Studying modern languages is about more than vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation: you will also immerse yourself in culture, spend time working or studying abroad and learn to understand the subtleties of communication. This is the most specialised of the degree programmes offered by the Department of German. Each year you follow core language modules in which skills in the understanding and expression of German are developed by a variety of methods. In your first year a foundation module introduces you to linguistics, literature and culture. In your second and final years, you broaden and deepen your knowledge to include, for example, literary and gender studies, media or the history of ideas. You can also take additional specialist language modules and acquire the critical and linguistic skills associated with the production of a play in German. Your third year is normally spent abroad, in one of the German-speaking countries. You can choose to study at another university, or else take up a work placement, for example as a teaching assistant.