THEMES
1. The Individual
This theme enables the learner to explore aspects of his or her own life, for example, sense of self, personal values, opinions, ideas and relationships with others. At the same time, this theme also enables the learner to study topics from the perspective of others.
TOPICS |
Personal World
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Education |
Daily Life |
Sub-topics studied may include, but are not limited to:
- personal information
- home and neighbourhood
- family/friends.
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Sub-topics studied may include, but are not limited to:
- school life
- future plans and aspirations.
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Sub-topics studied may include, but are not limited to:
- routine
- food and drink
- interests, leisure and hobbies
- work.
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2. The German-Speaking Communities
This theme explores topics from the perspective of contemporary German communities and encourages the learner to reflect on his or her own and other cultures.
TOPICS |
Compulsory Focus Topic
Contemporary Society and Culture |
People and Places |
Arts and Entertainment |
Sub-topics studied will include, but are not limited to:
- contemporary German social customs (note: the historical origins of such customs/traditions are not the focus of this study)
- significant aspects of daily life in German-speaking communities (e.g. family relationships and structures, school/work and home life, holidays and festivals, food and drink, leisure and hobbies)
- significant aspects of contemporary German culture.
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Sub-topics studied may include, but are not limited to:
- getting around (transport and directions)
- tourist attractions in Germany
- significant geographical and climatic features of Germany
- shopping and eating/dining out
- meeting people.
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Sub-topics studied may include, but are not limited to:
- media
- cinema
- music and songs
- literature
- sport
- theatre and performing arts
- computer games
- art
- architecture.
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USE OF ENGLISH
Learners will study a range of oral and written texts in German. It may be appropriate in some circumstances to select texts using English. Equally, it may be appropriate for a learner to respond to a text in English on some occasions.
TEXT TYPES
The learner will become familiar with a variety of text types. Providers may introduce the learner to a wider range of text types in the course of their teaching and learning program:
advertisement |
instruction |
postcard |
announcement |
invitation |
report/account |
article |
letter |
review |
brochure |
map |
song |
cartoon/comic |
menu |
speech |
chart |
narrative |
story |
commentary |
news item |
survey |
conversation/interview |
note/message |
table |
diary/journal entry |
profile |
talk (script) |
discussion |
play |
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email |
poem |
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VOCABULARY
While there is no nationally prescribed vocabulary list, it is expected that learners will be familiar with a range of vocabulary and idioms relevant to the themes described in the course.
DICTIONARIES
Learners will be encouraged to use dictionaries. It is expected that teachers will assist learners to develop the necessary skills and confidence to use dictionaries effectively.
GRAMMAR AND STRUCTURES
Grammar can be referred to as the organisation of, and relationship between, all the elements that constitute a language as it functions.
There are many different theories of grammar, and a number of different approaches towards its teaching and learning. The categories used below are not intended to promote any particular theory of grammar, or to favour one methodology over another.
Developing the learner’s ability to convey meaning effectively in a range of contexts will, however, necessarily involve extending awareness of the system of structures underlying the language, as well as the ability both to apply and adapt this knowledge.
The following grammatical structures are those that the learner is expected to recognise and use.
Grammatical item
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Sub-elements |
Example(s) |
Adjectives |
Common Adjectives |
klein, alt |
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Die Welt ist schön. |
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Agreement and attributive position |
Ein schönes Kleid. |
Adverbs |
Positive, comparative and superlative forms |
gern, lieber*, am liebsten* |
Articles |
Definite |
der, die, das |
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Indefinite Articles |
ein, eine |
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Possessives |
mein, dein |
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Possessives |
sein, ihr |
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Demonstratives |
dieser |
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Demonstratives* |
jener, solcher |
Nouns |
Gender, Number |
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Cases |
Nominative and Accusative, Dative for incidental use |
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Adjectival Nouns* |
Alles Gute zum Geburtstag. |
Numbers |
Cardinal |
eins, zwei, drei, etc... |
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Ordinal |
erste, zweite, dritte, etc... |
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|
am ersten, am zehnten, etc... |
Prepositions |
Prepositions of place (dative) |
an, auf, hinter, neben, in, über, unter, vor, zwischen |
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Dative |
aus, bei, mit, nach, seit, von, zu, entgegen, gegenüber |
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Accusative |
durch, für, gegen, ohne, um, entlang, bis |
Pronouns |
Nominative |
ich, du, er, sie, es, wir, ihr, sie, Sie |
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Dative cases* |
Es geht mir gut. Wie geht es dir? |
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Interrogative |
wer, was, wo, wie |
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Accusative |
mich, dich, ihn, sie, uns, euch, sie, Sie |
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Dative |
mir, dir, ihr, ihm, uns, euch, ihnen, Ihnen |
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Indefinite |
man, etwas, jemand, niemand |
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Interrogative |
Was für ein…? Welcher? |
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Interrogative* |
wen, wem |
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Reflexive |
mich/mir, dich/dir, sich |
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Ich wasche mich. Ich wasche mir die Hände. |
Sentence Structures |
Statements, questions |
Ich heiße..., Ich bin..., Wie alt bist du? Morgen gehe ich ins Kino. Wohnst du in Hobart? |
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Wo wohnst du? |
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Imperative† |
Setz dich! Steh auf! Öffnet eure Hefte! |
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Conjunctions |
und, aber |
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und, aber, oder, denn (co-ordinating) |
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weil, wenn, als, dass (subordinating) |
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Nicht |
Ich schwimme nicht gern. |
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Ich verstehe es nicht. |
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Expressing wishes and abilities |
Ich möchte gerne…. |
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Ich kann Fußball spielen. |
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Word order in subordinate clauses |
Er bekommt immer gute Noten, weil er so fleißig ist. |
Verbs |
Present |
weak + strong verbs, including sein and haben |
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Imperative† |
teacher instructions |
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Perfect – weak and strong verbs |
Ich habe ein Buch gekauft. |
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Ich bin ins Kino gegangen. |
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Using present with adverb indicating future |
Ich fahre morgen nach Berlin. |
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Separable |
Ich stehe um 7 Uhr auf. |
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Modals (können, mögen, dürfen, sollen, müssen, woollen) |
Ich kann nicht hören. Er muss nach Hause gehen. Ich will ein Haus kaufen. |
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Impersonal expressions |
Es gibt ein Sofa im Wohnzimmer.
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Future |
Wir werden die Wahl gewinnen. |
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Imperfect |
war, hatte, wohnte, sah, fuhr, etc... |
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Verbs taking the dative |
Ich danke dir. Er hilft seinem Freund. Das gehört ihm. Dein Kleid gefällt mir nicht. |
† receptive use only
* incidental use in context, no detailed explanation