German

Welcome to German in the Sixth Form at BWS! Our aim is to help you develop your communication and grammar skills to a high level, which will enable you to debate issues with fluency and confidence. The course covers a range of social, political and ethical issues, giving you an insight into German culture and the social obstacles faced by Germany and German-speaking countries.

In Year 12, the course covers The Changing State of the Family, The Digital World, Youth Culture, Festivals and Traditions, Art and Architecture, and Cultural Life in Berlin. We will also study a book and a film.

It is important to start the A Level course with a good grasp of GCSE grammar and vocabulary. This will ensure that you can progress quickly and concentrate on the more cultural aspect of the course. The following is the work we recommend you do to face A-Level German confidently. You should aim to complete the task list every week.

Please contact Mrs Bould if you have any questions about the course or these tasks: lvb@bws.wilts.sch.uk

Weekly Task List
1. Revise GCSE and A Level vocabulary on memrise.com https://www.memrise.com/group/401546/
2. Watch/listen to the news in German
3. Grammar revision - You should make notes and complete some exercises on one grammar point each week. Please keep all of your grammar explanations in one place (a specific Grammar exercise book for example). This will become a useful resource for you throughout the A level course, and you can build on this over time.
4. Read an article that interests you and make a list of the most useful words OR write a short summary of the news.

Useful links for completing the tasks:
https://www.goethe.de/ins/gb/en/spr/unt/kum/dfj.html (reading texts, videos etc.)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/german/ (links to German TV and radio)
Twitter – @BWS MFL (The word of the day and interesting articles posted regularly)
https://www.schubert-verlag.de/aufgaben/uebungen_b2/b2_erkund_uebungen_index.htm (online grammar tasks and worksheets. You choose the level!)
https://www.s-cool.co.uk/gcse/german/grammar (GCSE consolidation)
https://www.languagesonline.org.uk/Hotpotatoes/germanindex.html (look at the grammar section for consolidation of GCSE grammar)
Memrise - https://www.memrise.com/group/401546/ (follow the link to the A Level memrise group. You will need to sign up if you are not already a member)
https://www.dw.com/de/deutsch‐lernen/nachrichten/s‐8030 (current news but spoken at a slower speed)
www.goethe.de/lrn/prj/gad/eue/deindex.htm (podcasts linked to many of the AS/A2 topics)
www.goethe.de/ins/gb/lon/prj/asa/top/hal/enindex.htm (AS/A2 materials. Click on ‘topics’ to read articles on all the AS/A2 topics)

Film Study
The film that we will be studying is Das Leben der Anderen. We would really recommend that you buy and watch the film before the course starts, although we will be watching and studying it in great detail throughout the A level course. You can buy the film here:
https://www.whsmith.co.uk/products/lives-of-others/5060052412270.html?gclid=CjwKCAjw1v_0BRAkEiwALFkj5iNwyZkE28JQEJWPVmgBGnSnsUNhB8JtfNuTNVGtdUYQQaN-DeFvxBoCdrEQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
There is also a study guide associated with the film:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Modern-Languages-Study-Guides-level/dp/147189181X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2NDQRWXS0WDVN&dchild=1&keywords=das+leben+der+anderen+study+guide&qid=1587566258&sprefix=das+leben+der+anderen+study+%2Caps%2C131&sr=8-1
If you have watched the film and read the study guide before the start of the course, you will feel that you’ve made a real head start on the course.

Additional Resources
We will also study a book (Andorra) in Year 13. If you would like to read other books or watch other films for fun, please have a look at the following list:

Literature
Frisch, Andorra
Böll, Die verlorene Ehre der Katharina Blum
Bertolt Brecht: Mutter Courage und ihre Kinder
Dürrenmatt, Der Besuch der alten Dame
Heine, Gedichte – Buch der Lieder
Kafka, Die Verwandlung
Kaminer, Russendisko
Lenz, Fundbüro
Schlink, Der Vorleser

Films
Das Leben der Anderen
Die fetten Jahre sind vorbei
Almanya – Willkommen in Deutschland
Sophie Scholl, Die letzten Tage
Lola rennt
Goodbye Lenin!

Additional links

http://coerll.utexas.edu/gg/gr/about.html (online grammar reference and exercises linked to the imaginary world of Grimm Grammar)

www.spiegel.de (online version of popular German magazine. Great for language and culture)

www.berliner-morgenpost.de (online version of a daily German newspaper that's great for keeping up to date with all the latest happenings in and around the country)

www.news-und-trends.de (all the latest news on fashion, tourism, food, sport, art and much more)

www.wdr.de/tv/neuneinhalb/aktuell/index.php5 (short news clips of around 9 ½ minutes aimed at children. Click on ‘letzte’ and you can look at all the topics available)

www.tivi.de/fernsehen/logo/start/index.html (you can watch the latest logo! programmes. logo! is the German version of ‘Newsround’)

http://lyricstraining.com (an easy and fun way to learn and improve your German skills through music videos and the lyrics of your favorite songs. You will need to set up an account)

http://www.goethe.de/ins/us/saf/prj/sig/mus/enindex.htm (discover the amazing world of German music and find out why German music rocks! Listen to podcasts about the German music scene, watch the ‘video clip of the month’, watch music videos and download lyrics and worksheets, look at the German charts)

www.funwithlanguages.vacau.com (fantastic website with games and activities linked to all the AS/A2 topics)