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NZC – German – Emergent

This page provides the draft Learning Languages – German Learning Area. This is now available for wider feedback and familiarisation. The current Learning Languages curriculum remains in effect until 1 January 2028.

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About this resource

This page provides the draft Learning Languages – German Learning Area. This is now available for wider feedback and familiarisation. The current Learning Languages curriculum remains in effect until 1 January 2028 and can be found here The New Zealand Curriculum – Learning Languages.

Emergent phase

Teaching sequence

The following table exemplifies the knowledge and skills required for each mode when learning an additional language. The modes are closely connected and learning in any one mode supports learning in the others. 

During Emergent 1, students will:

During Emergent 2, students will:

Receptive skills 

Listening

  •  
  • understand phrases and vocabulary related to matters of immediate personal relevance (e.g. people and places, activities and routines) 
  • begin to understand enough to be able to meet some needs of a concrete type (e.g. directions, permissions) 
  • begin to make sense of unfamiliar language by using clues from word structures and context. 
  •  
  •  
  • understand enough to be able to meet needs of a concrete type (e.g. buying and ordering, making arrangements) 
  • understand key information about familiar matters regularly encountered (school, leisure etc., including short narratives). 
  •  

Reading

  •  
  • read short, simple texts containing phrases and vocabulary related to areas of immediate personal relevance (e.g. people and places, activities and routines) 
  • begin to make sense of unfamiliar language by using clues from word structures and context
  • recognise basic written spelling conventions and simple punctuation.
  •  
  •  
  • read and understand key information in short, simple texts containing high-frequency everyday language about regularly encountered familiar matters (school, leisure etc., including short narratives) 
  • recognise main written spelling conventions and punctuation rules 
  • make sense of unfamiliar language by using clues from word structures and context. 

Productive skills 

Speaking

  •  
  • describe or present about matters of immediate personal relevance (e.g. people and places, activities and routines), expressing opinions and giving reasons in a simple way. 
  •  
  •  
  • connect phrases in a simple way to describe experiences and events across time. 
  •  

Writing

  •  
  • produce straightforward connected texts about matters of immediate personal relevance (e.g. people and places, activities and routines), expressing opinions and giving reasons in a simple way 
  • begin to use resources appropriately, for example, artificial intelligence (AI), dictionaries, and glossaries to experiment with some new language in writing and to check spelling. 
  •  
  •  
  • produce straightforward connected texts to describe experiences and events across time 
  • use resources appropriately, for example, artificial intelligence (AI), dictionaries, and glossaries to experiment with some new language in writing and to check spelling. 
  •  

Interacting

  •  
  • use formulaic language and simple phrases to initiate and sustain short conversations about matters of immediate personal relevance (e.g. people and places, activities and routines), familiar matters regularly encountered (school, leisure), and needs of a concrete type (e.g. directions, buying and ordering, making arrangements) 
  • use strategies to sustain an interaction, such as self-correcting, repetition, clarification, and relying on known language to compensate for missing vocabulary. 
  •  

During Emergent 1

During Emergent 2

Knowledge

The facts, concepts, principles, and theories to teach.

Practices

The skills, strategies, and applications to teach.

Language

example

Knowledge

The facts, concepts, principles, and theories to teach.

Practices

The skills, strategies, and applications to teach.

Language

example

Linguistic knowledge 

  • Expressions of preference, likes/dislikes  
  • Expressing degree of preferences 
  • A simple way of expressing what one does or doesn’t like to do is to add ‘gerne’/‘nicht (so) gerne’ after the verb. 
  • The degree to which one is able to do something can be expressed by adding ‘(sehr) gut’, or ‘nicht so gut’. 
  • Expressing what they like or don't like to do and to what degree 
  • Giving reasons for their likes and dislikes 
  • Communicating what one can and can’t do and to what degree 

What they like or don’t like to do 

  • Was machst du gerne? 
  • Was machst du nicht gerne? 
  • Und du?/Und er/sie? 
  • Ich koche gern/nicht gern. 
  • Spielst du gern Tennis? 
  • Ich spiele gerne Schach. 
  • Ich lese nicht gerne. 
  • Ich schaue gerne fern. 

Reasons 

  • Ich schwimme gerne. Es macht Spaß. 
  • Es ist lustig/einfach.  

Degree 

  • Ich spiele sehr gerne Rugby. Es ist ganz toll. 

What they can do 

  • Ich kann tanzen. 
  • Ich kann gut tanzen 
  • Er/sie kann nicht so gut singen.
  • Vocabulary and formulaic expressions for interacting in transactional contexts depending on the chosen context 
  • The phrases ‘kann ich bitte [article+noun in the accusative] haben’  or ‘ich hätte gerne’ [article + noun in the accusative] can be used to ask for something politely 
  • In German numbers after 20 follow a set pattern, (e.g. one and fifty = 51 = einundfünfzig). 
  • Using simple language to interact in transactional contexts 
  • Communicating about quantity and cost of items 

Suggested topics: restaurants, shops, public transport 

Transactions 

  • Kann ich bitte eine Cola haben? 
  • Ich hätte gerne den Kuchen. 
  • Wie viel kostet das? 
  • Sechs Euro neunzig. 
  • Wann fährt der nächste Zug nach Berlin? 
  • Ich möchte gerne zwei Karten kaufen. 

Food quantities 

  • eine Scheibe Schinken 
  • 500 g Schokolade 
  • 1 kg Äpfel 
  • ein Liter Milch 

Cultural and sociolinguistic knowledge 

  • Sociocultural aspects of expressing likes and dislikes in German-speaking countries 

Linguistic knowledge 

  • Vocabulary for communicating about activities depending on the chosen context 
  • Adverbs and expressions of frequency 
  • Prepositions of location 
  • Expressions of opinion 
  • The verb ‘spielen’ is a weak verb with the singular conjugation: ich spiele, du spielst, er/sie spielt. 
  • Communicating about activities and routines, how often they engage in them, as well as when and where they take place 
  • Expressing opinions about activities, giving reasons, where appropriate 

Suggested topics: school subjects, leisure activities, routines at home, at school, or outside of school, meals 

Routines 

  • Ich stehe immer um 7 Uhr auf. 
  • Ich gehe meistens um 9 Uhr ins Bett. 
  • Ich esse immer Brötchen zum Frühstück. 
  • Abends höre ich oft Musik. 
  • Manchmal spiele ich Computerspiele. 
  • Montags habe ich immer Deutsch. 
  • Dienstags um 5 Uhr trainiere ich Handball. 
  • Wann hast du + subject? 
  • Wann beginnt der Unterricht? 
  • Wann endet der Unterricht? 
  • Welche Schulfächer hast du? 
  • Ich habe Deutsch, Mathematik, Englisch, Biologie, Sozialkunde, und Kunst. 

Leisure activities 

  • Was machst du in deiner Freizeit? 
  • Spielst du ein Instrument? 
  • Ich spiele Gitarre. 
  • Machst du Sport? 
  • Ich spiele Tennis. 
  • Am Wochenende lese ich gern. 

Frequency 

  • Wie oft spielst du Fußball? 
  • Zweimal die Woche. 

Adverbs of frequency 

  • manchmal 
  • oft 
  • jeden Sonntag 
  • normalerweise 
  • von Zeit zu Zeit 

Location 

  • Ich spiele Handball in der Schulhalle. 

Opinions 

  • Wie findest du Englisch? 
  • Ich mag Englisch, weil die Lehrerin sehr gut ist. 
  • Er findet Kunst klasse, weil es Spaß macht. 
  • Ich hasse Mathematik, weil es schwierig ist. 
  • Sie mag Sozialkunde nicht, weil es langweilig ist. 
  • Language to initiate and respond to making plans in the near future 
  • Modal verbs are followed by a verb in the infinitive 
  • Making arrangements to do something with someone else 
  • Giving reasons for accepting or declining invitations or plans 

Making arrangements 

  • Hast du Zeit am Samstag? 
  • Möchtest du mit mir ins Kino gehen? 
  • Ich kann am Samstag nicht ins Kino gehen. 
  • Und wie wäre es mit Sonntag? 
  • Ja, das passt mir gut. 
  • Um 15 Uhr? 
  • Oh ja, um 15 Uhr, das ist perfekt! 
  • Super, dann sehen wir uns am Sonntag um 15 Uhr! 
  • Bis bald! 

Cultural and sociolinguistic knowledge 

  • Daily routines in German-speaking countries 
  • School systems and school routines in German-speaking countries 
  • Extra-curricular activities in German-speaking countries 

Linguistic knowledge 

  • Vocabulary for describing a familiar place depending on the chosen context 
  • Adjectives to describe places 
  • Adverbs and prepositions of location to identify and describe location  
  • The phrase ‘es gibt’ (there is/are) is used for singular and plural and becomes ‘es gibt kein(e)’ in the negative. 
  • Full conjugation of the verb ‘sein’ (to be) is ich bin, du bist, er/sie/es ist, wir sind, ihr seid, sie sind. 
  • Full conjugation of the verb ‘haben’ (to have) is ich habe, du hast, er/sie/es hat, wir haben, ihr habt, sie haben. 
  • Opinions can be expressed using verbs like finden, mögen, lieben, and hassen. 
  • Not liking something can be expressed by adding the word ‘nicht’ at the end of the sentence. 
  • The form of German verbs in the present tense changes depending on the person. 
  • Communicating about a familiar place 
  • Asking for and giving directions 

Suggested topics: school, home, town 

Description 

  • Wie groß ist deine Stadt? 
  • Meine Stadt ist klein, aber hübsch. 
  • Mein Haus hat vier Schlafzimmer. 
  • In meinem Viertel gibt es ein modernes Handelszentrum und eine große Bibliothek. 
  • Meine Schule hat eine moderne Sporthalle. 
  • Wie heißt deine Schule? 
  • Auf welcher Schule bist du? 
  • Auf welche Schule gehst du? 

Locations and directions 

  • Meine Schule ist in der Innenstadt. 
  • Wo sind die Toiletten? Gehe geradeaus und dann nach links. 
  • Verb forms to express past experiences 
  • The perfect tense in German is formed by combining the present tense of the auxiliary verbs ‘haben’ (to have) or ‘sein’ (to be) with the past participle of the main verb, which goes to the end of the sentence. 
  • The verb ‘haben’ (have) is used with most verbs to form the perfect tense. 
  • The verb ‘sein’ is used with verbs that indicate a change of state or describe movement from one place to another. 
  • Regular/weak verbs form the past participle with the prefix ge– and suffix –t (e.g. gespielt/gewohnt). 
  • Strong/irregular verbs form the past participle in different ways, there are some rules, but the past participles need to be memorised. 
  • The past of ‘es ist’ is ‘es war’. 
  • Adjectives stay in the masculine form when used after ‘es ist’ and ‘es war’. 
  • Some common time markers are gestern, letzte Woche, letztes Jahr. 
  • Communicating about past experiences 
  • Using time markers referring to the past to add more detail 
  • Expressing opinions about past experiences 

Past experiences 

  • Was hast du gestern gemacht? 
  • Ich habe Fußball gespielt. 
  • Ich bin ins Kino gegangen. 
  • Er hat ferngesehen. 
  • Sie hat Englisch gelernt. 
  • Wir haben Musik gehört. 
  • Wir haben auf den Bus gewartet. 
  • Sie haben ihre Hausaufgaben gemacht. 
  • Es ist nett gewesen. 

Opinions 

  • Es war großartig. 
  • Das Essen war teuer. 
  • Meiner Meinung nach war es miserabel. 
  • Ich fand es langweilig. 

Cultural and sociolinguistic knowledge 

  • The character and architecture of towns and cities reflects their history, culture, and traditions and can differ from country to country and from region to region. 
  • In Germany, living in an apartment is quite common, especially in urban areas. 

Linguistic knowledge 

  • Possessive adjectives must agree with the noun they modify in gender, number, and case. 
  • German comparatives are formed by adding an –er ending to the adjective (e.g. ‘schnell’ becomes ‘schneller’) followed by the conjunction ‘als’ (than) to introduce the item being compared. 
  • Equal comparisons are made using the structure ‘so’ + adjective + ‘wie’ (as ... as), for example ‘so groß wie’ (as big as). 
  • The superlative form uses am + adjective + ‘–sten’ or ‘–esten’ for ‘the most’, such as ‘am schnellsten’ (the fastest).
  • Making simple comparisons between people, places, or things 
  • Using connectives 

Comparisons 

  • Meine Schwester ist schneller als ich. 
  • Dein Haus ist größer als mein Haus. 
  • Dein Handy ist älter als mein Handy. 
  • Das Buch ist besser als der Film. 
  • Ich spreche genauso gut Deutsch wie mein Bruder. 
  • Ich singe gut, aber meine Freundin singt besser, und meine Mutter singt am besten. 
  • Vocabulary for communicating about activities and events depending on the chosen context 
  • Communicating about activities and events using a variety of tenses and connectives 

Suggested topics: music, books, TV shows, films, clothes, food 

Activities in a variety of tenses 

  • Ich lese einen Comic. 
  • Morgen schaue ich mir eine Krimiserie an. 
  • Hast du die Dokumentation gesehen? 
  • Gestern trug ich einen Mantel. 
  • Heute trägst du ein T-Shirt. 

Using connectives 

  • Gestern trug ich einen Mantel, aber heute trage ich ein T-Shirt. 

Linguistic knowledge 

  • Vocabulary for communicating about plans for the immediate future depending on the chosen context  
  • Time markers and adverbs of time 
  • Plans for the immediate future are commonly expressed using the present tense plus a future time adverbial. 
  • Communicating about plans for the immediate future 
  • Using time markers referring to the future to add more detail 

Plans for the immediate future 

  • Was machst du dieses Wochenende? 
  • Ich besuche meine Großeltern. 

Future time adverbials 

  • In den nächsten Ferien 
  • In zwei Wochen 
  • Nächstes Jahr 
  • Zu Weihnachten 
  • Morgen 

Linguistic knowledge 

  • Formulaic expressions and verbs to express wants needs, and obligations, and ask for and give permission 
  • Wants are expressed using the weak verb ‘möchten’ with the singular conjugation: ich möchte, du möchtest, er / sie möchte. 
  • Needs can be expressed using the weak verb ‘brauchen’ with the singular conjugation: ich brauche, du brauchst, er braucht. 
  • The verb ‘brauchen’ takes an accusative object (e.g. Ich brauche einen Kugelschreiber). 
  • Asking for or giving permission can be expressed using the strong verb ‘dürfen‘ with the singular conjugation: ich darf, du darfst, er / sie darf. 
  • Communicating about wants, needs, and obligations 
  • Giving and seeking permission 

Wants 

  • Ich möchte an den Strand gehen. 
  • Möchtest du Fußball spielen? 
  • Ich möchte nicht schwimmen gehen. 

Giving and seeking permission 

  • Darf ich in die Stadt gehen? 
  • Ja, du darfst in die Stadt gehen. 
  • Du darfst nicht auf dem Computer spielen. 

Cultural and sociolinguistic knowledge 

  • Family roles and responsibilities 
  • Attitudes to parental and other forms of authority 

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