Presentation

The themes covered by the course provide deeper insight into the political systems of German-speaking countries and helps the students gain a better understanding of contemporary societies and of the issues at stake in the main political debates in those countries. The course uses various media (texts, audio-visual documents, iconographic documents, statistics, etc.) designed to develop students' comprehension as well as written and oral expression skills. The first objective is to help student gain a good level of comprehension of the contemporary written and spoken language. The second objective is to help them  develop good  written and oral communication skills in order to be able to present a topical theme, synthesize a debate, express and defend a personal point of view. During the sessions, the emphasis is on oral communication; personal preparation prior to the class is mandatory and efforts to address possible deficiencies are part of students’ individual work.

Recommended Prerequisite(s)

A good command of the basic linguistic components: verb conjugation in the present and past tense, noun-adjective and subject-verb agreements, syntax, linking words. A good command of basic vocabulary to be able to discuss social issues.

Bibliography

• Maîtriser la grammaire allemande - Niveaux B1/B2 du CECRL (lycée, classes préparatoires et université), René Métrich, Armin Brüssow, Hatier 2017.
• Gabriele Padberg-Jeanjean, Deutschland - Grundwissen und mehr - Connaître et comprendre l’Allemagne, Sedes 2012.

Educational formula

The method seminars in foreign languages are not language classes in the classical sense. Classes are based on the active participation of students and focus on general cultural questions relative to the countries of the languages studied. The themes are generally presented in the form of presentations/debates, which may take different forms: summary, commentary, press review, detailed presentation of a particular topic, role-playing, presentation of a group project, etc.