Communicative Competence Development of Language C - German, level 3 3200-L2-0KKKCN3a
A compulsory course for year 2 BA students with German as the second language of students’
specialization (C).
During the 2nd year of the course, students’ communicative competence in German continues after
the 1st year at an advanced level, equivalent to level B2+ within the Common European Framework of
Reference for Languages. The aim of the course is to further develop and improve the students’
communicative competence in German by the end of the 2nd year at a proficient, C1 level within the
Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.
During the 2nd year the teaching process continues to stimulate integrated development of several
communicative competences, such as the pragmatic competence, sociolinguistic, as well as
intercultural and metalinguistic competences, with the continuous focus on the skills of speaking and
pronunciation, writing, listening and reading comprehension, as well as control over vocabulary and
grammar structures at the C1 level by the end of the 2nd year. The content of the course conforms to
the level of language skills among students and is designed for the studies with the major in Applied
Linguistics, especially to professional requirements in academic, glottodidactic and translation
domains. During the 2nd year the course comprises of the following thematic components: (1)
Grammar/pragmatics, (2) Vocabulary/conversation/listening, (3) Writing/Reading.
These components continue to improve the students’:
- lexical competence (by further contributing to their growing control over a vast range of vocabulary
contained in the 2nd year teaching programme at a C1 level CEFR);
- grammatical competence (by furhter contributing to their growing receptive and productive skills of
comprehending grammatically complex texts and utterances and creating such texts and utterances in
keeping with grammatical standards covered by the 2nd year teaching programme);
- phonological competence (by further contributing to the development and practice of the correct
articulation in German, proper intonation and fluency);
- discursive competence in speech and in writing (by further contributing to their growing skills of
composing logically, grammatically and stylistically consistent and complex texts and utterances at C1
level).
- functional and sociolinguistic competence (by further contributing to the development of the skill of
applying the appropriate forms of expression to communicative situations and its recipients in the
context of selected cultural aspects associated with German at a C1 level)
Contact hours (in-class): 90 hrs
Self-study/individual work:
- working with assigned texts – 15 hrs
- practical grammar assignments – 10 hrs
- preparing oral presentations and written assignments – 20 hrs
- revising and preparation for the end-of-year exam – 5 hrs
Self-study/individual work total: 50hrs
If classroom learning is impossible, the course will be conducted with the help of distance
communication tools, most probably Google Meet and others recommended by the University of
Warsaw.
Type of course
Mode
Prerequisites (description)
Course coordinators
Learning outcomes
KNOWLEDGE:
The student:
- has the knowledge of the language at C1 level (CEFR), understands its structure and specificity (K1_W01);
- knows morphosyntactic structures, understands oral statements at C1 level, interprets written texts at C1 level, knows word definitions, synonyms and idioms, has a grounded knowledge of lexical, grammatical and phonetic issues regarding the German language, as indicated in the course description(K1_W01);
- understands the complexity of the German language at C1 level (CEFR) (K1_W03);
- knows and understands the elements of selected German-speaking countries’ culture, understands the role of language in intercultural and cultural communication (K1_W07, K1_W10);
- knows and understands cultural differences, constituting important factors in the process of creating multicultural societies in the modern world, has a general knowledge of the reality, socio-economic and legal conditions of selected German-speaking countries (K1_W11)
SKILLS
The student:
- possesses linguistic skills at C1 level (CEFR), also in typical professional situations which require the knowledge of techniques, strategies and different communication channels (K1_U05, K1_U09);
- is able to critique cultural texts, search for, analyse, evaluate and select authentic texts in German and develop professional skills in German (K1_U01);
- can identify characteristic cultural elements and correctly interpret phenomena regarding the German language, react properly in every communicative situation while considering the cultural context and using customary expressions (K1_U03);
- can differentiate between the German, Austria and Swiss variant of German pronunciation (K_U05);
- can prepare written assignments in German on discussed subjects (K1_U06);
- can prepare speeches in German, using properly selected source materials (K1_U07);
- can set priorities and plan activities in order to perform specific linguistic, communicative and professional tasks in German, understands the need of self-study and the necessity of continuous development of skills (K1_U12);
- can solve problems and perform linguistic tasks in German at C1 competence level in conditions which are not fully predictable, through assessing the situation and choosing appropriate methods and tools (K1_U13)
SOCIO-CULTURAL COMPETENCIES
The student is:
- prepared to cooperate and work in a group, assume various roles and respect rules of good communication in German (K1_K06);
- prepared to identify and properly solve communicative dilemmas between German and Polish, which result from the asymmetry in linguistic systems and cultural variety (K1_K01);
- prepared to participate in cultural life in Poland and selected German-speaking countries, promote their cultures while using both traditional and modern forms of communication and media (K1_K03).
- prepared to take measures in inter-linguistic communication in order to preserve the cultural heritage of Poland and the German-speaking countries (K1_K04)
Assessment criteria
Assessment criteria – thematic components:
Each thematic component is assessed according to the following:
- Continuous assessment (preparedness, activity in class)
- Home assignments
- graded control tests
- mid-term written tests/term papers
- mid-term oral exams
- preparation and delivery of oral presentations
Grading criteria – thematic components:
The passing percentage for graded works on all thematic components is 60%. All written tests and
assignments within the components and during the course are graded according to the following
criteria:
0-59% = failed (2.0)
60-67% = satisfactory (3.0)
68-75% = satisfactory plus (3.5)
76-83% = good (4.0)
84-91% = good plus (4.5)
92-98% = very good (5.0)
99-100% = very good! (5.0!)
The student is allowed one retake of every failed graded test at the time designated by the teacher.
Unexcused absence during a test or a retake forfeits that attempt.
Assessment criteria – Exam:
In order to take the exam the student must receive passing grades from all the thematic components
during the course. Receiving a failing grade from one or more thematic components results in negative
grade in the USOS in the first term, at which point the student must receive passing grades from all
failed components in order to be allowed a second attempt at the exam during the retake exam
session.
The exam is composed of written and oral parts. The written part consists of grammar test, lexical test
and an essay in academic writing on a chosen topic.
Grading criteria – Exam:
The writing parts are graded according to the following criteria:
0-59% = failed (2.0)
60-67% = satisfactory (3.0)
68-75% = satisfactory plus (3.5)
76-83% = good (4.0)
84-91% = good plus (4.5)
92-98% = very good (5.0)
99-100% = very good! (5.0!)
The oral part of the exam assesses the communicative competence as well as the level of vocabulary,
pronunciation and grammatical competence acquired during the 2nd year of the course. The
assessment criteria of the oral exam are as follows:
5.0 – very good: very good linguistic competence (proper and correct use of grammatical and lexical
elements acquired during the course, accompanied by the proper phonemes, accent and intonation);
extensive vocabulary (uses visibly diverse vocabulary, idioms, collocations and other expressions
acquired during the course, uses proper register); very good and clearly thought through structure of
delivered statements with clearly identifiable introduction, supporting arguments and conclusion;
frequent, fluent and correct use of logical connectors and linking phrases; clearly signalling beginning
and closure of an argument; statement coherent with the topic
4.0/4.5 – good/good plus: good linguistic competence (proper and correct use of grammatical and
lexical elements acquired during the course, with the use of proper phonemes, accent and intonation;
sporadic mistakes in pronunciation, sporadic and isolated errors in grammar); good level of vocabulary
(uses diverse vocabulary from the classes, idioms, collocations and other expressions with few and
isolated mistakes and errors, and occasional errors of register); good and planned structure of
delivered statements that shows clear introduction, supporting arguments and conclusion, with singular
losses of fluency and diversion from the main topic; visible use of logical connectors and linking
phrases clearly signalling beginning and closure of an argument; statement coherent with the topic
3.0/3.5 – satisfactory/satisfactory plus: satisfactory competence (proper and correct use of
grammatical and lexical elements acquired during the course, with the use of proper phonemes,
accent and intonation; infrequent or occasional mistakes in pronunciation and grammatical errors are
acceptable and do not prevent successful communication); satisfactory level of vocabulary (vocabulary
acquired during the classes, idioms, collocations and other expressions, lacks in diversity; visible
mistakes and errors, and errors of register); satisfactory structure of delivered statements that shows
visible, but not clearly discernible introduction, supporting arguments, and conclusion of the argument;
visible losses of fluency and diversion from the main topic; rare or infrequent use of logical connectors
and linking phrases signalling beginning and closure of an argument; satisfactory coherence with the
topic
2.0 – failed: unsatisfactory linguistic competence (notorious and regular grammatical, lexical, phonetic
and pronunciation mistakes); vocabulary insufficient to create coherent statements, frequent errors of
register, lack or incorrect use of idioms and collocations; chaotic structure of delivered statements,
without discernible introduction, development and conclusion of the argument; lack of logical
connection between parts of the argument, lack or incorrect use of logical connectors and linking
phrases; visible lack of fluency, jagged or incomplete sentences, clear lack of coherence with the topic
The final grade at the end of the 1st semester of the course Communicative Competence
Development is the average score from all the thematic components, which are treated equally and
provide a 100% of the final grade written in the USOS. Failing one or more of the components results
in a negative grade in the USOS in the first term, at which point the student is allowed a second
attempt at passing the failed component (or components) in the same form during the winter retake
exam session.
Students are required to attend all the classes in a given component of the course. Students are
allowed two unexcused absences in a given component per 30 contact hours. When the number of
allowed absences is exceeded, the student should ask the teacher to be given additional tasks aimed
at making up for the material missed from the classes by that student. If the number of absences is
equal to or exceeds 50% of the component’s total number of contact hours, it will result in a failure to
pass that component as well as the entire course.
Bibliography
Specified individually by particular teachers.
Additional information
Additional information (registration calendar, class conductors, localization and schedules of classes), might be available in the USOSweb system: