“If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.” Nelson Mandela

 

STYLE OF ASSESSMENT

Students can be entered for either foundation or higher exams at the end of the two-year course. All exams will be sat in the June 2021 examination series.

 

There are four exams each with equal weighting:

• Paper 1: Listening (25%)
• Paper 2: Speaking (25%)
• Paper 3: Reading (25%)
• Paper 4: Writing (25%)

 

For full details please visit the website below

http://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/languages/gcse/german-8668/specification-at-a-glance

 

OVERVIEW OF COURSE

We use the AQA examination board at GCSE.

 

There are three main themes which are taught over the two year GCSE course:

• Theme 1: Identity and Culture
• Theme 2: Local, national, international and global areas of interest
• Theme 3: Current and future study and employment

 

We delve into these topics to cover subtopics like friendships, family, hobbies, celebrations, music, marriage, technology, internet, travel, adventure, careers, festivals. German GCSE is a fascinating course that really engages learners, preparing them both for the everyday aspects of using German to communicate, whilst giving them the passion and skills to take German even further.

 

LEARNER REQUIREMENTS

The ideal German language student will ideally be someone who has an ambition to be able to communicate in another language and has actively completed exercises on memrise, duolingo, used their language when they’ve had the opportunity to, either covertly or overtly, and listened to German language videos/blogs/songs.

 

They will understand that an extra language is an added advantage in today’s world and could afford them opportunities in their careers both at home and abroad. Language learning is often synonymous with travel and adventure.

 

EXTRA-CURRICULAR OPPORTUNITIES

The German department offers an annual trip to Cologne during the academic year. We encourage all Year 10 students to participate, as it gives them the invaluable opportunity to practise and consolidate language skills acquired during the year. Students also get the opportunity to watch a German play, performed by a travelling German theatre company.

 

FURTHER STUDY AND CAREER CONNECTIONS

There are numerous jobs which require knowledge of a language. For example: You could work for/in/as: GCHQ/MI6, Armed Services, Engineering, Architecture, Marketing, Media and Journalism, Teacher, Travel and Tourism, Banking, Translator, Interpreter, Civil Service, Transport, Science, Pharmaceutical work and Computing to name a few.

 

Germany is one of Britain's biggest trade partners and has strong financial services and business ties with the UK. Speaking German will not only get you, in general, the highest-paid job, it is also the language that is in highest demand across job postings.