Discover university education and life at UNamur while revising the subjects essential for your future training.

To get your first year of study off to a good start, the Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures is offering courses and exercises at the end of August that will enable you to check and develop your skills in the four competencies: listening, reading, speaking and writing in the two Germanic languages of your choice from English, German or Dutch.

These courses will enable you to:

• discover various Germanic language and literature courses;
• be introduced to the methodological principles of your discipline;
• discover the demands of university life and being a student;
• meet teachers in a less formal way;
• confront your disciplinary orientation choices.

These preparatory courses are also (and above all) beneficial if you had little or no German in secondary education and wish to study this language.

Test your knowledge and skills with "Passeports pour le bac"

At the start of your first year, Passeports pour le bac allow you to compare your achievements with the expectations of your teachers.

Following these tests, the Faculty offers you sessions and workshops to reinforce your:

• reading strategy;
• analysis of questions and construction of appropriate answers.

You thus fill in any gaps and promote your success.

To succeed in your first year, you need effective strategies.

Every Wednesday, two hours of methodological sessions are organized to familiarize you with university learning techniques:

• taking clear, comprehensive notes;
• summarizing and synthesizing material;
• understanding material in depth;
• building your study tools;
• memorizing large amounts of information;
• managing your time during class and blockade periods;
• organizing your work;
• anticipating teachers' demands.

In addition to these methodological sessions, your Faculty's Cellule d'Appui Pédagogique organizes individual assessment interviews after your tests and exams. If you request it, you can also benefit from personalized follow-up throughout the year.

If you're experiencing difficulties with your study method in general, the cellule interfacultaire d'appui pédagogique also offers you individual follow-up. A counselor is on hand to review your study methods and techniques and help you improve them.

Finally, on the eve of the first blockade, you can take part in an exchange and counseling session with 2nd or 3rd year students under the supervision of the Cellule d'Appui Pédagogique.

Learn to express yourself correctly in writing and deepen your understanding of texts.

The Cellule d'Appui Pédagogique enables you to improve your skills in various areas.

• Writing assignments and exam answers:
  • by language tests at the beginning of the year assessing spelling, vocabulary, syntax;
  • by reinforcement sessions in workshops and through online exercises;
  • by supervision of some of your written work: commented corrections, individual and collective ;
  • by the organization of mock exams (November tests) ;
  • by individual follow-up (by email and face-to-face) ;
• the reading and comprehension of university-level texts:
  • by a reading test at the beginning of the year ;
  • by reinforcement sessions on reading strategies.

You benefit from special follow-up if your mother tongue is not French.

Studying regularly, acquiring good methods but also knowing the teachers' requirements and their way of questioning.

In the first year, formative assessments are organized at the beginning of November. Teachers correct your papers, comment on them and organize group correction sessions. Following these assessments, the Cellule d'Appui Pédagogique organizes individual assessment interviews and offers more personalized follow-up, particularly in French.

These tests do not play a part in the grades that will be awarded at the end of the year. They are merely a training tool to give you an idea of the teachers' standards and the effectiveness of your work. After the first year, you can adapt your efforts more effectively to the nature and importance of each subject in the program. As a result, you no longer benefit from regular quizzes, except in the context of tutorials.

January, June and, if necessary, August... three sessions to prove your mastery of the subjects.

In the 1st annual block (first 60 credits), you must sit all the exams on the 1st quadrimester courses in January. If you fail, you can retake the exam in June and/or August. Three chances to pass. Thereafter, any exam not passed in the January or June session is automatically carried over to the August session.

Exams can be either written or oral.

Teachers give preference to open-ended questions and take care to combine oral and written modalities to test different language skills. Several teachers use formulas aimed at the creative application of knowledge to texts not dealt with in class. For many courses, a significant proportion of the results are determined by written work or personal or group presentations.

Language skills acquired during exercises are generally assessed on an ongoing basis (active participation) or in the form of individual or group work.

Each teacher informs you of his or her requirements and examination modalities. Several teachers communicate sample questions orally or on the intranet.

Verification of knowledge acquired in technical courses is almost permanent; it is based above all on personal work completed during the year. Language courses are also accompanied by regular tests.

You conclude your training by demonstrating, through your end-of-cycle work, the acquisition of personal reflection.