Planning, implementation and evaluation of the subject of professions in the German courses

Abstract

Aim. In Turkey, in connection with the Bologna process, German is also taught in Turkish universities as an elective course. There is an important relationship between the selection of the subject in the elective German courses, detailed planning of the courses, and the implementation of the appropriate method. In this study, the subject of professions was planned for the elective German courses. The purpose of this study is the preparation, implementation and evaluation of a sample lesson to describe the selection of the subject of professions for the German course taught as an elective course in the universities.

Concept and Methods. This study was conducted by qualitative research. The document research technique was used in the study (Yıldırım & Şimşek, 2008). During the 2018/2019 academic year, I taught about the subject of profession selection in my German courses. I prepared, implemented and evaluated the subject of professions according to the lesson planning model I had previously developed (Coşkun, 2018). I prepared the materials used in this course according to this model.

Result and Conclusion. The success of the lesson planning model mentioned above was also observed in the activities conducted earlier. It was also seen that the students who attended German courses in connection with the Bologna process exerted efforts in establishing contact with the instructor and the students attending the class. It was observed that the participants introduced themselves, mentioned the field or the branch in the university where they were studying, and were interested to gain experience abroad in order to be successful in their professions. In addition to the subject discussed in the class, the method implemented in the lesson and the planning of the lesson according to the method, play an important role in the continuation of this interest. Therefore, effective lesson planning models and unique methods should be developed.

Origin. Students from all the departments of the university may attend the elective German language classes opened in connection with the Bologna process. The condition for participation in the courses “German for Erasmus” and “German for Communication” which I teach, is to learn German at the A1 level. It is frequently observed that the participants speak German at different levels. The overseas experience of the participants, the quality of the German and other language education they had received from primary to high school and university play an important role in this. In the recent years, the number of participants from German and other foreign language speaking countries has increased. The students who had been in German-speaking countries under the Erasmus program participate in the German courses also to maintain their fluency in the German language. In order to execute the German courses effectively for different purposes, for different fields and participants coming from different countries and students with different levels of fluency, a suitable method should be developed. It is believed that this inter-disciplinary study will contribute to the active German courses.