Sixth Form Course Booklet 2013 - Bromsgrove School

German A Language and Literature, HL
The aims of this course are to extend the students’ language competence and communication skills as well as to
broaden their knowledge of cultural literacy. This is a newly designed course (first examination in 2013) for students
who are competent in more than one language (either native or bilingual) and consider using the language in an
academic context in the future. Choosing a second group 1 course offers the possibility of gaining a bilingual diploma.
Bromsgrove School offers this course only as a higher level option, which is widely accepted by German universities as
entrance criteria.
Besides the development of understanding the techniques involved in literary criticism, the emphasis in this course lies
on the constructed nature of meaning generated by language. Throughout the course, the students will study up to six
literary texts as well as the origins of language, its development, the influence of other languages on the German
language and the importance and usage of language in mass media, i.e. printed press, internet and TV.
This is an exciting, though challenging, course which will make the students evaluate the role of language in literature
and in the social world. They will be faced with a wide variety of texts ranging from literary works to authentic
newspaper reports and scientific texts. Through continual practice in writing essays, students will learn to structure
arguments, organize information and choose appropriate styles and register for the situation required. The students will
have to complete four written tasks (one creative and one critical response) which allow them to look at literary topics
and language in more detail than can be done under the time constraints of the examination.
During the course, candidates will be expected to compare and give commentaries on different types of text studied as
this forms the basis of the first external examination. The second examination consists of an essay which demands a
detailed examination of a given task based on literature. Furthermore, the course aims to develop the students’ oral
skills through a wide range of oral activities. The focus lies on increasing their vocabulary and enabling them to respond
in the appropriate register for a variety of situations presented in the course, e.g. explaining stylistic devices of a literary
text, defending a point of view as part of a group or individually or giving a speech and presentation.
The course is arranged in four parts, which are outlined below.
Part 1: Language in cultural context
Part 2: Language and mass communication
What is language?
Language and the individual
Language and the community
Language and belief
Translations
Forms of mass media
Language in mass media
Language in advertising
The influence of mass media (news
reporting, propaganda and censorship)
Language in film
Part 3: Literature in context
Part 4: Literature – critical study
Dramas throughout the centuries and societies
1. Sophocles: King Oedipus
(in translation)
2. Friedrich Schiller: Die Räuber (the
robbers)
3. Friedrich Dürrenmatt: Besuch
der alten Dame (the visit)
Prose in the 20th century
1. To be confirmed
2. Max Frisch: Homo Faber
3. Bernhard Schlink: Der Vorleser
The weighting of the assessments are as follows:
External Assessment HL 70%
Paper 1: Comparative analysis (2 hours) 25%
Paper 2: Essay based on literature (2 hours) 25%
Written tasks: 2 of at least 4 written tasks, one creative and one critical response; Each task 20%
must be 800-1000 words in length plus a rationale of 200-300 words.
Internal Assessment HL 30%
Individual oral 15%
Interactive oral 15%
For more information contact Mrs C Wedelich-Niedzwiedz
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