- An undergraduate course
in
Environment, Development and International Studies
and
Languages.
Motive: upper intermediate German
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| Course facts | |
|---|---|
| About this course: | |
| Course code | L203 |
| Credits | 60 |
| OU Level | 2 |
| SCQF level | 9 |
| FHEQ level | 5 |
| Course work includes: | |
| 5 Tutor-marked assignments (TMAs) | |
| Examination | |
| Includes residential school | |
This course builds on Auftakt: intermediate German (L130), or equivalent knowledge. It will extend your language skills, enhance your cultural knowledge and develop the skills needed to study at a higher level. You’ll learn to communicate in a wide range of situations; express your opinions; report what other people have said; explain processes and trends; communicate by email, letter and telephone; make structured notes; and write different types of text. You’ll also improve your command of grammar and vocabulary. A compulsory residential school takes place in Germany (or you can study an online alternative).
Modules at Level 2 assume that you are suitably prepared for study at this level. If you want to take a single module to satisfy your career development needs or pursue particular interests, you don’t need to start at Level 1 but you do need to have adequately prepared yourself for OU study in some other way. Check with our Student Registration & Enquiry Service to make sure that you are sufficiently prepared.
Register for the course
What you will study
Motive: upper intermediate German draws on a wide range of interactive audio-visual, web-based and printed material from German-speaking countries. The course is structured around themes, each covering a different aspect of life in German-speaking countries today. You will be working with print-based materials as well as practising listening and speaking with video footage and audio interviews from Berlin, Wuppertal, Jena, Zurich and Vienna. The materials also include a set film, ‘Good Bye, Lenin!’. A range of online activities gives you further access to authentic materials from German-speaking countries and fosters your ICT and communication skills.
The themes in detail are:
1. Lebenswelten: attitudes and views of different generations and their role in German-speaking societies; changing demographic and social patterns; issues that are relevant to people’s lives now and in the future.
2. Welt der Arbeit: jobs and training; the role of work in people’s lives; the changing world of work; different types of industry, including a closer look at the tourist industry in Switzerland; intercultural and business communication.
3. Medien: the role and use of the media in German-speaking countries, covering the press, TV, radio and internet; exploration of the impact on traditional media of increasing use of the internet; and consideration of issues surrounding media freedom such as the misrepresentation of information about people and events in the media.
4. Kunst und Kritik: the arts and their role in people's lives; emerging visual art forms in Germany; new German cinema and architecture; describing, discussing and reviewing works of art.
5. Weltanschauungen: issues of faith and personal beliefs; quests and pilgrimage today; what is happiness; and ethical and moral questions and debates.
6. Erlebte Geschichte – gemeinsame Zukunft: the recent history of German-speaking countries (with a particular focus on Germany since the fall of the Berlin Wall); language and identity; the future of Germany, Austria and Switzerland and their role in an expanded European Union.
The course is varied, with a wide range of mixed-media material that has been selected in order to build up your confidence in the different language skills. The structure of the materials allows you to evaluate your progress regularly and provides confidence-building strategies to improve your learning skills. The materials are interactive and encourage your participation.
This course is designed to enable you to achieve a level of language proficiency equivalent to level B2 of the Council of Europe Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.
Residential school
A compulsory residential school is included in this course. You will attend a one-week residential school in Germany which takes place in July/August. The school provides excellent opportunities to enhance and develop the skills covered in the course, to practise your German in a variety of situations and learn more about the country. Attendance at the school is compulsory and you must participate satisfactorily to pass the course. You will be responsible for the cost of your travel to the venue.
The cost of accommodation and meals at the residential school for this course starting in February 2014 is included in the fee shown above.
However, if you cannot attend the school for reasons beyond your control, an alternative learning experience (ALE) is available. This is provided online using a computer conferencing system which allows you to speak with your tutor and fellow students in real time. This alternative to the residential school runs in August and September (evenings and/or weekends). You need to be aware that the residential school in Germany offers a wider range of learning opportunities than the ALE. The ALE also takes place during the time when you are preparing your final tutor-marked assignment and revising for your examination.
In order to successfully complete the course you have to participate satisfactorily in either the residential school or the ALE.
Entry
This is a Level 2 course for students who have successfully completed Auftakt: intermediate German (L130) or who have an equivalent knowledge of German.
If you have not studied a language with The Open University before or you have any doubt about the standard of your German, you are advised to go to our Language diagnostics website to see some sample materials.
If you have any doubt about the suitability of the course, please contact our Student Registration & Enquiry Service.
Preparatory work
If you have time before the course begins, we suggest that you continue to use your German in any way you can. You could do this by redoing some of the activities in Auftakt: intermediate German (L130); watching and listening to the L130 video and audio materials; listening to German radio broadcasts; accessing authentic resources online; borrowing German books and films from the local library; or reading a German newspaper. Anything you can do to keep practising your German will be helpful.
If you are new to The Open University, it would be useful to look at some of the L130 materials and work through them. Materials are either available to buy from The Open University Worldwide website or for viewing at your regional or national centre.
Regulations
As a student of The Open University, you should be aware of the content of the Module Regulations and the Student Regulations which are available on our Essential documents website.
If you have a disability
Please note that this course makes substantial use of audio and visual materials. Full transcripts of almost all the audio and video materials are provided. The study materials are available in Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF). Components may not be available or fully accessible using a screen reader and mathematical, scientific, and foreign language materials may be particularly difficult to read in this way. Comb-bound versions of the written study materials, including the residential schools materials, can be provided on request. Our Services for disabled students website has the latest information about availability. You are advised to discuss your individual requirements with a regional adviser before you register. After you have registered you will receive detailed information about the residential school site and the facilities available to help with the academic programme.
You’ll need to make extensive use of a personal computer throughout the course and will need to access the course website on a regular basis. You will also be offered tutorials, some of which will take place via an online conferencing system.
If you have particular study requirements please tell us as soon as possible, as some of our support services may take several weeks to arrange. Visit our Services for disabled students website for more information, including:
- help to determine your study requirements and how to request the support that you need
- Disabled Students' Allowances (DSAs)
- using a computer for OU study
- equipment and other support services that we offer
- examination arrangements
- residential school arrangements, including the support and equipment available
- how to contact us for advice and support both before you register and while you are studying.
Study materials
What's included
Books, a set film on DVD and a dedicated website with access to a range of electronic tools, including real-time conferencing and asynchronous tools such as forums.
You will need
You will need a headset with a microphone and earphones to take part in online tutorials, record spoken TMAs and complete speaking activities.
Please also check the Computing requirements and Assessment sections.
Your Motive course books will refer to the following books Collins German Dictionary and Modern German Grammar: A Practical Guide; however, you could use any other dictionaries or German grammar.
Computing requirements
You will need a computer with internet access to study this course. It includes online activities – you can access using a web browser – and some course software provided on disk.
- If you have purchased a new desktop or laptop computer running Windows since 2007 you should have no problems completing the computer-based activities.
- A netbook, tablet or other mobile computing device is not suitable for this course – check our Technical requirements section.
- If you have an Apple Mac or Linux computer – please note that you can only use it for this course by running Windows on it using Boot Camp or a similar dual-boot system.
You can also visit the Technical requirements section for further computing information including the details of the support we provide.
Materials to buy
Set books
- Bill Dodd et al. Modern German Grammar 3rd edition, Routledge £24.99 - ISBN 9780415567268
- Collins German Dictionary, Collins £35.00 - ISBN 9780007252756
Teaching and assessment
Support from your tutor
You will have a tutor to help you with the study material and mark and comment on your written and spoken tutor-marked assignments (TMAs). You can also ask your tutor for advice and guidance. This course usually includes a mix of face-to-face and online tutorials. Please note that depending on where you live, the mix will vary and in some places face-to-face tuition may be replaced by telephone conferencing. Although you are not obliged to attend any of these, you are strongly encouraged to take part as they will provide you with plenty of opportunities to speak and listen to German. How tutorials are held will depend on the distribution of students taking the course in your area.
Contact our Student Registration & Enquiry Service if you want to know more about study with The Open University before you register.
Assessment
The assessment details for this course can be found in the facts box above.
You must use the online eTMA system to submit your tutor-marked assignments (TMAs).
The TMAs test a range of skills, including writing and speaking. There is a Writing Test at the end of the course, which takes the form of a three-hour examination at a standard examination centre. You may have to travel some distance to the examination centre.
Professional recognition
The Chartered Institute of Marketing now recognises this course under their Continuing Professional Development (CPD) programme.
Future availability
The details given here are for the course that starts in February 2014. It will be available again in October 2014. We then expect it to be available once a year, in October.
Students also studied
Students who studied this course also studied at some time:
How to register
To register a place on this course return to the top of the page and use the Click to register button.
Student Reviews
“For me, it was a case of twice bitten as opposed to once bitten, twice shy, since I did take ...”
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“Overall, I was pleased with the course. It was certainly hard work compared to Auftakt, which I had started with ...”
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Distance learning
The Open University is the world’s leading provider of flexible, high quality distance learning. Unlike other universities we are not campus based. You will study in a flexible way that works for you whether you’re at home, at work or on the move. As an OU student you’ll be supported throughout your studies – your tutor or study adviser will guide and advise you, offer detailed feedback on your assignments, and help with any study issues. Tuition might be in face-to-face groups, via online tutorials, or by phone.
For more information read Distance learning explained.
Undergraduate
| Course facts | |
|---|---|
| About this course: | |
| Course code | L203 |
| Credits | 60 |
| OU Level | 2 |
| SCQF level | 9 |
| FHEQ level | 5 |
| Course work includes: | |
| 5 Tutor-marked assignments (TMAs) | |
| Examination | |
| Includes residential school | |
Course satisfaction survey
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