German Steps is an introduction to German language and culture, designed for use in social and work contexts.
The syllabus incorporates key elements of Level One of the UK's National Language Standards and conforms to the first level of the European Language Framework.
Although it's a stand-alone course, the content can be integrated into, or used to supplement, existing adult language provision.
The syllabus incorporates key elements of Level One of the UK's National Language Standards and conforms to the first level of the European Language Framework.
Although it's a stand-alone course, the content can be integrated into, or used to supplement, existing adult language provision.
| Stage 1 | Meeting people | ||
| Unit | Objectives | Language | Culture |
| 1 Introducing yourself | Basics of the language: greetings and introductions | The sounds of German Introduction to pronunciation Simple introductions Sein: Ich bin, Sie sind |
Greetings and politeness |
| 2 Family and friends | Group introductions: members of the family | Words similar to English Recognising cognates Saying 'my' Introduction to gender. Possessives: mein, meine |
Family and marriage |
| 3 Saying what you do | Asking and saying what you do | Masculine and feminine Nouns and gender: professions Saying 'you' Personal pronouns: du, Sie |
Jobs and work |
| 4 Where you live and come from | Exchanging information about country of origin and place of residence | Regular verbs Regular verbs: endings for ich, du, Sie Saying where you're from Prepositions: aus, in |
Regional identity |
| The Challenge: | Check how much you know | ||
| Stage 2 | Getting around Berlin | ||
| Unit | Objectives | Language | Culture |
| 5 Sightseeing | Identifying and recognising sights | Saying 'the' The definite articles: der, die, das Asking questions Interrogatives |
East German cultural history |
| 6 Taking a taxi | Basic conversation with taxi driver: stating destination and paying. Basic formalities. | Asking and talking about location Location: wo, in, an Asking and talking about destination Destination: wohin, zu, nach |
The clubbing scene in Germany |
| 7 Asking for directions | Attracting someone's attention. Asking for and understanding directions. | Using 'bitte' Basic formalities: bitte Letters ä ö ü Umlauts |
Sightseeing |
| 8 Taking a bus | Asking about public transport: lines, fares, tickets. Buying a ticket. | Numbers 1-10 Numbers 1-10 Changing vowels Vowel shift - fahren, fährt |
Local transport |
| The Challenge: | Check how much you know | ||
| Stage 3 | Food and drink | ||
| Unit | Objectives | Language | Culture |
| 9 Coffee and cake | Basic food orders: typical cakes and hot drinks | Quantities and portions Partitive expressions: ein Stück, eine Tasse Compound nouns Introduction to compound nouns |
Coffee and cake |
| 10 Having a snack | Ordering a snack: typical dishes and cold drinks | Saying 'I'd like...' Making a choice: ich möchte Saying 'a' The indefinite articles: ein, eine, einen |
Beer and other drinks |
| 11 Ordering a meal | Asking for and understanding the menu | Saying what you like Preference: gern Saying 'no' Negatives: nein, nicht, kein, keine, keinen |
Eating out |
| 12 Shopping for food | Basic conversation to buy foodstuffs | Numbers 11-99 Numbers 11-99 Plurals Plurals: die, -e, -n, -en |
Traditional meals |
| The Challenge | Check how much you know | ||
| Stage 4 | Taking a holiday | ||
| Unit | Objectives | Language | Culture |
| 13 Arranging a day trip | Understanding, discussing and agreeing on leisure events | Saying 'there' and 'there is/are' Basic impersonal structures: es gibt Irregular verbs Irregular verbs: ich habe, du hast |
Leisure time |
| 14 Driving | Understanding key driving language and reading signs | Saying 'I need' Necessity: brauchen Using Sie Personal pronouns: Sie, sie |
On the Autobahn |
| 15 Holiday accommodation | Understanding instructions and information about key facilities | Saying 'must' and 'can' Obligation, permission: müssen, dürfen Agreeing Agreement: ich verstehe, in Ordnung, kein Problem |
Holiday destinations |
| 16 Discussing the weather | Understanding and discussing what the weather is and will be like | Talking about the future Present tense as future Time and place Word order: inversion |
Town names |
| The Challenge: | Check how much you know | ||
| Stage 5 | Making arrangements | ||
| Unit | Objectives | Language | Culture |
| 17 Booking a room | Asking about and booking a hotel room over the phone | Giving dates Dates: von… bis zum, am, ordinal numbers Months Months |
Making phone calls |
| 18 Making an appointment | Arranging time and date for a meeting by e-mail | Telling the time Telling the time: um Days of the week Days of the week |
Time keeping |
| 19 Taking the train | Asking about and buying a train ticket: arrival and departure times, seat reservation and station changes | Saying 'leaves' and 'arrives' Introduction to separable verbs Saying 'it' Personal pronouns: er, sie, es |
The railway system |
| 20 Attending a conference | Basic business introductions and meeting openings | Saying 'your' Possessives: Ihr, dein, ihr Saying 'from' Prepositions: von, aus |
Doing business |
| The Challenge: | Check how much you know | ||
| Stage 6 | Shops and services | ||
| Unit | Objectives | Language | Culture |
| 21 Shopping for presents | Buying items in a shop: describing and differentiating similar items, discussing your budget | Describing objects Introduction to adjectives Saying 'den' Introduction to accusative |
Gifts and souvenirs |
| 22 Renting a car | Renting items: negotiating budget, contrasting options, making a decision | Numbers 100 and above Numbers 100 and above Making comparisons Adjectives: comparative forms |
The car industry |
| 23 At the chemist's | Describing symptoms, buying medicine, understanding how to take it | Saying 'it hurts' Describing pain: der Schmerz, es tut weh Giving instructions The imperative: Nehmen Sie |
Pharmacies |
| 24 Lost property | Asking about, describing and reporting lost property: filling in form with personal details | Talking about the past Introduction to the past tense More about the past Participles |
Emergencies |
| The Challenge: | Check how much you know | ||
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