Introduction

Key Stage 3

Year 7

Students in Year 7 begin their German course by following the Logo 1 Scheme of Work, which ensures lively and varied lessons. This involves giving students a solid foundation so that they can deal with more complex aspects of the language in years 8 and 9. Students learn the essential basics such as greetings, numbers, the alphabet and colours. A number of topics are covered during this foundation year such as personal details, school, food and drink, clothes, family and freetime activities.

Year 8

Students in Year 8 continue to build upon the skills acquired in Year 7, but are now ready to deal with more complex aspects of the language such as the tenses and word order. Students follow the brand new Echo 2 Scheme of Work, which is very accessible for students of this age. Topics covered include holidays, shopping, pocket money, after school activities and health.

Year 9

Currently, year 9 is following the Year 8 Scheme of Work as German is in its second year. From the academic year 2007-2008, students in Year 9 will follow the 3rd year Scheme of Work.

Literacy
German lessons in Key Stage 3 support the National KS3 MFL Framework to improve students’ literacy. Students are continually encouraged to use their language learning as an opportuntiy to develop their literacy skills. For example, in Year 7, students study the alphabet, common letter strings and syllables, as well as sound patterns (objective 7W6). In Year 8, students are given the opportunity to improve their literacy in several ways, such as learning how compound and complex sentences are built up using connectives, phrases and clauses (objective 8S2).

Assessment
German is assessed in four skills: Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing. Students in Key Stage 3 are routinely assessed in lessons through a range of techniques such as differentiated questioning, peer-assessment and self-assessment tasks. Additionally, students complete six Key Assessment Tasks per year. Each task assesses students’ abilities in a different skill. For example, in Term 2, year 8 students complete a Writing assessment about their holidays, and then in Term 3, a Listening assessment about food and drink. Students are awarded levels for each assessed task, which go towards providing evidence for their end of Key Stage 3 level. Students receive detailed feedback, suggestions on how to improve and targets for the following term after each assessed task.

Some students arrive at Castledown with substantial prior knowledge of German. Wherever possible, these students follow an extension programme throughout Key Stage 3, so that they are able to complete the GCSE German examination at the end of Year 9.

Key Stage 4: GCSE German

In Years 10 and 11, students who opt to study German follow the Logo 4 Scheme of Work.

The Course Aims:

• To build upon knowledge and skills gained in Key Stage 3
• To enable students to understand how another language works i.e. gain a more in-depth understanding of grammar and sentence structure
• To ensure that students are able to communicate in German in realistic settings
• To give students the opportunity to broaden their horizons, and gain knowledge and understanding of other cultures and societies

Edexcel is the examining board for GCSE German. The course covers five main topic areas:

1. At Home and Abroad
2. Education, Training and Employment
3. House, Home and Daily Routine
4. Media, Entertainment and Youth Culture
5. Social Activities, Fitness and Health

Examinations / Assessment

Writing: Students enter three pieces of coursework which cover three different topics from the syllabus. One of the pieces must be completed under controlled conditions (i.e under teacher supervision). Coursework is completed over the two years. Normally more than three pieces will be completed in total so that the best three can be selected.

Speaking: The teacher acts as Teacher-Examiner. The student carries out two role-plays and two conversations, one of which will have been prepared in advance. This takes place on a specific day decided by the school between March and May of Year 11.

Listening and Reading: Two exams which take place during the GCSE Summer exam period.

Extra-Curricular Activities
The German department runs two after-school clubs:

Tuesdays at 3.05-4.00 – “Klub Prima”
Students are also able to develop their speaking skills further by creating role-plays of their own choice.“Klub Prima” is currently available to students in Year 8 and above who are particularly interested in learning another language, and who are committed to their language studies. The club focuses on extending students’ knowledge beyond that which would normally be possible in class. Students are given the opportunity to study more complex aspects of the language such as the Case System. Students have also been able to work on their creative writing and dictionary skills through producing their own fairytales.

Wednesdays at 3.05-3.45 “Nachhilfe”
Students are welcome to come any time.“Nachhilfe” is available to all students who require a little extra support with their language learning. For example, if a challenging homework task has been set one week, students can come to “Nachhilfe” that week to get some extra help. Alternatively, students can come every week to support their learning in normal lessons, and to give them a little more confidence. Students have the opportunity to go over any aspect of the lesson they found difficult, or they work on developing effective ways to improve spelling, pronunciation and so on.


Cologne Christmas Markets
After a very successful Year 8/9 trip to the Christmas Markets in Cologne in December 2006, it is planned that there will be more trips to Germany in the future.