All year

Unit(s) of Assessment	Weighting Towards Module Mark( %)
Portfolio	25%
In-class presentation	25%
Spoken test	25%
In-class written test	25%

Qualifying Condition(s)
A weighted aggregate of 40% is required to pass the module

This module looks at theories of culture and cultural encounters. It uses case studies and critical incidents as a basis for discussion and reflection. It also looks at the linguistic means required to discuss sociological concepts, but also to give presentations, negotiate and do business in intercultural contexts.

Completion of level 1 German modules.

This module aims to prepare students for the linguistic and cultural encounters of their placement year at a university or company in a German-speaking country. The module enables students to participate in the society whose language they study and to operate confidently and flexibly within different linguistic and cultural contexts. Language work is embedded in challenging and relevant situations of intercultural communication; students use the target language to reflect their own culture-bound behaviour and to analyse the relationship between language and culture.

Students are encouraged to self-assess their progress in communicating at an advanced level in German and to map their competence against the descriptors of the Common European Framework for Languages.

Students are encouraged to:

• reflect on the influence of cultural values on behaviour
• perceive cultural differences as appropriate and enriching
•  become conscious of stereotypes and prejudices
•  be willing to deal with conflict
•  communicate with others using their ways of expression, both verbally and non-verbally
• adopt a comparative perspective on other cultures and their own
• view the foreign culture from the inside and as outsiders
•  mediate between the target culture(s) and their own culture(s)
• evaluate and maintain a critical distance towards sources

• gather and assess information
•  express opinions and impressions
•  talk about and interpret pictures
• clarify meaning
• research meaning
• make comparisons
•  design questionnaires
• keep a reflective log

Case studies taken from the fields of law, business and sociology serve as the stimulus for linguistic and cultural training. The emphasis is on spoken communication and on informal writing.

Teaching will be in small groups. The module is taught entirely in the target language and the stimulus material used will be drawn from a variety of texts. Students learn how to write a reflective log and how to use ethnographic research tools to record and evaluate observations.
Self- and peer-assessment will be used to foster students' insight into their learning progress.

A ULearn site and Reader will be available.
Beniers, Cornelius (2006) Interkulturelle Kommunikation. Managerwissen kompakt. München und Wien: Hanser Verlag.
Buhlmann, Rosemarie; Fearns, Anneliese; Gaspardo, Nello (2003) Präsentieren und Verhandeln. Warschau: Poltext Verlag.
Curry, Jeffrey E. (1999) Internationale Verhandlungen planen und führen. Köln: Fachverlag Deutscher Wirtschaftsdienst.
Heringer, Hans Jürgen (2004) Interkulturelle Kommunikation. Grundlagen und Konzepte. Tübingen und Basel: A. Francke Verlag.
Hofstede, Geert (1997) Lokales Denken, globales Handeln. Kulturen, Zusammenarbeit und Management. München: C. H. Beck Verlag.
Kumbier, Dabmar; Schulz von Thun, Friedemann (Hrsg.) (2006) Interkulturelle Kommunikation: Methoden, Modelle, Beispiele. Reinbek bei Hamburg: Rowohlt Taschenbuch Verlag.
Lüsebrink, Hans-Jürgen (2005) Interkulturelle Kommunikation. Stuttgart und Weimar: Verlag J. B. Metzler.
Schugk, Michael (2004) Interkulturelle Kommunikation. Kulturbedingte Unterschiede in Verkauf und Werbung. München: Verlag Franz Vahlen.

JULY 2009