230341 Language Pedagogy (S) (WiSe 2014/2015)

This course will focus on basic principles of language teaching with special regard to teaching adults rather than children and with particular attention to techniques of teaching language for special purposes in professional contexts where language and subject matter go hand in hand. As the introductory course to the module "Pedagogical Approaches to Using English in International Professional Contexts", this course should be taken first in the module. It is aimed at students other than student teachers, that is students who do not have a didactical or pedagogical component in their course of study. It aims to prepare such students for situations they will encounter in their careers when they have to talk about their professional specialised knowledge in English to an audience who either knows less about the subject or is less proficient in English or both. This includes both formal teaching and lecturing as well as presentations and on the job explanations. In such situations the audience may be challenged both by the content matter and the language. Similarly the speaker faces the problem of accurately expressing complex content in a foreign language in such a way that it is readily understandable. It is often necessary not only to present a monologue, but to integrate supporting material and to engage in dialogue, to answer questions and negotiate for meaning and to elicit feedback to ensure that the audience is following. All this requires subject knowledge, linguistic proficiency and pedagogical skills.