Germany Jahrgangsstufe 11 English (1st foreign language)

1. Communication skills

English listening and viewing comprehension · English reading comprehension · English speaking · English writing · English mediation · English vocabulary · English grammar · English pronunciation and intonation

• Mediation: How to Pass On Meaning Between Languages, Media and People – Mediation means helping two sides understand each other. In language learning, the mediator passes on information from one language or medium into another – not word for word, but the key points the listener needs, in words they understand. You select what matters, change the language, adapt the style to the listener and sometimes turn a chart or picture into words. In school mediation, a neutral student or teacher helps two people in a conflict talk, listen and find their own fair solution.

2. Intercultural skills

Intercultural competence: English-speaking world

Coming soon

3. Text and media skills

English text and media competence

Coming soon

4. Methodical skills

English learning methods

• Study Skills: Learn Smarter and Handle Exam Stress – We forget most new facts within days unless we revise them. Study skills are the habits that make learning stick. The strongest are spaced revision (reviewing after 1, 3, 7 and 21 days) and active recall (testing yourself instead of re-reading). Focus blocks such as the Pomodoro method, a written timetable, good notes (Cornell notes, mind maps) and enough sleep all help. For languages, learn words in context, use flash cards, read and listen every day and speak early. A little stress keeps you alert, but too much blocks thinking, so learn calming tricks and plan ahead.

5. Topic areas

English topics: empire, postcolonialism, global English

• Colonization: How European Empires Spread Across the World (1450–1750) – Colonization means one country takes control of land far away, sends its people or officials there and uses the land, its people and its goods for its own gain. From about 1450 to 1750 European powers (Spain, Portugal, Britain, France and the Netherlands) built empires across the oceans. In the Americas, diseases and conquest destroyed many native societies; the Spanish ran a strict labour system and a social ladder; Britain built settler colonies such as the thirteen colonies; and millions of Africans were forced across the Atlantic in the slave trade. In Asia, Europeans mostly built trading posts, which later grew into empires, as in India.