7.10 Das deutsche Schulsystem — Epoché
What you will be able to do Read an explanatory text of about 800 words on a single subject, organised in paragraphs with one idea each. Understand how German schooling works, from the Kindergarten to the university, and why it differs from state to state. Follow the language of explanation: definitions with das nennt man , contrasts with nicht … sondern , and generalisations with wer … . Use the school vocabulary of 5.9 Vocabulary in context. Sentences from this text, before the notes. Read the German aloud; all of them come back below. German English Mit sechs Jahren beginnt die Schulpflicht. Compulsory schooling begins at the age of six. Die Kinder gehen auf verschiedene Schulen, und die Lehrer geben dafür eine Empfehlung. The children go to different schools, and the teachers give a recommendation for this. Die Eltern dürfen in den meisten Ländern selbst entscheiden. In most states the parents may decide for themselves. Jedes Bundesland hat seine eigenen Regeln. Every federal state has its own rules. Wer eine Ausbildung macht, arbeitet drei oder vier Tage pro Woche in einem Betrieb und geht ein oder zwei Tage in die Berufsschule. Anyone doing an apprenticeship works three or four days a week in a company and goes to vocational school for one or two days. So lernen junge Leute einen Beruf gleichzeitig in der Praxis und in der Theorie. In this way young people learn a trade in practice and in theory at the same time. Prerequisites : 7.9 — you need the school and university vocabulary from 5.9 Vocabulary , relative clauses with wer from 2.16 Grammar , and the passive from 2.19 Grammar . About this text This text was written for the course. Its subject is the German school system, which English-speaking newcomers often find confusing, and which the vocabulary lesson 5.9 Vocabulary introduced in outline. The text is 795 words in thirteen paragraphs, and every word form was checked against an open corpus of modern German; the few names of school types and the word for the cone of sweets given on the first school day are standard terms recorded in the dictionaries. It is published under a Creative Commons Attribution licence. The facts are those that apply in most of Germany at the time of writing. Because education is the business of the sixteen federal states, details differ from one state to another, and they change from time to time; the text itself says so, and its last sentence makes it the reader's first rule. The language of explanation One idea per paragraph. The text moves through the system in order: the principle, the kindergarten, compulsory schooling, primary school, the transfer, the three traditional schools, the newer schools, grades, languages, holidays, vocational training, university, and the debate. Each paragraph opens with a sentence that names its topic. Reading only those first sentences gives you a summary of the whole. Definitions. The text explains terms as it goes: Das nennt man sitzen bleiben , that is called repeating a year ; eine Schultüte, eine große, bunte Tüte aus Papier , a noun followed by an explanation in apposition. These are the two commonest ways of defining something in German. Contrast. nicht … sondern , from 2.22 Grammar , appears at the start: nicht ein Schulsystem, sondern sechzehn . Later, eher … eher sets two kinds of university side by side, and die einen … die anderen , some … others , presents the two sides of the debate. Generalisation with wer . Four sentences begin with Wer , the relative whoever of 2.16 Grammar : Wer in Deutschland Kinder hat, muss … ; Wer eine Ausbildung macht, arbeitet … . Explanatory texts use this pattern to state rules that apply to everyone in a situation. Reading it a second time Paragraphs 1–3 set the frame: sixteen systems, not one; the kindergarten, which is not a school; compulsory schooling from six, with the custom of the cone of sweets on the first day. Paragraphs 4–7 are the core: primary school for all, the recommendation at ten, the three traditional secondary schools and the comprehensive school that many states now have. Notice how each school is defined by when it ends and what qualification it leads to. Paragraphs 8–10 are practical: the grades from one to six, with sitzen bleiben ; foreign languages, starting with English in primary school; and the staggered summer holidays. Paragraphs 11–13 cover what comes after school — the dual vocational training and the university — and end with the debate about separating children so early. The last sentence returns to the point of the first. Full translation An English translation of the whole text, made for this course and kept close to the original. The numbers are the paragraph numbers of the original text, so you can move between the two. The German School System Anyone in Germany who has children has to get to grips with the school system early on. It is not easy to understand, and there is a reason for that: in Germany there is not one school system, but sixteen. Schools are a matter for the states, not for the government in Berlin. Each federal state has its own rules, its own schools and sometimes even its own names for the same school. Even so, the most important things are similar everywhere, and they can be described in a few paragraphs. Before school, most children go to kindergarten. Kindergarten is not a school. The children do not learn to read and write there; instead they play, sing, paint and learn to live with other children. The word Kindergarten , by the way, comes from German, and many other languages have adopted it. Compulsory schooling begins at the age of six. All children must then go to school, and for at least nine or ten years. Teaching children at home is not allowed in Germany. The first day of school is a big celebration. The children get a Schultüte , a large, colourful paper cone full of sweets and small presents. Many families take photos on this day that they still show years later. The first school is the primary scho