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Being a language student at university level is a bit different to having foreign language classes at school. At school, we hardly ever touched upon linguistic topics while at university we do a lot. Another difference is the way in which literature is dealt with. In my last year at school, we started to apply some philosophical theories to texts, but only in German, our mother tongue. When studying foreign languages at university, there are three main parts that are dealt with (linguistics, literary theory, and practical language courses).
Practical Language Courses
Practical Language Courses
In practical language courses, the four main competences of practical language use are fostered. Learning grammar also plays a role in this context. However, the more advanced the language learner's level is, the more complex are the tasks. My favourite practical language courses were those on translation because one analyses the differences between two languages. In my semester abroad in Romania, I had a class on translation theory, which raised my awareness on what to think of when translating even more.
Linguistics Classes
Linguistics Classes
During my foreign language studies at university level, the linguistics classes have been my favourite ones because I am very interested in word structures and word formation in general. The linguistics classes that I liked best were those on the variability of language. For me, it is very important to know that language is a multi-layered system that is more than the 'material', the language. It is social, regional, and a lot more. But even though I know that I want to include teaching about the variability of language into my teaching, I am not yet sure about how and in what extent to do that. Luckily, I still have an internship in which I will definitely take that question as a lead for my observations when sitting in on classes of more experienced teachers.
(Word cloud on linguistics generated with wordcloud.com)
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