Viel Spaß! (German)

Name: drown_doll

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Product:	German
Date:	16/06/01 (82 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: see text

Disadvantages: see text

I thought it was probably about time that I updated some of my really old (and probably really crap) opinions...so here goes (I will leave in the original text and add an update at the bottom).

Choosing German at 'A' level is not the easy option, but for me it was the right one. As with GCSE you have to put a lot in and in return you get a lot out. Opportunities in working with languages are exceptional and with the United Kingdom in Europe, it is becoming ever more necessary to speak one of the modern languages today.

Like GCSE, this course focuses highly on grammar, it becomes quite difficult and you have to stick at it. As at 'A' level it is not actually a set course, virtually anything can come up on the exam paper and therefore you have to cover a lot of work in a fairly short space of time.

All 'A' levels are hard and you have to work hard to succeed. German is no exception. It's great though. There's always the opportunity to work abroad or study abroad during summer or the holidays - this is one of the advantages of the course. The disadvantages would be the amount of effort you have to put in. It is worth it though, as apparently you can earn up to £5000 more per year in certain jobs for having a second language! How cool would that be?

UPDATE

Ok, so that was a bit rubbish really, wasn't it? I only really talked about the advantages. What about other stuff?

I'm a university student of French and German at the moment and to be honest I'm finding German more difficult than ever before. I spent last year in France and therefore my ability in the two languages are now completely different.

German at University

Of course all unis tackle the course differently, but this is what mine does:

we study compulsory modules on grammar and language skills (written and oral)...we also have the choice of other modules on culture, history a
nd literature. Much of the time they can overlap though. For instance, at the moment I am studying 'Literature of the Wende' and we read books, watch films and study the historical and cultural side of the German Reunification. It's very interesting, but extremely hard work. Two long books in German for half the module and a 2500 word essay (also in German) - and that's only this semester's workload!

German at uni starts off a lot easier than A level to be honest. They have to make sure that everyone is at the same standard and you may find that you are not being stretched at all. That was the case for me - now it is completely different though. In your third year you can go abroad (actually at our uni it is compulsory except for mature students). As I said above I went to France, but I do think it is absolutely vital to spend as much time as possible in the country where your language is spoken. That is one of the reasons why I am struggling.

I don't really know what more to write - chin up! You'll manage it!!! A lot of hard work and determination...

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