Ateneo - UPO

Spoken German: Structure and Use—Tools for Linguistic Analysis and Applications to Tourism Communication

Kesselheim, Wolfgang (2021), Ausstellungskommunikation: eine linguistische Untersuchung multimodaler Wissenskommunikation im Raum, Berlin/Boston: de Gruyter.Knöbl, Ralf et al. (2025), Pragmatische Marker mit sagen: Funktion - Verfestigung - Phonetik, Tübingen: Narr Francke.Proske, Nadine et al. (eds.) (2024), Gesprochenes Deutsch: Struktur, Variation, Interaktion, Berlin/Boston: de Gruyter.Wolfgang, Imo et al. (eds.) (2024), Sprechen und Gespräch in historischer Perspektive, Berlin: Metzler.

At the end of the course students are able to identify, analyze and describe different phenomena of the spoken German, with particular attention to the touristic communication, making use of the proper linguistic terminology and from different perspectives. They are able to read oral transcriptions and to analyze different text typologies of the touristic communication. They can compare phenomena of the spoken production with the ones of the written production.

In order to attend the course students must have passed the integrated exam Lingua tedesca III or must have reach the level B2 (German language).

Explanation of different topics through frontal lessons. Then seminar lessons characterized by interactive teaching methods in which students have to take active part in the lessons by doing exercises and presenting the results of their personal researches about the topic of the course.

Students with physical disabilities, Learning Disabilities or Special Education Needs can request specific services and tools via reference office consulting the University webpage: https://www.uniupo.it/en/services/services-students-physical-or-learning-disabilities. Students with disabilities, learning disabilities or special education needs, once they have contacted the University Staff, can refer to the tutor in charge of the course to define the examination modalities, concerning academic aspects.

Written exam. A written test consisting of two parts. The first part consists of a series of open-ended theoretical questions (usually 6 or 7), which assess the student’s knowledge and understanding of the required theoretical topics. The second part generally includes an exercise in which the student must demonstrate the ability to identify and describe, within authentic spoken texts, the specific phenomena covered in class. The written exam lasts a total of 2 hours. The exam is considered passed if the student achieves or exceeds a total score of 18/30, obtained by adding the points assigned to each question. Honors will be awarded based on an evaluation of the accuracy, depth, and elaboration of the response. The ability to identify and describe speech phenomena and to read transcripts (see objectives 1/2/3) is assessed, in particular, through exercises in which students must analyze portions of authentic texts, including spoken texts produced in the context of tourism. The ability to examine different text genres in tourism communication (objective 3) is assessed through the analysis of an authentic text. The ability to use appropriate terminology in describing concepts and the ability to explore the topics covered in depth (objectives 4/5) are evaluated based on the precision and accuracy of the answers to the open-ended questions. The grading levels for the exam are defined as follows: Excellent (grade 30 with honors – 28): excellent knowledge of the course topics, use of appropriate linguistic terminology, and excellent ability to apply theoretical knowledge to complete the exercises. Good/Fair (grade 27–22): good knowledge of the course topics, use of appropriate linguistic terminology, ability to apply theoretical knowledge to complete the exercises. Satisfactory (grade 21–18): limited knowledge of the course topics, limited use of appropriate linguistic terminology, limited ability to apply theoretical knowledge to complete the exercises. Unsatisfactory (grade below 18): evident gaps in knowledge at both the theoretical and practical levels; use of inappropriate specialized terminology. Students with disabilities, specific learning disabilities (SLD), or special educational needs (SEN) will be permitted to use assistive devices during the exam.

The course aims to identify and analyze the main linguistic phenomena of the spoken German. Firstly, a definition of spoken language and orality is given together with an analysis of Kunstkommunikation and tourist communication. Secondly, different traits of spoken language are treated from different perspectives. Various dialogic and monologic text typologies are examined, with particular attention to the text typologies of the touristic communication (f.e. guided tours) and to those texts between oral and written production (audio-guides).

Knowledge and understanding: 1) Knowledge of the typical phenomena of spoken language, with particular attention to the communicative strategies of touristic communication 2) Knowledge of the proper scientific terminology used to describe the phenomena 3) Reading and understanding transcriptions of oral texts Applying knowledge and understanding: 1) Identifying and describing phenomena of spoken German in oral texts within touristic communication Making judgements: 1) Making judgements about the frequency and the use of phenomena in spoken German  Communication: 1) Using the proper scientific terminology to describe oral texts Learning skills: 1) Joining abstract theories with their concrete application in description of oral interactions 2) Learning and deepening on his own.