German Proofreading

Can anyone please proofread my controlled assessment? I am aiming for an A* so I would also appreciate it if you could give me tips on how to improve the quality of my language etc. Thanks x

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 1

eupheme

OP

10

Original post by maliese

Hiya

I actually am German, so I'm happy to help! Your text was really very good but here are my suggestions. Feel free to ask anything, and I'll make sure to explain!

wow, thank you so much!! :h:

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 2

bzfnqyd

14

Are you sure it's okay for you to post this? You might want to check, it's possible it would be flagged up during a plagiarism check.

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 3

eupheme

OP

10

oh that's true - thank you for telling me. i'll delete it once you see the reply :smile:

Reply 4

bzfnqyd

14

Original post by rumaisa_

oh that's true - thank you for telling me. i'll delete it once you see the reply :smile:

I've seen it :smile:

Reply 5

eupheme

OP

10

Original post by maliese

Hiya

I actually am German, so I'm happy to help! Your text was really very good but here are my suggestions. Feel free to ask anything, and I'll make sure to explain!
.

hi, thanks again for checking this for me, it really helped :h:

but please could you delete your post? someone told me that it could get picked up on in a plagiarism check.
thank you !!

Reply 6

eupheme

OP

10

please could you delete the quote from your post before? it has the text of my controlled assessment in it
thank you !

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 7

eupheme

OP

10

thanks, i hope so :smile:

Reply 8

eupheme

OP

10

really ?? my teacher said it's very good for gcse but never anything like a2. i'm glad you think so, it gives me a lot more confidence :smile:

what is a-level german like? i am probably choosing french as i find the grammar easier but my speaking/accent is not so good as my german :/ would you recommend german? do you know anyone who is doing both and could compare?

Reply 9

Asolare

20

Original post by rumaisa_

really ?? my teacher said it's very good for gcse but never anything like a2. i'm glad you think so, it gives me a lot more confidence :smile:

what is a-level german like? i am probably choosing french as i find the grammar easier but my speaking/accent is not so good as my german :/ would you recommend german? do you know anyone who is doing both and could compare?

Hello, I'm not the same person but I am doing A-Level German. On a word about picking French because the grammar is easier do not be fooled. Romance languages have grammar/word order etc. that's very similar to English at first, so it doesn't seem to difficult. But as you go further on, you realise at A-Level the grammar in romance languages will step up a lot, whereas German is honestly not that difference to GCSE minus the subjunctive and passive.

I haven't actually done A Level French, but I've spoken to people before who do it and they say they couldn't believe how much more difficult the grammar got and seem to reallyyyy struggle with it.

I can't vouch for the current spec of German as it's different to the one I'm on, but it's definitely fun. You should really consider it; some of the topics in AS are a bit bland like media/fashion, but when you get to A2 and have full on debates, learn history and do cultural analysis, it's a wild party.

Reply 10

lostintrnslation

12

Original post by rumaisa_

really ?? my teacher said it's very good for gcse but never anything like a2. i'm glad you think so, it gives me a lot more confidence :smile:

what is a-level german like? i am probably choosing french as i find the grammar easier but my speaking/accent is not so good as my german :/ would you recommend german? do you know anyone who is doing both and could compare?

i do both french and german at a level. i am much better at german than i am at french (in all areas) but i didn't want to stop learning french. both a levels are pretty much the same, so you can apply your exam technique to both subjects. i know on my exam board, with the reformed a level, pronunciation isn't worth as many marks as it used to be. and you do way more work on your speaking in lessons at a level than you do at gcse

Reply 11

Asolare

20

Original post by lostintrnslation

i do both french and german at a level. i am much better at german than i am at french (in all areas) but i didn't want to stop learning french. both a levels are pretty much the same, so you can apply your exam technique to both subjects. i know on my exam board, with the reformed a level, pronunciation isn't worth as many marks as it used to be. and you do way more work on your speaking in lessons at a level than you do at gcse

Fgs

Wish I was on the reformed A-Level now.

Reply 12

bzfnqyd

14

Original post by rumaisa_

really ?? my teacher said it's very good for gcse but never anything like a2. i'm glad you think so, it gives me a lot more confidence :smile:

what is a-level german like? i am probably choosing french as i find the grammar easier but my speaking/accent is not so good as my german :/ would you recommend german? do you know anyone who is doing both and could compare?

I'm currently doing both. To be honest, both languages have their difficulties. Personally I'd say it's easier to improve your written grammar with constant practice than your speaking, so I'd pick German (then again, German is my favourite, so that might be personal bias). One thing to think about is that the A-level oral exam is a big step up from GCSE. It wasn't a big deal for me because I did IGCSEs, so I never got to pre-prepare much, I was used to being asked unexpected questions in the exam and making up answers on the go. My classmates, on the other hand, who did GCSE, found it tough to transition from answering questions they knew they would be asked and that they'd prepared answers for to spontaneous conversation. If you find it tricky to speak spontaneously in one of these languages, you might want to consider picking the other one. Your course may not have let you memorise answers though, I don't know. Plus everyone's different, the things people find hard vary.

What I would consider is which culture interests you more. It's all very well being good at the grammar, but at the end of the day if you're regularly discussing things that bore you to tears you'll find yourself regretting taking languages and potentially losing focus in class - trust me, there's one topic of French I still struggle to remember from AS because I found it difficult to concentrate when it was so dull. If you aren't ready to spend a fair few lessons discussing the impact of fascism, for example, don't take German. If dictatorships fascinate you, German is the language for you. If you don't fancy discussing things like the Burkini ban, maybe don't go for French - there tends to be quite a lot of discussion of religious freedoms etc. because of their secularism policy. You will discuss issues that are important in that country, so read the news and work out what fascinates you the most. You don't necessarily have to agree with the country's policy, but having a strong opinion either way is helpful when it comes to debating in the oral. Nuclear power is always going to be a big topic in French, because they use so much of it, but not so much in German, because nuclear power is banned in Germany. Things like that. Pick something you have a passion for - at the end of the day, you don't learn the language solely for the language's sake, you learn it to be able to communicate with new people, see new perspectives and access works of literature/ films/ music which you wouldn't have understood otherwise.

Then there's the film/history/geography/literature questions. Find out which of these your school will prep you for. For me it's the literature. If that's true for you, find out what you'll be reading. In French we're currently doing a selection of stories by Maupassant which I absolutely adore. I look forward to lit lessons every week. That's one thing I'll miss when I go to uni - from what I've read of both, I kind of prefer French literature to German (which I'm planning to study). Then again, I tend to prefer older literature, and the texts I've read in German have been more modern. Hope this helps.

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 13

eupheme

OP

10

Original post by Inexorably

Hello, I'm not the same person but I am doing A-Level German. On a word about picking French because the grammar is easier do not be fooled. Romance languages have grammar/word order etc. that's very similar to English at first, so it doesn't seem to difficult. But as you go further on, you realise at A-Level the grammar in romance languages will step up a lot, whereas German is honestly not that difference to GCSE minus the subjunctive and passive.

I haven't actually done A Level French, but I've spoken to people before who do it and they say they couldn't believe how much more difficult the grammar got and seem to reallyyyy struggle with it.

I can't vouch for the current spec of German as it's different to the one I'm on, but it's definitely fun. You should really consider it; some of the topics in AS are a bit bland like media/fashion, but when you get to A2 and have full on debates, learn history and do cultural analysis, it's a wild party.

aargh
guess i might have to reconsider then, but it just doesn't feel right to study german ?? that might be because i was so sure about doing french though

Original post by lostintrnslation

i do both french and german at a level. i am much better at german than i am at french (in all areas) but i didn't want to stop learning french. both a levels are pretty much the same, so you can apply your exam technique to both subjects. i know on my exam board, with the reformed a level, pronunciation isn't worth as many marks as it used to be. and you do way more work on your speaking in lessons at a level than you do at gcse

that's how i feel about the gcses - basically the same content, in two different languages.
which exam board are you?

i do regular gcses, so spontaneity isn't really covered, apart from with foreign language assistants etc. but i don't think one or the other is more difficult ?
all those topics seem interesting enough to me, but i do feel more of a connection to french culture and film/lit/etc
and moreover french is great for joining doctors without borders (which i would like to do for a while after university) because they need more volunteers who are fluent in french and arabic, so it kind of ties in with future plans.
we do either film or literature, but i'm not sure what exactly we study. i'll ask my french teacher about that one :smile:

thanks for your advice !!

aah i see - i think speaking might be my weak point. thank you + good luck on your exams!

Reply 14

Asolare

20

Original post by rumaisa_

aargh
guess i might have to reconsider then, but it just doesn't feel right to study german ?? that might be because i was so sure about doing french though

that's how i feel about the gcses - basically the same content, in two different languages.
which exam board are you?

i do regular gcses, so spontaneity isn't really covered, apart from with foreign language assistants etc. but i don't think one or the other is more difficult ?
all those topics seem interesting enough to me, but i do feel more of a connection to french culture and film/lit/etc
and moreover french is great for joining doctors without borders (which i would like to do for a while after university) because they need more volunteers who are fluent in french and arabic, so it kind of ties in with future plans.
we do either film or literature, but i'm not sure what exactly we study. i'll ask my french teacher about that one :smile:

thanks for your advice !!

aah i see - i think speaking might be my weak point. thank you + good luck on your exams!

If you don't feel German is right for you then don't force yourself to do it at A-Level, pick the one you'd enjoy more even if it might be more difficult in some areas :smile:

Reply 15

lostintrnslation

12

Original post by rumaisa_

that's how i feel about the gcses - basically the same content, in two different languages.
which exam board are you?

wjec (or eduqas as it's called in england now)

Reply 16

eupheme

OP

10

Original post by Inexorably

If you don't feel German is right for you then don't force yourself to do it at A-Level, pick the one you'd enjoy more even if it might be more difficult in some areas :smile: