German listening activity with questions to answer on 6 audio recordings of a hotel guest making complaints. Links in well with the Holidays topic at GCSE and is a good vocab booster. Proven to help with role-play tasks too.

Students listen to the descriptions of a dream holiday and spot / correct the errors on the transcript. They can then use language from the task to write their own answer to the question ‘Wie waere dein Traumurlaub?’ Good activity for developing use of the conditional.

A reading and writing task with online research, ideal for end of term / topic. Students read about the Weber family and research possibilities for a summer holiday for them. Students should make suggestions which match the family’s interests and write to them in German with suggested itinerary / activities. Some German tourist websites are given as a starting point, and key phrases are offered to help students put their suggestions into sentences. Proven in class to be a motivating task, with strong links to the ‘real world’ and GCSE Urlaub theme.

Students are given a list of qualities a friend may have which they rate by importance. They use this to discuss with different partners what an ideal friend (or boy/girlfriend) would be like. Excellent for engaging and motivating. Great vocab builder. Also good for practising ambitious sentence structures (esp subordinate clauses).

Students match German idioms relating to food to their literal and actual meanings. Great activity to boost vocabulary and as an extension task when doing the food topic at GCSE. Students could also look at ways of including the idioms when discussing other topic areas.

A Powerpoint showing how to build up a paragraph in a film / literature essay, here using 2 examples about the film Good Bye Lenin. Students are encouraged to support their statements with specific evidence from the film / text and then to extend and analyse. Having looked at the 2 examples (they can decide how successful they are), the final slide has a selection of essay titles for students to choose from and write a SEXY paragraph of their own.

4 paragraphs covering all aspects of the environment, and a range of group activities to consolidate the language. POSSIBLE ACTIVITIES: Students get 4 paragraphs in German, each in a different colour: a) match up each English sentence with a coloured paragraph. b) students read each paragraph with a partner, taking turns to read 1, 2, or 3 words at a time before their partner takes over. They alternate who reads. Person who reads the last word in the paragraph loses. c) In pairs, students are given 4 small bits of scrap paper which they label gelb / gruen / rosa blau. Teacher reads a few words from one paragraph and students have to grab the correct colour before their partner. d) in groups of 4 (ideally) with one captain - captain is given page 2 and calls out a short phrase in English. The student who gives the EXACT translation in German gets a point. Continue with a time limit. Great activity for engaging and broadening vocabulary. Could be followed by students writing their own paragraphs, which they could then write questions about for others to answer.

4 paragraphs in German inviting a friend to a Christmas party, and a range of group activities to consolidate the language. POSSIBLE ACTIVITIES: Students get 4 paragraphs in German, each in a different colour: a) match up each English sentence with a coloured paragraph. b) students read each paragraph with a partner, taking turns to read 1, 2, or 3 words at a time before their partner takes over. They alternate who reads. Person who reads the last word in the paragraph loses. c) In pairs, students are given 4 small bits of scrap paper which they label gelb / gruen / rosa / blau. Teacher reads a few words from one paragraph and students have to grab the correct colour before their partner. d) in groups of 4 (ideally) with one captain - captain is given page 2 and calls out a short phrase in English. The student who gives the EXACT translation in German gets a point. Continue with a time limit. Great activity for engaging and broadening vocabulary. Could be followed by students writing their own paragraphs, which they could then write questions about for others to answer.

4 paragraphs in German relating to music, and a range of group activities to consolidate the language. POSSIBLE ACTIVITIES: Students get 4 paragraphs in German, each in a different colour: a) match up each English sentence with a coloured paragraph. b) students read each paragraph with a partner, taking turns to read 1, 2, or 3 words at a time before their partner takes over. They alternate who reads. Person who reads the last word in the paragraph loses. c) In pairs, students are given 4 small bits of scrap paper which they label gelb / gruen / rosa / blau. Teacher reads a few words from one paragraph and students have to grab the correct colour before their partner. d) in groups of 4 (ideally) with one captain - captain is given page 2 and calls out a short phrase in English. The student who gives the EXACT translation in German gets a point. Continue with a time limit. Great activity for engaging and broadening vocabulary. Could be followed by students writing their own paragraphs, which they could then write questions about for others to answer.

Powerpoint giving examples of how different connective types can be used. The rules can be applied in all contexts but examples relating to Jobs & Work are used here. There is a range of examples and challenges, including gap sentences where students work out which connective fits best, and a writing task to redraft a letter of application. Used many times in lessons, this resource is proven to motivate and give clarity on this key grammar point.

Ideal for topics relating to friends and going out, these ‘chat up’ phrases encourage interaction and develop students’ skill in choosing specific phrase types for different purposes. Works well with Year 9. Get students asking each other out and encourage them to play ‘hard to get’ so that the ‘asker’ has to try a bit harder and the conversations are more extended. Give it a go!

A listening task or assessment on the topic of Friends. Ideal as an end of unit test but could be used at any point in a unit about friends and relationships at KS3 (esp Y9) or KS4. The teacher reads the transcript. This is suitable for all abilities.

Sheet showing the 3 connective types in German with examples of how to use them. Useful for adding variety to students’ writing and speaking, and for encouraging ambition.

Useful shopping phrases to match up. This can then lead on to students devising their own shopping dialogues. They could read / act out their dialogues to others and ask questions about it. Good practice for GCSE role-play.

Three role play dialogues about the local environment for students to practise and peer assess in pairs. Includes bullet point prompts for student A and a script with suggested answers for the interviewer. There is also a peer assessment grid. Students would ideally have several goes at each role play, possibly with different students around the class, each adding their feedback at the end. Proven motivating and engaging activity.

This sheet gives students suggestions about how to include ambitious sentences in a GCSE essay about jobs. In preparation for the essay, students translate 9 sentences (page 1) that would fit the essay bullet points. They use the grammar notes (page 2) to help them. Answers are on page 3. Once complete students should write their own essay. This task has produced some excellent essays for me in the past, and has helped those who frequently complain that they ‘don’t know what to write’.

Useful phrases for students to promote a tourist attraction, giving key details (price, facilities, location etc). Could be used for a written task, such as a flier to promote an attraction, or for a speaking activity during which students argue about whose attraction is best and why. Proven to engage and expand vocab.

This help sheet, with examples and exercises, looks at how to translate the verb ‘get’. Students often confuse ‘bekommen’ and ‘werden’. This sheet is proven to help students choose the correct verb.

Ambitious opinion and tense structures for GCSE writing and speaking, including different connective types. Ideal for adding variety to students’ work. Proven to help students access the higher grades at GCSE.

When marking German essays, teachers only need to number any grammar errors and students than then refer to the related notes to help them self correct. This sheet contains common errors made by my KS4 students over several years. It has developed their ability to discuss and ‘fix’ errors independently.