Marburg, Germany - Course Descriptions - German Language

Students will be placed in one of five levels.  Below are the outcomes for each course. 

A brief description of the basic course (Grundkurs)

After successful completion you should be able to:

In the field of Reading:

- Understand e.g. personal data and very elementary structures in short and basic texts on everyday situations.

- Extract information from simple everyday language material such as schedules and programs etc.

In the field of Writing:

- Deliver short and basic information on everyday and familiar topics as well as on yourself.

- Describe, in a simple way, what you like, do not like, what your plans are.

In the field of Listening:

- Understand short and easy information in familiar situations.

- Extract single facts on a concrete and familiar topic from a very short and clearly structured speech with very confined vocabulary.

In the field of Speaking:

- Introduce yourself in a simple way and react to simple personal questions.

- Talk about preferences and dislikes in simple expressions.

- Describe simple comic strips about familiar and everyday topics in very structures.

Altogether you will have reached level A 1.2 of the European reference frame-work.

A brief description of the four build-up course levels A1 to A4

(Aufbaustufen 1-4)

A1 - After successful completion you should be able to:

In the field of Reading:

- Understand simple course texts about everyday themes and use words of everyday language.

- Gather information from everyday material like menus, flyers, etc.

In the field of Writing:

- Produce short simple descriptions of everyday events and activities as well as compose personal experiences in the present and past tense.

- Describe your personal preferences, dislikes, and projects in a simple manner.

In the field of Listening:

- Comprehend substantial contents of a discussion in a clearly spoken German about well-known topics.

- Gather the main contents and selective information from a clearly structured presentation about a concrete well-known topic.

In the field of Speaking:

- Tell simple comic strips or stories of familiar themes.

- Tell about occurrences and experiences from everyday life.

- Justify and express personal opinions in very simple form.

- Lead simple short discussions on everyday topics, speaking clearly and slowly with a partner with a limited vocabulary.

Altogether you will have completed the level A2 of the European reference framework.

A2 - After successful completion you should be able to:

In the field of Reading:

- Understand simple course texts about everyday topics. (e.g. simple news-paper articles)

- Understand and comprehend selective information from long or short texts.

In the field of Writing:

- Write short texts about everyday topics and report about everyday events, experiences, and feelings, state and justify your own opinions, de-scribing plans of future activities.

- Prepare notes about information you heard or read from texts.

In the field of Listening:

- Comprehend the essential contents of a conversation or discussions about everyday topics.

- Comprehend selective information and the information in a clearly structured lecture about a well-known topic.

In the field of Speaking:

- Tell simple stories or comic strip stories in a structured way.

- Talk about everyday events in a structured way.

- State and justify your personal opinion.

- React spontaneously and understandably to the contributions of other people in an everyday talk.

Altogether you will have reached the main parts of level B1 of the European reference framework.

A3 - After successful completion you should be able to:

In the field of Reading:

- Understand simple authentic popular scientific texts.

- Filter and understand the main contents of information relevant to yourself.

In the field of Writing:

- Write texts about socially relevant topics and make and express opinions and make options for action.

- Fix heard and read information in headwords or in a short written text.

In the field of Listening:

- Grasp the contents of a popular scientific conversation or a discussion, also about complex topics.

- Detect and understand the main contents and selective information in a presentation, which is more complex regarding contents and language.

In the field of Speaking:

- Speak about current events in a structured way.

- Express and justify personal opinions and defend them in discussions.

- React flexibly and understandably to the contributions of others in topic-relate discussions.

Altogether you will have reached level B1 of the European reference framework in full amount; in the field of oral communication you will have reached parts of level B2.

A4 - After successful completion you should be able to:

In the field of Reading:

- Understand the main information of scientifically oriented texts such as authentic newspaper articles as well as short literary texts with the aid of a dictionary.

- Distinguish between facts and evaluations, and identify different positions.

- comprehend the structures of a longer text.

In the field of Writing:

- Reproduce given information in your own words.

- Write abstracts of scientific text and short literary texts.

- Compose a coherent text on various subjects.

- Express arguments regarding a thesis, and substantiate them.

In the field of Listening:

- Follow and understand the content of brief, but more complex, scientifically oriented speeches.

- Comprehend the essential issues of such speeches.

- Differentiate between main statements and detail information.

In the field of Speaking:

- Give a presentation on a self-chosen topic.

- Take active part in discussions about current social topics, evaluate the opinions of others, and define one’s own position.

Altogether you will have reached, in the field of speaking and writing, a level which exceeds level B 1+ of the European reference framework; in the other fields you will largely have reached level B 2.