A2 level German

A2 level German corresponds to the second level of German language learning based on the six-level scale of proficiency laid down in the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). It requires elementary language skills.

In the Indian Institute of Foreign Languages (IIFLS), the A2 level German is further divided into – A2.1 & A2.2, in order to lay a solid foundation for the levels above.

At this level, you can talk about basic topics and express your needs – like when you are buying something. You will be able to:

• Understand phrases and commonly-used expressions associated with topics pertaining to your direct circumstances (for instance, personal information or information about one’s family, work, immediate surroundings, etc.)
• Make yourself understood in mundane situations with simple exchange of information on common and familiar topics.
• Describe your education and background, immediate surroundings and things associated with immediate needs in a simple way.

As for the A2 level German course itself, let’s take a look at some of the things you will learn, just to give you a gist.

1. German days and months

   It’s always recommended that you must know about German Numbers and its pronunciation before you start to learn German days and months.

   Days of the week (Tage der Woche)

The German week too, starts on a Monday. Just as the English days of the week end in “day”, the days of the week in German end in the word ‘tag’. The 7 days of the week are masculine (der). Here are the days of the week:

Montag – Monday
Dienstag – Tuesday
Mittwoch – Wednesday
Donnerstag – Thursday
Frietag – Friday
Samstag – Saturday
Sonntag – Sunday

Months (Monate)

The German months too, are all masculine gender (der). Here are the months:

Januar – January
Februar –  February
März – March
April – April
Mei – May
Juni – June
Juli – July
August – August
September – September
Oktober – October
November – November
Dezember – December

2. False Friends

Like any other language, German also contains some false friends — words that look very similar to English but have different meanings. As we take a look at a few False Friends, you will realize that you should treat any new German word carefully, especially if it looks like an English word.

Here are some examples:

• Boot: This word means boat and not a boot.
• brav: This word means well-behaved and not brave.
• Brief: This is a noun and means letter, not brief.
• also: This one means thus, so, or therefore; not also.

3. Kissing cousins (near cognates)

You will also learn about Kissing cousins in A2 level German. Kissing cousins are words that are spelled slightly differently (almost the same actually) in German as in English, and have the same meaning. Here are some examples:

• Blond – blonde
• Direkt – direct
• Exzellent – Excellent
• Fantastisch – fantastic
• Hungrig – Hungry

Some spelling conventions in German you need to know:

• The English ‘c’ is ‘k’ in most German words.
• The ‘ou’ in English words like mouse or house is often equivalent to ‘au’ in German words.
• Many English adjectives ending in -ical or -ic have an -isch ending in German
• Some English adjectives ending in -y, end with -ig in German
• Some English nouns ending in -y, end with -ie in German.

4. Friendly allies (perfect cognates)

Friendly allies are spelled the same way and have the same meaning in German and in English. Some examples include:

• Arm
• Bandit
• Bank
• Blind
• Butter
• Digital
• Emotion
• Finger
• Hand
• Hotel
• Inspiration

5. Asking/Expressing an Opinion in German. Expressing agreement/disagreement/indifference

A2 level German also teaches you how to express your opinion, whether you agree, disagree, or are indifferent towards something.

Some Important Words in that regard:

• wahr – true
• falsch – false
• Die Ansicht – view
• Die Meinung – opinion
• überzeugen – to convince
• zustimmen – to agree
• widersprechen –  to disagree

Asking for Someone’s Opinion:

• Was halten Sie von? – What do you think of?
• Wie ist Ihre Meinung über? – What is your opinion about?
• Was denken Sie über? – What do you think about?
• Wie ist Ihre Ansicht über? – What is your view on?
• Sind Sie der Meinung, dass? – Do you think that?

Expressing agreement:

• Ich bin einverstanden – I agree.
• Du hast (vollig) recht – You are (completely) right.
• Ich stimme dir zu – I agree with you.
• Das stimmt – That’s correct.

Expressing disagreement:

• Ich bezweifle dass – I doubt that
• Ich bin dagegen – I’m against it.
• Ich widerspreche – I disagree.
• Das ist nicht wahr – That is not true.
• Das ist einfach nicht so – It just isn’t like that.
• Absolut Nicht – Absolutely not.
• Du hast keine Ahnung – You have no idea.

Expressing indifference:

• Das ist mir egal – I don’t care.
• Macht nichts – Never mind / Doesn’t matter.
• Es ist mir völlig gleichgültig – I don’t care at all.

Not Taking a Stance:

• Ich bin da geteilter Meinung – I am of two minds.
• Es kommt darauf an – It depends.
• Ich habe dazu nicht viel zu sagen – I don’t have much to say about that.

Bottom line

A1 and A2 level German are closely related and you may find many similarities between them. Apart from the things mentioned above, you will also gain a good understanding of nouns, verbs, sentence constructions, adjective endings, and prepositions, among other things at this level.

The post A2 Level German – What to expect and what you will learn? appeared first on Indian Institute of Foreign Languages.