Course Contents

What will I learn in Expath’s German classes?

Expath’s curriculum also follows the guidelines of the CEF. Though the actual topics in the courses are highly dependent on the individual students’ needs and interests, the general course contents are as follows:

A1 (90 units)
CEF Level Description:	Can understand and use familiar everyday expressions and very basic phrases aimed at the satisfaction of needs of a concrete type. Can introduce him/herself and others and can ask and answer questions about personal details such as where he/she lives, people he/she knows and things he/she has. Can interact in a simple way provided the other person talks slowly and clearly and is prepared to help.
Possible Expath Course Contents:	Greetings and Farewells; Introductions; Saying where one is from; Saying what languages one speaks; Asking and telling how one is doing; Talking about Family; Counting; Talking about where one is from; Talking about others (he, she, we, you, they); Filling out registration forms; Talking about what one has; Naming groceries; Expressing not having and needing things; Talking about what things are not (kein, keine); Expressing prices, units and packaging; Buying items over the counter; Ordering food; Talking about one’s apartment; Comparing things; Talking about furniture; Reading apartment ads; Telling time; Talking about daily routines (split verbs); Expressing dates; Using cardinal and ordinal numbers; Describing what one does at different times of the day; Talking about the weather; Expressing not having things (accusative); Talking about hobbies and free time; Talking about what one can and cannot do; Talking about what one wants; Expressing things in the past; Talking about daily routines in the past; Naming days of the week; Naming months; Talking about jobs and professions; Talking about duration (for & seit); Naming years; Telling one’s life-story; Looking for jobs; Expressing what one has to do (muss); Giving instructions (imperative); Expressing permissions (dürfen); Filling out registration forms; Asking for clarification; Naming body parts; Expressing pain; Expressing belonging (unser, euer, ihr, etc.); Interacting at the doctor; Writing excuses; Making appointments on the phone; Giving directions (review of cardinal and ordinal numbers); Describing locations (Dativ+prepositions of location); Expressing where one is and where on is going (prepositions zu & nach); Asking for the location of places; Expressing sequences in time (vor, nach, bei); Giving precise times in relation to one another (in); Expressing requests politely (könnten; würden); Talking about the function of things; Leaving messages; Complaining about broken equipment; Naming items of clothing; Expressing likes and dislikes; Referring to items without naming them (den, die, das, mir, dir, ihm, ihr, etc.); Talking about taste and preferences; Asking about items and identifying specific items (welche, diese, etc.); Expressing belonging (gehören); Talking about dates and duration; Using accusative pronouns (mich, dich, etc.); Writing and understanding text messages in German; Reading and writing invitations; Talking about holidays in Germany; Writing formal letters

 

A2 (120 units)
CEF Level Description:	Can understand sentences and frequently used expressions related to areas of most immediate relevance (e.g. very basic personal and family information, shopping, local geography, employment). Can communicate in simple and routine tasks requiring a simple and direct exchange of information on familiar and routine matters. Can describe in simple terms aspects of his/her background, immediate environment and matters in areas of immediate need.
Possible Expath Course Contents:	Answering “Why” questions; Expressing the past (split verbs); Describing sequences of actions in the past (zuerst, dann, etc.); Asking about whether something has ever been done; Talking about vacations; Talking about extended family; Expressing “to put” in German, Talking about the location of items and places and placing them; Asking people to come in, out, over, etc.); Reading short messages and notes; Talking about frequency; Using “some” and “one” in German; Naming kitchen utensils and talking about food; Ordering, complaining and explaining in a restaurant; Offering and declining; Talking about cause and effect (wenn-dann); Looking for jobs; Talking about what one should do; Assigning ownership of known items (deinen, deins, etc.); Saying “already” and “not yet”; Saying “someone” and “no one”; Reading messages and announcements at work; Talking about vacations; Using reflexives (“oneself” – “sich”); Talking about interests and health; Talking about activities; Asking and answering questions with “Wo” (“wofür”, “worauf”, “womit”, etc.); Talking about past and current situations and the differences between them (wollte, konnte, sollte, etc.); Expressing what one thinks or believes (…,dass…); Talking about education and educational offers; Talking about gifts and “to whom” they are given; Expressing doing things “in spite of”…; Using conditionals (wäre, hätte, würde); Talking about possibilities (könnte); Talking about weekend plans; Talking about events and cultural activities; Using adjectives in dative and accusative case; Describing items; Comparing items; Using the comparative and superlative; Understanding brochures and flyers; Complaining about orders; Using the post office; Using “one”/”you” in German; Using the passive in German; Talking about preferences; Talking about types; Leaving telephone messages; Apologizing; Expressing origins, destinations and locations; Expressing different types of motion (um, durch, über, entlang); Giving reasons (deshalb, deswegen); Talking about different types of weather conditions; Talking about plans and itineraries; Expressing the lack of something (ohne); Talking about durations; Booking trips; Writing and understanding postcards in German; Talking about vacation activities; Asking for information; Asking “who”, “when” and “where” questions effectively; Asking about opening hours; Using “if”-sentences; Talking about about past points in time and past frequencies; Dealing with banks; Using the passive; Asking people to wait; Using “during”; Talking about knowing and being familiar with something; Using modal verbs effectively; “Inventing” useful German words; Giving advice; Handling conflicts in German; Talking about consequences

B1 (120 units)
CEF Level Description:	Can understand the main points of clear standard input on familiar matters regularly encountered in work, school, leisure, etc. Can deal with most situations likely to arise whilst travelling in an area where the language is spoken. Can produce simple connected text on topics which are familiar or of personal interest. Can describe experiences and events, dreams, hopes and ambitions and briefly give reasons and explanations for opinions and plans.
Possible Expath Course Contents:	Talking about when something happened (wenn, als); Reading and writing emails; Reading and composing biographies; Past tense (flog, ging); Talking about the sequence of past events; Describing accidents; Expressing past ownership and wishes; Expressing fortunate and unfortunate occurrences; “Plusquamperfekt” (Ich war umgefallen); Describing degrees (besonders, ziemlich, etc.); Using “even though” in German; Comparing options; Formulating longer sentences in German (…,der…); Understanding newspaper headlines; Talking about tv shows; Making suggestions; Giving reasons; Agreeing; Declining and disagreeing; Giving alternative options; Reading German fiction; Talking about physical actions; Recommending; Talking about health; Understanding German marketing and ads; Talking about prevention; Using fractions; Evaluating theories and assumptions; Using the Genitive in German; Talking about statistics; Expressing the consequences of hypothetical situations; Clarifying within a conversation; Guessing effectively in German; Expressing reasoning; Talking about foreign languages; Talking about learning types; Talking about shared experiences; Talking about unreal conditions; Expressing one’s opinion; Asking follow-up questions and reacting; Talking about careers; Talking about degrees of ease and convenience; Reading and understanding job ads; Writing application letters; Interviewing effectively; Conducting small talk; Talking about oneself in a job interview; Ending conversations; Evaluating someone or something; Talking professionally to customers; Inquiring about offers; Talking about motivations; Following instuctions and guidelines; Analysing newspaper articles; Finding information; Making sales pitches; Speaking about one’s home country; Talking about statistics; Giving options; Exaggerating; Talking about moving; Expressing regret; Reacting to bad news; Expressing looking forward to something; Talking about rules, regulations and guidelines; Complaining to a neighbor; Criticizing politely; Expressing surprise; Reacting to criticism in a friendly way and apologizing; Expressing anger; Reading newspaper; Expressing sympathy; Reporting; Talking about games and conditions; Talking about being formal and informal in German; Speaking about people; Reading classified ads; Describing people; Talking about relationships; Offering the “du”; Expressing “seemingly” and “as if” in German; Talking about concurrent actions; Making decisions; Asking for help; Explaining things; Showing understanding; Giving advice; Reacting surprised or critical; Expressing agreement; Expressing disinterest; Asking for help; Commenting; Talking about products; Complaining about products and services; Telling stories; Expressing problems; Describing marketing campaigns; Talking about future actions; Convincing or persuading someone; Refusing apologies; Talking about behavior; Talking about different cultural norms; Acting like a good guest in Germany; Introducing explanations; Evaluating and assessing; Asking for aid; Calming people down; Offering solutions; Speaking with police; Speaking at the lost and found; Talking about rental issues; Analysing pictures and cartoons; Talking about role models; Comparing things; Reading newspaper articles; Talking about political issues in Germany; Asking for opinions; Talking about history; Describing countries; Presenting advantages and disadvantages; Expressing wishes and desires

 

 B2 (180 units)

CEF Level Description:	Can understand the main ideas of complex text on both concrete and abstract topics, including technical discussions in his/her field of specialisation. Can interact with a degree of fluency and spontaneity that makes regular interaction with native speakers quite possible without strain for either party. Can produce clear, detailed text on a wide range of subjects and explain a viewpoint on a topical issue giving the advantages and disadvantages of various options
Expath Course Contents:	Based on student strengths, weaknesses, skills, interests, needs & current events in Berlin, Germany and internationally

 

 C1 (240 units)

CEF Level Description:	Can understand a wide range of demanding, longer texts, and recognise implicit meaning. Can express him/herself fluently and spontaneously without much obvious searching for expressions. Can use language flexibly and effectively for social, academic and professional purposes. Can produce clear, well-structured, detailed text on complex subjects, showing controlled use of organisational patterns, connectors and cohesive devices.
Expath Contents:	Based on student strengths, weaknesses, skills, interests, needs & current events in Berlin, Germany and internationally

C2 (240 units)
CEF Level Description:	Can understand with ease virtually everything heard or read. Can summarise information from different spoken and written sources, reconstructing arguments and accounts in a coherent presentation. Can express him/herself spontaneously, very fluently and precisely, differentiating finer shades of meaning even in more complex situations.
Expath Contents:	Based on student strengths, weaknesses, skills, interests, needs & current events in Berlin, Germany and internationally

Source for CEF-level descriptions: http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/linguistic/Source/Framework_en.pdf