Scope / semester hours per week

A total of 30 classroom teaching hours (2 SWS)

Prerequisites

Oxford online placement test (minimum score 110) or participation in the course English C1.2

General information

The course is based on level C2 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. The course builds on the English language skills acquired at level C1 by teaching listening comprehension, reading comprehension, oral interaction, oral production and writing. The focus is on general language skills as well as study and work-related skills. The lessons are activity-orientated and communicative. The exact content of the course is designed with the needs and interests of the course participants in mind. Only authentic reading texts from various media as well as authentic audio and video recordings are used as teaching materials.

Learning objectives

Listening
Students can understand a wide range of demanding, long texts. One focus is on dealing with different English dialects and sociolects. Students can easily follow complex interactions in group discussions or debates, even when abstract topics are discussed and no standard language is spoken.

Listening activities include:

- Lectures and talks

- Radio programmes and internet podcasts

- Complex conversations and discussions

Reading
Students will be able to understand the content of complex authentic general language or science-related texts in detail, even if they do not belong to their own area of specialisation. They will be able to understand the content and relevance of news, articles and reports on a wide range of social and academic topics as well as implicit attitudes and opinions. Lessons will cover more complex text forms encountered in everyday life, at work or at university, such as

- Articles from newspapers and magazines as well as internet sources

- Specialised articles related to the participants' respective main subjects

Oral interaction and production
The course prepares students to communicate actively and successfully in the international academic and professional environment. At the lexical level, emphasis is placed on the spontaneous, fluent expression of finer nuances of meaning. Oral interaction and production in the above situations will be practised in the course so that students can:

- keep up easily in a debate or discussion and convincingly argue a position, clearly recognise pro and con arguments and respond spontaneously to complex counter-arguments, taking into account different means of expression appropriate to the situation and addressee

- successfully participate in and conduct negotiations, emphasising key points in an appropriate manner and providing supporting details

- be able to present complex topics in a well-structured and clear manner and handle questions with ease (e.g. in presentations and lectures)

Writing
Students will be able to write sophisticated texts on complex topics and emphasise key points using an extensive inventory of language resources and following the academic writing conventions of English. The focus of the course in the field of writing skills includes:

- Planning and structuring longer essays

- Summarising several sources

- commenting on subject-related topics

Proof of performance through

- regular attendance (proof of attendance is provided by attendance lists)

- the form of examination will be announced at the beginning of the semester in the course and may, for example, consist of assignments and an oral presentation

ECTS points

Regular attendance and passing the specified form of examination: 3 ECTS