Anglistik
Studying English in Siegen
The English Department serves students planning to become teachers as well as students interested in the academic/practical Bachelor and/or the academic Master. BA/MA degree courses available in Faculty I stress interdisciplinary approaches which place literature and language in broad cultural contexts and include the new media.
All of the courses of study are based on professorial research which covers a wide spectrum of topics in Literary and Cultural Studies, Linguistics, and Teaching English as a Foreign Language.
Students are prepared for teaching at all school levels: Gymnasium (+ Gesamtschule) (GYM), Berufskolleg (BK), Haupt-/Realschule (+Gesamtschule) (GHR-HR), Grundschule (GHR-G). Teacher training is enhanced by the FB 3 multimedia Centre for Language Teaching and Learning (Fremdsprachenwerkstatt). We coordinate closely with the Education Department and the Teaching Practice Office via the University’s Teacher Development Centre (Zentrum für Lehrerbildung), and this is reflected in the positive feedback we are given in student surveys and rankings.
Future teachers are expected to immerse themselves in English by spending six months in English-speaking countries, and we encourage them (as well as the BA students) to apply for exchange programs with our partner universities in Britain, Ireland and the USA. Popular "teaching assistant” opportunities in Britain/USA and self-organized internships at schools in North America, Australia and New Zealand allow future teachers to gain insights into school systems abroad. BA/MA students have been successful in being accepted for study programs or company internships in these English-speaking areas as well. The curriculum in all the courses of study offers “credit points” for excursions; recent trips to such attractive venues as Malta, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Yorkshire, Bath, Liverpool, the Scottish Highlands, Canterbury and Cardiff have increased student exposure to English-speaking cultures.
All students are encouraged to complete internships to gain practical experience in professional fields. They will find support for this in polishing their language skills in the state-of-the-art Self-Study Centre (SESAM: Selbstlernzentrum für sprachbezogene Arbeit mit Multimedia) with its 20 workstations and abundant resource material. SESAM is administered by KoSi (Kompetenzzentrum der Universität Siegen), which also offers a wide range of additional practically oriented (language-) courses. English-language films and television broadcasts can be borrowed from the MEDIUS collection archived in the University Media Center.
Despite the rising student numbers, we attempt to ensure that our students receive personal attention when selecting their semester courses, writing term papers, and choosing examination topics. Our seminars often emphasize project work, empowering the students to undertake research tasks and practice diverse modes of presentation ranging from classroom activities and brochure publication to exhibitions and website documentation. Field trips to firms, trade fairs and literary events, as well as projects with local schools are common.