1. General information – overview
a) St. Kilian´s as a School of Encounter
b) Differences in comparison to other Irish post-primary schools
c) German in the Secondary School
d) Summary in tabular form
2. Information on the Deutsches Sprachdiplom
3. Information on the Bilingual Leaving Certificate
1. General information – overview
a) St. Kilian’s – a school of encounter
St. Kilian’s is a school of encounter. This means, that German and Irish students as well as students of various other nationalities are taught together. Apart from the subjects German and International History the classroom language is English.
Enrolment in Kindergarten, Primary School and Secondary School (class 7) is also possible for students who do not speak German, as on all these levels there are beginners’ courses. All students of St. Kilian’s receive an above average number of German classes per week and if their performance is sufficient they will be registered for the Sprachdiplom exams.
There are International History classes and German classes for all levels depending on how good the students’ language skills are: German as a Native Language courses (DM), German Foreign Language courses (DF), and from class 9 on German Foreign Language courses become German Sprachdiplom courses (DS), as students then proceed to take the language diplomas.
DS means Deutsches Sprachdiplom (=German Language Diploma), which is taken by the DM and DS students in class 9 and 12 (cf. the information below).
DN means Deutsch Neu (=German New), which indicates that the students begin to learn German without prior knowledge. These students are prepared for the Leaving Certificate only in years 11 and 12 (i.e. 5th and 6th year). Therefore this course is now called DL Deutsch Leaving.
A change of courses throughout students’ school career is possible and changing into a Sprachdiplom course is very much welcomed if the students’ skills are sufficient.
At Junior Level, that is from class 7 to 9, St. Kilian’s students are taught together with the students of the Lycée Francais d’Irlande in most subjects. However, there are no common German lessons due to different examination formats.
Download a full version of the German Policy Document here [download id=”407″]
b) Differences in comparison to other Irish post-primary schools
German School
DM/DF: Internationale Geschichte (7th – 9th class: 2 lessons; TY: 3 lessons) |
Irish post-primary School
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c) German in the Secondary School
While the Secondary school as a whole complies with the Irish curricula and syllabus, the teaching of German goes beyond the requirements of the Leaving Certificate.
German is taught to three different groups:
- Mother tongue/native speakers,
- Foreign language speakers, students whose German course started in the Kindergarten or Primary school,
- and Beginners, a group who start learning German when they join St. Kilian’s in first or fourth year of the Secondary School.
The beginners group has from 1st to 3rd year 8 periods per week and in 4th year 9 periods per week, while the other students are taught the subject Internationale Geschichte/International History, with integrated Cultural Studies, through German.
The different groups can be reorganised after the Junior Certificate.
There are two subjects which are taught through the medium of German:
- German to include Internationale Geschichte/International History, with integrated Cultural Studies, through German (6 periods a week)
- Internationale Geschichte (International History, 2 periods per week), which is designed to help students cope with text acquisition and formal language. It does not replace History as a Junior Cycle subject.
All suitable students sit the German Language Diploma exam, Stage I, in 9th class, the German Language Diploma exam, Stage II, in 12th class.
Since 2005, St Kilian´s German School is permitted to offer a bilingual qualification in the subjects German and Geschichte/History for the Senior cycle. These subjects will be recognised and examined, initially on a trial basis, as bilingual Leaving Certificate subjects, and successful candidates will receive a special bilingual Leaving Certificate.
d) Summary in tabular form:
How do we teach German and International History in the Secondary?
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DN/DL
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DF
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DM
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2. Information on the Deutsches Sprachdiplom
One of the requirements of the German school status is that students who start with German in the primary school usually participate in and complete the Sprachdiplom I and II German language exams.
The Sprachdiplom is an important diploma, which proves that students have reached a required level of language to pursue a course of study at a German University. This, however, is not the only benefit of taking the Sprachdiplom exams. The Sprachdiplom certificate gives students from this school an added advantage over other Irish Leaving Certificate students, an advantage which can be particularly beneficial in the current economic context.
Furthermore, students who participate in the Sprachdiplom acquire knowledge and learn competences which are transferrable in the Irish Leaving Certificate. It can be expected that students who take both qualifications will gain a better grade in the Irish Leaving Certificate. For these reasons the Sprachdiplom certificate not only benefits those students who wish to gain entry to German universities. It also benefits students looking to gain better opportunities in the future.
The Sprachdiplom is based on the European framework of references (Europäischer Referenzrahmen) which is recognized throughout the European Union and provides students with the possibility of gaining employment or receiving funding or grants for university places.
3. Information on the Bilingual Leaving Certificate
The Partners in offering the Bilingual Leaving Certificate at St. Kilian’s Eurocampus are the Department of Education and Skills and the Kultusministerkonferenz (Standing Conference of Education Ministers of the Federal States). The course has been taught at the school since 2007 and the first set of students took the exams in 2008. The Bilingual Leaving Certificate has equal status with the Leaving Certificate and corresponds to the language requirements defined by the German Sprachdiplom II Exams. It therefore provides proof of the required linguistic knowledge for admission to German third-level colleges. As with the Leaving Certificate, the Bilingual Leaving Certificate enables admission to many third level institutions and Universities in Germany providing the other entry requirements are fulfilled (ie. specific grade levels in subjects like Mathematics and Languages).
The subjects of the Bilingual Leaving Certificate are German Language and Literature (DLL) and History. The History course is taught in two languages, the Irish History through English, and the European and World History is taught through German using translated Irish course books. In German Language and Literature (DLL) the language and content learning are based on the use of a variety of materials such as 20th-century German Literature, non-fiction (e.g. journalism), media (e.g. films, music and audio texts). The DLL comprises four modules: “Germany Today”, “Youth Scene and Culture”, “Germany and the World” and “Our Future”. The objectives of DLL include the understanding of the main ideas of complex texts, and concrete and abstract topics, as well as the fluency and spontaneity of the students in verbal/oral interaction with native speakers. Students will be able to produce clear, detailed text on a wide range of subjects, explain a viewpoint on a topical issue and discuss advantages and disadvantages. The examination of German Language and Literature is organised as follows: an oral exam on a literary project (30 %), a written exam, which comprises an aural examination (15 %), a reading comprehension (25 %) and a written task (30 %), which is an extended essay based on text comprehension, text analysis and interpretation as well as text evaluation (discursive or creative writing).
The Bilingual History (Europe and the Wider World) follows the syllabus as prescribed by the Department of Education and Skills and can be studied in detail at the department’s web-site. Students must take the higher level examination, and the subject area “Europe and the Wider World” and the “Special Research Topic” are examined through German. Marking and assessment is according to the Irish guidelines and is content based. The new Leaving Certificate students taking the Bilingual course from 2012 – 2014 will study the following topics: “Nation States and International Tensions 1871-1920” (in 2012/2013) and “Dictatorship and Democracy 1920-1945” (2013/2014). The course is fully compatible with the monolingual course and students can change from the bilingual course into the monolingual course in any semester before the beginning of 6th year.
The Bilingual Leaving Certificate offers a number of advantages, which include the following:
- unique
- language and content learning combined
- small groups of learners
- outstanding additional skill on CV
- access to 3rd level in Germany on an equal footing
- improved access to other foreign universities
- preparation for a multilingual future
- proven very high language competence
