance.
  • All pieces of written work and listening comprehension exercises must be completed and the oral presented to pass this subject.

Assessment submitted late without an approved extension will be penalised at 10% per day and in-class tasks missed without approval will not be marked.

Prescribed Texts:
  • Handbuch zur deutschen Grammatik (Jamie Rankin and Larry D. Wells) (latest ed) Houghton Mifflin
  • Barthel 2 Mittelstuffe Kursbuch (Klaus Lodewick) Fabouda Verlag
Breadth Options:

This subject potentially can be taken as a breadth subject component for the following courses:

You should visit learn more about breadth subjects and read the breadth requirements for your degree, and should discuss your choice with your student adviser, before deciding on your subjects.

Fees Information: Subject EFTSL, Level, Discipline & Census Date
Generic Skills:

At the end of this subject students will have:

  • developed research skills to find information from various sources, including dictionary, library, the internet and interviewing people;
  • acquired written communication skills through essay writing and seminar discussion;
  • acquired an attention to detail through essay preparation and writing;
  • acquired time management and planning skills through managing and organising workloads for recommended reading, essay and assignment completion;
  • acquired public speaking skills through tutorial and seminar discussion and class presentations;
  • acquired more advanced skills in intercultural analysis.

Download PDF version.