Present Day Political Issues and Current Affairs IV An English language practice course for GHS students

This course is especially designed for GHS students who have reasonable knowledge of English and would welcome the opportunity to practice their spoken English in a pleasant and intellectually appealing atmosphere. Started as an experiment, the concept of a discussion-based seminar dealing with various topics of vital interest has meanwhile been tested over a period of three terms and has met with full approval by those who participated. Topics discussed in the 2014/15 winter term included the present state of T-TIP negotiations between the EU and the US, industrial farming, medical ethics, the debate on assisted suicide and euthanasia, unemployment of young people in European countries, the religious, political and territorial conflicts in the Middle East, the Ebola crisis, refugees and asylum seekers as a challenge for Europe, -social freezing” - a new of family planning?, the Ukraine-Russia conflict and the Hongkong protests. As has been stated by the members of the class, all profited greatly, not only in terms of language command but also by widening their knowledge of specific subjects. All presentations were both informative and profound and well-suited to stimulate discussion. Thus, it appears that the basic concept has stood the test. As hitherto practised, a provisional choice of topics should be agreed upon at the beginning of the term, and all registered participants are asked to have their suggestions ready for the first meeting. However, suggestions will only be accepted if someone is willing to give a short introduction into the subject and provide participants with information material/questions and reading recommendations the week before. In order to encourage those who consider their command of English too weak to cope with a presentation, pairs or small teams might be formed so as to share the workload according to individual abilities. Furthermore, presentations should not exceed 25 – 30 minutes. Members should also feel free to experiment with different forms of presentation, e.g. pro and con speeches, a formal debate, an interview etc. The topic for the first meeting will be fixed at the end of the winter term. For further information: heide.rohloff@engsem.uni-hannover.de Gasthörendenstudium GHS Universität Hannover SoSe 2015 Prof. Dr. phil. Rohloff Heide phil