German level 8
Course information
Upon completing the German level 8 course, you will have a thorough and complete knowledge of basic German. After this course you will, among other things, be able to:
- comprehend complicated texts
- communicate fluently and spontaneously with native speakers
- produce a clear and detailed text
Who is it for?
This general language training course is designed for students who have advanced knowledge of the German language.
What will you learn?
During this course, you will increasingly expand your active language skills. The primary aim of this course is to develop your German proficiency, building on your existing knowledge, so that you can express ideas and viewpoints in German with reasonable confidence and accuracy, both orally and in writing. Understanding interviews and dialogues as well as news reports and discussing them, are also part of the objective.
By the end of this course, you will be able to extract the essence of a complex text, whether on a concrete or abstract topic, including technical discussions in your own field. You will be able to interact with a degree of fluency and spontaneity that makes regular interaction with native speakers quite possible without strain for either party. You can produce clear and detailed texts on a wide range of subjects and explain a viewpoint on a topical issue giving the advantages and disadvantages of various options.
You will be able to write a structured summary, to grab the reader's attention with your text, and to compose a letter of complaint. You will be able to make a proposal, agree or contradict someone, and be able to hold a telephone conversation. You will also be able to give a short presentation about history or psychology, for example.
This course builds upon the knowledge gained in German level 7, which is why the goals are in many ways similar. The expansion of the knowledge of the language is mainly in the aspects of writing and grammar.
And grammar?
The grammar you learn during this course includes:
- passive voice using “sein” vs. “werden”
- text structure
- comparative sentences in subjunctive II (“als ob”)
- modal subordinate clauses with “indem”
- nouns/verbs/adjectives with prepositions
- indirect speech using subjunctive I
- prepositions with genitive (“während”)
Assessment
The intake procedure for this course comprises: intake interviewAfter you have registered for this course, we will invite you for an assessment to determine your level. We recommend that you enrol at least two weeks before the start of the course. If you enrol later than this, we cannot guarantee there will be time for the intake procedure. If you have completed the German level 7 course at UvA Talen, an assessment will not be necessary.