Resources

Tips and Guidance for Teachers

This section of the website gives some hints for the exploitation of resources to supplement the material in the course. Comments from users of the course are welcome, so please do make use of the website to give us your feedback and to provide tips for your fellow users.

Using TV, radio and video

Even at a beginners' level students will be able to get the gist of ads, weather forecasts, and simple news items. One simple exercise which can give them a sense of achievement is to provide them with a list of some of the key words in a broadcast and to ask them to check them off as they hear them. They can then have a stab at giving the meaning.

You could also give them a gapped transcript of the broadcast and ask them (working in pairs initially) to complete the gaps.

Internet

A separate section of this website gives some examples of useful sites to start you off. If the students have ready access to a PC the internet is a very useful 'research' tool, even for students at a beginners' level.

Exercises could include:

• Students assemble vocabulary lists on particular subjects
• Preparing an itinerary using suitable travel websites. This could then be expanded into role-play activity on the basis of the information retrieved (travel agent and customer, for example)
• Preparing (and presenting) a simple weather forecast for a given location
• Preparation of a presentation on a German city or region.

Newspapers and magazines

Make use of the websites of various newspapers and magazines (see the weblinks section for further information) to pull together articles on particular themes. These can then easily be converted into reading comprehension texts or gap exercises (removing all of the verbs, for example, and giving the students a list from which to select to complete the gaps).

Other exercises could include:

• Recording a weather forecast from a written prompt (reading and pronunciation exercise)
• Preparing a simple written advert (for a restaurant, hotel etc.) on the basis of a given model
• Setting one half of the class (working in groups) the task of preparing gap exercises for the other half.

The students as a resource

Use the students' capacity for individual and group research to enhance and support the material in the course. Separate small groups of the class can be set tasks around a particular topic.

For example, select a particular job/career. Subgroups can work on:

• Searching for adverts for that job
• Preparing lists of useful words and phrases
• Providing the original advert and an English translation
• Preparation of a simple job ad in German based on the models retrieved
• Simple question and answer exercise based on a CV.

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