Joint online intensive course with The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Course information:
Online intensive course (between the semesters)

Course dates:

• January/February: Orientation meeting (exact date and time will be announced later)
• February 24 – March 13, 2025 / 3 weeks, each week from Monday to Thursday. On three days per week, class time will be 8:30-12:15/12:30. On at least one day per week, class time will be 8:30-14:00. The exact times will be announced later.

Primarily open to undergraduates of all disciplines. Credit recognition possible for the ABV area at FUB (5 ECTS) and Cornerstones/Elective area at HUJI (4 ECTS). Master students and students from other universities can apply as well, but credit recognition has to be clarified individually with the responsible study coordinator of the corresponding study program.

Course staff:
Dr. Ruth Tobias and Nadia Fischer (FUB), Chaya Fischer and Alix Glotz (HUJI)

Course credit:
FUB: ABV = 5 credits
HUJI: Cornerstones (outside Humanities) / Elective (for Humanities) = 4 credits

Additional information / Prerequisites:
The course is intended for FUB students with no prior knowledge of Hebrew and for HUJI students with no prior knowledge of German; the language of instruction is partly English (please see the course description).

Short course description:
This joint online intensive course offers students from FUB and HUJI the opportunity to work in synergy towards further developing intercultural competencies and basic language skills in either Hebrew or German. The course takes the approach that language and culture are deeply interwoven and, therefore, communication between cultures should be explored and practiced while also beginning to acquire basic language skills and reflect on underlying meaning; at the same time, language courses defined as such do not typically provide the opportunity for direct exchange with members of the target language/culture within the framework of the course itself. Hence, we invite you to join this blended, online module to work in Tandem with peers from diverse backgrounds, at both of our universities, in real-time.

The contact hours are composed of three key elements:

• Intercultural sessions (FUB and HUJI students together)
• Language class Hebrew (FUB students) / German (HUJI students)
• Synchronous work (FUB and HUJI students together; (inter)cultural reflection / language training in Tandem)

Course themes include:

• Initial contact and first impressions
• Levels of formality and personal space
• Time
• Gender, age and family settings
• Communication and norms in academic settings
• What only locals know

Evaluation:
Formative assessment throughout, for both (inter)cultural and language learning aspects of the course; submission of a final joint portfolio in mixed groups.

Registration:
For students of FU Berlin: Please register by sending an e-mail to katherina.reisner@fu-berlin.de until November 30, 2024 including a letter of motivation (1 page max.).
Places are limited to allow maximum interaction.