German Class News

German Language & delicious foods

Guten Tag,

Term 1 is nearly finished, and we have been very busy in our German Classes for Year 5, 6, 7 and 8.

After some general information and a few bits, like numbers and colours from Term 4 last year, Students have now been learning formal and informal greetings, how to spell their name with the German alphabet, say a phone number, and they are starting to tell more about themselves, like their hobbies and sport, and express whether they like doing something or not in German. And let's not forget about the culinary experiences of Currywurst and Apfelstrudel!

Learning German is not as easy, despite a fairly large overlap in concepts and words in English. The first year will require a commitment to overcome the first big hurdles in understanding and learning the tools on how to operate the language.

To be able to operate in a foreign language, it is important to recognise and understand the concept of language in your first language. This is why I often spend a bit of time in our German class to deconstruct the English language (grammar, spelling etc.) in comparison, to show the students the dynamics of any language.

Klasse!, our course book, aligned with the European standard of language learning levels, is designed to foster predominantly speaking and listening capabilities, in order to be as practical as possible for real life situations.

I am working on an exchange opportunity with a German Waldorf School for Class 9 students in the years to come. This would allow the students to take their learning into practice and, hopefully, become more familiar with the language and the associated culture.

Lots to do for the Terms to come!

Packen wir's an!

Auf Wiedersehen,

Dan