Year 8 SyllabusTest
Year 8 Syllabus
Year Level Description
Year 8 German: Second Language builds on the skills, knowledge and understanding required of students to communicate in German developed in Year 7 and focuses on extending their oral and written communication skills and their understandings of the German language and culture. Students may need encouragement to take risks in learning a language at this stage in their social development and to consider issues of how the experience impacts on the norms associated with their first language and culture.
Students communicate in German, maintaining interactions with peers and known adults to exchange information and discuss aspects of home, school and social life, compare routines, interests and leisure activities. They engage in individual and collaborative tasks that involve making arrangements, or organising events or outings. Students identify key information and supporting details from texts related to aspects of their personal and social worlds, and use the information in new ways. They convey information and ideas from texts, using different modes of presentation to suit audience and context. Students respond to imaginative texts, describing and discussing aspects, such as characters, events and/or ideas. They create imaginative texts by experimenting with different modes and formats, and creating moods and effects suitable for different audiences.
Students become more familiar with the systems of the German language when encountered in simple spoken and written texts. They use features of the German sound system, including pronunciation, rhythm, stress and intonation, and recognise differences in intonation and rhythm between statements, questions and commands. Students generate language for a range of purposes in spoken and written texts by using context-related vocabulary and applying elements of the German grammatical system, including using interrogatives, prepositions and adverbs, and using the subject-time-object-manner-place word order for main clauses. They continue to build a metalanguage in German to talk about vocabulary and grammar concepts. Students engage with German speakers and texts, reflecting on how interaction involves culture as well as language.
In Year 8, students are widening their social networks, experiences and communication repertoires in German. The practice of reviewing and consolidating prior learning is balanced against the provision of engaging and relevant new experiences and connections. Students are supported to develop increasing autonomy as language learners and users, to self-monitor and peer-monitor, and to adjust language in response to their experiences in different contexts.
Communicating
Socialising
Maintain interactions with peers and known adults orally and in writing to exchange information and discuss aspects of home, school and social life, compare routines, interests and leisure activities, for example, Welche Hausarbeiten machst du? Jeden Tag füttere ich die Katze und jeden Abend spüle ich ab.; Dreimal in der Woche räume ich mein Zimmer auf.; In welcher Klasse bist du?; Ich bin in Klasse 9A.; Wann stehst du auf? Um sechs Uhr.; Wann haben wir montags Deutsch?; Ich finde Mathe interessant, aber meine Mathelehrerin ist sehr streng.; Ich finde meine Schule sehr gut, obwohl …; Montagabend schwimme ich und am Wochenende spiele ich Tennis mit meinen Freunden/Freundinnen. Und du?; Meine Lieblingsband heißt …; Ich lese gern.; Ich esse gern Pizza, aber ich esse lieber Nudeln.
Engage in individual and collaborative tasks, such as making arrangements to cater for events, celebrations or outings, for example, an excursion to a German restaurant or organising a class event
Participate in classroom routines and interactions by asking and answering questions, requesting information, expressing feelings, opinions and personal preferences and responding to others’ contributions, for example, Das ist mein Bruder. Er ist nett!; Entschuldigung Sophie, aber …; Meiner Meinung nach …; Ich denke …; Natürlich …; Selbstverständlich ...; Ich bin nicht (damit) einverstanden.; Das ist wunderbar.; Das ist eine gute Idee.
Informing
Identify key information and supporting details from a range of spoken and written texts related to aspects of their personal and social worlds, and use the information in new ways
Convey information and ideas from a range of texts related to aspects of their personal and social worlds, using different modes of presentation that take account of context and audience
Creating
Respond to imaginative texts by describing and discussing aspects, such as characters, events and/or ideas
Create own or shared imaginative texts by experimenting with different modes and formats, and creating moods and effects suitable for different audiences
Translating
Translate and interpret short texts from German to English and vice versa, comparing different versions of a text and suggesting reasons for differences and mistranslations
Reflecting
Engage with German speakers and texts, reflecting on how interaction involves culture as well as language
Reflect on own identity, including identity as a learner and user of German, through experiences or in attitudes to culture and intercultural communication
Understanding
Systems of language
Use key features of the German sound system, including pronunciation, rhythm, stress and intonation, and identify main similarities and differences between the phonological and orthographic systems of English and German
Recognise differences in intonation and rhythm between statements, questions and commands
Apply punctuation rules in German, including the use of full stops and commas in ordinal and decimal numbers, for example, die 3. Klasse; 9,50 Euro; 15.30 Uhr, and capitalisation rules
Generate language for a range of purposes in simple spoken and written texts, by using context-related vocabulary and applying elements of the German grammatical system, including:
- using structures to express likes, dislikes and preferences, for example, Ich mag Tennis.; Ich spiele nicht gern Fuβball.; Ich spiele lieber Kricket.
- increasing control of plural nouns
- using possessive s with proper nouns, for example, Jochens Tante
- using von + noun to indicate possession, for example, Das ist die Mutter von Gerhardt.
- noticing that articles and pronouns change after some prepositions, such as those associated with location and destination, for example, Wir sind in der Stadt.; Die Party ist im Garten.; Wie kommst du zur Schule?
- selecting the correct personal pronoun for ‘it’ for objects (er/sie/es; ihn), for example, Woher hast du den Hut? Er ist sehr schön. Ich habe ihn bei … gekauft.
- recognising two-way prepositions, for example, Wir gehen ins Kino.; Wir wohnen in der Schweiz.
- noticing common contractions, for example, in dem = im; bei dem = beim
- using accusative pronouns, for example, Das Geschenk ist für uns.
- using adjectives that precede the noun in nominative and accusative cases, for example, Meine kleine Katze hat schwarze Augen.
- using common prepositional phrases formulaically, for example, nach Hause; zu Hause
- using reflexive verbs in the present tense to describe daily routines and interests, for example, Ich dusche mich morgens.; Interessierst du dich für Geschichte?; Wir freuen uns auf die Ferien.; Erinnerst du dich an …?
- using the present tense of some separable verbs, for example, Die Schule fängt um 9 Uhr an.
- beginning to use common modal verbs, such as können, to describe capabilities, for example, Ich kann gut schwimmen.
- beginning to use common modal verbs, such as mögen and dürfen to make polite requests, such as Ich möchte …; Darf ich …?
- gaining awareness of a limited number of routine past tense expressions, including some with war and hatte and the present perfect tense, for example, Sabine war gestern krank.; Das hat Spaβgemacht.; Habt ihr ein schönes Wochenende gehabt?
- using informal commands, for example, Bettina, mach dein Bett!; Bleibt stehen!
- noticing polite commands, for example, Helfen Sie mir, Herr Schmitt!
- using subordinating conjunctions weil and dass, for example, Er studiert Deutsch, weil seine Eltern Deutsch sind.
- using the subject-time-object-manner-place (STOMP) word order for main clauses, for example, Wir lesen jeden Montag mit unseren Freunden in der Bibliothek.
- increasing control over starting a sentence with an element apart from the subject, for example, Langsam verstehe ich mehr Deutsch.
- using adverbs and adverbial expressions, such as heute, vorgestern, oft, manchmal, jeden Tag, ab und zu, nie, später, am Wochenende, in den Ferien, dann, früher, danach, rechts, links, oben, unten, hier, dort
- using comparative and superlative adverbs lieber and am liebsten, for example, Ich esse lieber Salat als Fleisch.
- forming questions using interrogatives, such as wie viel, woher, wohin and warum
- using possessive adjective sein in the nominative and accusative cases, for example, Seine Familie kommt aus Afrika.
- using ordinal numbers to give the date or a birthday, for example, Heute ist der erste Mai.; Seine Mutter hat am 22. April Geburtstag.
- referring to quantities of people and things using cardinal numbers up to a billion, decimals and negative numbers, for example, Deutschland hat 81,9 Millionen Einwohner.; Die Tagestemperatur liegt bei minus 3 Grad.
- locating events in time (days, months, seasons), including the use of the 24-hour clock, and clock times using prepositions nach and vor, for example, am Montag, im September, im Sommer; Es ist dreizehn Uhr zwanzig.; Es ist zwanzig Minuten nach eins.
Continue to build metalanguage to talk about vocabulary and grammar concepts
Identify, analyse and use text structures and language features of common spoken, written and multimodal texts, and explain how different types of texts are structured and use particular language features to suit different contexts, purposes and audiences
Language variation and change
Examine linguistic features in texts to understand that German, like all languages, varies according to participants, roles and relationships, situations and cultures
Understand the dynamic nature of German, and how it influences and is influenced by other languages and cultures
Role of language and culture
Explore the relationship between language and significant cultural values or practices in German, English and other languages
Achievement Standard
At standard, students use mostly familiar language when participating in spoken and written interactions to exchange information in German about their home, school and social life, and in classroom tasks and routines. They identify and use most key information and some supporting ideas and detail in German texts related to aspects of their personal and social worlds, and convey these in a variety of ways. They describe aspects of German imaginative texts and use modelled language to adapt and create simple imaginative texts. Students translate short texts with a satisfactory level of accuracy, identifying some variations across different translations of a text. They reflect on aspects of language, culture, personal identity and experiences of learning a language, and how these may influence communication.
Students apply most features of the German sound and writing systems and use familiar vocabulary and expressions about home, school and social life with a satisfactory level of accuracy. They use elements of grammar, spelling and punctuation, with a satisfactory level of accuracy, to write short texts in German. Students use some metalanguage when discussing aspects of language learning. They use most structures and some language features associated with familiar text types. They identify some features of German that may need to be adjusted to suit different situations and relationships, and examples of how languages change and are influenced by each other.
Year Level Description
Year 8 German: Second Language builds on the skills, knowledge and understanding required of students to communicate in German developed in Year 7 and focuses on extending their oral and written communication skills and their understandings of the German language and culture. Students may need encouragement to take risks in learning a language at this stage in their social development and to consider issues of how the experience impacts on the norms associated with their first language and culture.
Students communicate in German, maintaining interactions with peers and known adults to exchange information and discuss aspects of home, school and social life, compare routines, interests and leisure activities. They engage in individual and collaborative tasks that involve making arrangements, or organising events or outings. Students identify key information and supporting details from texts related to aspects of their personal and social worlds, and use the information in new ways. They convey information and ideas from texts, using different modes of presentation to suit audience and context. Students respond to imaginative texts, describing and discussing aspects, such as characters, events and/or ideas. They create imaginative texts by experimenting with different modes and formats, and creating moods and effects suitable for different audiences.
Students become more familiar with the systems of the German language when encountered in simple spoken and written texts. They use features of the German sound system, including pronunciation, rhythm, stress and intonation, and recognise differences in intonation and rhythm between statements, questions and commands. Students generate language for a range of purposes in spoken and written texts by using context-related vocabulary and applying elements of the German grammatical system, including using interrogatives, prepositions and adverbs, and using the subject-time-object-manner-place word order for main clauses. They continue to build a metalanguage in German to talk about vocabulary and grammar concepts. Students engage with German speakers and texts, reflecting on how interaction involves culture as well as language.
In Year 8, students are widening their social networks, experiences and communication repertoires in German. The practice of reviewing and consolidating prior learning is balanced against the provision of engaging and relevant new experiences and connections. Students are supported to develop increasing autonomy as language learners and users, to self-monitor and peer-monitor, and to adjust language in response to their experiences in different contexts.