Range of Courses
The Department of German Language and Literature was established in 1992. Originally founded to train German language teachers, the department has, as a consequence of the Bologna Process, since expanded its profile to include German Studies BA and minor programmes. The German teacher training programmes were available in various formats over the past years including a 3-year language teacher training programme, 4-year training programme for teachers of one or two subjects and different further educational opportunities. Many of our graduates teach in the city of Miskolc and the county of Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén in both primary and secondary schools. Current graduates of the teacher training programme, either on 10 or 12 semester programmes (beginning from September 2022 only on 10 semester programmes), receive teaching degrees in German Language and Culture in either primary or secondary education.
Research
The fields of research pursued by our lecturers cover a wide variety of disciplines but foremost German Studies, German Linguistics, German Literature and Culture as well as the pedagogical questions of teaching German as a Foreign Language. One of the central aims of the department is to provide a strong tie between research endeavours and educational activities; putting theory into practise. For this reason, project work and experiential education play an essential role both in the German Studies BA programme and the teacher training programmes. Currently, our students and numerous schools from the region are involved in two major language learning and language teaching projects (ENGaGE, Nyelvkaland ME). Both projects actively promote motivation in language learning, ensure further educational opportunities for German language teachers, and inspire the lecturers of the department themselves to continually improve and refresh their pedagogical and methodological toolkit. The research achievements of the department are regularly presented at both national and international conferences. Further activities of department members include the development of teaching materials, dictionary compilation and academic publications.
Contacts
An essential element of student life at the University of Miskolc are the ‘Traditions of Selmec’. The department encourages the active participation of the students in continuing and preserving these traditions, which originate from Germany. Our Erasmus partnerships and scholarship programmes provide opportunities for students to study abroad at universities in Germany, Austria and other countries, test their language skills or participate in internship programmes. Native German language speakers and small groups promote the fundamental aim of the department to ensure students with the means to acquire a solid command of the German language.