Achievement & Equality Team
Information on Germany and the German language
Unity and justice and freedom
For the German fatherland
For these let us all strive
Brotherly with heart and hand
National Anthem of Germany
GERMANY AT A GLANCE
Location – Central/West Europe
Neighbours – Belgium, France, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Poland, Denmark, Austria
Size – 137,874 square miles
Population – 82,374,900 (19th)
Life Expectancy – 76/82
Capital city – Berlin
Potted History
Part of the Holy Roman Empire from the 10th century until 1806, the country was unified by victory in the Franco-Prussian war. Humiliation following defeat in the First World War helped Adolf Hitler to power, leading to the Second World War and the Holocaust. Foreign troops subsequently occupied Germany and the communist German Democratic Republic split from the west. In 1989 the Berlin Wall fell and reunification followed.
Political pressure points
Reunification and its fall out dominate the political agenda, while healthcare and pension reform are not far behind.
Population mix
94% German; Turks 2.2%.
Religious makeup
Protestant 32%, Catholic 31%, Muslim 4%, Orthodox Christian 2%.
Main languages
German.
Living national icons
Kraftwerk (musicians), Claudia Schiffer (model), Nastassja Kinski (Actor) Boris Becker (Retired Tennis Player) Gunter Grass (Author)
Website
www.deutschland.de
The Nottinghamshire Context
Nottinghamshire does not have an established German community. However, there have been a few German children enrolling in County schools. There are long established economic links between Germany and the UK, and as they are both within the EU the main reason for families arriving are for business reasons.
Education in Germany
· Responsibility for educational oversight in Germany has to lie primarily with the states, while the federal government only has a minor role.
· Kindergarten is from the ages of 3 - 6.
· Grundschule (primary school) is from the ages of 6 -10.
· Realschule (secondary school finishing at GCSE -Level) 10 -18.
· Gymnasium – Oberschule (secondary school finishing at A – Level (Abitur) 10 – 19).
· In Germany school attendance is compulsory for children of ages 6 to 18. Attendance at state schools is free of charge; text books and other supplies are usually provided on loan during the school year.
· By law children must attend school up to the age of 18 years, they have the option of attending the Oberschule or Gymnasium, as well as learning a skill and attending the Berufsschule, vocational school.
· The Gymnasium may include the most gifted children and prepares students for university studies; the Realschule has a broader range of emphasis for intermediary students; the Hauptschule prepares pupils for vocational education, and the Gesamtschule or comprehensive is very rare in Germany and combines the three approaches.
Information about the German Language
The German language (Deutsch) is an Anglo-Saxon language and is one of the world's major languages. German is closely related to Latin and classified alongside English and Dutch. Around the world, German is spoken by 100 million native speakers and also 30 million non-native speakers, and Standard German is widely taught in schools and universities in Europe. Worldwide, German accounts for the most written translations into and from a language. There are about 1 and half million speakers of German in the United States, 500,000 in Canada, and sizable colonies as well in South America and such countries as Namibia and Kazakhstan.
German is spoken primarily in Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, in 70%+ of Switzerland, in Italy (Alto Adige/Südtirol), in the East of Belgium, and in some border villages of the former South Jutland County (in German, Nordschleswig, in Danish, Sønderjylland) of Denmark.
Like the other Germanic languages, German is a member of the Indo-European family. Written German is quite uniform but spoken dialects vary considerably, sometimes to the point where communication becomes a problem. The dialects fall within two general divisions: High German (Hochdeutsch), spoken in the highlands of the south, and Low German (Plattdeutsch), spoken in the lowlands of the north. High German is the standard written language, used almost exclusively in books and newspapers, even in the regions where Low German is more commonly spoken. Low German sounds more like English and Dutch, as may be seen by such words as Door (door- High German: Tür), and eten (to eat- High German: essen).
Since English is a Germanic language, it is not surprising to find a high degree of similarity in the vocabulary of the two languages, finger, hand, butter, butter, ring, name, warm, and blind are German words with the same meaning in English.
Words and Phrases
English / Germanhello / hallo
yes. / ja.
no / nein.
please. / bitte.
thank you. / danke.
you're welcome. / bitte schön.
excuse me. / entschuldigung.
i am sorry. / es tut mir leid.
good morning. / guten morgen.
good evening / guten abend.
good night. / gute nacht.
do you speak english? / sprechen sie englisch?
does anyone here speak english? / spricht hier jemand englisch?
do you understand? / verstehen sie?
excuse my poor german. / entschuldigen sie mein schlechtes deutsch.
i only speak a little german. / ich spreche nur ein klein wenig deutsch.
what is your name? / wie heißen sie?
my name is monika / ich heiße monika..
this is kathrin. / das ist kathrin.
how are you? / wie geht es ihnen?
how have you been? / wie ist es ihnen denn so ergangen?
i am fine, thank you. / mir geht es gut, danke.
i am very glad to meet you. / ies freut mich sie kennenzulernen.
it was nice meeting you / es war nett, sie kennenzulernen.
i don't understand. / ich verstehe nicht.
what did you say? / was haben sie gesagt?
can you speak more slowly? / können sie langsamer sprechen?
have a nice day! / einen schönen tag noch!
where is .? / wo ist .?
can you help me? / können sie mir helfen?
how? / wie?
how do you say...? / wie sagt man...?
i am from... / ich komme aus...
i don't know. / ich weiß nicht.
please help me. / können sie mir helfen.
please repeat. / wiederholen sie bitte.
what did you say? / wie bitte?
alphabet / das alphabet
book / das buch
dictionary / das wörterbuch
pen / der stift
pencil / der bleistift
read / lesen
write / schreiben
head teacher / der schulleiter
teacher / lehrer, m, lehrerin,f
class / die klasse
lunch / das mittagessen
monday / montag
tuesday / dienstag
wednesday / mittwoch
thursday / donnerstag
friday / freitag
saturday / samstag/sonnabend
sunday / sonntag
january / januar
february / februar
march / märz
april / april
may / mai
june / juni
july / juli
august / august
september / september
october / oktober
november / november
december / dezember
one / eins
two / zwei/zwo
three / drei
four / vier
five / fünf
six / sechs
seven / sieben
eight / acht
nine / neun
ten / zehn
Useful guidance is available from:
New Arrivals Excellence Programme Guidance
(2007) Ref 00650 – 2007BKT- EN
www.nationalstrategies.standards.dcsf.gov.uk
This resource is for primary and secondary schools and contains guidance on admission and developing classroom practice.
A language in common: assessing English as an additional language
QCA (2000) (QCA/00/584).
www.qcda.gov.uk/resources/6200aspx
This document sets out steps used in assessment of EAL, linked to English National Curriculum levels. It provides guidance and exemplifications.
Aiming High: guidance on supporting the education of asylum seeking and refugee children (DfES 0287 – 2004)
www.standards.dcsf.gov.uk/ethnicminorites/links_and_publications/AH_Gdnc_AS_RFG_Apr04?asylumguidance.pdf
This guidance helps explain the value of an inclusive ethos and curriculum to all pupils.
Aiming High: meeting the needs of newly arrived learners of EAL
(DfES 1381 -2005)
www.standards.dcsf.gov.uk/primary/publications/inclusion/newarrivals
Information on working with newly arrived isolated ERAL pupils in settings that have little or no access to EAL support.
Excellence and enjoyment: learning and teaching for bilingual children in the primary years (DfES 0013 – 2006PCK- EN)
Key Stage 3 National Strategy: Access and engagement in English:teaching pupils for whom English is an additional language (DfES 0609 – 2002)
Publications/Catalogues are available from:
MUNDI Tel: 0115 8546418
Mundi
Global Education Centre
Foxhall Lodge
Foxhall Road
Nottingham
NG7 6LH
www.mundi.org.uk (under construction/Aug 2010)
Mundi loan resources to schools in Nottinghamshire free for up to half a term
e-mail:
GRANT AND CUTLER Tel: (44) 020 7734 2012
55-57 Great Marlborough Street,
London'
England
W1F 7AY
Web: http://www.grantandcutler.com/index.html
A one-stop shop for foreign language resources including language-learning material, reference books, technical dictionaries, literature, history, politics etc.
MILET PUBLISHING LTD Tel +44 20 7603 5477
6 North End Parade
London W14 0SJ
England
Web: http://www.milet.com
Milet publishers a wide range of bilingual picture dictionaries, including board books for use in early years settings.
TRENTHAM BOOKS Tel: +44 (0) 1782 745567
Westview House,734 London Road,
Stoke on Trent,
UKST4 5NP Web: http://www.trentham-books.co.uk
Trentham publishes 'a wide range of titles plus seven professional journals, mainly in the field of education and social policy.
MANTRA LINGUA Tel: 0044 (0)208 44 55 123
Global House
303 Ballards Lane
London
N12 8NP
UK
Web: http://www.mantralingua.com.
Mantra Lingua creative learning resources Audio CDs, Big Books, e-books, fun tales, folk tales, friezes, games, language learning, packs posters, story props, toys videos and so on.
Classroom Resources are available from:
Free computer programs contain interactive video clips showing the child teaching their home language; available at, www.newburypark.redbridge.sch.uk/langofmonth
The following website translates words, phrases and short paragraphs from English to German available at; www.foreignword.com.
The Dingle Granby Toxteth Education Action Zone website; Useful letters for parents translated into German available at: http://www.primaryresources.co.uk/letters
DLTK's Crafts for Kids features a variety images that can be used for creating pupils own subject-specific dictionaries.
http://www.dltk-kids.com
Activities for ESL Students can be adapted for EAL pupils in primary and secondary schools. Has bilingual quizzes in large number of languages, available at http://a4esl.org.
Omniglot writing systems and languages of the world available at www.omniglot.com
EMA Online resource base for teachers has been developed by Birmingham, Leeds and Manchester LAs with funding from the DfES, available at; http://www.emaonline.org.uk.
Racist bullying. Advice designed for schools to dip in and out as appropriate for them and offers discussion topics and activities to stimulate debate and spark activity involving everyone in the school community, available at; http://www.teachernet.gov.uk/wholeschool/behaviour/tacklingbullying/racistbullying.
Teachernet states that a successful home–school relationship can be a key element in making a school stronger and more effective. In particular, it can make a real difference to groups of underachieving pupils and their families, available at; http://www.teachernet.gov.uk.
Nottinghamshire Achievement & Equality Team