Target group

This course is aimed at advanced learners of the German language with professional or academic ambitions. If you have already passed a C1 exam and actively use the German language in academic or professional everyday life, this course is exactly the right one for you. The German certificate at this high level is the entrance ticket to most university studies and a prerequisite for certain professions. It is, however, the case that the great linguistic challenges only await you in academic or professional practice, and continuous improvement is indispensable in order to pass them safely. Once you have passed the C1-level, you should be able to understand and use the German language competently whereas a C2 certificate is rarely a must, but it can be a personal goal. Having already specialized in your profession or in your degree course you can use this opportunity to perfect your German language skills and to win more confidence in oral or written communication at a very high level.

Course objectives

At the end of this course, you will know useful strategies to quickly grasp content from your academic or professional field or from magazines and to independently write informative articles. You know the correct application of the essential grammatical structures of the C level and have expanded your means of expression in the German language so that you are able to take relatively precise or complete notes of what you have heard during meetings or seminars. This course is not intended as preparation for a specific German certificate, but rather has the primary goal of perfecting and deepening the skills you already have in the direction of C2.

Course content

LISTENING TO MEETINGS AND SEMINARS
You will perfect your note-taking technique in order to capture not only the essential but also the detailed content of complex spoken texts. Your correct notes are your working basis for further processes in your studies or work.

READ I UNDERSTAND SPECIFIC TEXT
Another basis for the production of sophisticated, informative texts is the successful reading of specialist texts and scripts. Useful reading strategies are taught in order to be able to grasp the content of complex texts successfully and quickly.

WRITING I REDUCING TEXTS AND TRANSFERRING CREATIVELY
You will learn certain techniques for reducing and reflecting on specialist texts or demanding text input in such a way that you use the content in a process-oriented manner. The techniques / methods that you learn in the course can be used flexibly in your academic or professional everyday life.

STRUCTURES | “C – GRAMMAR”
Different grammar structures, such as subjunctive I, passive forms, etc. will be e repeated and supplemented by further "C– grammar" since a very good command of the grammar structure is a must at this high level.

WORD KNOWLEDGE | "AWS" - WORDS AND APPLICATIONS
What does the abbreviation AWS mean? This is the so-called everyday scientific language, which includes many words and expressions from the general language, such as some noun-verb combinations (e.g. "play a role"). In this way, for example, your own and other people's findings can be presented, skepticism or criticism can be expressed. Knowledge of the "AWS" is part of the expression of stylistic competence.

SPEAK I PRESENT AND DISCUSS
Confident oral reproduction or presentation of certain content from one's own subject or professional area or spontaneous participation in a discussion are among the characteristics of competent language use. The more often oral communication is practiced at a high level, the more fluent and nuanced it will be.

The detailed content for the course dates will be announced on the first day and can be adjusted if necessary and desired.

method

The course method is a mixture of practical work, input, lively discussion, teamwork accompanied by self-learning phases between the appointments. All of the tasks and exercises aim to prepare you for typical situations in the academic or professional world of language, or to support you in this and to challenge you accordingly. Your ability to present orally and the preparation of specialist texts will be a particularly strong focus, taking into account correctness. Topics from your own specialist area are very welcome !

The prerequisite for participating in this course is proof of German language skills at level C1.