Logo UAB
2023/2024

Second Foreign Language II (German)

Code: 103714 ECTS Credits: 6
Degree Type Year Semester
2502904 Hotel Management OB 2 A

Contact

Name:
Robert Fritsche
Email:
robert.fritsche@uab.cat

Teaching groups languages

To check the language/s of instruction, you must click on "Methodolody" section of the course guide.

Teachers

Eva Maria Auracher

Prerequisites

There are no prerequisites. 


Objectives and Contextualisation

Knowledge-based objectives

Students acquire the language content described in section "content" of this document. They also develop communicative competences in oral and written interaction, being able to do the following at the end of the course.

  1. Use German as the regular classroom language.
  2. Understand and appropriately use simple formulaic expressions for social interaction.
  3. Assimilate the rhythm and intonation of German.
  4. Read texts written in simple language.
  5. Understand brief oral messages (news, announcements, voice-mail messages) on everyday topics, from interlocutors who use standard language forms. Take down phone messages and respond appropriately.  Pass on this information.
  6. Select the information from a longer written or spoken message that is relevant to your own needs.
  7. Give a simple description of people, places and things.
  8. Fill in forms with personal information and opinions on services.
  9. Maintain a conversation on topics of personal interest in social or work contexts.
  10. Make suggestions and invitations and give advice in everyday situations.
  11. Write notes and short personal letters.
  12. Narrate events related to personal experience

Skills objectives

At the end of the course students should have achieved the following.

  1. Show a level of accuracy (grammar, pronunciation, vocabulary, register, etc.) and fluency (speed of production, ability to express ideas and develop the discourse), in both writing and speaking, equivalent to level A1.2-A2.1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.
  2. Develop strategies and skills to understand authentic written and spoken texts.
  3.  Develop strategies to continue learning independently outside the classroom.
  4.  Develop the ability touse the language with great efficiency in everyday situations and in the tourism context.
  5. Use the necessary language learning resources: dictionaries, grammars, text books, practice exercises, etc.
  6.  Learn about the society and culture of German-speaking countries.

Competences

  • Be able to self-evaluate knowledge acquired.
  • Communicate orally and in writing in a first, second and third foreign language in the areas of the hotel and catering industry and also in the different areas related to them.
  • Develop a capacity for independent learning.
  • Manage and organise time.
  • Manage communication techniques at all levels.
  • Manage techniques of internal and corporate communication in hotel and catering companies.
  • Work in teams.

Learning Outcomes

  1. Be able to self-evaluate knowledge acquired.
  2. Develop a capacity for independent learning.
  3. Identify the correct vocabulary and grammatical form to apply in the tourist sector in a first, second and third foreign language.
  4. Manage and organise time.
  5. Manage communication techniques at all levels.
  6. Produce discourses appropriate for different functions, means, activities and situations in the area of work.
  7. Use idiomatic peculiarities required in the tourist sector at intermediate and advanced level in a first, second and third foreign language.
  8. Use internet resources for tourism in a first, second and third foreign language.
  9. Work in teams.

Content

The objectives listed in section 3 are constantly combined together in the learning process, in keeping with the interconnected nature of language learning. The linguistic contents are subdivided into language functions, grammar, vocabulary and phonetics and prosody.

Language functions

The following list includes both general language functions and functions specific to the tourism field. 

a)      Socialising function

  • Say goodbye.
  • Offer thanks. Apologise. Offer congratulations. Make a toast. Ask for and make excuses.
  • Make and respond to an invitation.
  • Initiate and keep up a telephone conversation.

b)      Informational function

  • Ask for and give specific information about places: what they are like, where they are, how to get there.
  • Ask for and give information about a product.
  • Express ignorance or knowledge about something.
  • Pass on information from other people.
  • Ask for and give information about someone's  health and mood.
  • Ask for and give information on activities, facts and events: present.
  • Ask for and give information about times (when something was done, etc.).

c)      Expressive function (feelings and moods)

  • Express obligation.
  • Express wishes and preferences.
  • Express needs or interest.
  • Show a liking or dislike for someone.
  • Express disappointment or disillusionment.

d)      Evaluating function

  • Ask for and give opinions and impressions about events, people or things.
  • Show agreement or disagreement with someone or with an idea.
  • Express approval or disapproval.
  • Compare quantities and qualities.
  • Express and ask for an opinion.
  • Justify an opinion and ask for justifications.

e)      Inductive function

  • Express the need, obligation or convenience of doing something.
  • Ask for, give and refuse permission to do something.
  • Ask for and give instructions.
  • Ask someone to do something.
  • Give advice and warnings.
  • Suggest an activity.

f)       Metalinguistic function

  • Ask for and give a translation of a word or expression.
  • Explain the meaning of a word or expression.
  • Repeat questions, ask counterquestions.

 Grammar

Students must be able to recognise and appropriately use the following grammatical structures

The clause

— Components of the clause.

— Types of clause: declarative, interrogative, exclamative, affirmative and negative.

— Subordinate clauses: indirect interrogatives (wann, was, ob, etc.) and causal clauses (clauses introduced by weil).

— Order of the components of the clause: subject, direct and indirect object, complement of place and time.

— Coordinate clauses.

Determiners

 — Determinate articles: den, das, die.

— Indeterminate articles:  einen, ein, eine.

— Negative articles:  keinen, kein, keine.

— Possessives: mein, meine; dein, deine; sein, seine...

— Declination of the determiners: nominative, accusative, dative.

Ordinal numbers.

Pronouns 

— Indefinite: einem,einen, eins, eine; jedem, jeden, jedes, jede.

— Demonstrative: dem, den, das, die; diesen, dieses, diese.

— Interrogative: welchem, welchen, welches, welch; wem, wen, was.

— Indefinite: man, einen.

Nouns

— Inflection for gender and number.

— Declination of the noun: dative.

— The genitive: function as a complement of the noun.

Verbs

— Conjugation of the verbs in the past (formation of the verb participles).

— Preterite of the modal verbs: müssen, können, wollen.

— Preterite of the auxiliary verbs: haben, sein.

— Modal verbs: sollen, müssen, dürfen, können, wollen...

— Factitive verbs: legen, liegen, stehen, stellen...

— Verbs with the dative: gefallen, passen, gehören...

Adverbs

— Of quantity: ganz, ziemlich, genug.

— Of manner: lieber, mehr, anders.

— Of time: damals, schon, noch, da, lange.

— Of place and direction: oben, unten, daneben, dorthin, her, hin.

Prepositions

— that introduce local meaning: bei, zu, aus, von, an ....vorbei, entlang, bis...zu.

— That introduce temporal meaning: vor, nach, in, für, bei.

— That introduce modal meaning: als.

— Other prepositions: Wechselpräpositionen in, an, auf, neben... unter.

— Cases governed by the prepositions: dative, accusative.

Conjunctions

— weil, ob.

Vocabulary

Students must be able to recognise, name, recall, explain and choose the appropriate term and use it in the communicative situation where it is required. The vocabulary content falls mainly into the following areas:

  1. Jobs and work.
  2. Leisure activities.
  3. Travel: means of transport, accommodation, catering (gastronomy), souvenirs, shopping, diets, types of organisation.
  4. Daily life in the city.
  5. People's characters and behaviour.
  6. Weather and climate.
  7. The body and health.

Phonetics and prosody

Students must recognise and appropriately use the prosodic features (intonation, rhythm, etc.) of the language. They must also recognise and appropriately use the basic sounds and sound symbols of German, as specified below.

  1. Discriminating between b-p, d-t, g-k.
  2. Consonant endings (r, n, t, d, g, k, s, f, p, b).
  3. The consonant h.
  4. Word stress.
  5. Sentence stress.

Methodology

Students are encouraged to use the language actively in class and when practising outside the classroom, to carry out communication tasks similar to those we engage in in real life, in a wide range of situations. To this end, class activities are designed to maximise students' participation and help them take responsibility for their own learning.

The methodology is highly interactive. The students put  all their knowledge of the language into practice in order to accomplish a set of oral and written tasks, both of a general nature and specifically related to tourism. In other words, the emphasis is placed on the learning process rather than on theoretical input from the teachers.

(1) Teaching language: German

(2) Teacher-directed activities include problem solving, exercises, writing tasks and case studies.

(3) Online tutorials comprise not only email exchanges between teachers and students but also the compulsory viewing of the assessment documents that the teachers post in a virtual environment throughout the semester.

(4) Self-directed study involves learning the theory corresponding to the subject plus the (teacher-directed) practical work on problem solving, exercises, case studies and projects (information search, writing, presentation to an audience).

(5) Gender perspective. In this subject:

− Classes include a gender perspective to promote equality between women and men and avoid producing gender stereotypes.

− Strategies to promote the participation of women in the classroom are used and they promote equal gender relations.

− Knowledge of the social and cultural differences between men and women and gender inequalities in the structure of society and in cultural production is offered.

− Knowledge is also offered on sexual and emotional diversity, gender identity and expression, knowledge and reflection on feminist thought andmovements, the history of movements for womern’s rights, itsevolution and critical repercussions in society, culture and philosophical and scientific thought, and the knowledge of the values of gender equality in professional practices.

− Non-sexist and non-androcentric language is used in written, visual and audiovisual documents and other class materials. Since this is a langauge class specific resources are also provided in the language being studied for non-sexist language and critical reflection is encouraged on non-sexist language and its uses.

Annotation: Within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.


Activities

Title Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Type: Directed      
Classroom-based 56.5 2.26 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 9, 8
Non-classroom based 56 2.24 7, 2, 6, 5, 4, 3, 1, 8
Type: Supervised      
On line 5 0.2 1
Tutorials classroom-based 3 0.12 1
Type: Autonomous      
Activities 10 0.4 7, 2, 6, 5, 4, 3, 1, 8
Theory 10 0.4 7, 2, 6, 5, 4, 3, 1, 8

Assessment

Continuous assessment

Students must have attended at least 80% of their classes in order to be included in the continuous assessment process.

Continuous assessment activities

Writing tasks. Between two and five writing tasks are performed. Students may be asked to rewrite their texts to improve on the first version.

Portfolio. The portfolio contains between six and eight tasks, covering the four language skills. These may be done at home or in class.

The following are examples of these tasks.

Reading worksheets

Transformation exercises

Mini-tests

Self-assessment sheets

Information search

Production of documents

The days allocated to mid-course exams can be used to work on portfolio activities, such as the listening and reading mini-tests.

Speaking activities

Over the year, between one and two speaking activities will be conducted. These may be individual or group activities, and may take place in the classroom or be recorded and sent in. Depending on the level and the number of students in the class, they could be monologues, dialogues, presentations, etc.

Mid-course tests

One or more mid-course tests are held on the days set aside for this purpose, consisting of a writing test (one or two tasks) and/or a speaking test. These tests are in the same format as the final exam.

Attitude and participation. Students' degree of effort, attitude, and participation are assessed.

Final continuous assessment test

Writing and speaking. This test is on the same day as the final exam.

To pass the course an overall mark of 60% must be obtained (activities plus final test.)

Single-assessment option   

The single assessment to pass the course is based on the completion of a final exam. This final exam consists of two parts: writing and speaking. The exam is on the same day as the final continuous assessment test. 

The writing part consists of a test of written expression and a test of use of language.

To pass the final exam, and therefore the course itself, the following is required: 

a minimum mark of 50% must be obtained in each skill (each part of the exam). 

An overall average grade of 60% is required. 

Students who have failed are entitled to a reassessment. 

Exam resits

Students with an average score between 3.5 and 4.999 in the final exam are entitled to a resit.

Resits involve retaking the parts of the exam on which their scores were below the overall average mark. In other words, the skills in which they obtained scores below 60%.

Changing the exam date

Students who cannot take the exam on the set dates due to health, work (trips or other similar obligations) or on compassionate grounds may ask their teacher for a change of date, supplying any necessary documents, and giving notice of at least seven calendar days except in extreme cases such as accidents. If the request is accepted, the exams must still be taken within the period set by the School of Tourism and Hotel Management.

Further points regarding assessment

Students who have passed the continuous assessment may not, under any circumstances, take the final exam in order to obtaina higher grade. 

No level certificates of any kindare issued.

An overall average grade of 60% is required to pass the test.


Assessment Activities

Title Weighting Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Attitude and participation 10% 0 0 7, 6, 4, 3, 9, 8
Final exam 40 1.5 0.06 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 8
Mid-course tests 10% 1 0.04 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 8
Portfolio 20 5 0.2 7, 2, 6, 5, 4, 3, 1, 9, 8
Speaking activities 5 0.5 0.02 7, 6, 3, 9, 8
Writing tasks 15% 1.5 0.06 7, 6, 4, 3, 8

Bibliography

Classbooks German - Tourism

Ja, gerne ! A1 , llibre de curs i exercicis, Editorial Cornelsen

Menschen im Beruf, Tourismus, A1, Editorial Hueber

U. Cohen, N. Grandi, Zimmer frei, A1, Deutsch im Hotel, Lehr- und Arbeitsbuch,  Editorial Langenscheidt

Alltag, Beruf, A1/1 Kurs- und Arbeitsbuch, Editorial Hueber

Grammar

Level A1 – B1

Andreu Castell, Brigitte Braucek: Gramàtica bàsica de la llengua alemanya – con exercicis, Editorial Idiomas - Hueber

Level A1 – C2

Brigitte Corcoll, Roberto Corcoll: Programm – Gramática A1-C2. Alemán para hispanohablantes -  Herder

Brigitte Corcoll, Roberto Corcoll: Programm – Ejercicios A1-C2. Alemán para hispanohablantes -  Herder

Andreu Castell: Gramática Lengua Alemana – explicaciones -  Editorial Idiomas – Hueber

Andreu Castell, Brigitte Braucek: Gramática Lengua Alemana – ejercicios, Editorial Idiomas - Hueber

On line

Networked multimedia materials for learning.

Websites recommended by the teachers.

Dictionary

Langenscheidts Universalwörterbuch: Diccionario Moderno Alemán Spanisch-Deutsch/Deutsch-Spanisch – Langenscheidt

Langenscheidts Universalwörterbuch: Katalanisch: Katalanisch-Deutsch / Deutsch-Katalanisch - Langenscheidt


Software

.