Teaching German as a foreign language

I was lucky enough to participate in a "Course for teachers of German - theory and practice of learning and teaching German as a foreign language" which forms part of the Comenius 2.2 In-Service Training Grants at Academie Klausenhof in Germany.

Twenty-four participants from Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Ireland, Estonia, Turkey and Malta took part.

The course covered the theory and practice of teaching German. The lectures included topics such as German history and politics, phonetics, child and youth literature, the European Language Portfolio and German youth culture.

Discussions in class were the rule of the day and these helped us to improve both our general knowledge and our fluency in German.

One of our projects during at the academy was the publishing of a newspaper. All articles were based on the topic of "European Identity". Participants were divided in two groups and each member of the group wrote an article on relevant topics. These varied from history to personal experiences, from different tuition methods to quizzes.

We paid a visit to a local secondary school where we observed some lessons. The Academy also organises intensive German language courses for foreigners. These courses are extremely popular to those who either intend settling in Germany or who need German at their workplace.

We were given various ideas on how to make the teaching of German more interesting. These included different games and funny exercises, which I will surely adapt and include in my future lessons.

Other highlights in the course were the excursions to places close by, including Düsseldorf, Cologne, Xanten, Wesel, Münster and Bocholt. We also visited Amsterdam.

The course helped my pronunciation as all lectures were held by German native speakers and class discussions were strictly in German. Furthermore, we spoke German in our free time. Given that we were sharing experiences and ideas with each other, we also came to know about European cultures, traditions and lifestyles.

A Slovenian teacher and I agreed to engage in a project together. We came up with the idea of exchanging students' essays on particular topics via e-mail. We will also try to enhance students' interest by giving the students a chance to talk to each through video-conferencing from our respective computer labs.

Thanks to the excellent organisation and the full financial assistance of the Socrates Office and the European Union Programmes Unit (EUPU), I learned a lot from this course and I will do my best to pass on my experiences to my future students.

Ms Schembri graduated as a teacher of German three years ago and is a teacher at the Ninu Cremona Lyceum Complex in Victoria, Gozo.