German

No of Units: 4Awarding Board: EdexcelCourse Code: –

Unit Outline:

Over the two years of the course you can expect to develop your mastery of the communicative skills of Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing, with each skill carrying 25% of the total marks for the course. At the end of Year 11 you will be examined across all four skills in either a Foundation Tier or Higher Tier paper.

The Listening test you will answer questions on recorded material from different topic areas. Some material will be formal (for example a telephone message) and some informal (for example a conversation between friends). In the Reading test you will answer questions about short texts on different topics, for example text messages, advertisements and emails, and there will also be short extracts from authentic Foreign Language materials – for example a passage from a book, a poem, a play or even a song. You will also be required to do some translation into English.

The Writing will be assessed by exam. You will be asked to do up to 4 tasks such as describing a photo and giving your opinion, writing a short letter to supply information about a future event, writing an account in the present, past and future tenses about a topic from your studies and a translation into the language.

The Speaking is conducted by your class teacher, recorded and marked externally. It involves a role-play scenario, a photo based task and guided conversation, a conversation on a topic of your choice, plus an exam board chosen topic based on what you have studied.

Assessment:

All assessment is by terminal examination and entries are submitted in May of Year 11.

Further Information:

You can expect to learn using a variety of media, from text books to DVD, and authentic materials. ICT features often in the course and you will be encouraged to be creative and imaginative with your work. A typical lesson may include a short reading or listening passage, some new vocabulary, an opportunity for oral work and a text-book activity. Oral work is similarly a prominent feature of the course. We recommend study aids such as apps to further your learning too.

An obvious reason to learn a language is to be able to communicate with the people who speak it. This includes both the people you meet when travelling as well as people who travel to here. Your trip to another country, be it to visit family or on holiday, will be greatly enhanced in both ease of communication and friendliness if you speak the language. It shows respect for that culture and people in every country prefer it when tourists make an effort to speak the local language.

Secondly, Industry is crying out for linguists, now more than ever. Demonstrating communicative ability in a foreign language could be the key to your career, even if you decide to stop after your GCSEs. Many of the country’s top universities view having a GCSE language as desirable. It could be your USP.

Trips:

German: Munich with History. We are always open to discussing new destinations.

Possible Career Destinations:

Engineering, Finance, ICT, Wholesale, Retail, Manufacturing, Transport, Communications, Education, Marketing, PA, Advertising, Architecture, Hotels & Restaurants / Hospitality, Medicine, Sports Science.

For further information, contact: Mr T. Nobes