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GERMAN Guten Morgen Vielen Dk
from Sixth Form Booklet
German is the most frequently requested language in UK job advertisements According to the Office for National Statistics, Germany is the UK’s most important trading partner for imports, ahead of China and the USA Germany is also the UK’s second most important trading partner for exports of goods after the United States It is the world’s third largest contributor to research and development
What is the course content?
Four key skills are taught and assessed: speaking; listening; reading and writing Topic-based content includes aspects of contemporary society in the German-speaking world One book and one film are also studied Weekly individual conversation classes with native speaking assistants support pupils with their speaking skills In the Upper Sixth pupils do an independent research project, where they choose a topic of personal interest connected to the Germanspeaking world and present their findings in the speaking exam
Examples of topics areas:
° German festivals and traditions
° Berlin – history and culture
° Art and architecture in the German-speaking world
° Immigration issues in the German-speaking world
° German reunification
° Book study: Andorra by Max Frisch
° Film study: Das Leben der Anderen
How is the course assessed?
AQA A level German is examined in three exams at the end of course The core skills of listening, reading, writing and speaking are evenly balanced
° Paper 1 assesses skills in listening, reading and translation
° Paper 2 assesses written skills through two essays on a film and a book studied during the course
° Paper 3 is a speaking exam with two sections: spoken response to a stimulus card on one of the topics from the study of the target language society followed by a discussion of the candidate’s Independent Research Project
What else should I consider?
Good A level linguists are interested in developing communication skills and have an open mind towards learning about new cultures Languages combines with any subject combination Common subject combinations recently have been languages with economics/business, history or geography Some scientists thinking of medicine or engineering also take a language as their third A level It is easy to add a new language to a lot of degree courses and many universities offer the opportunity to take a sandwich year abroad The German Department usually runs a German exchange programme to a school in Berlin All pupils see the German assistant for weekly bespoke lessons.
Pre-course material
To gain a good understanding of both the culture of the German-speaking world its language, pupils are recommended the following:
° Use the Deutsche Welle website to learn about contemporary events
° Langsam gesprochene Nachrichten | DW Deutsch Lernen: slowly spoken German news with accompanying transcript
° Top-Thema | DW Deutsch Lernen: short texts on contemporary issues with accompanying audio and transcript
° Learn Languages with Music Videos, Lyrics and Karaoke! (lyricstraining.com): Learn German through listening to songs and learning the lyrics
