AI Summary
This content was AI-summarized and structured based on the official competency profile of the Studienkollegs.
Competency Profile: German as a Foreign Language (DaF)
1. Self-Conception of the Subject and its Contribution to Competency Development
The subject German as a Foreign Language (DaF) promotes the development of language skills to at least level C1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), laying the foundation for successful academic studies in Germany. In addition to language skills, students acquire methodological competencies, academic work techniques, and the basics of academic argumentation. The content of the lessons is oriented towards the topics of the focus courses and conveys regional and cultural knowledge.
2. Competency Areas
The competency model essentially comprises four areas:
- Listening: Gaining confidence in foreign language listening comprehension in order to follow subject-specific explanations, lectures, and discussions. Application of listening strategies (global, selective, detailed).
- Speaking: Targeted application of language skills in everyday and study-related conversations. Clear, structured, and comprehensible presenting and arguing at various stylistic levels.
- Reading: Distinguishing between different types of texts (academic vs. popular science), evaluating information content and quality. Application of reading techniques to understand complex texts.
- Writing: Drafting objective, context- and addressee-related texts using technical terms and academic work techniques (structuring, bibliography, footnotes).
3. Competency Expectations
The students…
- recognize communicative situations and use strategies to solve comprehension problems.
- extract targeted information from academic lectures and texts.
- initiate and conduct topic-based conversations and discussions.
- develop longer speeches and presentations.
- examine the structure and argumentation of texts.
- write clearly structured, material-based, and argumentative texts.
- summarize core statements (e.g., summary, abstract, excerpt).
4. Course Content
a) Basic Content
- Study-relevant vocabulary and linguistic terminology.
- Special features of academic language (lexical, morphological, syntactic).
- Study-relevant text types (e.g., chart description, report, discussion).
- Academic work techniques (excerpting, defining, researching).
- Regional and cultural topics as well as current developments.
b) Possible Differentiations or Extensions
- Academic Language Structures: Nominalization, reference words, connectors, passive voice, indirect speech.
- Content Topics: Education system, migration, ethics, science and technology, environment, globalization, culture, and society.
- Text Types: Experiment description, seminar paper, internship report, letter of motivation.
- Oral Communication: Presentation, discussion, role-play, exam interview.