Participation

Preparation prior to class leads to informed and active participation in class (campus students) and participation in online tasks (external students); short class presentation and dialogue exercises (C1 Sprechen).

On successful completion you will be able to:

• Listening skills: Students will work towards understanding extended speech and follow even complex lines of argument even if the topic is not entirely familiar; to understand general spoken language at normal speech rate even if the accent is unfamiliar; to extract specific information and follow the significant points in an oral utterance; to understand relatively long radio talks and interviews; to understand the majority of films in standard dialect.
• Reading skills: Students will work towards understanding a wide range of written texts, including longer, more complex factual texts, commentaries and reports; clearly identifying and extracting information from a wide range of sources, including statistical information. Students will have developed strategies to understand the meaning of unfamiliar words from the context; to understand frequently used set expressions.
• Speaking skills: Students will be able to express themselves spontaneously without much obvious searching for expressions; use language flexibly and effectively for social purposes; produce an oral presentation in order to present argument for or against something; negotiate decision-making processes taken from an everyday life-context with a partner. They will be working towards expressing themselves spontaneously and fluently when stating their own opinions on increasingly complex subjects; formulating their thoughts and views precisely and making detailed contributions to a discussion.
• Writing skills: Students will be able to write a clear, well-structured text, interpreting or expressing points of view at some length; write about increasingly complex subjects; write in a style appropriate to the reader in mind; express and justify opinions and give arguments supporting their point of view; explain and compare ideas presented to them in a text which presents familiar content to them; use appropriate devices to ensure the smooth flow of a piece of writing most of the time; produce a text with few grammatical mistakes that would substantially interfere with the reader’s understanding. Students will be working towards expressing themselves clearly and logically in essays on complex issues, choosing the right kind of expression to appeal to the reader.

Assignments

Assignments work towards the C1.

They provide you with opportunities to develop:

• Reading skills: Students will work towards understanding a wide range of written texts, including longer, more complex factual texts, commentaries and reports; clearly identifying and extracting information from a wide range of sources, including statistical information. Students will have developed strategies to understand the meaning of unfamiliar words from the context; to understand frequently used set expressions.
• Writing skills: Students will be able to write a clear, well-structured text, interpreting or expressing points of view at some length; write about increasingly complex subjects; write in a style appropriate to the reader in mind; express and justify opinions and give arguments supporting their point of view; explain and compare ideas presented to them in a text which presents familiar content to them; use appropriate devices to ensure the smooth flow of a piece of writing most of the time; produce a text with few grammatical mistakes that would substantially interfere with the reader’s understanding. Students will be working towards expressing themselves clearly and logically in essays on complex issues, choosing the right kind of expression to appeal to the reader.

Tests

The Tests are timed tasks and provide opportunities to apply newly acquired vocabulary, grammatical structures, including across a range of formats (e.g. written and audio). They largely align with the progression of language acquisition facilitated by the textbook.

Reflective Task

This task is designed for students to be able to express and share their personal linguistic development as well as their transferable skills as part of a course-based portfolio. This document has several components in both English and the target language. It contains a record of formal and informal language learning experiences, reflective passages on intercultural encounters that have influenced the student's studies. You will also include a guided self-assessment of your current language abilities and formulate your goals for further language learning.

Final Test Online

Students will take a final test online in Week 13. This is a revision test that  is based on the content and the skills developed during the semester. This examination is compulsory. All students enrolled in this unit are required to sit for this test in Week 13 at the time designated in iLearn.

On-time submission of assessment tasks

The assessments tasks are compulsory in this unit. Each assessment task has a due date and students are expected to submit their work on time. Further details are specified on iLearn.

Late Assessment Penalty

Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, (a) a penalty for lateness will apply – 10 marks out of 100 credit will be deducted per day for assignments submitted after the due date – and (b) no assignment will be accepted seven days (incl. weekends) after the original submission deadline.

TIMETABLE

For current updates, lecture times and classrooms please consult the MQ Timetables website: https://timetables.mq.edu.au/2021/.

Key sections of classes will be recorded and there is an opportunity to regularly join via live Zoom classes.

REQUIRED TEXTS AND/OR MATERIALS

Ute Koithan et al, Aspekte neu C1. Mittelstufe Deutsch,Lehrbuch mit DVD, Klett Verlag 2018/19, ISBN 978-3-12-605034-0

Ute Koithan et al, Aspekte neu C1. Mittelstufe Deutsch,Arbeitsbuch mit Audio-CD, Klett Verlag 2018/19, ISBN 978-3-12-605036-4

Available as print and digital (Printausgabe, Digitalausgabe).

TECHNOLOGY USED AND REQUIRED

Online Unit

Login is via: https://ilearn.mq.edu.au/

Is my unit in iLearn?: https://unitguides.mq.edu.au/ilearn_unit_status/ to check when your online unit will become available.

Technology

Students are required to have regular access to a computer and the internet. Mobile devices alone are not sufficient.

For students attending classes on campus we strongly encourage that you bring along your own laptop computer, ready to work with activities in your online unit. The preferred operating system is Windows 10.

Students are required to access the online unit in iLearn by the end of Week 1 and follow any relevant instructions and links for downloads that may be required. If applicable, students are required to download the relevant language package prior to Week 2.

Please contact your course convenor before the end of Week 1 if you do not have a suitable laptop (or tablet) for in-class use.

• For central technical support go to:  http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/
• For student quick guides on the use of iLearn go to:  https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/tools-and-resources/ilearn/ilearn-quick-guides-for-students

Students will systematically work through chapters (Kapitel)  5-8 of the textbook. There is also a focus on materials to train and prepare students for the external C1 examination in accordance with the CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference of Languages). This C1 exam is an additional qualitfication and is offered as an option to the students in this unit at the end of semester. It is conducted by the Goethe Institute.

A schedule including the program for each class, the assessment tasks and due dates as well as the suggested C1 training materials is made available in iLearn.

New textbook and iLearn material.

This unit provides advanced learners with the opportunity to work towards language skills at level C1, the fifth level on the six-level scale of competence laid down in the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). Through intensive engagement with the German language in a range of contexts, the unit invites you to develop the ability to

• understand a wide range of more complex, longer texts as well as grasp implicit meanings,
• express yourself spontaneously and fluently without frequently having to search for words,
• use the language effectively and flexibly in your social and professional life or during training or your studies,
• make clear, structured and detailed statements on complex topics.