Method

At the heart of the CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) is the global scale for describing competence levels for foreign languages. It defines the known levels A1-A2-B1-B2-C1-C2. Each level includes further detailed scales that describe what you can generally do in the foreign language at the respective level. More on this in GER, chapter 3.3

The CEFR is an important tool for planning your training courses. If we use a textbook, this planning has already taken place in the publishing house when the book was created. When working without a textbook, e.g. in the case of individually designed training courses, this step is still carried out by ourselves. However, we don’t work on the basis of pi times thumbs, but base our planning on a solid framework.

The focus of language learning is not on vocabulary lists or grammar rules, but on so-called communicative strategies. We use them to achieve our communicative goals, e.g. asking someone for a favor, answering a customer email or handing over a shift. More on this in GER, chapter 2.1.5

Errors in lexis, grammar or pronunciation can hinder the achievement of this goal. So you don’t learn grammar for its own sake, but to be able to express and understand something specific. The better the linguistic structures are mastered, the more competently one can communicate linguistically.

We therefore pay attention to correct forms and expressions right from the start. A sound introduction and solid training in the language elements are the basis for successful learning.

With the action-oriented approach, learners are seen as acting subjects in a social context in which they want to or have to take certain actions. The lessons therefore prepare learners to act competently in concrete situations using German as a foreign language. The situations arise from the jointly defined learning objectives. Further information can be found in the CEFR, chapter 2.1

This is why the scales in the CEFR are not formulated in a language-specific way, but are applicable to all languages. You will therefore not find information such as “He/she can form the perfect tense correctly.” Instead, the focus is on the action: “He/she can tell you what he/she did at the weekend.”

Every person is different. Everyone has their own experiences, habits, goals, opportunities and motivations – even when it comes to language learning. Together with your starting level and your training goal, these individual characteristics determine how the training actually looks and runs: Do you first want to do exercises for confidence with new grammar, or try out your own constructions as quickly as possible? Do you have to write something down to understand it?

Our job as a trainer is to enable you to achieve your learning goal. This goal and the associated milestones are the compass for our work. Before a new training phase, we present the next steps and why we want to carry them out with you. We will be happy to respond to your questions, comments or suggestions.

In training, every task, every text, every exercise is therefore a concrete step towards your goal.

Or: The role of mistakes

Language teaching is training, i.e. the focus is on trying things out, practicing, trial and error. You are experimenting with your linguistic knowledge, and it is normal that not everything is correct. Experiments sometimes go wrong. The task of the trainer is therefore to give you feedback on whether your formulation (“your experiment”) is working or how it should be better.

We therefore motivate our participants to try things out for themselves and experiment. Feel free to test the limits of your German language skills, because lessons are the ideal place for experiments: Here we only simulate real situations and nothing can happen – unlike in an exam or a job interview, for example.

Of course there is “right” and “wrong” in teaching, but not “good” and “bad”.