Learning German at Keswick School is the beginning of a fascinating and rewarding journey into German.

We conduct our lessons in German as far as possible, right from the very start of your child’s journey, in order to immerse them as much as we can and to encourage them not to be afraid of the challenge of learning languages. If students engage fully with this, they become strong, receptive and confident linguists, who are able to integrate effectively in the wider world. We strongly believe that learning foreign languages is a skill, which is truly accessible to everyone: after all, everyone already speaks at least one language fluently!

Because most students have little or no knowledge of German before we welcome them to Keswick School, we are able to start right at the beginning with teaching them how to describe themselves and family. This is a lovely way to introduce them to simple structures, whilst equipping them with the basic language needed to start a conversation. In doing so, we are also introducing them to the two most useful verbs in German, sein (to be) and haben (to have). Whilst talking about families, we also introduce a selection of new verbs, in the present and perfect to describe the activities that they do and have done. Finally, students in Year 7 learn how to describe the town or village in which they live.

In Year 8, we move on to talking about school and we extend the students’ grammatical knowledge by introducing them to modal verbs to say what you can, must and are allowed to do at school. Following on from this, we start the meatier topic of free time. In this unit, we are able to unlock more grammar as we deal with regular and irregular verbs. The last unit of Year 8 deals with home. In this unit, we teach pupils how to describe their home, using adjectives and agreements, opinions and justifications and we reintroduce the perfect tense to allow students to discuss their daily routine in the past.

In Year 9, students learn how to talk about food, in the present and past tense, using lots of opinions and justifications. In this unit, they also learn about what is typically eaten in German speaking countries. They also learn how to talk about clothes in the present, past and future tenses. The conditional is also used to describe an ideal school uniform. Also in Year 9, students learn how to discuss films, again in three tenses. This concludes a more mature collection of units, which gets potential GCSE candidates ready for the course ahead.

The very nature of language learning requires pupils to constantly recycle language in different contexts, as well as adding new vocabulary and skills. Students learn vocabulary on a regular basis and are expected to use it for their own purposes within classwork and homework so that it becomes embedded into their longer-term memory. We also aim to provide students with wider cultural knowledge of Germany and other German-speaking countries in order to enable students to develop into considerate and tolerant global citizens.

Key Stage 3 German

Key Stage 3 German Curriculum Map

GCSE German

GCSE German Curriculum Map

A Level German

A Level German Curriculum Map

Advice for Parents

Enrichment & Extra-curricular Opportunities