School News
DEUTSCHE ECKE
Guten Tag! Students have made a positive start to learning German this year.
It is always exciting to hear students practising their German, whether it is by greeting me in the yard or teaching their younger siblings at home. See what they can teach you. If you learnt German at school, see what you can remember too. Please continue to encourage and support their learning. The more we can do to extend their learning beyond the 50 minutes of class time at school, the better!
SOMETHING TO SHARE?
If you have something from Germany or discover something made in Germany or with a German connection (either language or culture), please feel free to bring it in for Show and Tell during German lessons. Items of realia always help students to make connections and bring the language to life.
ONLINE LEARNING
There is a wealth of sources on the internet for learning a language. It can be difficult however to know where to start and make sure your children are accessing appropriate sites and apps.
Last year I was fortunate to have won a grant through the SA German Teachers Association which covered the cost of our school subscription to LANGUAGENUT, an online program to support our language learning.
This year I have set up all students from year 3-7 with a FREE account on www.duolingo.com. Their login details are recorded in their German books and also in their diaries. There is also a FREE app for DUOLINGO which you may like to download at home.
Duolingo is the world's largest online language learning platform. It is completely free, there are no ads and there is a special section for schools. As a teacher I have created classrooms where I can monitor student progress, set assignments and post messages to encourage students and provide feedback
Duolingo is very easy to follow. Lessons are organised in small chunks to assist with vocabulary recall, using language in context and repetition to instill confidence and understanding. You earn points for correct answers beginning with the basics and as you progress the skills build on each other and become more complex enabling you to unlock the next lessons and units. You won't advance unless you've mastered the previous skills and you can always see the correct answer, listen again and learn along the way.
Another website you may wish to explore at home is www.memrise.com. Search for beginners German and you will find thousands of courses to choose from. Why not learn together as a family!
RESOURCES
I have been sorting out my teaching resources and will be getting rid of some I no longer use in the classroom. I will put aside anything I think might be of interest to someone at home. When I have a collection of unwanted items (possibly DVDs, videos, books), I will l have them available at school to give away to anyone interested. Stay tuned.
Frau (Libby) Edwards