Click here for up-to-date information on the format of the new exam as well as a practice exam.

The college board has recently posted sample exam questions for the new German Language and Culture Course. Click here for the sample exam questions.

In this sample section from the exam, a customer service representative from a clothing company writes a business letter to inform a customer that one of the items ordered is out of stock. The questions that follow test not only comprehension of content, but also address issues of style, analysis of idioms, and how to respond appropriately.

Below please find a discussion of several excerpts from Langenscheidt's new AP textbook Aspekte as they relate to this sample exam section, as well as of several other Langenscheidt texts that are designed to help students gain the skills they will need to master the new curriculum. For additional information and examination copies, please contact us at 1-800-458-1226.

As in the AP Exam sample, this exercise from Aspekte explores in depth a customer relations issue via various exercises. Here a customer service representative is contacted about a malfunctioning MP-3 player. In a series of eight different exercises — including audio — students work with this material until it is thoroughly learned and mastered, first working with vocabulary, then contextualized grammatical analysis and practice with subjunctive verb forms. Role play activities follow as well as an exercise in which the students must reconstruct a letter to the company explaining the problem. The exercise culminates with a writing exercise in which the students are asked to come up with their own consumer complaint letter. Download the excerpt.

In this corresponding section of the Aspekte workbook, students encounter another consumer complaint to a company. In the first exercise, they must piece together the dialogue that takes place between the representative and the customer. In the following exercises, students practice the subjunctive with sentences that draw on the content of the preceding material, thus seamlessly integrating grammar as recommended by the new AP guidelines. Download the excerpt.

Einfach Grammatik is an excellent choice for an AP grammar, both for reviewing old material and introducing new. In this chapter on relative clauses, notice how the new grammar is introduced in the context of an actual letter, allowing the students to analyze for themselves the new structure. Very simple, easy-to-understand explanations and examples in German follow, allowing the teacher to stay in the target language as encouraged by AP guidelines. Tables give the student a clear overview of the structure. Ample exercises are provided as well as occasional comics and drawings that help to draw in the students. Download the excerpt.

With the increased emphasis on culture in the new AP Curriculum, Langenscheidt's brand new Landeskunde text Entdeckungsreise D-A-CH is an invaluable resource for teachers. Giving equal weight to all three of the German-speaking countries, this text includes a wealth of information and engaging interactive exercises the students will enjoy and profit from. This excerpt compares and contrasts the political systems in the three countries. New vocabulary is introduced and defined, followed by three texts with content questions, culminating in partner/group exercises and suggested research projects. Download the excerpt.

Our stand-by culture text Orientierungskurs Deutschland explores the fundamentals of German society and culture by way of interesting readings and exercises, serving as a useful and economical supplementary text for the AP course curriculum. In this example the topic of time is explored within the cultural framework via different angles such as the length of the work week, vacation days, attitudes toward time and punctuality. Content questions and engaging discussion questions follow, leading to group discussions and intercultural comparisons and contrasts as called for by the new AP Curriculum. Download the excerpt.

Highly recommended for AP German is Langenscheidt's monolingual Power Wörterbuch Deutsch, designed for serious students of the German language. With definitions in clear, concise German written for the language learner, it includes over 50,000 words, phrases and idioms, along with extensive example sentences that place the words in context. In this example, notice also the cultural information on Easter and tables highlighting vocabulary differences between Germany and Austria. Download the excerpt.

A new emphasis on proficiency standards—rather than an assumed college course equivalency—is a central feature of the new AP German Language and Culture Curriculum. The pre-advanced level of language proficiency targeted by the new AP German Exam involves more than mastery of distinct skills. Rather, it is designed to show the student’s emerging ability to interpret meaning globally. Gone from the test are non-contextualized open cloze responses, listening rejoinders, grammar fill-ins, and paragraph completion items. These have been replaced by responses that focus on the student’s ability to interpret and negotiate meaning in various contexts and from numerous text forms and sources. Authentic material is at the center of the curriculum, and culture will be assessed throughout the exam and not in a separate “Culture” section. The new AP curriculum stresses a thematic approach, which comprises the core of Aspekte. The graph below shows the six themes covered on the exam and the alignment of these with the main topics in Aspekte. Click here for the graph.

Below you will find an in-depth look at a chapter of Aspekte with annotations demonstrating how the materials and exercises are designed to help students achieve the skills and proficiency levels outlined in the new curriculum. Following College Board recommendations, grammatical exercises in Aspekte are imbedded in context, and cultural knowledge is transmitted via authentic sources. In addition to various text forms, audio material, and online exercises, each chapter features a DVD clip with an authentic Reportage from ZDF, complete with a transcript and comprehension activities. The particular DVD excerpt included below features holiday shopping at the famous KaDeWe department store in Berlin. Documenting the store’s beautiful display windows as well as the Feinschmeckeretage, the clip shows and discusses aspects of contemporary life and aesthetics in Germany, both central themes on the new AP Exam. In fact, of the six themes stressed by the new curriculum—global challenges, science and technology, contemporary life, personal and public identities, families and communities, beauty and aesthetics—five are explored as subtopics within this chapter alone.

In accordance with a key revision of the AP Exam, a wide variety of authentic material, both print and audio, is incorporated into this chapter. Along with a literary text, the chapter includes product descriptions, a panel discussion, a business letter, a magazine article, display ads, radio ads, a biographical sketch, and a news clip from German TV. As you look through the excerpts below, you will notice also how the varied exercises and activities allow the students to practice and demonstrate their proficiency in the three modes of communication—interpersonal, interpretive, and presentational—that are foundational to the new AP German language and culture course.

If you are interested in receiving additional information, please note that a brochure with a free sample chapter of Aspekte, including the DVD, is available upon request. We are also happy to send out examination copies of any of our materials, including the Aspekte textbook, workbook, DVD, audio material and teacher’s manual. Please e-mail us or call toll free at (800) 458-1226.

ASPEKTE 1 (B1+)
Chapter 8 Kaufen, kaufen, kaufen

Holiday shopping at KaDeWe: Students watch an authentic clip from German television a first time to determine which themes are addressed. For the second viewing they are divided into three groups and watch it from different perspectives, which are then reported on later. This exercise serves to raise an awareness of consumer behaviors as well as marketing strategies used by businesses, fostering critical viewing of cultural content, one of the goals of the AP curriculum. Drawing on interpretive, interpersonal, and presentational skills, the exercise concludes with a cross-cultural activity in which students report on department stores and marketing strategies in their own country. Click here for the video. Click here for the accompanying exercises.

Exploring the AP theme of global challenges, this 3-part panel discussion addresses the issue of the consumer society versus the environment. Students listen to the discussion and sort out the opposing perspectives of each of the participants. Further presentational exercises draw the students into the discussion, asking them to describe their own consumer behaviors, culminating in an interpersonal activity in which the students organize their own Tauschring aimed at reducing their level of consumption. Click here to listen to the panel discussion. Click here for the chapter excerpt.

These workbook exercises accompany the previous section, providing additional material and practice. They would work particularly well for teachers who teach joint classes with both German 4 and AP students in the group, in this instance providing the AP students with additional practice in vocabulary building, writing, and an interpersonal role-play activity in which they must make persuasive arguments about how lottery money should be spent. Click here for the workbook exercises.

This exercise focuses on a typical consumer object, the MP3 player, thus incorporating the AP theme of technology. The varied exercises in this section draw on many different skills, from listening and reading comprehension to an interpersonal role-play activity in which students must articulate a customer complaint and come up with a response. Notice how the grammar is integrated into the thematic material to convey meaning and explained clearly and concisely in German, thus making it easier for the teacher to stay in the target language, as encouraged by the AP guidelines. The teacher’s manual provides additional guidance. Click here to listen to the audio material. Click here for the accompanying exercises.

In this exercise the topic of consumerism is approached from the perspective of advertising. Students listen to authentic radio ads, first listening for themes and comprehension of content, then with repeated listenings, focusing on the purpose and strategy of the message, fostering more reflection and critical listening skills. The exercise continues with an interpersonal/presentational activity in which the students produce their own advertisement, which they then present to the class. Click here to listen to the audio material. Click here for the accompanying exercises.

This portrait of the Austrian Karl Wlaschek and his supermarket chain Billa broadens the topic of “Kaufen” to include another D-A-CH country, thus encouraging cultural awareness—a key  goal of the revised AP Exam—as well as drawing on the AP theme of personal and public identities. Students read and discuss the text, then research other such individuals in the German-speaking countries and present their findings to the class. Click here for the chapter excerpt.

A sample AP exam with rubrics as well as further information on the new AP curriculum can be found at the following website:
http://advancesinap.collegeboard.org/CurriculumFrameworks/AP_German_LanguageCCFramework.pdf

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Pedagogically top-notch, with extensive student-centered exercises, creative activities, partner and group work, writing exercises, and Internet research projects, this text is full of relevant up-to-date information appealingly presented with effective classroom strategies that help the students to engage with and master the material.

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The engaging cultural reader Orientierungskurs Deutschland orients students to the culture of Germany, touching on many topics, including recent history, culture, politics, the school system, religion, laws, and general cultural observations.

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Where is Ilse? Why did she run away from home? This engaging story, told in first-person narration by Ilse's younger sister, draws in teenage readers immediately and gets them talking about their own families and personal experiences. One in a series of six works of Jugendliteratur developed by the Goethe Institut with teacher's manuals available. To the title.

Each verb pattern in Langenscheidt Premium Verbtabellen Deutsch is listed on a double page with example sentences, idiomatic usages, exceptions, and other verbs that are conjugated in a similar fashion. The appendix features a list of over 1000 verbs, each marked according to the conjugational pattern it follows. The CD-ROM uses various types of exercises to help students effectively master the forms.

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Langenscheidt Grundwortschatz Deutsch presents the 4,000 most frequently used words, organized by subject category to assist learning. Each word is used in an example sentence to ensure correct usage. An accompanying exercise book is also available.

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Complete with extensive and varied exercises in context as well as grammatical tables, illustrations, and concise explanations in German, Einfach Grammatik can be used in conjunction with any course materials.

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With over 50,000 words, phrases and examples, and 20 color-illustrated pages, Langenscheidt Power Wörterbuch Deutsch aditionally includes short summaries of relevant grammar points and useful cultural information on everyday life in Germany. In accordance with the AP goal of emphasizing the target language, German words are defined without English in clear and concise, easy-to-understand German.

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