Early start notes - Early Start Languages

An Early Start
The video shows examples of good practice in German, filmed in four
schools in England and Scotland. It is designed to be used as an Inset
programme and is on offer to primary school teachers, or to teachers in
secondary schools who teach languages in the primary sector.
This booklet contains all the necessary information about the teaching of
German as demonstrated in these primary schools. It focuses on the
following:
■
Background on the schools and the teachers
presented
■
The teaching approach of the schools
■
Songs and activities
■
Dialogues in the German classroom
■
Hints and links
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Part I
An Early Start - Pre-school German
Background on the school and the teacher presented
The first school presented is Wybourn Nursery School in Sheffield.
The school is situated next to a primary school, which most of the children
attend when they are old enough to leave the nursery school. German has
been taught at Wybourn for several years through Lindsay Barron, who is
a non-specialist in German. Lindsay has been on several training courses,
including a two-week LINGUA funded residential at the Goethe-Institut
in Staufen, Germany (Teaching German to Young Learners, in co-operation
with CILT, London and the Goethe-Institut London).
The headteacher, Mrs. Ann Mears initiated the project as she and Lindsay
were keen to prove what children at that age can learn in early languages.
Sheffield has adopted a “languages for all” policy with the aim of
establishing a “multilingual city” situation for its mixed-culture population.
The teaching approach of the school
German is taught to all children in their last term (ages 4 -5), before they
move on to the neighbouring primary school.
During this time, the children get a German lesson of ten minutes every
morning. The teaching is done by Lindsay Barron, through short and easy
German rhymes, songs, games, stories and other interactive activities,
involving listening, singing, speaking and reading. A lot of the activities
involve reinforcement of skills that they learned in English.
Songs and activities
Activity 1: Circle song
Mit dem Köpfchen nick, nick, nick,
mit den Fingerlein tick, tick, tick,
einmal hin, einmal her,
rundherum das ist nicht schwer.
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(Translation: With the (little) head nod, nod, nod,
With the (little) fingers tick, tick, tick,
To this side once, to that side once,
Turning round is not difficult.)
Activity 2: "Alle Kinder" song
Alle Kinder sind schon da, alle Kinder alle.
Luke, Lewis, Dylan and Bethany
(go round the class to include each child’s name)
Und die ganze Kinderschar.
Alle Kinder sind schon da, alle Kinder alle.
SINGING GERMAN TO FAMILIAR TUNES
Activity 3: Finger song
Wo ist (der) Mittelfinger, (Where is the middle finger?)
Wo ist (der) Mittelfinger?
Hier bin ich, (Here I am)
Hier bin ich.
Guten Morgen, alle Finger, (Good morning, all fingers)
Guten Morgen, alle Finger,
Weg ist er, weg ist er. (it is gone)
Wo ist (der) Zeigefinger, etc., etc.
Wo ist (der) Mittelfinger, etc., etc.
Wo ist (der) Ringfinger, etc., etc.
Wo ist der kleine Finger, etc., etc.
Wo sind alle Finger, etc., etc.
Activity 4: Introducing yourself
Teacher: Wie heißt du?
(What’s your name?)
Child: Ich heiße ...
(My name is...)
REINFORCING NUMBERS
Activity 5: Counting up to 20
(using toys, e.g. coloured elephants)
Eins, zwei, drei, vier....
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REINFORCING COLOURS
Activity 6: Song
Blau, Rot, Gelb, Grün,
(Blue, red, yellow, green...)
Blau, Rot, Gelb, Grün,
Blau, Rot, Gelb; Blau, Rot, Gelb,
Blau, Rot, Gelb, Grün,
Blau, Rot, Gelb, Grün,
Blau, Rot, Gelb; Blau, Rot, Gelb.
Activity 7
Children match colour blocks on colour cards.
Activity 8: Song
Ich trage Rosa, Rosa, Rosa (Blau, Rot, Gelb, Grün, Schwarz, Lila, etc.)
(I am wearing pink (blue,red,yellow, green, black, lilac, etc.))
Was trägst du?
Activity 9: Dornröschen song (in a circle):
1. Dornröschen war ein schönes Kind, schönes Kind,
Dornröschen war ein schönes Kind, schönes Kind!
(Sleeping Beauty was a pretty child,...)
2. Da kam die böse Fee herein etc. etc.
(Then in came the evil fairy,…)
3. Dornröschen, schlafe hundert Jahr! etc. etc.
(Sleeping Beauty, sleep a hundred years,…)
4. Da wuchs die Hecke riesengroß etc. etc.
(Then the hedge grew gigantically big,...)
5. Da kam ein junger Königssohn etc. etc.
(Then there came a young king’s son...)
6. Dornröschen, wache wieder auf! Etc. etc.
(Sleeping Beauty, wake up again,...)
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STORY - TELLING
Activity 10
Reading out/listening to a German-language version of a familiar story:
We’re Going on a Bear Hunt (Walker Books Ltd.) London
Wir gehen auf Bärenjagd (Sauerlaender) 1998
Activity 11: Monster song and activity
Großes Monster, großes grünes Monster,
Großes Monster,
Ich habe keine Angst!
Ich nehme dir die Haare (die Zähne, die Augen, die Nase, die Ohren) weg.
Haare weg, Haare weg,
Ach du Schreck, ach du Schreck!
Oh, du großes Monster, ich habe keine Angst.
(Big monster, big green monster,
Big monster,
I am not afraid!
I take your hair (teeth, eyes, nose, ears) away.
Hair is gone, hair is gone,
Oh, great shock, oh, great shock,
Oh, you big monster, I am not afraid.)
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Activity 12: Birthday song
Zum Geburtstag viel Glück!
Zum Geburtstag viel Glück!
Alles Gute zum Geburtstag!
Zum Geburtstag viel Glück!
(Happy birthday...)
Hints and links
Most of the songs and activities demonstrated here are to be found in:
Zappelmänner, Klett (book and audio cassette)
3-12-675091-5 Zappelmänner (teacher’s handbook)
3-12-675090-7 Zappelmann du bist dran (book)
3-12-675092-3 Zappelmänner (audio-cassette)
Huckepack, Klett (book and audio cassette)
3-12-675096-6 Huckepack (book)
3-12-675094-x Huckepack (teacher’s handbook)
3-12-675095-8 Huckepack (audio – cassette)
Komm mit, Goethe-Institut (book, video, cassette)
Order from: Goethe-Institut London, Exhibition Road, 50 Princes Gate,
London SW7 2PH. Tel: 020 7596 4000 Fax: 020 7594 0240
You can order Wir gehen auf Bärenjagd through:
European Schoolbooks, The Runnings, Cheltenham, Gloucs. GL51 9PQ.
Tel: 01242-245252 Fax: 01242-224137 www.eurobooks.co.uk
Part II
An Early Start - The lunchtime club
Background on the school and teacher presented
Bromstone Church of England Primary School is situated in a relatively
deprived area of Broadstairs in Kent. It has 420 pupils. The school offers
a lunchtime club once a week to children in years 4 to 6. The club is run by
the headteacher, Mr Steve Beney.
It is open to all children who are interested in the language. The lesson is
usually 30 minutes long and allows for a tight but clear structure of learning.
The teaching is done through games, chants and activities. Songs,
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accompanied by the guitar, are a major feature in each lesson. A typical
lesson usually has the following structure:
■
■
■
■
■
■
■
Introductory song
Warm-up activities
Topic-based core activities
Developing cultural awareness
Total physical response activities
Calm-down activities
Good-bye song
The lunchtime club is based on the concept of interactive language and
cultural awareness. The philosophy of the teaching is, "when they [i.e. the
pupils] enjoy it, they learn!"
Songs and activities
Activity 1: Guten Tag song
Guten Tag, alle Leute, guten Tag,
Guten Tag, alle Leute, guten Tag,
Guten Tag, alle Leute, Tag, alle Leute,
Tag, alle Leute, guten Tag.
(Good day, everybody , good day,...)
Guten Tag, alle Lehrer, guten Tag,
Guten Tag, alle Lehrer, guten Tag,
Guten Tag, alle Leute, Tag, alle Leute,
Tag, alle Leute, guten Tag.
Activity 2: Warm-up activity
Teacher: Guten Morgen. Ich bin der Lehrer. Mein Name ist Herr Beney.
Ich bin zwanzig Jahre alt. Ich wohne in Broadstairs.
Und du? Wie heißt du?
Woher bist du?
Pupils answer in a similar way:
Child: Guten Morgen. Mein Name ist [....]
Ich bin [....] Jahre alt. Ich wohne in [....].
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Activity 3: Meister Ashley song
Teacher: Wo ist Ashley?
Pupils: Er schläft!
All the pupils sing:
Meister Ashley, Meister Ashley,
Schläfst du noch?
Schläfst du noch?
Hörst du nicht die Glocken?
Hörst du nicht die Glocken?
Bim, bam, bam,
Bim, bam, bam.
TOPIC – BASED CORE ACTIVITIES
Activity 4: German food - Essen und Trinken
(flash card exercise)
Teacher: Was ist das (auf Deutsch)? Etwas zum Essen, etwas zum Trinken?
Children: Fleisch, Kekse, (ein) Eis, Würstchen,...
Activity 5
Children show flashcards.
Teacher: Was hast du? (What have you got?)
Child: Salat [Erdbeeren, Blumenkohl, Kartoffeln,...]
Teacher: Richtig (right)
Falsch. Noch einmal, bitte. (wrong, once more, please.)
DEVELOPING CULTURAL AWARENESS
Activity 6
Teacher and students have a German lunch together.
The products are from shops that sell real German food products:
brown bread (Schwarzbrot), rolls (Brötchen), sausages (Frankfurter,
Würstchen), Bockwurst, Aufschnitt (sliced sausages), mustard (Senf),
chocolate (Schokolade) etc.
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Teacher explains: Das ist Bockwurst. Das ist Aufschnitt. Das sind Brötchen.
Teacher: Schmeckt’s? (Is it good? Do you like it?)
Children: Ja (es schmeckt gut)! (Es) Schmeckt! (Yes, it tastes good).
TOTAL PHYSICAL RESPONSE ACTIVITIES
Activity 7: Ein Gymnastikspiel
Teacher: Einen Schritt, zwei, drei...Schritte rückwärts!
(One step, two, three... steps backwards).
Einen Schritt, zwei, drei..Schritte vorwärts!
(One step, two, three... steps forward).
Springen! (Jump!)
Hüpfen! (Hop!)
Setzen! (sit down!)
CALM - DOWN ACTIVITIES
Activity 8: Count backwards and forward in German
Zwanzig, neunzehn, achtzehn, siebzehn, fünfzehn, vierzehn, dreizehn,
zwölf, elf, zehn, neun, acht, sieben, sechs, fünf, vier, drei, zwei, eins, null.
Activity 9: Number song
Eins, zwei, drei,
Vier, fünf, sechs,
Sieben, acht, neun,
Zehn.
Eins, zwei, drei,
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Vier, fünf, sechs,
Sieben, acht, neun,
Zehn.
Activity 10: Good-bye song
Tschüss, alle Leute, Wiederseh’n!
Tschüss, alle Leute, Wiederseh’n!
Tschüss, alle Leute,
Tschüss, alle Leute,
Tschüss, alle Leute, Wiederseh’n!
Activity 11: Blinde Kuh (activity with puppets)
Teacher (as in first half of the "Gymnastikspiel"):
Einen Schritt, zwei, drei...Schritte rückwärts!
(One step, two, three... steps backwards).
Einen Schritt, zwei, drei ..Schritte vorwärts!
(One step, two, three... steps forward).
Child (with blind-folded eyes):
Bist du der Hund (the dog) / die Katze (the cat)?
Child (with puppet):
Ja. / Nein.
Hints and links
German food can be purchased at very reasonable prices and in very good
quality from ALDI or LIDL shops, similar German discount chains for food
and a selection of other cheap items.
www.lidl.de www.aldi.de
A promotional pack containing decorative posters about food, German flags
and garlands can be obtained free from:
Central Marketing Organization of German Agricultural Industries, CMA UK,
CMA House, 17A Church Road, Wimbledon, London SW19 5DQ
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Part III
An Early Start - Whole class teaching
Background on the school and the teacher presented
St. Margaret’s R.C. Primary School is a small school situated in
Queensferry, outside Edinburgh, within view of the famous Firth of Forth
bridge. It is a school of 150 children. The teacher who is in charge of
German there, Mrs. Pauline Balanowski, has been trained through the
Scottish MLPS programme (Modern Languages in the Primary Sector).
The teacher learned German herself when she went to school.
The teaching approach of the school
German is taught to year 5 pupils by their class teacher. It is taught through
daily routine questions at the beginning of every morning, usually for 5 to
10 minutes, and through one or two 20-30 minute slots of intensive German
every week.
The routine questions at the beginning of every morning consist of greetings,
a weather chart and the class register (i.e. checking numbers and absences
etc.).The teacher uses the target language wherever it is possible, i.e. in
questions to the class and when commenting on the pupils’ contributions.
Even the pupils are able to use questions and answers in continuous
conversational dialogues.
Dialogues for children/ Teacher’s classroom language
DAILY ROUTINES
Activity 1
Teacher: Guten Morgen, Klasse 5.
Class: Guten Morgen, Frau Balanowski.
Teacher: Wie geht’s, Andrew?
Child:
Sehr gut, danke.
Teacher: Das freut mich. Wie geht’s, Sophie?
Child: Sehr gut, danke.
Teacher: Das freut mich auch.
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Activity 2: The date in German
Teacher: Der Wievielte ist heute?
Child: Heute ist Mittwoch, der 14. Juni.
Activity 3: Days of the week song (canon)
Teacher: Wie sagt man / Wie nennt man die Tage der Woche auf Deutsch?
Child:
Montag, Dienstag, Mittwoch, Donnerstag, Freitag, Samstag, Sonntag
Teacher (splitting the class up in groups):
Gruppe eins, Gruppe zwei, Gruppe drei...
Teacher (starting a chorus):
(Nach drei) Auf drei. Eins, zwei drei!
Children (sing in a canon): Montag, Dienstag, ....
Activity 4: The (parts of the) body
This is a weekly 30 minute session, using the blackboard for drawing and
writing the parts of the body.
Der Körper
der Kopf (the head)
das Auge (the eyes)
der Mund (the mouth)
das Kinn (the chin)
der Hals (the neck or throat)
Activity 5: Head, shoulders, knees and toes song
Kopf, Schulter, Knie und Zehen, Knie und Zehen.
Kopf, Schulter, Knie und Zehen, Knie und Zehen.
Und Augen, Ohren, Nase, Mund und Kinn,
Kopf, Schulter, Knie und Zehen, Knie und Zehen.
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Activity 6: “Guess Who” game
Child 1: Trägt diese Person einen Hut? / ... eine Brille?
Child 2: Nein.
Child 1: Hat diese Person einen Bart? / ...schwarze Haare? / ...weiße Haare?
...braune Augen? /...einen Schnurrbart?
Child 2: Nein.
Child 1: Ist diese Person Maria?/Robert?
Child 2: Ja.
Child 1: Ich habe gewonnen!
LISTENING ACTIVITIES
WITH NATIVE SPEAKERS
Activity 7: Audio-cassette exercise (small group)
Guten Morgen! Guten Abend!
Tschüss! Auf Wiedersehen!
- from Hör gut zu! (Goethe-Institut Glasgow)
Hints and links
"Guess Who - The Mystery Face Game" is made by MB Games (product
code 04725 102), available from toy shops or department stores.
Order the Hör gut zu! materials (audio-cassette and worksheets) from the
Goethe-Institut Glasgow:
German Cultural Institute in Scotland,
3, Park Circus
Glasgow G3 6AX
Tel: 0141 - 332 25 55
Fax: 0141 - 333 16 30
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Part IV
An Early Start - Making links
Background on the school and the teacher presented
Longton Lane Primary School in St. Helens has had a link to a secondary
school in Grimma near Leipzig (former East Germany) through a Comenius
partnership for quite a while. The headteacher, Mr Terry Bond, and a young
NQT, Johanna Orrett, both non-specialists in German, took it on to develop
the link further and further. It has now grown into an exchange project that
uses video conferencing regularly. While the children from Longton Lane
speak in German, pupils from Grimma practice their first English.
The teaching approach of the school
The year 6 pupils from Longton Lane Primary School and their partners in
year 6 (5. Klasse) at the Gymnasium Grimma in East Germany try to learn
from each other and with each other. They have exchanged information
about everyday life in the two countries via letters, e-mail, video and
recently - video conferencing.
This latest development has urged the teachers and students to focus more
on conversational skills in their foreign languages. In order to get the
most out of each conference session, which is taking place in a college
near-by, the pupils rehearse dialogues, presentations, questions and answers.
They use home video cameras in order to prepare themselves for speaking
in front of a camera, which means they are learning for a purpose.
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Dialogues for children
LISTENING TO NATIVE SPEAKERS
Activity 1
Teacher: Was machst du (nicht) gern?
(What do/don’t you like doing?)
Child 1: Ich spiele (nicht) gern Tischtennis.
Child 2: Ich schwimme (nicht) gern.
(The children are using a video-pack from 3-2-1 LOS! 3: “Freizeit”.)
PRACTISING NEW AND FAMILIAR VOCABULARY
Activity 2: Puppets’ dialogue
Child 1: Guten Morgen, Großmutter.
Child 2: Hallo, Franziska! Wie geht’s?
Child 1: Gut, danke. Und dir?
Child 2: Wann ist dein Geburtstag?
Child 1: Mein Geburtstag ist im Dezember?
Child 2: Was machst du am Wochenende?
Child 1: Ich reite am Wochenende.
Child 2: Was ist dein Lieblingsfach?
Child 1: Meine Lieblingsfächer sind Kunst und PE.
Child 2: (Auf) Wiedersehen!
Child 1: Tschüss!
Activity 3: More puppets (Football)
Child 1: Hallo, Matthias.
Child 2: Hallo, Nicholas.
Child 1: Wie geht’s?
Child 2: Gut, danke, und dir?
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Child 1: Nicht so gut. Sehr schlecht.
Child 2: Warum?
Child 1: Ich mag Rosenkohl nicht.
(I don’t like brussel sprouts)
Child 1: Was ist deine Lieblingsfußballmannschaft?
(What is your favourite football team?)
Child 2: Meine Lieblingsfußballmannschaft ist Borussia Dortmund.
Was ist deine Lieblingsfußballmannschaft?
Child 1: Meine Lieblingsfußballmannschaft ist Bayern München.
Child 1: Tschüss!
Child 2. Tschüss!
USING ICT
Activity 4: Newscaster role-play
Child 1: Mein Lieblingssport ist Fußball.
Meine Lieblingsfußballmannschaft ist Celtic.
Ich spiele gern Fußball am Wochenende.
Danke schön.
Tschüss!
Child 2: Guten Tag, Henriette.
Wie geht’s?
Mein Name ist Katie Taylor.
Ich komme aus Nordwest-England.
Ich bin 11 Jahre alt.....
Was machst du am Wochenende?
Danke schön.
Tschüss!
Child 3: Wie alt bist du?
Wann ist dein Geburtstag?
Mein Lieblingssport ist Fußball.
Meine Lieblingsfußballmannschaft ist Liverpool.
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Hints and links
“3-2-1 LOS!” is a course for primary schools produced by an EU Socrates
Project, partners: the Goethe-Institut London, Kent County Council and
Early Start Languages.
The series of three video packs aims to help primary schools introduce
German to young beginners:
■
■
■
1. “Wer bist du?”
2. “Wo ich wohne”
3. “Freizeit”
Each pack includes a video, Teacher’s Guide, photocopiable worksheets
and an audio-tape.
Copies are available from:
Early Start Languages, P O Box 235, Dover CT17 0UY
Tel/fax: 01304-826040 / 362569
www.earlystart.co.uk
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Acknowledgements
The Goethe-Institut London would like to thank all the teachers mentioned
above, as well as all those who helped to make this video project possible.
Special thanks go to Ilsa Rowe from Invicta Media and Early Start
Languages, who was in charge of the filming and editing. She led the film
crew with a lot of expertise and experience and she selected the scenes for
this film, showing great understanding for the needs of language teachers.
May the film inspire many teachers and educators to give languages an
early start!
Hans-Joachim Fuhrig
German Language Adviser
Goethe-Institut London
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