Let’s talk über l’espace – Trilingual Course: French, English and German (Winter)
Dates of the course: 16 October 2025 to 5 February 2026
Teaching language(s): English, German, French
Credits: 3 ECTS
Contact: spz-universeh@hhu.de
Universities involved: Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf / AGH University of Science and Technology / University of Luxembourg
Profile and prerequisites:
- English level B2 (finished)
- German
- French level A2 (finished)
Teaching modalities: Online asynchronous (6 sessions) + Online synchronous (weekly, 16:30 - 18:00)
Student mobility: None
Assessment modalities: End examination.
This course is open to students from the seven universities and can be followed entirely online, with no requirement for physical mobility.
How to apply: Students apply at their home universities.
Lecturers:
- HHU : Senay Akar-Ben Bey
- Uni.lu : Laetitia Collin
- AGH : Dariusz Kaluza
Objectives: The goal is “to enhance the learning of languages, so more young people are able “to speak at least two European languages in addition to their mother tongue.
The themes explored are all space-related (cooperation vs. space race, demographics of the space industry, space and sustainability, environmental aspects, innovation...).
Course Learning Outcomes:
- Develop reading and listening comprehension skills as well as speaking/presentation skills in their two focus languages by one half level of the CEFR (Common European Framework of References for Languages). For example, a German student might choose to focus on French and English and in so doing could improve their French from level B1 to B 1.1 and their English from C 1.1 to C1.2.
- Identify and explain the parallels that can exist between different languages in order to improve the participants' language learning strategies and foster the emergence of a translanguaging awareness.
- Acquire and use space-related vocabulary in an academic context.
- Form an opinion upon how European values and space activities are working together.
- Use the SDGs of the UN to evaluate space activities in three general areas.
Description:
The language focus of this trilingual course will be determined at the beginning of the course, based on the participants’ preferences. It will be co-taught by French and English native speakers who are multilingual language teachers and fluent in German.
The course will include activities aimed at developing reading comprehension and speaking skills, with all topics being space-related. Some of the key themes explored will include:
- Cooperation vs. space race
- Demographics of the space industry
- Space and sustainability
- Environmental aspects
- Innovation in the space sector
Participants will familiarize themselves with a transdisciplinary approach, dealing with themes rarely covered in their respective curricula.
Unlike a traditional language course, this course does not focus on systematic grammar acquisition. Instead, it highlights linguistic parallels between different languages to enhance participants’ language learning strategies and foster translanguaging awareness.