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 aim is to cover the whole of English grammar in two semesters:
In winter semester ("the world of clauses"), 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 ("the world of groups and phrases"), 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 exam, and a mini-assignment to complete.
For further information, see:
http://www.spence.saar.de/courses/grammar
ERASMUS and other exchange students may also be interested in my ERASMUS course (subject to final approval, which is still pending:) "Vocabulary for Specialized Oral Communication"
(Monday 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.) and "Written Expression” (Thursday 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.); the latter covers exactly the same content,
at exactly the same pace, as groups 2 and 3 of "[spr] Written Expression (Intermediate)", so students in fact have three possible times
to take my Written Expression course (Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.). Note, however, that the Tuesday
and Wednesday groups are officially working towards 2 ECTS points, whereas ERASMUS students are typically working towards 3,
and will therefore be doing extra work; the additional workload would cover approximately a weekend’s work.
My B.A. course "[spr] Phonetics with Listening Practice (British)" (Tuesday or Wednesday 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.) may also be of interest to some
Erasmus students, but the number of available places is limited. Preference will be given to students who are planning to complete their degree in Saarbrücken, and any Erasmus students wishing to take the course will need to pass an oral entrance examination first.
