German

Think of Beethoven, Bach, Goethe, Schiller and Einstein.  What country do they originate from? Germany!! 

Germany is rich in history and culture and what better way to get to know this than through learning the German language. 

The opening up of Eastern block countries has meant that German is becoming increasingly used as a language of communication.  Many medical journals and scientific articles are published in German so it is vital that we can communicate in this beautiful and eloquent European language.

Guten Tag
My name is Caroline Robertson and I have been the German teacher at Marsden for 14 years. 
I was fortunate to spend a year in the north of Germany as an AFS exchange student which allowed me to learn the language and get to know the people and the geography of the country. 
On my return, I completed a B.A. at Victoria University where I was awarded a scholarship to study in Tuebingen in the south of Germany for a semester. 
After working in communications, I decided to start teaching to combine my love of speaking language and working with people. I have been lucky enough to travel frequently to Germany in the last 10 years to keep up my language skills.

German at Marsden
German is taught from Years 7 – 13 where we develop reading, writing, listening and speaking.
Speaking
The emphasis in my classroom is to communicate as much as possible in German.  I encourage all students to try and use the language as much as they can and get them to experience what it is like to walk a mile in someone else’s shoes.
German Exchange
We participate in a reciprocal exchange scheme which sees German students coming to our school to experience a Kiwi way of life. Our students return to Germany for 2 months over Christmas to get a taste of Die Deutschen!
German Breakfasts 
Along with formal instruction we have lots of fun such as songs, games and German breakfasts.
Competitions 
All students have the opportunity to enter the German Speaking Competition which provides an extension activity as well as the opportunity to speak German in an authentic manner.
German native speakers 
We invite native German speakers to the classroom as much as possible and a German speaker is used to run our scholarship programme.