German at Yardley Court
Pupils in the Year 8 who are being prepared for scholarship receive two lessons per week for two academic years, with one homework per week consisting of vocabulary and a written task. The aim is to encourage an interest in the culture of German-speaking countries, and to prepare pupils for the German scholarship exams.
The scholarship exam typically consists of an oral section and a written paper. The former involves discussion of at least three of the following subjects chosen by the examiner: my family, my house, holidays, school and my town. The written paper is of a high standard (near GCSE higher level) and consists of a comprehension part, requiring short answers, together with a letter of about 130 words in which the use of the past tense is required and in which familiarity with grammar such as correct word order is expected.
The course is therefore fast-moving, using a range of resources such as the Klasse 3 GCSE textbooks, tapes, CDs and past scholarship papers.
Grammar teaching plays an important role and is usually greatly enjoyed as the boys are already familiar with Latin and French grammar.
The scholarship exam typically consists of an oral section and a written paper. The former involves discussion of at least three of the following subjects chosen by the examiner: my family, my house, holidays, school and my town. The written paper is of a high standard (near GCSE higher level) and consists of a comprehension part, requiring short answers, together with a letter of about 130 words in which the use of the past tense is required and in which familiarity with grammar such as correct word order is expected.
The course is therefore fast-moving, using a range of resources such as the Klasse 3 GCSE textbooks, tapes, CDs and past scholarship papers.
Grammar teaching plays an important role and is usually greatly enjoyed as the boys are already familiar with Latin and French grammar.
