German as a Foreign Language / German as a Second Language

Abstract

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  Profile of the study programme

  Learning outcomes
  You will focus on a range of different thematic areas of German as a Foreign Language/German as a Second Language (DaF/DaZ) in four modules. You will, inter alia:

  • become familiar with language teaching and learning research, as well as with teaching objectives and approaches to develop language and intercultural competence;
  • reflect upon aspects that characterise good teaching and instruction. You will therein focus on learning theories and foreign language didactics, for instance by investigating the methods, functions and implications of testing and evaluating language competences;
  • choose between a didactic or a research profile:
    – Within the didactic profile you will observe German as a foreign language classes and gather experience with reference to supervising and supporting German language learners
    – The research profile conveys research methods of foreign language teaching and learning research. Acquiring these skills will enable to conduct your own investigations on language proficiency, and on the development and evaluation of linguistic, communicative and intercultural competences;
  • enhance your didactic or research profile and, depending on your individual interests, enrol either in classes of the teacher education programme, the multilingualism programme, or the programme of German literature and language.

  Upon graduating from your studies, you will have well-founded and in-depth knowledge about the German language and its use, as well as about specialised areas of the study programme such as task-based learning or evaluating and testing language competences. You will know about the requirements of current foreign language teaching and learning, be able to analyse and evaluate your own and others' language courses, and have the skills to conceptualise proposals to optimise teaching and learning arrangements. Furthermore, you will know about German as a foreign and second language theory and research methods and will be able to apply your specialised expertise to practice.

  Fribourg profile
  This university master programme German as a Foreign Language/German as a Second Language is offered exclusively in the French/German bilingual city of Fribourg. The geographical location of the town at the language border offers optimal conditions to gain insight in the German as a foreign language context of the French-speaking part, as well as the German as a Second Language context of the German-speaking part of Switzerland. The German as a Foreign Languag/German as a Second Language master study programme of the University of Fribourg is renowned for its small learning groups and individual and personal supervision of students.

  The master study programme closely collaborates with the university's Institute of Multilingualism and the Fribourg University of Teacher Education. The former has been affiliated with the Research Centre on Multilingualism by the Swiss government since 2010. Our students can participate in both institut's regular public lectures and workshops facilitated by international experts on topics related to multilingualism.

  The Documentation Centre of the Research Centre on Multilingualism, which is connected with the university library for foreign languages, contains a broad range of relevant publications and journals as well as expert advice that support our students' autonomous learning.

  Our programme is suitable for people who are non-native German speakers as well as for people who consider German to be (one of) their first language(s). The enrolment requirements of the master programme encompass a German language proficiency of at least the level C1 according to the Common European Framework of Reference. Further, you need to be able to read and understand academic texts in the English language.

  Career openings
  The master study programme German as a Foreign Language/German as a Second Language enables you to:

  • work as a subject expert and language mediator of German as a foreign and German as a second language on a national and international level;
  • participate in the development of curricula, teaching and learning materials/textbooks, and evaluation instruments;
  • engage with a range of activities in relation to integration courses, exchange programmes, profession-related language support, as well as language support for businesses and organisations;
  • find employment in the area of language teaching and learning research.

  The master study programme conveys a solid foundation for research activities in language teaching and learning research. If you are interested in pursuing an academic career path, the Institute of Multilingualism offers the doctoral programme «Multilingualism: acquisition, education and society» (https://institut-plurilinguisme.ch/en/doctoral-programme) - the ideal environment for you to continue your studies while setting your own individual research focus.

  The completion of the master study programme German as a Foreign Language/German as a Second Language (both the major and the minor programme) is recognised as equivalent to the fide-modules Educational Work with Adults, Foreign and Second Language Didactics as well as Migration and Interculturality of the Swiss «Certificate Language Course Instructor in the Integration Sector» (https://fide-info.ch/de/weiterbildung/zertifikat).

  Graduates of the master study programme German as a Foreign Language/German as a Second Language may also pursue occupations in areas such as development work for governmental authorities, NGOs, or textbook publishers.

Studies organisation

Structure of studies

Curriculum

Comments

Admission

Alternatives

Minor study programmes to be chosen