Beginners' German
German is spoken by around 100 million native speakers and 80 million non native speakers. It has the most native speakers within the Europe Union, and is the most widely known second language after English. German and English are closely related, with German words like doppleganger, kindergarden and zeitgeist used in both languages. Also gaining popularity is the German word Schadenfreude which means taking pleasure in someone else's misfortune. German is important for those interested in business, with Germany now the world's third largest economy. It is also important for scientists, as Germany has an extremely high research output.
Level: Beginner - For those who have no prior knowledge of this language.
Course Handout: Download the course handout (MS Word)
Can be taken for Credit?: No
Course Start Date: 10/10/2012 18:00:00 | Course Length: 20 weeks
Cost: Brunel Students: Free | Staff/Alumni £126 | General Public: £210
How to book
About your teacher:
Christina Parte
I am a native German speaker with more than ten years experience of teaching German in England and America. I was very happy to join the language team at Brunel University in 2011. Besides Brunel, I teach in adult education and at UCL, KCL and Birkbeck College. I am trained as a teacher and received my M.A. in Modern Languages from the University of Vienna. My second M.A. from Birkbeck College London was in Gender/Culture/Politics and I am currently doing my Ph.D. on the Berlin Wall as fetish with the London Consortium.
I love teaching and always try to establish a relaxed atmosphere, which should enhance learning and reduce inhibitions of making mistakes, as they are part of the learning process. I value mutual respect and cooperation, use authentic material from the internet and audio visual aids for my classroom teaching. I am also interested in incorporating new technologies for language learning into my teaching, which can be best described as communicative with a good balance of the four skills (speaking, listening, reading, writing).
