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German Language Course Perspective
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by Heinz-Peter Kempe
Teacher
AP German
Mercersburg Academy
Mercersburg, Pennsylvania
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| | Please note: The official College Board® Course Description is available below in "More."
I must admit that my AP class is my favorite one. I really look forward to working with the advanced-level students and seeing the rewards of the three, four, or five years of instruction. Personally, I don't view the course as anything other than the continuation of my attempt to teach my students as much German language, literature, culture, history, and geography as I can. I don't believe that we should teach our students any differently from the way we would at an advanced level if they were not taking the test. That does not mean that I don't discuss the test. On the contrary, I believe it is essential to make the students as comfortable as possible with all its aspects and its format. That includes the way it is written, by whom it is written, and most important, how and by whom the test is read and graded. I can honestly say that I have never worked with such dedicated, professional, and student-oriented high school and college German teachers as during my time on the Exam Development Committee and during the actual reading of the test. It has helped me tremendously to be able to explain and convey to my students that the test is written by teachers who want the students to be successful, and that the free-response section is evaluated by very sympathetic, well-trained, and objective readers.
We all face questions such as how we should choose the teaching material, how we should pace ourselves and the students for the test, what we should teach, what and how often we should review, and how we should keep the students engaged, motivated, and enthusiastic. Of course, budget concerns, class sizes, equipment shortages, and the fact that the day only has 24 hours add to the list of obstacles to be overcome before the day of the exam comes around. Yet in spite of all of these obstacles, or maybe because of them, the AP German students are among the best prepared and the most successful of all AP students.
I believe that a systematic and organized approach to the course promises the most success. A good fourth- or fifth-year textbook with a workbook, an interactive grammar review book, and a collection of short stories with vocabulary review and accompanying exercises present the core material I have used over the years. As elementary as it sounds, German needs to be the language of instruction to constantly reinforce and improve speaking and listening skills. I frequently use classroom-adjusted OPI techniques for individual and pair exercises (including scenario flashcards) and assign a composition topic once a week (about 200-250 words). Of course, I regularly build into my syllabus samples from published AP tests (free-response section and complete tests), but I use these mostly for warm-up exercises, homework assignments, and review opportunities besides my regular work with the textbook and the grammar book. I believe strongly that structured viewing of German films (Die Weiße Rose, Männer, and Lola rennt have become highlights for my students), a selection of '70s, '80s, and '90s songs, newspaper and magazine articles, Internet research for class projects, and preparation and discussions of contemporary short stories should be part of an AP syllabus. In addition to the College Board publications (e.g., acorn booklet AP German, Teacher's Guide to AP German) I use published material from the AATG and other sources.
During the final phase of preparation (five to six weeks before the test), I begin to practice more frequently the paragraph completion section, the picture series, and the directed response questions and compile a list of topics and parts of the test the students need to review. I also schedule more regular visits to our language lab to make sure that the students are comfortable with the technical aspect of the test as well. They usually find it helpful to take a couple of sample AP tests and discuss the results as if we were at the actual reading and the students were the readers. The final step is a dinner at a local German restaurant the evening before the test during which, of course, only German is spoken!
I would like to encourage teachers to participate in AP workshops, to interact and to stay in touch with other German teachers online, to use professional Web sites, to join our professional organizations, and to become actively involved in the test development and reading. The more ideas and suggestions we can share and learn from, the better it is for our students, the future of German at our schools and universities, and the future of the AP German Exam. We will not only become better-informed teachers but also get in touch with hundreds of dedicated and wonderful colleagues.
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