German Upper Intermediate (part 3)

In part 3 you’ll learn about the finer things in German culture – music, film and food. You’ll watch films, listen to music and read reviews; and then discuss them with your classmates. You’ll also learn to talk about German cuisine and read recipes.

You’ll learn to express a critical point of view with a rationale to support your idea, using various form of grammar, including prepositions, negation, comparatives and superlatives.

These skills will open the door to more in-depth and interesting interactions with native speakers.

By the end of part 3 you will have reached CEFR B1 level of the Common European Framework Reference of language learning.

Who is it for?

If you have completed part 2 of the course, you have studied German for at least 160 hours; or you have a good GCSE or a rusty A-level then this module is for you. You should already be communicating at CEFR A2/B1 level. More detail can be found in the eligibility section.

Timetable

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

Benefits

• Intermate classes led by qualified staff
• Gain insights into modern culture in Germany
• Lively debates to hone your speaking and listening skills
• Learn at an established London university.

By the end of this course you will be able to

• narrate events using the past tenses
• discuss future events
• explain aspects of the education system in German-speaking countries
• talk about food and follow recipes
• describe processes
• watch, understand and discuss films and artists
• argumentation: develop a critical point of view
• read biographical information and reviews
• describe people and items in detail.

Grammatical Structure

• prepositions
• the imperative
• negation
• verbs plus preposition
• the infinitive plus zu
• comparative and superlative
• pluperfect.

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.

You will receive regular feedback throughout the course as your tutor assesses your development via your participation in class, and any assignments you complete in your own time.

Teaching

We use a variety of teaching styles to aid your learning. Many are interactive – including role-play and group and pair work. In this course you will also have the chance to develop an argument, present it to the class and reason your point of view. This helps build confidence for when you want to have more animated conversations with people whose first language is German.

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

• you can communicate at high A2 or low B1 level, according to the Common European Framework Reference of languages
• you have completed part 2 the upper intermediate syllabus or equivalent elsewhere
• you have studied in a formal setting for at least 160 hours
• You have a good or recent German GCSE, or a rusty A-level.

You should already be able to:

• talk about your time at school
• use the preterite tense to describe past events
• have knowledge of the passive voice, the subjunctive, indirect speech and connectives.

English requirements

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