- An undergraduate course
in
Environment, Development and International Studies
and
Languages.
Variationen: advanced German
- On this page
| Course facts | |
|---|---|
| About this course: | |
| Course code | L313 |
| Credits | 60 |
| OU Level | 3 |
| SCQF level | 10 |
| FHEQ level | 6 |
| Course work includes: | |
| 5 Tutor-marked assignments (TMAs) | |
| End-of-module assessment | |
| No residential school | |
This course follows on from Motive: upper intermediate German (L203). It continues to develop your knowledge and understanding of the society and culture of contemporary Germany and German-speaking countries, and to extend the practical skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing. The study resources include online authentic audio and video, comprising interviews, documentaries and reportages, and illustrated printed materials. You will also develop your academic writing, critical and analytical skills, and intercultural competence. The course has six themes that give both broad and focused coverage of different aspects of historical and contemporary Germany and German-speaking countries.
Modules at Level 3 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
Most of the materials for this course are delivered online via the course website, and you will spend a considerable amount of time carrying out interactive online activities.
Each of the six themes studied covers different aspects of German speaking cultures today. You will be working with authentic print-based materials, video features on the course website and on DVD and audio features on the course website. The materials also include a set film, Nirgendwo in Afrika (Caroline Link, 2001). A range of online activities gives you the opportunity to access further authentic materials and develop your ICT and communication skills.
The themes in detail are
- Landschaft und politische Strukturen: German-speaking regions, including looking in detail at the city of Wilhelmshaven in the north east of Germany; the notion of ’Heimat‘; issues that arise from differences in local, regional and national governance.
- Geschichte: key periods of German and Austrian history such as the revolutionary movements in 1848 and 1968, and the 1953 uprising in East Germany; the beginnings of the two post-war German states in 1949, Austria in 1955, and re-unified Germany in 1990; life during the Nazi period in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, immediately after World War II, and the period of RAF terrorist activity in West Germany.
- Sprache im Kontext: the evolution of modern German since the eighth century; the roles of dialects; issues relating to language such as identity, humour; language and communication in relation to minority and migrant communities.
- Migration: emigration from Germany during the nineteenth century and during Nazi rule in the twentieth century; history of immigration in post-war Germany; issues relating to asylum, dual citizenship; living in a multi-cultured society, including an audio feature on the city of Aachen in the west of Germany bordering on Belgium and the Netherlands.
- Literatur und Film: German-speaking literature since 1945; analysis of a short story by Ingo Schulze; history of German-speaking film during the twentieth century; analysis of Caroline Link’s film Nowhere in Africa.
- Innovationen: aspects of the history of research and scientific discoveries in German-speaking countries in the nineteenth and twentieth century; famous scientists and scholars; German speaking inventions and inventors.
The course uses a wide range of mixed media that has been selected to increase your knowledge of the themes and develop your confidence in the four language skills (reading, listening, writing and speaking). You will also progressively develop your analytical skills leading up to a small scale project at the end of the course. The structure of the material allows you to evaluate your progress regularly and provide strategies to improve your language and general 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 C1 of the Council of Europe Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.
Entry
This is a Level 3 course for students who have successfully completed Motive: upper intermediate German (L203) 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 strongly advised to contact your regional or national centre to look at reference copies of the courses. 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 Motive: upper intermediate German (L203); watching and listening to the audio and video materials on the L203 DVD-ROM; reading a German newspaper; listening to German speaking radio or television broadcasts; accessing authentic resources such as online editions of newspapers and magazines, internet radio and television; or borrowing German books and films from the local library. Anything you can do to keep practising your German will help you to prepare yourself for the start of the course.
If you are new to The Open University, it would be useful to look at some of the L203 Motive materials and work through them. Materials are 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 for which full transcripts are provided. The study materials are available in Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF). PDF components may not be available or fully accessible using a screen reader, and foreign language materials may be particularly difficult to read in this way. Comb-bound versions of the printed study materials can be provided on request. Other alternative formats of the study materials may be available in the future. Our Services for disabled students website has the latest information about availability.
You’ll need to make extensive use of a personal computer throughout the course as most of the study materials are delivered online. If you use specialist hardware or software to assist you in operating a computer or the internet and have concerns about accessing this type of material, you are advised to talk to the Student Registration & Enquiry Service about support which can be given to meet your needs.
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
- how to contact us for advice and support both before you register and while you are studying.
Study materials
What's included
Books, a DVD, a set film on DVD and a dedicated website which is the focal point of your study, 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, complete the speaking activities on the course website and to take part in the speaking test at the end of the course. You will also need to be able to play DVD-video.
Please also check the Computing requirements and Assessment sections.
Computing requirements
You will need a computer with internet access to study this course as it includes online activities, which you can access using a web browser.
- If you have purchased a new desktop or laptop computer since 2007 you should have no problems completing the online activities.
- If you’ve got a netbook, tablet or other mobile computing device check our Technical requirements section.
- If you use an Apple Mac you will need OS X 10.6 or later.
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. The online tutorials will give you practice in using the conferencing tool used for the end-of-module speaking test. 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). Please note that the written part of the end-of-module assessment (EMA) must also be submitted online and the EMA also includes a speaking test which is carried out online.
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. In 2015 we expect it to be available twice, in February and October. 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
“I found this a great course. Well worth the effort (which was considerable!). The materials are superbly well put together, ...”
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“L313 is called 'Advanced' for a reason and L203 sets the scene well. The course is rich in literature, politics ...”
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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 | L313 |
| Credits | 60 |
| OU Level | 3 |
| SCQF level | 10 |
| FHEQ level | 6 |
| Course work includes: | |
| 5 Tutor-marked assignments (TMAs) | |
| End-of-module assessment | |
| No residential school | |
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