Englisch B2.2

  This B2.2-level English course explores the intersection of youth subcultures and the phenomenon of moral panics. Through authentic texts and guided discussion, students will examine groups such as Mods, Rockers, punks, goths, and more recent online communities. Case studies will also include panics around cultural change, from Dungeons & Dragons in the 1980s to debates about Critical Race Theory and drag shows today. The course develops all four language skills in an integrated way. Weekly sessions emphasize one main skill (reading, writing, listening, or speaking) while incorporating secondary practice to ensure balance. Students will practice strategies such as skimming, summarizing, expressing opinions, analyzing bias, and building arguments. Assessment will be comprised of three formal listening-for-detail tasks, a mid-semester oral exam simulation and a final test.

From stone tools to space rockets and supercomputers, technology has changed how humans live throughout history. We often describe these changes positively as "progress" and "improvement", but do new inventions and industries always make the world better? This course explores technology from a critical perspective, considering how its evolution has been bound up with social and political controversies. Technological innovations have brought many practical benefits and made (some) people very rich, but do they make us happier, wiser or more free? Given technology's impact on health, community and the environment, is it time to put the breaks on and look for simpler ways of living? We will consider these questions while examining text, audio and video, and you will make arguments and debate with each other about the positive and negative aspects of technological "progress". 

This course is designed for students from any of our faculties who are passionate about art or entrepreneurship! It focuses on enhancing reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills through topics that explore artistic creativity and business innovation and possible intersections between these two apparently diametrically opposed endeavors. Students will develop essential vocabulary and expressions, through discussions, oral and written assignments related to various art forms, startups, and innovation. A key aspect of the course is exploring the similarities between creating art and launching a business, such as ideation, problem-solving, and risk-taking. Students are encouraged to explore art and entrepreneurship from any perspective that interests them, whether cultural, legal, social, economic, technological, or any other. By the end of the semester, students will have improved their English proficiency in all four skill areas and gained a deeper understanding of art and entrepreneurship. Like all like all normal B2.2 courses, this course meets once a week and counts as one of two required B2.2 English courses that most students need to take the  UniCert II exam.

This course is designed for students from any of our faculties who are passionate about art or entrepreneurship! It focuses on enhancing reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills through topics that explore artistic creativity and business innovation and possible intersections between these two apparently diametrically opposed endeavors. Students will develop essential vocabulary and expressions, through discussions, oral and written assignments related to various art forms, startups, and innovation. A key aspect of the course is exploring the similarities between creating art and launching a business, such as ideation, problem-solving, and risk-taking. Students are encouraged to explore art and entrepreneurship from any perspective that interests them, whether cultural, legal, social, economic, technological, or any other. By the end of the semester, students will have improved their English proficiency in all four skill areas and gained a deeper understanding of art and entrepreneurship. Like all like all normal B2.2 courses, this course meets once a week and counts as one of two required B2.2 English courses that most students need to take the UniCert II exam. The standard attendance requirement applies, which is 75%. You may mis 25% of course meetings for ANY reason. I do NOT need any proof of reason. There is an obligatory In-class test on 17 June 2025, hich must be passed in order to pass the course and the course itself is graded. Please see me at the beginning of the course, if you have a time conflict with the In-class test - otherwise there is no alternate date.

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 UNIcert II exam.

You can find here a summary of what UNIcert II means and the skills and competences that UNIcert II demonstrates.

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:  four students argue in pairs  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.

In a country such as the U.S., which incarcerates a larger proportion of its population than any other, looking at the causes and effects of crime and the criminal justice system in society provides insight into the American culture and mentality. This  may often be an adequate basis for examining one's own culture (German or otherwise). Topics we cover will include: The prison system and legal system: Do they work, or  actually "criminalize" people? Cybercrime:  How young do criminals start? Death-penalty prosecution: What kinds of crimes warrant it, if any? What do the errors in the system reveal about it? White-collar Crime: Is it serious enough for life imprisonment? Weapons industry have to combat it and  the potential to change it and find solutions. Police brutality and race: Is the "Black Lives Matter Movement" achieving its aims? Where can progress, if any, be seen? An accusation of rape: guilty before proven innocent? Mass shootings: do we simply have to live with them? Drug and alcohol abuse:  How much crime is caused by addicts?        

In a country such as the U.S., which incarcerates a larger proportion of its population than any other, looking at the causes and effects of crime and the criminal justice system in society provides insight into the American culture and mentality. This  may often be an adequate basis for examining one's own culture (German or otherwise). Topics we cover will include:    The prison system and legal system: Do they work, or  actually "criminalize" people? Cybercrime:  How young do criminals start? Death-penalty prosecution: What kinds of crimes warrrant it, if any? What do the errors in the system reveal about it? White-collar Crime: Is it serious enough for life imprisionment? Weapons industry have to vcombat it and  the potential to change it and find solutions. Police brutality and race: Is the "Black Lives Matter Movement" achieving its aims? Where can progress, if any, be seen? An accusation of rape: guilty before proven innocent? Mass shootings: do we simply have to live with them? Drug and alcohol abuse:  How much crime is caused by addicts?    

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 be taking a look at issues connected with freedom of speech. Skills such as reading comprehension, listening comprehension, writing and discussion needed for the Unicert 2 exam will be practiced.  The grade for this course will be based on the final test. Your class participation, attendance and in-class and homework assignments will determine your eligibility to take the final test. I look forward to seeing you soon.

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 HS 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.