Year 11 German

German culture is an integral part of language learning and you will gain an appreciation of another culture and another way of thinking. In particular, there is a focus on the lifestyle of people in Germany and other German speaking countries.

Studying German at Year 11 will prepare you for the Wellington College Certificate. This will lead on to NCEA Level 2, NCEA Level 3 then stage 2 University courses.

Learning German offers a range of pathways, such as:

•  career – German is useful in many fields - commercial, scientific, and technical and tourism – when studied in conjunction with other subjects. Scholarships and zero-fee opportunities are available for New Zealanders wishing to study at German universities

•  leisure – knowledge of another language makes travel more interesting

• travel to Germany in Year 12 – all Year 12 students can apply to go to Germany for two months at the end of Year 12. Students stay with a family and attend school. Students who are achieving at this level show a willingness to experiment with new language and to read independently, and are increasingly confident in using a range of language-learning strategies.

You will understand and produce more complex language. You will communicate beyond the immediate context, for example, about past and future events. You will understand and produce a variety of text types.

The Year 11 course prepares you for the Wellington College Certificate. By the end of the year you should be able to:

•  interact with German speakers in familiar and social situations, and cope with some less familiar ones

•  use basic language patterns spontaneously

•  demonstrate understanding of spoken and written texts

•  write short passages, personal letters/emails/blogs and brochures

By the end of the year you should be able to: 

• Communicate about past activities and events.

• Communicate about present and past states, feelings, and opinions. 

• Communicate about past habits and routines. 

• Describe, compare, and contrast people, places, and things. Give and follow instructions.

• Communicate about problems and solutions. 

• Communicate about immediate plans, hopes, wishes, and intentions. 

• Communicate in formal situations.

Course content focuses on:

• communicating information, ideas, and opinions through different text types; 

• expressing and responding to personal ideas and opinions and

• communicating appropriately in different situations.

This understanding and these skills are developed in the context of:

• a wide variety of material drawn from set courses, newspapers, magazines, literary texts, radio broadcasts, songs, podcasts, video footage; and

• activities supporting vocabulary and grammatical structures. 

To achieve at this level you need to show a willingness to experiment with new language and to read independently, and become increasingly confident in using a range of language-learning strategies. You should have satisfactory completion of the Year 10 course or prior knowledge of the basics of the language or proven linguistic ability. You will need an exercise book and laptop device for class.

There will be an investigation of an aspect of the culture of the German language. Topic-based vocabulary tests, writing and interaction portfolios, and assessments to measure progress in listening and reading comprehension. 

Formative and summative assessments take place throughout the year. You will be advised of due dates at the start of each term in our course outline which is provided on Google classroom at the start of the school year. The Learning Progression Framework will be used for all summative assessments. 

Assessment in the Junior School

From 2024, students in Year 10 &11 will be working towards the Wellington College Certificate. This certificate is replacing Level 1 NCEA however, students in Year 12 & 13 will be working towards completing NCEA Level 2 and NCEA Level 3. Your son will complete 4 learning progression assessments as part of his German language journey throughout the course of the year in listening, reading, writing and speaking/Interaction. The Learning Progression Framework is used to assess all students in Years 10 & 11.

NZQA German Subject Resources

www2.nzqa.govt.nz/ncea/subjects/select-subject/german/ 

School Policy for NCEA Assessment

You should be aware of the school procedures for NCEA assessment.  They can be found on the school website at this link. There you will find answers to frequently asked questions about how NCEA works as well as guidance about how to apply for extensions, reconsiderations or the process for withdrawing from a standard.