Department of German and Dutch
GERMAN COURSE INFORMATION For full information about DUTCH courses and staff please CLICK HERE
Certificate in German
THE DEPARTMENT WILL NOT BE RUNNING THIS COURSE IN 2012-13.
Who can do the Certificate?
The Certificate course offers students with little or no prior knowledge of German the opportunity to acquire a sound foundation in German language and culture. The Certificate is designed for those who need an introductory course in German for academic, professional or simply vocational purposes and provides a basis not only for those who wish to take the Diploma course later on, but also for students who need German to broaden their range of options for Part 2 papers. The Certificate in German is available to any member of the University in any year, including "non-specialists", i.e. students who are not reading Modern Languages. The linguistic standard of the examination is equivalent to the Part 1A ab initio language paper without its literary component (i.e. somewhat higher than A level) and it is possible to start as an absolute beginner. Back to topCourse description
The course can be described as a one-year intensive foundation course suitable for those who need an introductory course in German for academic or professional purposes. The student will need to attend the four classes a week offered by the Department, one supervision organised by his/her College, and spend up to a further five hours in private study. The syllabus is essentially based on a grammatical progression which covers the basic morphology of the verb, agreement, relative clauses as well as the morphology of nouns, pronouns and adjectives. The grammatical content is approximately that of an A-level. The lexical content covers the major topic areas normally expected to be familiar to A-level students. Use of the language, both in written or oral form, is built into the course through a wide range of comprehension, production and translation exercises. Details of the course material currently used can be found here. This would need to be purchased in time for the first class. Back to topExamination
This consists of two written papers and an oral test. Paper 1 concentrates on testing knowledge of the language and in particular that the basic forms and structures of the language in its written form are used correctly and accurately in comprehension and production tasks. In German, Paper 1 consists of two sections: a Listening Comprehension (audio) on which questions have to be answered in English (specimen paper IA); and a passage for comprehension in German, with questions to be answered in German and translation of related English sentences into German (specimen paper IB). Paper 2 tests candidates' ability to translate non-literary passages from and into German (one of each) (specimen paper 2). The oral test consists of an unseen passage for reading comprehension which then provides material for reading aloud and discussion (specimen passages). Alternatively, in some cases, the oral may consist of a topic-based discussion. Back to topHow to apply
THE DEPARTMENT WILL NOT BE RUNNING THIS COURSE IN 2011-12.
All those wishing to attend courses leading to the Certificate or the Diploma Examinations should complete an application form, available from the MML Faculty Office on the Sidgwick Site, and obtain the approval of the Director of Studies in Modern Languages in their College. Candidates who are not students of the University must pay the appropriate Composition Fee for each term of study. Please note that admission to the Certificate course in German cannot be guaranteed. The Head of Department has discretion in admitting candidates.
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