Study Guide

Objectives

European competence level A2

Target group: those with passed basic course or upper secondary school studies in the language.
During the advanced course 1 of the second foreign language, students study and practise various situations of working life, repeat basic structures of the language and learn to know the business culture of the language area.

The student
- will be able to communicate orally in common situations of the field of study and working life
- will be able to tell about the main activities of his/her field
- will be able to use the basic structures of the language
- will become familiar with the working and cultural environment of the language area, and understand the importance of cultural background in the ways of thinking and working.

Content

How to communicate and interact in various situations of working life?
How do cultural differences and different business cultures affect oral and written communication?
What are the verbal and non-verbal characteristics of oral communication?
Why is it important to know the country/countries in which the language is spoken?

Assessment criteria, satisfactory (1-2)

Grade 1 (min. 50% of the goal)
The student
- understands the main points of the familiar topics covered in the course from either an easy text or slow spoken word, as the message is repeated if necessary
- is able to explain the main points about a company, their education and work experience
- can handle simple discussions if they are familiar with the topic
- understands and uses basic vocabulary in a satisfactory manner
- uses simple grammatical expressions in a passable manner
- recognises differences in customs and understands their significance in communication situations.

Assessment criteria, good (3-4)

Grade 3 (min. 70% of the goal)
The student
- understands well the familiar topics covered in the course from either fairly simple text or fairly slow speech
- is able to apply what they have learned and explain the main points of a company, their education and work experience
- can handle discussions well if they are familiar with the topic
- understands and uses basic vocabulary fairly fluently
- uses simple grammatical expressions in a comprehensible manner
- recognises how customs impact business communication situations.

Assessment criteria, excellent (5)

Grade 5 (min 90% of the goal)
The student
- understands well the familiar topics covered in the course from either text or normal speech
- is able to apply what they have learned and explain fluently the main points of a company, their education or work experience
- can handle discussions very well if they are familiar with the topic
- has quite natural pronunciation and intonation
- understands and uses the basic vocabulary fluently
- uses simple grammatical expressions (tenses, word order, cases and prepositions) in simple context nearly flawlessly
- knows how to utilize differences in customs in their communication.

Assessment criteria, pass/fail

Grounds for evaluation:
Course vocabulary, expressions and basic grammar, as well as being able to cope in various written and oral communication situations in German.

Evaluation is on scale 1-5 (see evaluation criteria).
The course grade is based on the average grade of the exams. In borderline cases (average e.g. 3,5), the grade (3 or 4) is based on how active the student has been in class, how punctually have they done the tasks and taken part in the classroom education.
Course feedback is a mandatory part of the course completion.