German
Head of Faculty - Mrs Michelle Bell
In his book ‘A long walk to freedom’, Nelson Mandela wrote, “Without language, one cannot talk to people and understand them; one cannot share their hopes and aspirations, grasp their history, appreciate their poetry, or savour their songs.” We believe that learning a language unlocks a world of culture, places, people, ideas, literature, film, music, history and so much more. Students who learn to speak a foreign language develop skills for life: they are more confident speakers who know how to choose their words carefully, project their voices and speak eloquently. They have a better understanding of the way their own language works and are well set to succeed in learning a second or third language. They learn to pay close attention to detail and can identify patterns and apply rules.
Our German curriculum has been designed to give our students the best possible chance of becoming confident language-learners with a positive attitude towards language learning and speakers of other languages. We aim to give students the tools they need, in terms of phonics, grammar and vocabulary, to be able to express themselves clearly and eloquently in both written and spoken German. We teach and regularly revisit commonly used vocabulary and grammatical structures, building students’ ability to use this language with increasing confidence in a wide range of contexts, from Year 9 through to Year 11. Students are regularly tested on pronunciation, grammar and vocabulary in order to strengthen their recall and also to identify any gaps in their learning. We strongly believe that learning a foreign language also supports students’ literacy skills in English, through the development of their understanding of sentence structure, grammar, vocabulary and communication skills. We help students to develop our key virtues of being attentive, intentional and eloquent in every lesson.
German
Curriculum
Year 9 - 11
Overview of content and description of GCSE course
Although the majority of our students have not studied German before Year 9, they are able to develop their understanding of the language quickly in Year 9 due to their experience of learning French at Key Stage 3. The Key Stage 4 German course is carefully structured to build students’ knowledge of grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation and sentence structure. We develop our students’ ability to speak spontaneously, understand authentic texts including literary texts, translate into German and English, and apply new language and structures independently.
Topics covered for the GCSE specification are as follows:
Theme 1: Identity and Culture
- Me, my family and my friends
- Technology in everyday life
- Free time activities
- Customs and festivals in German speaking countries
Theme 2: Local, National, International, Global areas of interest
- Home, town, neighbourhood and region
- Social issues
- Global issues
- Travel and tourism
Theme 3: Current and Future Education
- My studies
- Life at school/college
- Education post 16
- Jobs, career choice and ambitions
The four key skills of listening, reading, speaking and writing are all tested discretely at GCSE level and are each worth 25% of the final GCSE grade. An examination in each skill takes place at the end of the course, with the speaking test being conducted and recorded by the class teacher, but marked externally.
Why study this course?
The GCSE German course will develop your communication skills in both German and English, helping you to become an independent learner and learn about other cultures. Linguists are highly valued in almost every career as every company requires articulate employees with good communication skills. In addition, most companies work with organisations abroad and/or speakers of other languages in this country. Languages are particularly useful in Business, Management, Law, Marketing, Administration, Medical careers, and Journalism. Britain has a national shortage of employees at all levels with language skills. The GCSE course will also prepare you for the A Level German course, although this is not currently taught at St Thomas Aquinas School.
Links to specification
Our exam board at GCSE is AQA. Use this link https://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/languages/gcse/german-8668 to find the specification and past papers for exam practice.
Course content outline
Year 9
Unit | Topics and Vocabulary | Grammar, structures pronunciation | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Unit 0 | Greetings Numbers to 31 Months Countries and languages |
The alphabet Pronunciation: • j • ei/ie Present tense verb forms: • Ich bin, du bist • Ich habe, du hast • Das ist • Ich wohne in, ich komme aus, ich spreche |
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1A |
Family members Pets and zoo animals Colours Describing self and others |
Pronunciation:
Possessives: mein, dein Ich habe + accusative - eine(n), keine(n) Subject pronouns: er, sie, es Plurals of nouns Adjectives Present tense verb forms :
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1B |
Classroom Stationery School subjects Giving opinions Telling the time Days of the week |
Pronunciation:
Definite articles: der, die das Ich habe + accusative - eine(n), keine(n) Word order: verb second Present tense verb forms :
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2A | Hobbies, sports, musical instruments
Opinions and preferences Computer games Saying how often you do something Other leisure activities |
Pronunciation:
Adverbs: gern, nicht gern, lieber, am liebsten Conjunctions: und, aber, denn Present tense of spielen with all pronouns (singular and plural) Present tense of 3 irregular verbs: fahren, lesen, sehen Word order with time markers |
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2B |
Where you live The weather Types of house and neighbourhood Numbers to 100 Rooms Furniture Describing your house and an ideal house |
Pronunciation:
Ich wohne in + dative (einem/einer) Prepositions + dative (dem/der/dem) Present tense of wohnen |
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3A | Meals, food and drink
Opinions Buying food in a café or shop Healthy eating Ordering a meal in a restaurant |
Pronunciation:
Word order: verb second Ich möchte + noun Ich esse + keine(n) Man soll + infinitive (word order) Singular and plural forms of nouns |
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3B |
Say what is (and isn’t) in a town Places in a town Say what you can do in a place Ask for and give directions Buy tickets and presents Understand tourist information Suggest activities |
Pronunciation:
Es gibt + accusative Present tense of können and wollen + infinitive Man kann + infinitive The imperative: du and Sie forms Ich möchte/Ich nehme + accusative Subject-verb inversion in questions |
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4A |
Clothes and opinions Say what you usually wear and what you would like to wear Shopping for clothes Problems with clothes (too small etc) Say what clothes you are going to buy (future) School uniform and designer clothing |
Pronunciation:
Ich trage + adjective + noun Adjective endings Present tense of tragen Ich möchte + infinitive Object pronouns (ihn, sie, es) The future tense (werden + infinitive) The comparative (kleiner als) |
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4B This unit may be taught in Year 10 |
Holidays (accommodation, destination, activities) Say what you can do and what you are going to do on holiday (future tense) Use the perfect tense to say what you did on holiday Visiting an amusement park |
Pronunciation:
Prepositions in & auf plus dative Modal verbs (können and wollen) + infinitive The future tense The perfect tense (haben or sein + past participle) Recognising and using 3 tenses |
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Year 10
Unit | Topics and Vocabulary | Grammar, structures pronunciation | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
4B Continued from Year 9 |
Holidays (accommodation, destination, activities) Say what you can do and what you are going to do on holiday (future tense) Use the perfect tense to say what you did on holiday Visiting an amusement park |
Pronunciation:
Prepositions in & auf plus dative Modal verbs (können and wollen) + infinitive The future tense The perfect tense (haben or sein + past participle) Recognising and using 3 tenses |
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Unit 0 |
Describe your and other people’s appearance and personality Family relationships and helping at home Talk about what you’ve done recently |
Adjective endings (accusative, no article) weil Present tense Perfect tense with haben and sein |
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1A |
Daily routine Talk about what you did yesterday, yesterday evening and last weekend Opinions of activities |
Separable and reflexive verbs Perfect tense with haben and sein Separable verbs in the perfect tense Imperfect tense (war) |
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1B |
National holidays and festivals Organise a party; say what guests can do at the party Accept or decline an invitation; give excuses Describe a party |
Dates and endings Modal verbs: dürfen, können, müssen, sollen and wollen Imperfect tense (ich wollte, ich hatte, es war, es gab) Perfect tense Question words |
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2A |
TV viewing habits Forms of media; compare old and new media Favourite music, singers and bands Film and film reviews Reading habits |
Possessive adjectives (mein, dein, sein, ihr) Present tense Imperfect tense (war, waren) dieser/diese/dieses and welcher?/welche?/ welches? Perfect tense |
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2B |
Talk about your favourite hobby and why you like it Talk about what hobbies you do in different kinds of weather Talk about what you will do next weekend Other unusual hobbies |
Present tense of regular and irregular verbs Adjective endings (nominative and accusative with definite and indefinite article) Word order with wenn Future tense |
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3A |
Parts of the body Talk about illness and injuries; say how long you have been ill and how it happened Talk about what sports you do to keep fit, how often and why Healthy eating and lifestyle |
Possessive adjectives (mein, dein, sein, ihr) Noun plurals seit + present tense Dative pronouns (mir, dir) um … zu … (in order to …) The imperative (du and Sie) Infinitive structures (zu + infinitive) |
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3B This unit may be taught in Year 11 |
Places in a town Plan a trip and ask for tourist information Things to see and do in a town; say what you’re going to do Ask for and give directions; buy train tickets Say where clothes are in a room; describe a trip |
Accusative case (with definite article) in + accusative and dative Future tense The imperative (du and Sie) Perfect and imperfect tenses Prepositions with the dative case (+ definite article) |
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Year 11
Unit | Topics and Vocabulary | Grammar, structures pronunciation | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
3B Continued from Year 11 |
Places in a town Plan a trip and ask for tourist information Things to see and do in a town; say what you’re going to do Ask for and give directions; buy train tickets Say where clothes are in a room; describe a trip |
Accusative case (with definite article) in + accusative and dative Future tense The imperative (du and Sie) Perfect and imperfect tenses Prepositions with the dative case (+ definite article) |
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4A (Theme 2) |
Describe where you live; give your opinion of it Ways to travel Ways to be environmentally friendly Environmental problems and solutions |
weil + correct word order Dative case (mit and zu + definite article) Compound nouns Comparatives and superlatives Present, past and future tenses |
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4B (Theme 3) |
Part-time jobs; say how much you earn and what you’re saving for School system in Germany; compare German and UK schools School subjects and plans for next year Jobs and future careers Describe your school day; Swiss school system |
für + accusative ich möchte … werden Use a range of tenses (present, perfect, imperfect and future) Word order: verb second |
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Theme 1 Technology |
Use of mobile phone and internet Advantages and disadvantages of internet Role-play phrases Describing a photo |
Review present tense Use a range of tenses (present, perfect, imperfect and future) Um … zu … + infinitive |
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Theme 1 Leisure, family relationships |
Talking about leisure Saying how well you get on with family members and friends Describing festivals and celebrations Role-play phrases Describing a photo |
Reflexive verbs Separable verbs Subordinating conjunctions (wenn, weil, da, obwohl, daß and als) Translation and writing in three tenses |
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Theme 1 Health |
Talking about healthy and unhealthy lifestyles Talking about food and sport Role-play phrases Describing a photo |
Modal verbs (Mann muss, man soll + inf) Subordinating conjunctions (wenn, weil, da, obwohl, daß and als) Translation and writing in three tenses Um … zu … + infinitive |
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KS4 Assessment details
Students complete regular vocabulary tests based on the Knowledge Organiser. In each unit, they also complete 4 or 5 assessments covering grammar, translation, listening, speaking, reading and writing. In Year 9, we use these assessments to rank students and determine their attainment grade for the progress reviews (from A to E).
As students move through the GCSE course, they start to complete some practice papers, starting at Foundation Tier. In Year 11, exam practice becomes more frequent and there are several opportunities to complete exam questions or full papers. In the November and March Trial Exams, Year 11 students complete Listening, Reading and Writing exams at either Foundation or Higher Tier. They complete a Trial Speaking Exam in January of Year 11.
Why study German?
Studying for a GCSE in a modern language will help you to develop an interest in speaking a foreign language, appreciate the nature and diversity of different cultures and people, and acquire knowledge, skills and understanding for practical use, further study and employment.
Employers often require an understanding of other cultures, good oral communication skills and the discipline and work ethic that learning a language entails. Languages can lead to a wide range of professions, for example: interpreting, translating, working in public and private businesses, law, engineering, politics, computing, travel and tourism, teaching and journalism. Languages are an invaluable skill to have; they are key to the exciting multinational world we live in!
Useful links
GCSE Exam specification: https://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/languages/gcse/german-8668
Kerboodle: https://www.kerboodle.com/app
Your teacher will give you your login details, school code (ho9) and password for Kerboodle, which you will use for some homework tasks.
Duolingo: https://www.duolingo.com/learn
The Duolingo app is an excellent, free resource which you can use for practising your German in your free time.
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