German

Overview
This is a post GCSE course. As well as coursebook texts, you will work on video and audio materials in our multi-media language labs, and a number of Internet and other interactive sources. All language work is firmly linked to contemporary issues and life in Germany and other German speaking countries. To help develop authentic German, you will have small group conversation sessions with our German assistant, and you are also encouraged to take part in the regular exchange with our German partner school near Frankfurt, and/or to take up the opportunity of a week’s work experience placement in Germany. By the end of year 12 you will be able to study short off-air news items in German recorded from our satellite TV, and make brief summaries of them to report to others. You will also watch and analyse one or two German feature films.

Course Outline
AS Level
Unit 1: Speaking: Topic-based conversation on AS topics (leisure and lifestyles, the individual and society) followed by general conversation on personal interests, studies, plans for the future.
Unit 2: Listening, Reading and Writing: Comprehension recordings and texts based on authentic material on the same topics as above.

A2 Level
Unit 4: Speaking: A presentation and discussion of either a film, a book or a region of Germany.
Unit 5: Listening, Reading and Writing: Comprehension recordings and texts on A2 topics (environmental issues, social and political issues); the paper includes a short translation from English, and an essay on another book, film or region.

Assessment
No Coursework
Examination (100%)
Examining Board – WJEC.

Special Entry Requirements
You need to have at least Grade C in GCSE German (the great majority of entrants have grade B or better).

Prohibited Options
Students do not normally study more than two languages to AS Level.

Career and Progression Opportunities
Students progress to a wide variety of destinations. Typically 30% take a degree involving languages, often combining German with another subject such as a second language or Law, English, Business, Tourism, or indeed a wide range of other disciplines. Students going on to employment or training progress into areas such as retail and leisure and tourism .

Teaching Methods
You will develop language skills in a wide variety of ways, making full use of our two Multi-Media Language Labs and drawing on a range of sources from course books to Internet and satellite TV. In class you will carry out a lot of pair and group work designed to build up your communicative skills. Our VLE also has a range of interactive exercises including vocabulary learning and listening work. Each week, in addition to mainstream lessons, you will have contact with a native speaker through small group conversation sessions. We ‘bridge the gap’ from GCSE to AS level with considerable study skills support, and by Year 13 students are able, for example, to write confident summaries of off-air news items in lunchtime workshop sessions.

Course Activities
We have a well-established link with the Albert-Einstein-Schule in Schwalbach-am-Taunus (Solihull’s twin borough). We run an exchange trip with the AES in alternate years. Students can also undertake a work experience placement in Germany via Halsbury Work Experience.

Cost Implications
Approximately £12 for a good bilingual dictionary. Our exchange trip costs approximately £250 and a work experience placement starts from about £500.
 
Links to External Organisations
We have a close link with a company in Frankfurt (Continental-Teves), with whom we run an annual one-week joint training course here at College .

Complementary Subjects or Enrichment Courses
We run beginners’ language short courses in Spanish and Italian.

Find out more from our German Podcast

This information is correct for September 2012 entry.