Aims

The aims of the course are to:

• To teach German within the framework of the Council of Europe guidelines contained in the theme of 'languages for work and life' by including specific engineering tasks which require significant technical input and knowledge.
• To encourage students to adopt the mode of 'learning languages for life' by taking responsibility for their own learning.
• To consolidate and develop linguistic competence in listening, speaking and reading skills, and to extend competence using writing skills within work-related situations.
• To develop technological knowledge and understanding of German industry.
• To learn to handle authentic materials, in any medium, in German.

Content

NB First introductory session of 2 hours on Wednesday 19th May

Students will be encouraged to explore, dissect and present a current issue in research in the field of Engineering and its bearing on the German-speaking world. This should be done by using all four linguistic skills and a specific knowledge of the correct terminology and structure of German.

All students will have to submit a report (up to 8 pages) and do a 10 minute oral presentation.

Students may choose a topic in consultation with the project leader and/or the PhD student that will support them throughout the project.

FORMAT

• A minimum of 2 hours (and up to 4 hours) contact teaching + 1 hour supervision + 12 hours untimetabled / week.

• Group teaching, group work, pair work and individual work will be employed.

• The projects will be run from the Language Unit to enable full use of the resources therein.

• Assessment will be based on current and technical language (60%) and engineering (40%) content.

PRIZES

Shell Language Project Prizes to be shared by the best students undertaking a Foreign Language Project.

FURTHER INFORMATION

A talk on Foreign Language Projects will be given on Wednesday 1 November from 1-2pm in the Language Unit seminar room.