Course Content
The course contents outlined below are not binding, but are merely guidelines. Topics may be taught in varying sequences depending on the course book followed. It should also be noted that all courses include instruction in Austrian culture, history, art, politics and geography.
Beginner
| Contact hours: | Standard Course & German for Life 1: 20 course lessons & 5 lessons of cultural programme per week. Intensive Course & German for Life 2: 30 course lessons & 5 lessons of cultural programme per week. |
| Average course duration: | 4 weeks. |
| Starting dates: | every four or five weeks |
| Prerequisites: | no previous German knowledge necessary. |
| Outline of course content: | The student is a complete beginner or has very little knowledge of German. He/she learns basic sentence structures and vocabulary to help to get simple messages across in everyday situations. He/she learns how to introduce her/himself and to cope with simple situations at the shops, at work, on the telephone, at the doctor's and at hotels. |
Elementary 1
| Contact hours: | Standard Course & German for Life 1: 20 course lessons & 5 lessons of cultural programme per week. Intensive Course & German for Life 2: 30 course lessons & 5 lessons of cultural programme per week. |
| Average course duration | 4 to 8 weeks. |
| Starting dates: | every Monday |
| Prerequisites: | 4 weeks' Beginner course or basic knowledge of the German language: ability to introduce oneself and talk about simple everyday situations. |
| Grammatical prerequisites: | ability to introduce oneself and talk about simple everyday situations. |
| Outline of course content: | The student has little knowledge of German. He/she learns to make simple enquiries in speaking and writing and to give instructions, builds on his basic grammar skills and increases his vocabulary. The following language functions are among those practised: asking the way; giving directions; asking for and giving information; discussing home and the household; describing people and their characters; defining shape, size and colour of objects; asking for and giving opinions; the working world; returning faulty goods to a shop. |
Elementary 2
| Contact hours: | Standard Course & German for Life 1: 20 course lessons & 5 lessons of cultural programme per week. Intensive Course & German for Life 2: 30 course lessons & 5 lessons of cultural programme per week. |
| Average course duration | 4 to 8 weeks. |
| Starting dates: | every Monday of the year. |
| Prerequisites: | 8 weeks' Beginner and Elementary 1 courses or good basic knowledge of German: ability to talk about everyday situations, ask the way and give simple descriptions. |
| Grammatical prerequisites: | imperfect tense, nominative, genitive, dative, accusative, adjective declension, simple subordinate clauses, simple prepositions. |
| Outline of course content: | The student has some knowledge of German. He/she learns how to express him/herself adequately in familiar, everyday situations and to read and understand simple texts. Main course topics include: holidays and travel, living abroad, nature and the environment, family, the generation problem, population, living, the concept of home, news, politics, radio programs. |
| Certificate: | "Österreichisches Sprachdiplom Grundstufe 1" |
Elementary 3
| Contact hours: | Standard Course & German for Life 1: 20 course lessons & 5 lessons of cultural programme per week. Intensive Course & German for Life 2: 30 course lessons & 5 lessons of cultural programme per week. |
| Average course duration | 4 to 8 weeks. |
| Starting dates: | every Monday of the year. |
| Prerequisites: | 12 weeks' Beginner, Elementary 1 & 2 courses or very good basic knowledge of German. Understanding of everyday oral and written situations, ability to communicate in day-to-day contexts. |
| Grammatical prerequisites: | imperfect tense, perfect tense, nominative, genitive, dative, accusative, adjective declension, subordinate clauses, direct and indirect subordinate clauses, prepositions. |
| Outline of course content: | After completing Elementary 3 the student should have a basic command of the fundamentals of German grammar and be in the position to participate in simple discussions and to understand simple texts, including the main points of short press articles. He/she consolidates and revises basic grammar structures and learns to discuss interesting topics. Main topics include: Travel & tourism, employment and the working world, school, education, history, politics & culture, literature. |
| Certificate: | "Zertifikat Deutsch" or "Deutsch für den Beruf". |
Intermediate 1
| Contact hours: | Standard Course & German for Life 1: 20 course lessons & 5 lessons of cultural programme per week. Intensive Course & German for Life 2: 30 course lessons & 5 lessons of cultural programme per week. |
| Average course duration | 8 weeks. |
| Starting dates: | every Monday of the year. |
| Prerequisites: | 16 - 20 weeks Beginner, Elementary 1, 2 & 3 or good German skills: problem-free and fluent communication in everyday situations, basic understanding of simple press articles and films, the ability to discuss familiar topics. |
| Grammatical prerequisites: | Basic command of the essentials of German grammar, in particular all tense forms, present and imperfect subjunctive, passive, adjective declension, subordinate clauses & sentence structure. |
| Outline of course content: | The student should learn to be able to express her/himself on a variety of moderately difficult topics fluently and without preparation. He/she learns to express his opinion, to state his/her views, to discuss, analyse and interpret simpler texts, to summarize them and given an account of them. The basic grammatical structures are revised again and consolidated at intermediate level. The prerequisite is a command of basic grammar! |
| Certificate: | "Österreichisches Sprachdiplom – Mittelstufe" |
Intermediate 2
| Contact hours: | Standard Course & German for Life 1: 20 course lessons & 5 lessons of cultural programme per week. Intensive Course & German for Life 2: 30 course lessons & 5 lessons of cultural programme per week. |
| Average course duration | 8 weeks. |
| Starting dates: | every Monday of the year. |
| Prerequisites: | 28 weeks' Beginner, Elementary 1, 2 & 3 and Intermediate courses or a very good knowledge of German: problem-free and fluent communication in everyday situations, understanding of newspaper articles and films, ability to converse on a number of topics. Comprehensive and sound command of the language and use of a large range of language devices. |
| Grammatical prerequisites: | The student must have a good command of German grammar, all tense forms, all applications of the present and imperfect subjunctive, subordination, participle constructions, prepositions. |
| Outline of course content: | The student has a good command of German. He/she learns to express her/himself clearly both in speaking and writing on a large number of topics and to understand almost all texts. For example: Art: fine arts - interviews given by artists - interpretation of art, learning German: experiences and problems in assimilating a foreign language, sport, Austrian regional studies, Austria-Germany-Switzerland comparison, use of different types of text, literature (poetry). |
Advanced
| Contact hours: | Standard Course & German for Life 1: 20 course lessons & 5 lessons of cultural programme per week. Intensive Course & German for Life 2: 30 course lessons & 5 lessons of cultural programme per week. |
| Average course duration | 8 weeks. |
| Starting dates: | every Monday of the year. |
| Prerequisites: | 36 weeks' Beginner, Elementary 1, 2 & 3 and Intermediate courses or excellent knowledge of German: problem-free and fluent communication in situations of all kinds, understanding of complex written and oral passages of all kinds, the ability to discuss complex topics. Comprehensive and sound command of German and use of a large range of language devices. |
| Grammatical prerequisites: | The student must have a very good command of German grammar. |
| Outline of course content: | The student can express himself fluently in German. He/she works on literary, sociopolitical, cultural and scientific topics. |
| Certificate: | "Diplom Wirtschaftssprache Deutsch" |
