Objectives and competences

• The competence to think critically about a problem from their study field • Advanced competence for oral and written communication in scientific German • Advanced competence to find information on scientific vocabulary unassisted • Advanced competence to find information on scientific reading and writing in scientific German

Content (Syllabus outline)

Recalling and practicing the main grammar structures (tenses, conditionals, passives, etc.) with a special emphasis on their usage in scientific texts. The students read materials on how to read and understand a scientific article and read several scientific articles on agricultural topics. The contents of the scientific articles are also critically assessed and discussed. They also read materials on how to write a bachelor's or master's thesis. During the reading, the structure, style and format of a scientific article in German and we discuss how the language is used, how specifically paragraphs are formed and what role the grammar structures play in civeying meaning. Scientific writing of paper sections is practiced. The students each get a scientific article to put into a scientific poster form and have to present it in German.

Learning and teaching methods

• lectures • group work • individual work • clasroom discussions • brainstorming

Intended learning outcomes - knowledge and understanding

Knowledge and understanding: • A deepened knowledge on grammar structures in scientific German like verb-case connections, composite verbs with movable prefixes, modal verbs, passives, subordinate clauses • Expanding scientific German vocabulary and phraseology pertaining to narrow specified agricultural fields such as the influences of the soil and the environment on the crop, animal behaviour, production, reworikng and usage of pesticides and fertilisers, etc. (the narrow scientific topics change through time, depending on the up-to-date scientific articles chosen for the semester) • Unassisted reading and writing of parts of scientific texts in German (intorduction, literature review, methodology section, results) • Recognition and critical observation of German use in scientific texts

Intended learning outcomes - transferable/key skills and other attributes

Readings

• Dreyer, Hilke und Schmitt, Richard (2007). Nemška slovnica z nalogami. Ljubljana: Tuma. • Esselborn-Krumbiegel, Helga (2017). Richtig wissenschaftlich schreiben: Wissenschaftssprache in Regeln und Übungen (Uni Tipps, Band 3429). Paderborn: Verlag Ferdinand Schöningh. • Hirsch-Weber, Andreas und Scherer, Stefan (2016). Wissenschaftliches Schreiben und Abschlussarbeit in Natur- und Ingenieurwissenschaften: Grundlagen - Praxisbeispiele – Übungen. Stuttgart: Eugen Ulmer KG. • Helbig, Gerhart und Buscha, Joachim (2001). Deutsche Grammatik: Ein Handbuch für den Ausländerunterricht. Berlin: Langenscheidt.

Prerequisits

None.