FIS
Curriculum Document
German as a
First Language
Objective
Education
In the German lessons, the
students learn to express themselves orally and in writing according to the
situation, subject and in an appropriate manner, in their private life, as well
as in school and later in their professional life. Furthermore, they learn to
grasp what others have said and written.
Working with works of literature shows
the students the great variety and beauty of the German language and gives them
a better understanding of themselves, others and their environment. The
literature classes broaden the horizon, impart an esthetic education and
promote the cultural identity.
Speaking and
listening
The students improve their
ability to orally communicate something to others according to the situation
and partner, and with a certain effect. This happens e.g. by telling a story or
reporting an event. Furthermore, the students manage formal and informal
conversations and take part in discussions. They learn to actively listen to
the speaker, to remember essential contents, to react in an appropriate way and
to solve possible conflicts orally. Their attention is constantly brought to
the difference between a written and a spoke statement. Here, they realize that
when speaking the effect of non-verbal means has to be taken into consideration
and those means are to be used adequately.
Writing
The students practice to
produce factual and descriptive-creative writing. They realize that there is a
connection between the reason for writing and the linguistic presentation. They will learn to
formulate texts with reference to the addressee and to use writing as a means
of self-reflection. Texts, addressed to others will be written in the clearest way possible, with no mistakes and in a
perfect form. The students will master the essential rules of spelling and
punctuation. They experience writing as the process from a rough draft to the final
version of the text, especially with regard to possible use of computers.
Examining the
language and mastering grammatical structures
By reflecting about a
language the students realize the structures of the language and thus have a
better understanding of it. They describe and name essential linguistic
phenomena, they grasp them in their function and use them according to the
rules. The focus is not put on the isolated acquisition of knowledge of facts,
but the appropriate usage of linguistic structures when speaking the language.
Thus, the students gain an insight in the diversity and adaptation of German.
One
of the aims of the German lessons is to encourage the students to enjoy reading
and to further this. On the basis of
selected text examples the students take a close look at literary traditions,
at
contemporary literature and literature for young people.
At the same time they will learn to work with factual texts.
Instructional Approaches
Indications for the methods of teaching
Speaking and listening
The
lessons for speaking and listening are based on the expected level of
achievement. The students should try to avoid artificial language patterns
which they have only practiced at school. In order to maintain and increase the
student’s willingness to speak, dialects can be used with regard to the
conversational situations during the lessons. All in all, the guidance towards
the standard language may, however, not be neglected.
The
cultivation of the oral usage of the language is a prerequisite for the
promotion of writing. The autonomy of both parts is to be brought to the
students’ attention by comparing suitable examples. Written statements are
already appropriate in Grade 1.
The lessons are based on situations which are true to
life and suitable for children, the main focus is put on spoken and written
language and newly gained insights are applied to new connections. On a large
scale, learning a language with relation to experiences and actions can only be
realized in a close connection to other parts of German lessons. Above all, the
analysis of the language in the oral and written use is extended and
intensified. An overemphasis of formal linguistic knowledge is to be avoided.
Latin terms are to be introduced from case to case due to the linguistic
proximity towards the English language.
When
choosing the reading matter, the teacher includes a variety of different types
of texts. The texts which will be used make the children see the abundance of
literature and the power of the language, which help create an understanding of
current and future situations in life and which develop the child’s ability to
judge. Reference to the year group and to things, situations, etc. which are
typical for the host country or the region are to be considered.
Grade 5
These
skills and abilities will be reviewed and practiced in Grade 5, in order to
achieve a relatively uniform level of understanding, from which the individual
parts will be expanded and intensified. Varied methods of teaching, as well as
the seating plan are used in such a way that independent learning and working,
as well as communicating according to situations are made possible to a high
degree. Writing about realistic situations and the possibility to present
personal texts to the fellow students and to discuss those, motivates the
students and takes away the anxiety to appear before a critical audience. At
the same the other students learn to listen or read attentively and to express
their criticism in a fair and factual way.
The
principal concern of the German instruction in this grade is to provide a broad
basis of basic knowledge and skills in the area of their native language.
Therefore, phases of intense practicing and applying are included and the
possibilities of interdisciplinary studying are used: This way the students
learn that they can apply the knowledge which they acquired in their German
lessons directly to the lessons of other subjects, e.g. when actively
participating in discussions in class, when presenting work results orally or
in writing, and when intensely working with texts from school text books.
The basic
knowledge and skills which the students acquired in grade 5 will be review
intensely and expanded. The students realize more and more, that it is up to
them whether oral or written communication is successful or not. At the same
time they learn and practice to adapt attentively and purposefully to the
partner and to use the rules of speaking and writing with consideration.
Furthermore they learn how conflicts can be solved by talking about the problem
and how writing can help sorting one’s thoughts and communicating those to
others. In this grade the students become more and more aware of their own
personality. Thus, they concern themselves with their own media intake and they
realize the degree of personal satisfaction they can gain from working with
literary texts.
At the
beginning of this grade, the students have the possibility to intensely review
and practice the knowledge and skills which they have so far acquired. The
German lessons also face the clearly noticeable fact that the students want to
develop and realize their own individuality. Therefore, they constantly have
the opportunity to state their own opinion in conversations, discussions and
through short projects, or to put their point of view down in writing. They
learn that however great the need for one’s own individuality, the interests of
their conversation partner or their partner in writing have to be considered.
Working with literary texts, as well as trying to write own texts offers an
especially good possibility to develop one’s personality and at the same time
to present personal opinions and feelings.
Now, the
students try to apply the knowledge and skills, which they have acquired so
far, as independently as possible to new tasks, e.g. to discussions or further
forms of writing.
On their way
to an independent organization of life and social integration the students will
be able to critically tackle topics and media from their own experiences and
interests orally and in writing and to communicate with others according to the
partner, facts and situations. Additionally, the students are further
introduced to literature through different approaches.
Grades 1/2
Speaking with one another and interacting
¨
Drawing up and observing simple rules of conversation
¨
Developing a readiness to talk
¨
Discussing problems and conflicts
¨
Learning to listen
Informing oneself and others
¨
Gaining simple information by asking and passing it on
¨
Understanding short messages and simple instructions and
passing those on correctly and completely
¨
Grasping simple facts and observations and describing
them
¨
Describing living things and objects
¨
Talking about every-day and special experiences
¨
Telling a story in the right order and in a lively way
Putting language into practice in a playful manner
¨
Knowing simple language games
¨
Developing simple scenes
Speaking clearly and expressive
¨
Testing different vocal types of expressing oneself
¨
Improving one’s perception of sound
¨
Practicing articulation
In
beginner’s reading and writing the students learn the basic skills of analysis
and synthesis through a close connection of reading and writing.
Experiencing reading and writing as important
¨
Looking for signs, letters and words in one’s surroundings
¨
Testing the use of signs, letters and words
¨
Getting curious by reading out loud
Knowing sounds and letters and using them in words
¨
Consciously perceiving the sound structure of the spoken language
¨
Learning the fonts of the alphabetic script
¨
Establishing a connection between sounds and letters and
mastering them:
- analyzing
and differentiating sounds
- grasping and
differentiating letter characters
- assigning
sounds to letters, or letter combinations
- realizing a
sequence of letters as a series of sounds and vice versa
- arranging
products of writing
- building up,
classifying and changing words
- comparing
sounds and type face
- finding word
elements and forming new combinations
Reading and writing words, sentences and texts
¨
¨
¨
Writing down words, sentences and texts for the reader
- writing
texts independently and with instructions
- recognizing
and using spelling, spaces between words and punctuation as guidance for a
better
readability
Applying and intensifying one’s ability to read and write in
diverse situations
¨
Reading quietly, precisely and in a way to understand the
meaning
¨
Presenting short texts effortlessly and with a certain
arrangement towards the meaning
¨
Writing texts for oneself and others
¨
Beginning to write orthographically correct
Writing