German 2

This subject consolidates and builds upon the basic skills and knowledge acquired in German 1. It continues to provide a firm grounding in the fundamentals of German grammar, the tense system and language structure in conjunction with the development of cultural literacy. The curriculum explores the regional cultural and linguistic diversity of the German-speaking world. The overarching theme for German 2 is Berlin, past and present. Students engage with more complex grammatical and syntactic structures through more sophisticated texts drawn from a variety of sources – such as biographical, journalistic, popular media and literary texts – and expand their appreciation of texts in context. Emphasis is placed on increasing oral proficiency, enhancing communicative skills and the ability to initiate and sustain conversation in a greater range of informal and formal settings. Writing tasks will expand to short narratives, i.e. picture descriptions and biographies, and guided creative writing.

• 1Interpret and synthesise information from biographical and journalistic texts, popular media such as film and television and shorter literary texts
• 2Read and write personal narratives about events in the present and past with a high degree of accuracy
• 3Use an elementary vocabulary from a wider range of everyday communicative situations about the self, family, occupations and pastimes as well as use basic grammatical and syntactic forms of German including basic elements of the tense and case system
• 4Understand and use idiomatic and conversational forms appropriately in a range of informal and formal settings
• 5Demonstrate familiarity with German cultural traditions and practices, and appreciate regional diversity.