69462 - German Language and Culture III (First Language)

Learning outcomes

The student is able to understand and produce a wide range of complex written and spoken texts in German, in a fluent and idiomatic way.

Course contents

The course takes up and deepens the topics covered in the previous year, focusing on the following themes:

 

• morphological, syntactic, phonetic and lexical structures of standard German;
• language variation, with particular reference to differences in register;
• the phenomena of linguistic contact;
• the dynamics of bilingual and multilingual communication;
• general and specific mechanisms of language change with current examples;
• gender issues and inclusive language;
• knowledge and use of lexicographic tools and online resources (different types of dictionaries, corpora, data bases);

• Basic knowledge of of historical and cultural events in the European context and concerning the German speaking countries, particularly from 1900 to the present day. Through an accentuated intermediate approach (interaction between texts, images, video and audio), the contrastive and intercultural perspective aims above all at a more analytical knowledge of the multifaceted contemporary German culture. Within this framework, particular attention will be paid to the following topics: Wilhelminian Reich, World War I, Weimar Republik, National Socialist Regime and Schuldfrage, World War II, birth and development of the two Germanies, fall of the Wall and reunification, contemporary Germany in the EU (Ost-Erweiterung) and world context.

In addition, through targeted teaching interventions the course promotes the development of skills relevant to textual production and oral interaction.

 The course consists of two parts: Part A (20 hours) taught by Anna Nissen (lectures held on Wednesdays), focusing on linguistic aspects; Part B (20 hours) taught by Dr Andrea Benedetti (lectures held on Fridays), focusing on cultural aspects.

Students are expected to achieve C1 competence level.

Readings/Bibliography

Students have to know how to use the following online resources:

DWDS: https://www.dwds.de/

Duden online – dictionary: https://www.duden.de/woerterbuch

Online-Angebote des Leibniz-Instituts für Deutsche Sprache in Mannheim (IDS): https://www.ids-mannheim.de/en/onlineangebote/

Deutsche Welle

https://www.dw.com/de/themen/s-9077

Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung

https://www.bpb.de/

Grammars and manuals for individual use:

Ammon, Ulrich/Bickel, Hans/Lenz, Alexandra Nicole (2016). Variantenwörterbuch des Deutschen. Berlin/München/Boston: De Gruyter.

Bertozzi, Roberto (ed.) (2015), Grammatica Tedesca. Forme e Costrutti. Milano, LED (http://www.lededizioni.com/allegati_Grammatica-tedesca/Grammatica-tedesca_Led-Edizioni_Soluzioni-esercizi.pdf).

Boettcher, Wolfgang (2009). Grammatik verstehen. Vol. 1: Wort. Vol. 2: Einfacher Satz. Vol. 3: Komplexer Satz. Tübingen: Max Niemeyer.

Butler, Ellen/Kotas, Ondřej/Sturm, Martin/Sum, Barbara/Wolf, Nita Esther/Würtz, Helga (2017¹). 100 Stunden Deutschland. Orientierungskurs - Politik, Geschichte, Kultur, Kurs- und Übungsbuch mit Audios online. Stuttgart: Klett.

Di Meola, Claudio (2014). La linguistica tedesca. Un’introduzione con esercizi e bibliografia ragionata. Roma: Bulzoni.

François, Etienne/Schulze, Hagen (eds.) (2002). Deutsche Erinnerungsorte, 3 vols. München: Beck.

Gaeta, Livio (2017). Lineamenti di grammatica tedesca. Roma: Carocci.

Limbach, Jutta/von Ruckteschell, Katharina (eds.) (2008). Die Macht der Sprache. München: Langenscheidt.

Nübling, Damaris/Kotthoff, Helga (2018). Genderlinguistik. Eine Einführung in Sprache, Gespräch und Geschlecht.Freiburg: Narr.

Nübling, Damaris/Dammel, Antje/Duke, Janet/Szczepaniak, Renata (2017). Historische Sprachwissenschaft des Deutschen. Eine Einführung in die Prinzipien des Sprachwandels. Tübingen: Narr.

Riehl, Claudia Maria (2014). Mehrsprachigkeit. Eine Einführung. Darmstadt: WBG.

Riehl, Claudia (2009). Sprachkontaktforschung. Eine Einführung. Tübingen: Narr.

Schwitalla, Johannes (2003). Gesprochenes Deutsch: Eine Einführung. Berlin: Erich Schmidt Verlag.

Thüne, Eva-Maria/Elter, Irmgard/Leonardi, Simona (2008). Le lingue tedesche: per una descrizione sociolinguistica.Bari: Graphis.

Further teaching material will be provided during lessons.

Teaching methods

Lectures, exercises, group work.

This course will be supported by separate language training sessions (lettorato), aimed at supporting and consolidating writing and speaking skills. Students shall attend at least 70% of course lessons and training sessions.

Assessment methods

On-going Assessments (no mark)

• Preparation of presentations and written texts (individual feedback).

Final Assessment:

• Oral exam (which can only be taken after the written test has been passed): an interview in German on a dossier of previously assigned texts, with verification of comprehension and reformulation capacity;
• Texts produced by the student during the course: 2 PowerPoint presentations (or equivalent applications; together 10-12 slides); 2 written texts for a total of approx. 1000-1200 words.

  The adopted evaluation criteria are:

• personal knowledge, organization and reworking of content;
• morpho-syntactic correctness;
• lexical variation and lexical accuracy;
• communicative effectiveness;
• clarity and correctness in pronunciation.

The evaluation will also regard the working process in itself and its documentation.

Grading scale

30-30L: Excellent level.

27-29: good level. The candidate shows a solid command of the required skills and competences.

24-26: Generally sound level. The candidate displays significant shortcomings, indicating a reasonable command of the required skills and competences.

21-23: Adequate level. The candidate displays significant shortcomings and only an adequate command of the required skills and competences.

18-20: Minimum level. The candidate only meets the minimum level required and shows a minimal command of the required skills and competences.

< 18 Fail

The total mark for the examination in LINGUA E MEDIAZIONE TEDESCA III (PRIMA LINGUA) is the average between the mark for this module and the one for INTERPRETAZIONE DI TRATTATIVA TEDESCA III (PRIMA LINGUA).

Teaching tools

Microsoft Teams, video projector, PC, specific programs for linguistic analysis of texts, corpora, web resources of various kinds, multimedia materials, e-learning platform (Virtuale).

Office hours

See the website of Andrea Benedetti

See the website of Anna Christina Nissen