German Upper Intermediate (part 1)

In part 1 you will move beyond everyday interactions in German to discuss Germany’s political system, social affairs and media habits.

You’ll also learn to make travel arrangements, read travel guides and discuss places of interest, ideal for your next holiday or business trip. You’ll revise and practice using the perfect tense and cases, before moving onto connective, reflexive and modal verbs.

We teach in small groups, so you can explore the language in more detail and participate in discussions and debates.

The first of three upper intermediate modules, you’ll start working towards high CEFR B1 level of the Common European Framework Reference of language learning.

Who is it for?

You should be communicating at CEFR A2/B1 level or have studied formally for at least 120 hours. You may have completed our lower intermediate syllabus, have a good GCSE or a rusty A-level. See the eligibility section.

Timetable

This course takes place one evening a week at 18:30 for 10 weeks.

Benefits

• Part 1 gives you the opportunity to see what it’s like to learn at this level, without needing to commit to the full year
• Our trained and native speakers provide first-hand cultural insights
• Learn at a prestigious London university as part of a small group.

By the end of this course you will be able to

• talk in more detail about political systems and parties
• talk about travelling and make travel arrangements
• read travel guides and discuss places of interests in German-speaking countries
• discuss environmental issues
• describe your media habits
• discuss social affairs and read adapted articles
• compare places.

Grammatical Structure

• revision of perfect tense and cases
• modal and reflexive verbs
• connectives
• indirect questions
• relative clauses.

There is no formal assessment and you won’t receive a qualification, but you will be awarded an official City, University of London certificate on completion of the course. You must attend over 70 per cent of the classes to be eligible for the certificate.

Although there isn’t an exam, your tutor will assess and feedback on your progress throughout the course, helping you to continue improving and developing your skills.

Teaching

Teaching on the course involves a variety of styles. Some activities are led by the tutor, while others involve role-play, pair work and group work. You will also need to do some independent research in your own time and bring this to the lesson. We mix group teaching with digital learning via our e-learning platform, Moodle.

Part 1 is aimed at those who have approximately 120 hours of prior formal study.

It is the right level if one of the following applies:

• you can communicate at CEFR A2 level or low CEFR B1 level, according to the Common European Framework Reference of languages
• You have completed our full German lower intermediate syllabus, or equivalent elsewhere (at least 120 hours of formal study)
• You have a good or recent GCSE, or a rusty A-level.

You should already be able to:

• talk about free time and sports
• use conjunctions, such as weil, dass and obwohl in sub-ordinate clauses
• some understanding of the passive voice.

English requirements

You will need a good level of spoken and written English to enrol on this course.