Switzerland, Austria and Liechtenstein today 3302-SAL-OG

Is it sufficient to analyze the mutual relations between German-speaking countries only occasionally and mainly from the German perspective? Can Switzerland, Austria, and Liechtenstein be studied separately? What significance does the official language of a given country have?
While all German-speaking countries certainly belong to the same cultural sphere and maintain close economic and political ties, they are nonetheless sovereign states with their own unique characteristics that are not present in neighboring countries. For this reason, it is worthwhile to take a closer look at Switzerland, Austria, and Liechtenstein and to understand them more deeply.
The aim of the course is therefore to provide insight into the following topics:
1. 1. Switzerland as the country most favored by German emigrants
2. 2. Advantages and disadvantages of emigrating to Switzerland
3. 3. The cantons and languages of Switzerland
4. 4. The Swiss variety of the German language
5. 5. Switzerland and Germany – a comparison
6. 6. Switzerland – its economy and innovations
7. 7. The most famous Swiss people
8. 8. The education systems in Switzerland, Austria, and Germany
9. 9. Switzerland and Austria – a comparison
10. Advantages and disadvantages of emigrating to Austria
11. Austria and Germany – a comparison
12.The Austrian variety of the German language
13. The most famous Austrians
14. Liechtenstein – its history, political system, and economy
15. Advantages and disadvantages of emigrating to Liechtenstein
The course is designed in accordance with the principles of Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL).

Type of course

optional courses
general courses
foreign languages
elective courses

Mode

Remote learning

Prerequisites (description)

German language proficiency at B2 level

Course coordinators

Elżbieta Kozłowska

Learning outcomes

Knowledge: The graduate knows and understands:
• - the fundamental dilemmas of contemporary civilization, with particular emphasis on the German-speaking area (K_W08)
Skills: The graduate is able to:
• - apply acquired language skills in understanding and producing spoken and written texts using specialized terminology (K_U03) in fields such as: cultural studies, linguistics, art
• - manage a team, cooperate with others as part of teamwork, taking on a leading role within teams (K_U06), express opinions and support them with arguments, and actively participate in discussions
• - use the German language at the B2 level
• - identify dialectal differences between Standard German and its varieties in Switzerland and Austria
Social competences: The graduate is ready to:
• - critically assess their knowledge and the content they receive, recognizing the importance of knowledge in solving both cognitive and practical problems (K_K05)

Assessment criteria

The condition for completing the course is attendance at classes, active participation in them and obtaining a minimum of 60% on the final oral examination.
The permissible number of absences is three, while not participating in classes does not exempt one from knowledge of the covered material.
The final oral examination consists of two parts:
1. 1. characterizing a randomly selected issue related to the covered material, using vocabulary and structures at the B2 level
2. 2. a three-minute speech on a self-chosen topic concerning Switzerland, Austria, and Liechtenstein at present
To receive a passing grade, one must obtain a minimum of 60% on each part.
Scoring:
60-67% 3
68-75% 3.5
76-83% 4
84-91% 4.5
92-100% 5
The form and criteria for evaluating course completion may change only in accordance with regulations in force at that time at the University of Warsaw and in agreement with the course participants.

Practical placement

not applicable

Bibliography

selected by fragments of films, blogs, reports, interviews and publications as well as lexical and grammatical exercises self-developed

Additional information

Information on level of this course, year of study and semester when the course unit is delivered, types and amount of class hours - can be found in course structure diagrams of apropriate study programmes. This course is related to the following study programmes:

Additional information (registration calendar, class conductors, localization and schedules of classes), might be available in the USOSweb system:

Description of 3302-SAL-OG in USOSweb