This course is designed primarily for ERASMUS and other exchange students who are studying Applied Linguistics, Translation, and similar subjects. It is worth 3 ECTS points. It is followed by a separate Grammar course in winter semester, which is also worth 3 ECTS points.
The CEFR Level of both courses is C1. The course will most likely be held entirely online, via MS Teams, but there is the possibility of using a hybrid format (face-to-face teaching accompanied by live-streaming). The first few weeks will be offered as an asynchronous online learning experience while we explore the COVID-safety of potentially available rooms.
The aim is to cover the whole of English grammar in two semesters:
In winter semester, we begin by taking a brief look at the grammatical units of English and the functions they serve.
We then study three different dimensions of English clauses: how they are structured as (i) messages (this affects the order in which the parts of the
clause occur); (ii) interpersonal exchanges (here we examine the systems of grammatical mood, including modal verbs and question tags);
and (iii) representations of types of processes, participants, and circumstances (time, place, manner, and the like). The winter semester concludes
with an overview of what is involved in putting clauses together to form larger complexes (apposition, coordination, subordination, quoting, reporting,
and the like). There is also an optional unit on the various forms that nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs can have (morphology).
The companion course, which is offered in summer semester, begins with
a brief review of the syntax of sentences and clauses, but from then on we are concerned with grammatical
units "below" the clause, concentrating on the nominal group and the verbal group. We look at the different functions that adjectives have, the rules
for ordering adjectives, and how relative clauses work. Several weeks are devoted to English tenses, contrasting them with the tenses of Spanish,
Italian, French, and German. Finally, we revisit reported speech and reported thought, and look at chained structures like
"she happens to appear to have been trying to want to start looking for a job".
In each semester, there are weekly exercise sheets, a final oral exam (online), and a mini-assignment to complete.
Assessment will be on the basis of all three of these.
For further information, see:
http://www.spence.saar.de/courses/grammarERASMUS and other exchange students may also be interested in my ERASMUS course "Written Expression" (Tuesday 10 a.m. to 12 noon). The latter course runs exactly parallel with group 3 of "Written Expression" (Fachrichtung Anglistik, Amerikanistik und Anglophone Kulturen; Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 12 noon), so students in fact have two possible times to take my Written Expression course: Tuesday or Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 12 noon.My B.A. course ”[spr] Phonetics with Listening Practice (British)” (Fachrichtung Anglistik, Amerikanistik und Anglophone Kulturen; Tuesday or Wednesday from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.) may also be of interest to some ERASMUS students, but the number of available places is limited, and preference will be given to students who are completing their degrees in Saarbrücken and students who have the necessary language level -- Erasmus and other exchange students will need to pass an oral entrance test to be granted admission. The phonetics courses are worth 2 ECTS points, but exchange students who need3 ECTS points can obtain an additional ECTS point by submitting two additional assignments.
