GERMAN LANGUAGE

The course contributes to the objective of the "solid language preparation" of the students of the Master's programme "Relazioni internazionali comparate - Comparative International Relations” . It consists of the theoretical course (30 hours, 2nd semester) held by Prof. Cognola and of language exercises (60 hours). The overall objective is to reach a communicative competence, applied to possible professional contexts and topics relevant to one's own pathway, of level B2 (of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) in reading and level B1+ in oral production and interaction.

1. Knowledge and understanding of the textual, morphosyntactic, lexical, linguistic and also specialised (international policy) elements necessary for communication at B1+/B2 level.
2. Ability to apply the knowledge in reading and translating texts on topics relevant to one's studies (short essays, newspaper articles, interviews, etc.), in oral production and interaction and, to a limited extent, in written interaction.
3. Autonomy of judgement: Being able to search for and choose texts corresponding to a topic of own interest.
4. Communicative skills: being able to read and understand a variety of different text types for different audiences on political topics. Being able to present orally (in short presentations) topics and issues of international politics discussed in the analysed texts, being able to argue and answer listeners' questions. Being able to ask questions (from the audience or as a journalist at a press conference). Being able to write short written messages (e.g. e-mails to arrange an appointment). Being able to interact in informal conversations (greetings, introductions, conversation about educational and professional experiences, etc.).
5. Learning skills: Being able to make independent use of reference works such as dictionaries, grammars and online tools.

Knowledge of German at the B1 Level of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.

PROF. COGNOLA'S MODULE:
Prof. Cognola's course focuses on the study of the textual and linguistic elements of political language and on the reading and translation (into Italian) of texts on political topics addressed to different audiences and with different functions (publications and websites of the German government, popular essays addressed to the German public, articles from daily and weekly newspapers, speeches of politicians in parliament, in election campaigns, press releases etc.) on the German political reality and international relations, with a focus on the European Union, Eastern Europe, economic globalisation and climate change. Grammatical structures key for a correct reading of the text will also be discussed. Each student will deepen a topic of his/her own interest, related to the above-mentioned subject areas and agreed with the teacher, through the reading of at least 5 texts found independently and collected in a "portfolio" (approx. 5-8 texts of 5000-6000 words). The reading of texts on the same topic has the function of progressively increasing thematic and lexical knowledge and, therefore, of facilitating the reading itself (narrow reading) and the ability to identify the structural and linguistic characteristics typical of political language.

LANGUAGE EXERCISES:
The language exercises are mainly dedicated to the acquisition and practicing of productive skills: oral production and interaction and written expression focusing on different text types relevant to the course. During the exercises, students will practice informal exchanges (greetings, introductions, conversations about educational and professional experiences, etc.), short written messages (e.g. e-mails to arrange an appointment), and work on oral presentations (Referate, short presentations on facts and opinions, also with the support of multimedia tools) on topics of German politics and/or relevant to international relations, usually the one chosen by the student for his/her portfolio.

MANDATORY TEXTS:
Slides and materials on the course's Moodle page;
Heiko Girnth (2010): Sprache und Politik. Nella serie "Einstieg" in Bundeszentrale fuer politische Bildung (free available online: https://www.bpb.de/themen/parteien/sprache-und-politik/42678/einstieg-sprache-und-politik/ ).

CONSULTATION TEXTS:
Fandrych, Christian & Thurmair, Maria (2019) Textsorten im Deutschen: Linguistische Analysen aus sprachdidaktischer Sicht. Tübingen: Stauffenburg Verlag.
Heiko Girnth (2015): Sprache und Sprachverwendung in der Politik. Eine Einführung in die linguistische Analyse öffentlich-politischer Kommunikation. 2., überarbeitete und erweiterte Auflage. Berlin/ Boston: de Gruyter. (Germanistische Arbeitshefte 39).

For the preparation of the reading of texts on political topics, see the web portal "TATSACHEN ÜBER DEUTSCHLAND” on German foreign policy, society, economy, science and culture. See in particular the section 'Politisches System und Föderalismus': https://www.tatsachen-ueber-deutschland.de/de/

See also the website “BUNDESZENTRALE FÜR POLITISCHE BILDUNG” with a wide series of articles on politics, economics, history : http://www.bpb.de/

Bilingual dictionary:

IL NUOVO DIZIONARIO DI TEDESCO. DIZIONARIO TEDESCO-ITALIANO, ITALIANO-TEDESCO, di L. Giacoma e S. Kolb, Bologna: Zanichelli 2009, 2672 pages., (ISBN 978-8808177681).

Monolingual dictionary:
PONS Großwörterbuch Deutsch als Fremdsprache (von W. Wolski, Stuttgart: Klett 2011, mit CD-ROM, 978-3125170476), also online http://de.pons.com/%C3%BCbersetzung/deutsch-als-fremdsprache ,or the bilingual dictionaries by DUDEN, LANGENSCHEIDT or WAHRIG.

Written and oral exams. The verification of the expected learning outcomes is structured as follows:
1. Written examination: a) reading of approx. 1 page of a journalistic or popular text on a topic of German politics/international relations; translation of an extract from the text (approx. 100 words); questions relating to the structure and language of the text through which the students must demonstrate their ability to recognise the linguistic characteristics of the political language discussed in the teaching module, duration 90 min.;

b) short written production (e-mail), duration 45 min. The use of a monolingual and/or bilingual dictionary is permitted in both parts.

2. Oral examination (Referat): c) The candidate presents the topic addressed in the in-depth reading of his/her portfolio in the form of an oral presentation (10-15 minutes) and answers questions.

All parts must be sufficient. For the final grade the individual parts are weighted as follows: a) 50%, b) 30%, c) 20%.

Front lesson, discussion, group activities, presentations given by students, activities on the virtual class (Moodle).

Teaching will be in German and Italian.

written and oral