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Goethe-Institut's own Simon Cowell judges German presentations
Region: West Midlands [More West Midlands news...]
Posted on: Friday, 05 Mar 2010
Three schools with 40 students got together at Aston university to learn about all things Germanic. Participants got the chance to learn about the life and customs in Germany, Austria and Switzerland and try out some local dialects. All three groups prepared a presentation with an impressive level of German to use later on at their own school. Presentations were judged by Ed Chappel from the Goethe-Institut, and the winnig group was Austria.
It came as a surprise to some that many of the Easter treats come from Austria and Haribo is actually German. Wienerschnitzel didn't win a lot of votes. One of the students told about his experience during a skiing holiday to Austria: "I liked most of the foods but not all. I tried this weird dish that looked liked Fish&Chips, it was even served with a lemon, but when I tried it, it turned out to be pork!"
Whilst students took part in the workshops, their teachers had the chance to try out free tools that ease sorting any authentic texts online. The participants found the tool useful, although everyone admitted that it would take some time to get used to it. The tools can be used to find out authentic examples for any topic or grammar point, and they can help in sorting out useful websites with students. They work well also for the occasional need for worksheets.
