Begin your German learning journey with this introductory A1.1 course, designed for learners with no previous German study. You will build a foundation for communicating in everyday situations, including introducing yourself, sharing personal information, talking about family, work, studies and hobbies, and expressing likes and dislikes.

You will develop essential German grammar and vocabulary in context, including basic sentence structure, questions, present-tense verbs, personal pronouns, noun gender, articles, possessives, plurals and an introduction to the accusative case. Pronunciation is integrated throughout, with practice in German vowel and consonant sounds, umlauts, spelling, word stress and the intonation used in simple questions and statements.

DELIVERY MODE

Language courses are offered in two delivery modes:

• Face-to-Face: WEA Sydney
• Online: via Zoom or Microsoft Teams

Please check the delivery mode listed before enrolling, as some classes are face-to-face and others are online.

TEXTBOOK

• Willkommen 1 3rd Ed German Beginners Coursebook (John Murray: 2018), ISBN 9781473672659

Suggested Textbook Suppliers: Abbey's Bookshop · Intext Book Company / Language International Bookshop · The Language People

The textbook is not included in the course fee. Please check textbook availability with the supplier and wait until your course is confirmed before purchasing. WEA Sydney cannot accept responsibility for textbook purchases if a course is cancelled. Courses are confirmed or cancelled at least 7 days before the start date.

COURSE OUTLINE

Communication

• Greetings and farewells
• Introducing yourself and exchanging personal details
• Saying where you come from and where you live
• Talking about nationality and languages
• Talking about jobs and studies
• Naming towns and cities
• Describing hobbies and free-time activities
• Expressing likes and dislikes
• Talking about family members and relationships
• Saying how you are

Grammar

• Basic sentence structure
• Yes/no questions and simple information questions
• Present tense of regular verbs
• Personal pronouns
• Negation with nicht
• Gender of nouns and articles: der, die, das
• Possessive adjectives
• Plural noun forms
• Introduction to the accusative case
• Common verbs with vowel changes

Phonetics

• German alphabet pronunciation
• Spelling names and words aloud
• Pronunciation of numbers
• Key German vowel sounds and umlauts: ä, ö, ü
• Common consonant sounds such as ch and r
• Word stress in common expressions
• Intonation in simple questions and statements

Vocabulary

• Greetings and polite expressions
• Numbers 0 and above
• Countries and nationalities
• Languages
• Personal information
• Jobs and professions
• Study subjects
• Towns and cities
• Leisure activities and hobbies
• Family members
• Everyday verbs and common expressions

LEARNING OUTCOMES

By the end of this course, students should be able to:

1. Introduce yourself and exchange basic personal information, including where you come from, where you live, your nationality, languages, work or studies.
2. Talk simply about your family, hobbies, free-time activities, likes and dislikes.
3. Use basic German sentence structures, questions, present-tense verbs, articles, pronouns, possessives and introductory accusative structures in familiar situations.