Department of German Language, Literature and Didactics

The Department of German Language and Literature offers a Bachelor's and Master's degree in German Language and Literature as a two-subject combination. Both can be completed as distance or presence studies. In addition, there is the possibility of a postgraduate course in the study programme Teaching German and a doctorate course in the study programme Didactics of Foreign Languages and Literatures.

The curriculum contains all relevant theoretical and practical concepts of teacher training and thus makes an important contribution to German studies abroad in Slovakia. The curriculum focuses on practical language seminars in which students acquire oral and written language competence in the areas of everyday communication and in the academic context. An essential part of the curriculum is also the regional studies of the German-speaking countries. The theoretical studies cover the three disciplines linguistics, literary studies and didactics.

In linguistics, our aim is to familiarize students with the latest findings in phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, lexicology, phraseology, the history of the German language, contrastive linguistics and stylistics of the German language. A systematic, theoretical, practice-oriented and comparative perspective is taken.

It is mainly about: an overview of the development of the German language from a diachronic, synchronous and systematic perspective, getting to know the most important research branches in the field of German linguistics, teaching linguistic terminology and its application, the characteristics of the current German language and its language levels and the acquisition of practical skills in the application of theoretical concepts to the German language.

Literary studies are based on older German literature and conclude with contemporary German-language literature. Literary studies focus on modern literature, methods of analysing literary texts and children's and youth literature.

During their studies, graduates receive a broad overview of the foreign language system necessary for the application of their theoretical knowledge in class. They build a relationship with the literature, history and current culture of the language they will teach in the future.

Our graduates are able to teach German at primary and secondary schools. The acquired communicative competence also enables them to work in other areas: as interpreters, translators, in the media, in publishing houses or in foreign companies, etc.

The study of German language and literature offers future teachers a deeper understanding of the problems and the development of linguistic and professional skills. The focus here is on communicative competence, which is a necessary prerequisite for working in the field of education. It is closely linked to the development of professional, personal and pedagogical skills, which form an integral part of the course.


The doctoral studies of the Didactics of Foreign Languages and Literatures study programme are conducted in cooperation with the Department of English Language and Literature. The aim of the doctoral programme is to acquire specialist knowledge in accordance with the current scientific status and to provide students with their own contribution as a result of their scientific research and individual work. Students receive third degree education. The course meets all current requirements of scientific research in the field of foreign language and literature didactics, which are currently required by teaching practice at schools of all types and levels of education in the Slovak Republic. The doctoral programme at the Faculty of Education of the Comenius University offers all the necessary prerequisites for its successful implementation through the personal supervision of doctoral students and the long tradition and experience of the educational institutions.

Since the beginning of the nineties, dissertation examinations and defenses of dissertations with a focus on the didactics of German and English language and literature studies have been carried out. In the last two decades, more than two dozen graduates have been awarded the titles CSc. and PhD. in the field of English and German studies according to valid conditions and in their chosen scientific disciplines (English or German studies).

The Department of German Language and Literature employs literary scholars, linguists, didactics and lecturers from abroad.