- This course is designed for advanced learners of English who are interested in reading authentic English novels and discussing them with others. We will meet every two weeks to talk about a selected book, sharing our thoughts on its themes, characters, and cultural aspects. We will begin with the short story “Happy Endings” by Margaret Atwood. (A link to the story will be sent to you upon registration.) The first novel we will discuss is the prize-winning "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time" by Mark Haddon. The group will decide on subsequent additional books or short stories to read. The focus of this course is on communication in a relaxed setting rather than on perfection. You will have the opportunity to practise speaking, expand your vocabulary, and gain confidence in expressing your ideas in English—all while enjoying the company of like-minded book lovers. To ensure a friendly and comfortable atmosphere, coffee and tea (and the occasional cookie) will be provided.

- At work, you often have to write in English, and what you produce is usually free of errors. But for some reason, your sentences still sound overly formal and depressingly mechanical. Don’t worry. This is all fixable. Through a series of short writing tasks using everything from emails to instructions, you’ll learn how to produce texts that sound clear, natural and yet professional. Specifically, you’ll learn the skills to transform clunky, passive, noun-heavy structures into writing that makes your main point clear immediately and smoothly. You’ll even learn how to use AI tools effectively – all without running the risk of sounding like a robot!

- Wir machen uns auf eine Rundreise durch die Eurolinguistik, jene Wissenschaft, die nach den Gemeinsamkeiten unter den Sprachen Europas sucht. Wir durchstreifen die Gebiete Wortschatz, Grammatik, Aussprache, Schreibung und Kommunikationsgepflogenheiten. Wie drückt sich die europäische Sichtweise im Wortschatz aus? Aus welchen Sprachen haben die Europäer gerne Wörter übernommen? Welche typischen Grammatik-, Aussprache- und Schreibkonventionen gibt es? Welche Gepflogenheiten gibt es beim Austausch miteinander? Und: auf welche Kuriositäten stoßen wir? Joachim Grzega ist einer der führenden Eurolinguisten. Er leitet an der VHS Donauwörth den Projektbereich “Innovative Europäische Sprachlehre (InES)” und lehrt an der Universität Eichstätt.