German

The Removes & Fifths at Radley

The aim of the German GCSE course is to provide a thorough basic knowledge of a language which is regarded as an increasingly significant asset by employers in the modern Europe and which is widely spoken in many Eastern European countries and future members of the EU. It is an excellent complement to both science and arts subjects especially given the major international role played by German industry, business and culture. The course is an extension of the material first encountered in the Shell with pupils taking four or five periods per cycle in the Remove and Fifth Form.

The emphasis is on effective communication and by the end of the course pupils should be able to cope confidently with a variety of situations such as staying with a family, eating out, making use of services and shops, as well as coping in an emergency or recounting a series of events successfully. In addition to the ability to speak and understand the language in context pupils are given a thorough grounding in its basic grammar. By the end of their third year of German they should be able to read and understand fairly complicated extracts from newspapers and write both formal and informal letters in German.

The course is not limited to the purely linguistic, however, as pupils will deepen their awareness of the culture of the German speaking countries. This process may be reinforced by participating in the language/ski-trip to Kitzbühel, which takes place at the end of the Michaelmas Term. The aim here is not only to familiarise students with examinable topics but also to provide them with greater linguistic and social confidence.