Curricula – Intensive courses

A1/Elementary level I • A2/Elementary level II • B1/Elementary level III

A1/Elementary Level I

Requirements
Participants do not need any prior knowledge of German to start with A1/Elementary Level I. Proficiency in reading and writing with Latin characters is required.

Objectives of Elementary Level I
Elementary use of language 1
By the end of the course, participants will be able to understand and use familiar, everyday phrases and formulate simple sentences aimed at satisfying specific needs. They will be able to write simple personal letters, postcards and e-mails.

Curriculum
Situations / Contents
• First contact (introductions, personal details)
• Household objects, food and beverages (shopping, in a restaurant) leisure time (writing postcards, making appointments, asking for information)
• At home (furnishings)
• Sickness (at the doctor's)
• Everyday situations (explaining something, making sure of something)
• Orientation (giving directions, describing the way)
• Shopping and giving presents (wishes, suggestions, writing invitations)
• German language and culture (describing places and people)

Grammar
• Articles and nouns (definite / indefinite article)
• Pronouns (personal and possessive pronouns)
• Prepositions (in the dative and accusative cases, alternating prepositions)
• Adjectives / adverbs (comparatives, declinations)
Verb forms:
• Conjugation of "to have" and "to be" in present tense, present perfect and past tense
• Sentence structure (position of verbs, single-word questions, use of imperatives and conjunctions)
• Verbs and appendices (place, time)
• Negation (not, no, not a, not any)
Vocabulary: 800 – 1000 words

A2/Elementary Level II

Requirements
Participants must have successfully completed an A1/ Elementary Level I course or have a comparable knowledge of German.

Objectives of A2/Elementary Level II
Elementary use of language 2
By the end of the course, participants will be able to use a repertoire of elementary language skills which will allow them to master a range of everyday situations.  They’ll be able to write about everyday objects and people familiar to them, and to express their opinions.

Curriculum
Situations / Contents
• Appearance and personality (clothing, tolerance)
• School, education, professions (school system, looking for a job, curriculum vitae)
• Entertainment and television (channels, songs)
• Industry, work, economics, family and personal relationships
• Nature and environment (weather, ecology)
• Germans abroad and foreigners in Germany (holiday and travel experiences)
• News and politics (voting system, political parties)
• Elderly people (retirement, aged care)
• Reading books (lyric poetry)
Grammar
• Nouns in the genitive and demonstrative cases, indefinite pronouns (this, some/many a, everyone)
• Declination of adjectives following indefinite articles
• Comparisons, ordinal numbers
• Cases with prepositions, pronouns (reflexive, relative and prepositional pronouns)
Verb forms
• Reflexive verbs, past tense, modal verbs, subjunctive II (polite request, passive voice in present tense and past tense
• Complex sentences (subordinate clauses with "that," relative clauses, indirect interrogative clauses, infinitive sentences with "to" and "in order to")
Vocabulary: about 1400 words

B1/Elementary Level III

Requirements
Participants must have successfully completed A2/Elementary Level II or have a comparable knowledge of German.

Objectives of B1/Elementary Level III
Independent use of language 1
By the end of the course, participants will be able to express themselves adequately and in a measured way in everyday life. They will be able to express their opinions, give short oral presentations, and understand and make general comments. In open discussions, they will be able to debate current topics. They’ll be capable of writing simple, coherent texts about their personal fields of interest, as well as personal and semi-formal letters

Curriculum
Situations / Contents
• Getting to know people (defusing situations)
• Places (describing houses, expressing quantitative proportions)
• Leisure time and fitness (assessment, persuasion, argumentation)
• Daily life (providing definitions), education and professions (summing up information, justifying opinions)
• Learning (telling stories, obtaining and providing information)
• Knowing people (making requests, arguing, conciliation)
• Consumption (defining terms)
• New media (answering machines, computers, summarising information)
• Travel and mobility (complaining, giving reasons)
Grammar
• Word formation, pronouns (reflexive pronouns, generalising relative pronouns "what," "who," expressions with "it")
• Prepositions with the genitive case, nouns and adjectives with prepositional appendices, dative/accusative
Verb forms
• Future tense, past perfect, subjunctive II in the present, past and present perfect tenses, modal verbs, "to have something done," passive voice with modal verbs
• Conjunctions in main and subordinate clauses (instead of, because of, while/during, before, although, either, or, actually, etc.)
• Questions concerning identification and qualification
Vocabulary: 2000 – 2500 words