Undergraduate Licence: German - DEFLE - French as a Foreign Language

Objectives

Nowadays, mastering the German language and understanding the cultures of German-speaking countries are skills that have become a rarity, and which are highly sought after in the job market. Germany is France’s primary business and cultural partner, and the largest economy in the European Union. French/German experts are currently in high demand in France, as are those who have a good command of both written and oral German.

Our programme of study gives students strong proficiencies in German language and translation (French into German), but also in all cultural facets of German-speaking countries: the arts, cinema, theatre and literature, as well as the political, economic and historical spheres.

International partnerships

From the second year of undergraduate study, the emphasis is on total immersion in a German-speaking country, by means of one of our many exchange programmes that are integral to this programme of study:

• the programme for the training of French-German experts (PEA) at University of Gottingen in conjunction with the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), in L2;
• Erasmus exchanges with our partner universities (Berlin, Munich, Hamburg, Frankfurt, Graz, Salzburg, Winterthur etc.);
• the ‘Hambord’ Programme (French-German history option, in partnership with University of Hamburg).

Training content

Three years of study

First and second year of undergraduate study (Licence 1 and Licence 2)

The first and second years of the undergraduate Licence degree (L1 and L2) are devoted to the acquisition and in-depth study of language skills and knowledge of literature, arts and civilisation. This is within the framework of seminars that encourage active participation on the part of students, alternating phases of independent study and group work across the following modules:

• sessions in multimedia labs,
• written and oral expression,
• translation of journalistic and literary texts,
• production workshops (Web, theatre, cinema), with a particular leaning towards the use of ICT for educational purposes,
• history and civilisation,
• study of literary and cinematographic works, with the chance to view and analyse film extracts.

Third year of undergraduate study (Licence 3)

The third year of the undergraduate Licence degree (L3) is a year of progressive specialisation. Whilst continuing to work on the same units as those seen in L1 and L2, albeit with more refined and specialised objectives, students now follow particular units that will enable them to progressively choose the precise direction of their further studies, as part of a Master’s degree. These include units in: an introduction to research skills; the science of translation; education and teaching methods.

Many educational initiatives are in place to encourage tangible and interactive contact with German language and culture: German-language theatre workshops; trips to Germany or Austria organised by the university’s German-speaking teaching assistants or by the student German association; visits to important landmarks in Franco-German history; visits to archive collections; participation in German film festivals; workshops and study days on questions linked to the history and culture of German-speaking countries.

3 different study pathways

Our programme has chosen to be open to other academic disciplines, in order to enable our students to enrich and enhance their profiles, their personal culture, and their skills, according to their own interests and professional goals. Until the end of the second year of study (L2), students may thus choose among different study pathways for minor course units:

• The History pathway enables students to create and strengthen their profile as historians and German-specialists. This can be a possible transition into the French-German programme that has been put together in partnership with University of Hamburg, as part of the ‘Hambord’ programme.
• The Linguistic Science pathway introduces students to the teaching of French as a foreign language (FLE), and thus offers a professional skill that is highly sought after by employees.
• The Theatre pathway enables students to broaden their knowledge and understanding of the world of French and German theatres, and can lead to career opportunities in culture and the arts, from a specifically Franco-German perspective.

Universal adjustment

Support and extra-curricular activities

• Master’s students provide student mentoring, including methodological help and general support.
• The Bordeaux Montaigne University student German association, ‘Die Clique’ offers cultural activities and a generally warm and welcoming atmosphere, with various projects including the organisation of trips, exhibitions, festive events and so on.
• There are opportunities to meet German-speaking authors and directors.
• We co-ordinate with the Goethe-Institut, and the Bordeaux French-German library (BIFA), to offer public readings with German-speaking authors and to organise exhibitions, free film clubs with screenings of German films, conversation tandems, concerts, and so on.
• Students have an opportunity to discuss with professionals at economic meetings between representatives of Spain, France and Germany, which take place in Gradignan.
• The French-German business club at Bordeaux Montaigne University organises meetings between students and representatives of the Aquitaine workforce.

Access condition

Find information regarding enrolment procedures and the supporting documents to be provided, according to your profile and your level of studies :

• Independent Stay
• Exchange Programme

Further studies

Further study may be undertaken in any of the Master's programmes on offer at Bordeaux Montaigne University, including:

• Master’s in Germanic Studies: Identities, Mediation and Multicultural Contexts, at Bordeaux Montaigne University German (‘Master EGI2M’);
• Master’s for Future Teachers of German (‘Master MEEF’);
• Master’s in Journalism at Bordeaux Aquitaine Institute of Journalism (IJBA) and other journalism schools;
• Master’s in subjects related to intercultural mediation, particularly Master’s in Cultural Studies;
• Master’s at Sciences Po (Institute of Political Studies);
• interpreting schools.

This programme of study offers employment prospects in many culture-related professions, in Franco-German relations, and in archives and documentation, as well as in teaching, translation, and international negotiations.