Oberstufe

We are living in a turbulent world, a world on the cusp of dramatic change in such essential aspects of life as socio-politics, economy and environment. Throughout the course we will be looking at those issues by reading important texts from such well-known daily newspapers and weekly magazines  as The Guardian,The Times, The New York Times or The Economist. We will listen to some podcasts run by those newspapers and comment on featured news and events both in oral and written communication.  The in-class activities include: ·       a short five to seven-minute presentation of a select article followed by comments or questions; ·       listening comprehension exercises to do in class or as individual homework assignments;  ·       in-class writing assignments, e.g. sentence or passage paraphrasing, writing a short passage, e.g. article summary, text-based question; ·       exercises in the components of academic writing style; ·       one end-of-term essay on a topic, which will be based on one of the themes covered in class.   General requirements:         attendance (75%); a 5 to 7-minute presentation of a select article; homework assignments both in listening, reading and writing;  one homework essay of 250 to 350 words on a topic to be announced later.

This course will develop your ability to summarise debates and develop written arguments as we explore key trends and developments in relation to the global implications of the Rhodes Must Fall movement. We will work with a range of listening and reading texts from different English-speaking countries including South Africa, the UK, the US and Australia to explore the different debates around whether figures from a country’s colonial past should continue to be commemorated through statues today. Where do these statues belong – on the streets, in museums, or should they be torn down? Reflecting the case studies we will be discussing, you will work with a range of different English accents in this course as you develop the key skills and competencies you need for the HF exam and beyond.

Lecturer: Dr. Elizabeth WardCourse Description: In discussions of UK politics and culture, a London-centric image often dominates. This course looks beyond London and England to explore the politics and culture of the other countries that make up the UK and its overseas territories. You will work with texts that debate current debates in Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man and Gibraltar and listen to different accents from across the UK in order to develop the key skills and competencies you need for the HF exam and beyond.

UNIcert® II UNIcert® II acknowledges, depending on the obtained mark, the following foreign language competences and intercultural communicative skills in private and public areas, in selected everyday situations as well as academic and professional life: Command of and ability independently to extend the general vocabulary and, if applicable, subject-specific basic vocabulary, as well as central structures and means of expression of the foreign language Ability to understand the cultural variety of the language area concerned Identifying the main topic as well as understanding most of the detailed information contained in longer oral statements of medium complexity Comprehensive understanding of longer, written texts of medium complexity which are of a descriptive and commenting nature Effective oral communication, deploying a standardised set of means of expression that are appropriate to address situations and persons for the purpose of giving information and making enquiries; describing objects and persons; expressing and commenting on suppositions, opinions, and advice on complex matters, and substantiating a point of view Drawing up written texts of a predominantly informative and descriptive, partly also reporting and commenting nature by using standardised means of expression

REMINDER: You must register for the course on viaCampus first. Students that have a place on viaCampus will be given  the Moodle enrolment password in the first lesson. We will study the language of Human Rights case law and learn to read judgement summaries, extracts from Conventions  and other legal sources. This course will allow students to develop practical and academic English language skills in the context of European and international human rights law. It will be of particular interest to law students (e.g. Deutsches Rechtsstudium) and students on the BA Recht und Politik  Unlike normal Oberstufe courses, it does not directly prepare you for the HF exam. Therefore, students wanting to take the HF exam are advised to take a second Oberstufe course for more direct examination preparation.  The course will, if passed, count as a Zusatzqualifikation for German law students.

This course will be taking a look at issues connected with freedom of speech. Skills such as reading comprehension, listening comprehension, writing and discussion needed for the HF exam will be practiced. 

This course will focus on the topic of freedom of speech. During the course we will also focus on reading comprehension, listening comprehension, writing and discussion to prepare for the HF exam.

This course will look at geopolitical borders and some of the issues involved with them . It will focus on reading comprehension, listening comprehension, writing and discussion in preparation for the HF exam.

This course will look at the issue of geopolitical borders. It will focus on reading comprehension, listening comprehension, writing and discussion in preparation for the HF exam.

Famous Women: In this class, students will read the autobiographical accounts of a number of women, famous in various fields and in previous times, before it was common for women to make a name for themselves. We will compare their own writings with objective criticism about each of them, which students will actively participate in providing. How is each of these women seen today? How was each seen during her life? The specific issues which concerned each of them and the perspectives each incited in her respected society will inform our various topics of debate. Students will learn to develop and support a particular perspective above the others in the written form of an argumentative essay. In addition to this reading material, we will listen to dialogues as well as critques about these women and their work to strengthen both our reading and listening comprehension skills. This practice will prepare students for the HF exam.

Famous Women: In this class, students will read the autobiographical accounts of a number of women, famous in various fields and in previous times, before it was common for women to make a name for themselves. We will compare their own writings with objective criticism about each of them, which students will actively participate in providing. How is each of these women seen today? How was each seen during her life? The specific issues which concerned each of them and the perspectives each incited in her respected society will inform our various topics of debate. Students will learn to develop and support a particular perspective above the others in the written form of an argumentative essay. In addition to this reading material, we will listen to dialogues as well as critques about these women and their work to strengthen both our reading and listening comprehension skills. This practice will prepare students for the HF exam.

REMINDER: You must register for the course on viaCampus first. Students that have a place on viaCampus will be sent the Moodle enrolment password a couple of days before the course starts.

Conspiracy theories are everywhere! In this course we will look at a wide variety of political and non-political conspiracy theories. They will be used to practice your argumentative skills, using debates where two students argue opposing sides how believable a chosen theory is. This will be a spring-board into argumentative essays in which you will develop an argument and challenge the opposing side’s position.