Germany: far right tries to conquer young generation

Germany: far right tries to conquer young generation. A ready made IO presentation.

Wild boar cause chaos in Germany

I read this article below in Metro the other week and thought it was too weird not to tell you about.

Germany builds fake wild boar to see effect on cars when in accidents

Read the article at Metro.co.uk

Apparently wild boar (Wildschweine) are more of a problem in Germany than I realised. Take this article for example. It would be an interesting one to translate for your scrapbook, too.

Brot und Salz schenken

I've recently moved house and received a lovely card from Stef, a former German Language Assistant at the CTC.

The message inside the card read:

"Bosheit, Feinde, schlimme leiden
sollen eure Tuere meiden.
Freunde, Glueck und Sonnenschein
sollen sich willkommen sein!"

Stef also wrote that the traditional gift of bread and salt wouldn't fit in the envelope, so she would have to bring them with her, when she visits. I had never heard of this tradition, so decided to do some research...


Brot steht als Zeichen dafür, dass immer genug Nahrung im Haus sein soll und das Salz für den Reichtum.

Also, ich habe was gelernt! Du auch?

Loveparade

The Love Parade held in Duisburg, Germany was the biggest dance music festival in Europe, but this year it ended in tragedy as 19 people died and hundreds were injured.

Here are some German news reports covering the incident.

Welt-Online

Bild.de

deutsche Welle

Deutschland nach dem Mauerfall

Here are some extra resources about Germany and the Berlin Wall.

Dieses Video ist eine sehr schöne Zusammenfassung der Ereignisse nach 1989/1990.

Dieses Website hat alles, was man wissen will, ueber die Mauer und die Opfer der Mauer.

Hier gibt's Bilder vor und nach dem Mauerfall.

Dieses Lied war in Ostdeutschland verboten, aber dieses Lied war erlaubt.

das deutsche Radio

Listening to the German radio will help your listening skills. I know that there is no listening exam on the IB, but you will need to be able to understand spoken German to succeed in your speaking exam.

Instead of your favourite CD, try one of these radio stations in the background. The stations, like in England, cater for different audiences, so whether it's love songs, 80s or folk music you're after, you will find something on the website.

Enjoy!

Quite Interesting

I'm not sure how long these videos hang around for on BBC iPlayer, so you may have to be quick!

Here is the link to an episode of QI dedicated to Germany.

Enjoy!

Musik in Deutschland

Hello Stephanie and Year 12,

Sorry for the delay in my
response! My flight was cancelled on the way back and I had to stay
overnight in Berlin Schoenefeld airport, but I made it in the
end!

As for German music, the most striking thing is that you hear
so little of it on German radio!! Most of the songs you hear played are in
English, either by English bands or German bands singing in English. The
smaller German bands I have seen performing in Dresden also tend to sing in
English. The children recently did posters on their favourite artists and
singers like Michael Jackson were featured - again not so German!

However, Polarkreis 18 are a popular band here, and they actually come
from Dresden, and another successful local band is Silbermond (from a smaller
town in Saxony). Germany also has quite a thriving hip hop scene, with
artists such as Samy Deluxe - I can't say I'm much of a rap expert though!
I know there are different types of hip hop centred on Berlin and Hamburg.

I hope 2010 has got off to a good start for you all,

Best
wishes,

Charlotte

Lost in Deutschland

So what would be the first thing you notice when you visit Germany? For Brian Melican it was the amount of television towers.

Brian has put together a series of off-the-wall posts about the German way of life, which is unlikely to be understood at first glance by us Brits.

Lost in Deutschland is very informative and very funny.

A belated Christmas in Germany

Dresden Christmas Market is the oldest in Germany (or so they say anyway), apparently dating back to the 1400s, so it is pretty big and pretty good, I would say!





Stollen is a big deal in Dresden: there is a special Dresdner Stollen which differs from other types in that it contains no marzipan (so my flatmate tells me). On the second weekend of Advent the Stollenfest takes place, where a four-tonne stollen is paraded through the streets, followed by a massive knife, and a stollen queen is also chosen! You can also buy 'Mohnstollen' which is stollen made from poppy seeds - it looks a bit like marble cake because the poppy seed mixture is swirled through a plain stollen mixture. Of course the heart shaped Lebkuchen are also easy to find at the market, and I have to say, as much as I love mince pies, I think German Christmas food, at least the sweet things, is much more exciting. The markets also have a big range of savoury food like crepes and waffles, and, naturally, sausages.



Dresden has a fair few stalls selling the wooden decorations and toys from the Erzgebirge region of Saxony, which is famous for the delicately carved wooden items that it produces. The illuminated Christmas stars are also often to be seen hanging in windows as you walk down the residential streets here.


The religious aspects of Advent seem to be more obvious over here, such as the lighting of a candle on every Sunday in Advent. I've also seen some (less religious) amazing Advent calendars, such as a Playmobil calendar where you get a new toy every day! Räucherhäuse (a little model house with a scented candle inside) also seem to be common Christmas decorations. Of course Nikolaustag is also an important event during Advent, and I was also lucky enough to find chocolate in my shoes this year! I was in Vienna on that weekend and in the club I was dancing away in we were surprised to be asked to clear the dancefloor half-way through the night. And then even more surprised to find about 10 or 15 men walk onto the floor dressed in Krampus costumes, kneel down and then get up and walk off one by one! Wikipedia tells me it's tradition for young men to dress up like this in the first few weeks of December, but at the time we were a bit clueless as to what was going on!


Christmas itself differs from a British Christmas in that presents are received on the 24th, when the Weihnachtsmann makes a personal appearance. From what my students have told me the traditional food involves a Kartoffelsalat, sausages and often goose or duck, although not always. I think that over-eating and watching too much television is a common part of a German Christmas day too!

New Year is also a time for big celebrations in Germany. There will be an outdoor concert in the centre of Dresden and a fireworks and light show. My mentor teacher also tells me that crackers are traditionally pulled at New Year celebrations, not at Christmas.

The importance of learning a language!

If you haven't seen this a million times already, I promise this will make you laugh!

Adopt-a-class

Dear all,

We were invited at the end of last year to take part in the University of Bristol's 'Adopt-a-Class' scheme.

Students studying one or more languages at university are asked to complete a year abroad. Some of these students work as English Language Assistants in German schools.

I thought it would be good for you to read about life in Germany and the possibilities learning a language opens up to you. So meet Charlotte Levey and read about her early experiences of the German education system...

Hello Stephanie (and Year 12),

As I am working in a primary school I only really have first hand
knowledge of the start of German education, but I will tell you what I
know! I think the systems vary between the Bundeslaender as well, so this
information is specific to Saxony although I am sure that, for the most
part, it will apply to other Laender too.

The children in my primary school are between 5 and 10 years old - this is
the 1. to the 4. class. After they finish at the Grundschule they will go
on to either a Realschule, Gymnasium or Hauptschule, depending on their
abilities. Up to the 5. class however they are not put into sets or
streamed at all. Some, but not all, of them have previously attended a
Kindergarten. It is possible, even at this young age, for them to be held
back a year if they do not perform well - as I have heard my mentor
teacher reminding students who have not properly learnt their homework!
In English the pupils must regularly prepare for a 'Zensur' in the 4.
class - basically an assessed piece of work to monitor their performance -
but not the pupils in the 3. class. In my school the pupils begin English
in the 3. class (so at 7 years old) but I know of schools that start
English lessons as soon as the children enter the Grundschule. Homework
is set in most lessons. Afterschool care is provided for the children
whose parents cannot take them home due to work commitments - which means
most of the parents at my school.

Apart from this I would say that a German primary school is similar to an
English one - apart from the early start: lessons run from 7:30 to 13:00.

I hope this is useful! If I can help with any questions please email me
and I'll try to answer them - I have friends working in different types of
schools so I can ask them if necessary.

With best wishes,

Charlotte

Interactive Oral - Number 2

Below are the four questions which you can use as a basis for your Interactive Oral on immigration and integration.

1. Wie sieht das Leben als Migrant in Deutschland heutzutage aus?
   
2. Wie war es frueher?
   
3. Gibt es noch Probleme?
   
4. Was kann die deutsche Regierung machen, um das Situation zu
   verbessern?
   

These questions should be just the starting point. Remember you are aiming to have a 'real' discussion, so you will need to agree and disagree with your partner and both ask and answer questions.

Ein Haus in Muenchen

Courtesy of the Goethe Institut here is a wealth of reading and listening activities for you to enjoy!

Follow the daily lives of individuals and families living in Munich.

Start by getting to know the 'Bewohner' and then chose from the 'Themen' to see how the people live.

Loads of great cultural references and not too difficult either.

Viel Spass!

20 Jahre Mauerfall

9 November 2009 marks the 20th Anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. As it is a subject we will look at in Year 12, I have linked to a superb website.

It is worth having a bit of background understanding before we study the topic in detail and the website has even been translated into English!

Meine Stadt website

If you're ever planning a trip to Germany or need information about a town for a German lesson, check out http://www.meinestadt.de/


Practicially every German town is covered and there is more information than you will ever need. Try the 'Tourismus' and 'Freizeit' tabs for things to do, maps and pictures.

POPCAST

If you are interessted in music have a look at this POPCAST from the Goethe Institut.
The popcast is updated monthly and you can download or subscribe to the German rock, hip-hop, pop and electro podcast.

ZDFtivi

I haven't had much time to check this out, but at a first glance this looks like a great website. Follow the link for up-to-date news stories aimed at teenagers.

Happy reading!

die Welle

As part of a school project week, a secondary school teacher tries to show his students what life would be like under a dictatorship. The results of this experiment play out in the new German film 'die Welle'. The film is available on DVD in the UK (with English subtitles) and is well worth a look. The book by the same name is also a good read.

Here is the German language trailer.

das deutsche Schulsystem

Test your knowledge of the German school system using this Quia quiz. Year 13, this will be a nice bit of revision for you!