» German course outlines

The Cactus Course Outlines provide a learning framework for the Cactus Foreign Language Evening Courses. They are designed to provide you with a good idea of what you might cover during the course and include typical themes, vocabulary fields, grammar, cultural content and skills work for the language and the level. The Outlines are flexible rather than prescriptive, in that our teachers always plan their lessons with the specific abilities, aims and interests of the students in their classes in mind.

• German Beginner 1
• German Beginner 2
• German Beginner 3
• German Elementary 1
• German Elementary 2
• German Elementary 3
• German Intermediate 1
• German Intermediate 2
• German Intermediate 3

This beginners course will be based on the book ‘Schritte 1’ (due to the shortness of the course the ‘past tense’ might only, if at all, be touched on.)

Topics & Vocabulary:

• Introductions – inc. greetings, saying how you are, where you come from, where you live, telephone number, marital status, children, etc.
• Alphabet and numbers
• Family and friends
• Shopping (groceries)
• Describing houses and flats, furniture and appliances – likes and dislikes
• The hour – asking and giving the time
• Daily routine and times of the day/ week days / months
• Making arrangements
• Hobbies and leisure time activities – likes and dislikes (usage of gern/e)
• Expressing approval/ disapproval in conversation
• Weather
• (Making simple statements in the past )

Grammar:

• Basic questions statements and negatives– including questions with question words and yes/no questions
• Verb endings (conjugation) of regular and some irregular verbs in the present tense
• You – formal and informal
• Basic word order – statements, questions
• Gender and indefinite/ definite articles / possessive articles / negation
• Pronouns (Nominative)
• Numbers/ Alphabet
• Singular and plural
• Separable verbs
• Sentence structure with separable verbs or modal verbs
• Modal verbs können, möchten and müssen
• Accusative case
• Very short look at Perfekt-tense (intensified in Level 2)

Cultural content:

• You – formal and informal
• Usage of titles (Herr and Frau)

Skills Work:

• Lots of speaking – inc. situational exercises & interaction
• Basic pronunciation rules
• Plenty of listening activities
• Writing practice

This course will be based on the first half of the book ‘Schritte 2’ and includes some revision of ‘Schritte 1’.

Topics & Vocabulary:

• Talking about past events
• Professions
• Commands, asking and giving advice
• Talking about what’s allowed, permitted, not permitted
• At the hotel reception
• Parts of the body, well-being and illnesses, pains
• Writing a letter
• Making an appointment
• Asking and giving directions
• At the station: timetables and announcements, making enquiries
• Everyday life in a city – inc. where can you do what, where to go, transport, etc.

Grammar:

• Perfekt tense and war und hatte
• Adverbs of time
• Modal verbs dürfen, sollen and wollen
• Pronoun man
• Akkusativ-pronouns
• The dative case
• Prepositions of place, time and modal
• Dativ-prepositions/ Akkusativ-prepositions/ local prepositions
• Imperative

Cultural content:

• German speaking countries- similarities and differences
• Regional differences

Skills Work:

• Lots of speaking – inc. situational exercises & interaction
• Revisiting pronunciation rules and numbers
• Plenty of listening activities
• Writing practice e.g. a simple letter (enquiry)

This course will be based on the second half of ‘Schritte 2’ and includes some revision of the first part of the book.

Topics & Vocabulary:

• Customer service (At the shop: making arrangement for repairs)
• Opening times/ hours
• At the shopping centre: asking for help and advice
• Polite requests (Konjunktiv II)
• Understanding an informative text (manual)
• Understanding and leaving messages on the answer phone
• Shopping (clothes) – likes and dislikes
• Adjectives and adverbs, comparative and superlative
• Ordinal numbers (Dates)
• Invitations and celebrations
• Confirming and cancelling an appointment

Grammar:

• Verbs with different prefixes: e.g. auf- und zumachen
• Personal pronouns in Dativ
• Demonstrative pronouns
• Coordinating conjunctions: und, aber, oder, denn
• Usage of Perfekt and Präteritum in spoken and written German
• First approach to the Konjunktiv II

Cultural content:

• Getting around in a city

Skills Work:

• Lots of speaking – inc. situational exercises & interaction
• Writing practice e.g. text messages/short e-mails
• Plenty of listening activities

This course will be based on the book ‘Schritte 3’.

Topics & Vocabulary:

• Giving reasons
• Reporting travel experiences (e.g. missing the train)
• Talking about the wider family
• Living situation
• Prepositions of place with transitive/ intransitive verbs
• Writing and understanding short messages
• Eating-habits and customs (breakfast)
• At the restaurant
• Giving advice and naming conditions
• Telephone conversations at work
• Health and fitness/ booking a leisure course
• School and education system
• Celebrations
• Talking about gifts and ideas
• Expressing requests and advice
• Weddings

Grammar:

• Transitive/ intransitive verbs
• Directional adverbs
• Indefinite and possessive pronouns
• Sollen in Konjunktiv II
• Subordinate clause with wenn
• Reflexive verbs
• Verbs plus preposition
• Prepositional adverbs
• Modal verbs in the past
• Konjunktion dass
• Dative-object, dative pronoun and accusative pronoun

Cultural content:

• Travelling
• Foreigners in Germany
• Health and fitness
• School and education

Skills Work:

• Lots of speaking – inc. situational exercises & interaction
• Writing practice
• Plenty of listening activities

This course will be based on the first half to the book ‘Schritte 4’ and includes some revision of ‘Schritte 3’.

Topics & Vocabulary:

• Expressing opposites and contrasts, wishes
• Making suggestions for leisure activities and talking about leisure events
• Describing objects and products/ making comparisons
• Household spending and cost of living in Germany on average (simple chart in percentage)
• Passive (description of a process e.g. sending a packet via mail)
• Transport and directions (car)
• Weather and travel

Grammar:

• Revisiting previous level's grammar
• Konjunktiv II (wishes and suggestions)
• Adjective endings and review of Komparativ/Superlativ
• Passiv
• Subordinate clauses
• Word-building (e.g. noun>adjective or verb>noun)
• More prepositions (e.g. local with accusative or dative)

Cultural content:

• Talking about leisure in Germany (activities and events)
• Friendships and relationships

Skills Work:

• Lots of speaking – inc. situational exercises & interaction
• Writing practice
• Plenty of listening activities

This course will be based on the second half of the book ‘Schritte 4’ and includes some revision of the first half of the book.

Topics & Vocabulary:

• Planning a journey and making reservations
• Money and banking
• Living situations
• Short newspaper articles
• Statistics

Grammar:

• Conjunctions trotzdem and deshalb
• Local prepositions an, auf, in ...regarding travel and places
• Temporal and modal prepositions
• Indirect questions
• Adjective-declination: without article
• Lassen as auxiliary verb

Cultural content:

• Regions of Germany
• German speaking countries

Skills Work:

• Lots of speaking – inc. situational exercises & interaction
• Writing practice e.g. postcards
• Plenty of listening activities

This course will be based on the book ‘Schritte 5’.

Topics & Vocabulary:

• Good luck and bad luck
• Talking about a personal lucky or unlucky event in the past
• Newspaper articles and radio programmes
• Life-stories
• Expressing opposites, agreeing and contradicting
• Talking about a film
• TV programme
• Describing people and things
• Reading a crime story
• Relaxation exercises (describing), giving advice and making suggestions
• Health and at the doctors
• Talking about something unreal (KII)
• Teamwork and business ideas
• Job applications: written and via phone
• Dream holidays
• Sales talks
• Solving conflicts with the neighbours

Grammar:

• Praeteritum (regular and irregular verbs)
• Konjunktion obwohl
• Relative pronouns and relative clauses
• Gradpartikel ziemlich, echt, wirklich etc
• Genitive
• Passiv (present tense): with and without modal verb
• Konjunktiv II in sentences with wenn
• Causal preposition wegen + Genitiv
• zu + Infinitiv
• brauchen with zu + Infinitiv
• um zu + Infinitv
• statt/ ohne zu + Infinitv
• Expressions with ‘es’
• Konjunktionen consisting of two parts
• Konjunktiv II in the past
• Verbs plus prepositions
• Preposition trotz and Genitiv

Cultural content:

• Beliefs and superstition
• Films, books, literature
• Foreigners in Germany

Skills Work:

• Lots of speaking – inc. situational exercises & interaction
• Writing practice e.g. CV and job application
• Plenty of listening activities

This course will be based on the first half of the book ‘Schritte 6’ and includes some revision of the ‘Schritte 5’.

Topics & Vocabulary:

• Using ‘Du’ and ‘Sie’ in more specific ways
• Describing a person in more detail / talking about friends etc.
• Understanding the manual of a game
• Computer vocabulary
• Unreal statements (KII)
• Technical manuals
• Understanding a story
• Talking a about a misfortune in the daily routine
• Description of a product
• Customer service: complaints, refunds and returns
• Radio programmes
• Talking about plans and resolutions
• Apologies and convincing someone
• ‘Good manners’ and discussion about appropriate behaviour
• Talking about customs and habits in different cultures

Grammar:

• Konjunctions falls, als, ob, während, nachdem, bevor, da
• Relative clauses with preposition, with was/ wo (e.g. Ich weiss nicht, was…)
• Adjective nouns (der Alte, den Alten, dem Alten)
• N-Deklination (der President, den Presidenten, dem Presidenten)
• 2-part-prepositions
• Participle I as adjective
• Futur I (werden + infinitive)

Cultural content:

• Relationships, customs and habits

Skills Work:

• Lots of speaking – inc. situational exercises & interaction
• Writing practice e.g. manuals, internet forum, complaints letter
• Plenty of listening activities

This course will be based on the second half of the book ‘Schritte 6’ and includes some revision of the first half of the book.

Topics & Vocabulary:

• Describing a problem and getting professional advice (legal)
• Understanding forms and technical texts
• Talking about personal ‘engagement’ and interests, role models
• Moral issues and opinions
• Politics and history (newspapers and current affairs)
• Parties and politicians
• Deutschland and your country of origin (Heimat)

Grammar:

• Seit and seitdem
• Bis, indem, ohne dass, außer
• Comparative and superlative adjectives
• Participle II as adjective
• Passive in the past

Cultural content:

• German history after 1945 and current affairs
• Europe

Skills Work:

• Lots of speaking – inc. situational exercises & interaction
• Writing practice
• Plenty of listening activities