Guten Tag! Wie geht es Ihnen? After 4 long years of learning German, going from writing a simple email, to a short story about Character A getting injured for the nth time, you might be thinking if it is something you should continue pursuing after JC.
Undeniably, there is a significant jump to be expected. When we formally started lessons, I found it comparable to O Level English at least; H1 GP at worst (and teachers would compare it to moving from the B2 to the C1 band).
There are five components to the examination. In almost every paper, there are opportunities for you to express your opinion about various topics outside of what is typically used in daily conversation — which is the general scope of O Level German. In H2 German, there are more complicated themes, as shown in the list below.
This provides an added level of unpredictability and difficulty to the examination: from writing 150 word stories to 450 word argumentative essays, from reading about someone's day-to-day to scrutinising a text about random topics like ‘Digital Detox Holidays’, from being able to lift from the text to paraphrasing sentences for comprehension. Evidently, there is a lot to be done on one's own part to gain a wider vocabulary and immerse in the language and culture.
However, for the many of us that have chosen to commit to the weekly sessions, there is definitely some value to be found in the hardships. As we delve deeper into the various themes, you gain opportunities to truly deepen your knowledge about German-speaking societies and their contemporary issues beyond the textual language. With continued practice, writing argumentative essays can also become something enjoyable as you equip yourself with the necessary knowledge and skills to tackle the set themes.
And when you do want to continue your language-learning journey by picking up German at either H1 or H2 level, there are definitely strategies available to help you cope with its demands!
#1: Learning Vocabulary by Theme
There are set themes that are published every year in the syllabus for essays
Learning vocabulary by theme helps you contextualise new words, which also helps with remembering them
From lesson materials and your own readings, you can also collate ideas and ideas surrounding these themes to manipulate and utilise in your essays
#2: Learning Vocabulary through Synonyms
This helps you find replacement words and phrases in preparation for comprehension papers
In A Level German, paraphrasing the given text becomes a requirement for both the short questions, as well as the summary question. (learning new grammar and sentence structures might also be useful!)
Creating the practice early on, especially for unfamiliar words, will make the process of completing the paper more seamless.
#3: Start Reading Newspaper Headlines
Even if you can’t commit to reading the full article all the time, it is a good way to pick up vocabulary across a wide range of topics
Also helps you explore various issues within German-speaking countries, and allows you identify the topics that interest you more
Would be helpful when picking themes for oral and (if you’re taking H2) coursework.
Also good preparation for understanding comprehension texts with unpredictable topics
It is not impossible to do well in A Level German, no matter how daunting it looks. It not only widens our perspective of the world, but also opens up new opportunities – especially, if you’re looking to study in Germany in the future, or simply enjoy learning the language. However, if you’re still unsure if this is a path that you want to take for yourself, feel free to ask around! Take a look at the syllabus expectations online, and do make time for the trial classes when sign ups open up! If you're aspiring to get the German Language Elective Programme Scholarship, take note of the documents you need and the application dates at the start of the school year. Viel Glück!
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