Course Levels & Course Content

ActiLingua offers seven course levels ranging from absolute beginner to advanced. Follow this link for a comparison of our course levels with the European Framework of Reference.

Assessment test:

After a written assessment test and an oral assessment talk you are assigned to the appropriate level. The written assessment test takes approximately 60 minutes and covers grammar, reading comprehension and writing skills. It is included in your booking materials or available online. Please return the placement test till Tuesday prior to course start at the latest, otherwise you might miss the first day’s classes.

Course levels:

We offer seven course levels, each with a 4-8 week syllabus. Levels start at absolute beginner and progress to advanced. It is the responsibility of the teacher to decide whether a student may proceed to the next level.

Beginner (A0/A1-)*

You are a complete beginner or have very little knowledge of German. At this level you learn basic sentence structures and vocabulary to help you communicate simple messages in everyday situations.

Contact hours:	Standard Course: 20 course lessons & 5 lessons of cultural programme per week. Intensive Course: 30 course lessons & 5 lessons of cultural programme per week.
Average course duration:	4 weeks.
Starting dates:	every four or five weeks.
Prerequisites:	No previous German knowledge necessary. The student is a complete beginner or has very little knowledge of German.
Outline of course content:	He/she learns basic sentence structures and vocabulary to help to communicate simple messages in everyday situations. He/she learns how to introduce him/herself and to cope with simple situations in shops, at work, on the telephone, at the doctor's and in hotels.

Elementary 1 (A1)*

You have little knowledge of German. You learn how to make simple enquiries in speaking and writing, and to give instructions. You build on your basic grammar skills and increase your vocabulary.

Contact hours:	Standard Course: 20 course lessons & 5 lessons of cultural programme per week. Intensive Course: 30 course lessons & 5 lessons of cultural programme per week.
Average course duration	4 to 8 weeks.
Starting dates:	every Monday.
Prerequisites:	4 weeks of Beginner course or basic knowledge of German: ability to introduce oneself and talk about simple everyday situations.
Grammatical prerequisites:	The student has little knowledge of German, for example the ability to introduce oneself and talk about simple everyday situations.
Outline of course content:	He/she learns how to make simple enquiries in speaking and writing and to give instructions, builds on his/her basic grammar skills and increases his/her vocabulary. The following language functions are among those practised: asking the way; giving directions; asking for and giving information; discussing home and the household; describing people and their character; defining shape, size and colour of objects; asking for and giving opinions; the working world; returning faulty goods to a shop.

Elementary 2 (A2)*

You have some knowledge of German. You learn how to express yourself adequately in familiar, everyday situations and to read and understand simple texts.

Contact hours:	Standard Course: 20 course lessons & 5 lessons of cultural programme per week. Intensive Course: 30 course lessons & 5 lessons of cultural programme per week.
Average course duration	4 to 8 weeks.
Starting dates:	every Monday.
Prerequisites:	8 weeks of Beginner and Elementary 1 course or good basic knowledge of German: ability to talk about everyday situations, ask the way and give simple descriptions.
Grammatical prerequisites:	Imperfect tense, Nominative, Genitive, Dative, Accusative, Adjective declension, simple Subordinate Clauses, simple Prepositions.
Outline of course content:	The student has some knowledge of German. He/she learns how to express him/herself adequately in familiar, everyday situations and to read and understand simple texts. Main course topics include: holidays and travel, living abroad, nature and the environment, family, the generation problem, population, living, the concept of home, news, politics, radio programmes.
Certificate:	Optional: "ÖSD A2 Grundstufe Deutsch".

Elementary 3 (B1)*

Your basic German skills are incomplete. You consolidate and revise basic grammar structures, and learn to lead discussions on interesting topics.

Contact hours:	Standard Course: 20 course lessons & 5 lessons of cultural programme per week. Intensive Course: 30 course lessons & 5 lessons of cultural programme per week.
Average course duration	4 to 8 weeks.
Starting dates:	every Monday.
Prerequisites:	12 weeks of Beginner, Elementary 1 & 2 course or very good basic knowledge of German. Understanding of everyday spoken and written situations, ability to communicate in day-to-day contexts.
Grammatical prerequisites:	Imperfect tense, Perfect tense, Nominative, Genitive, Dative, Accusative, Adjective declension, Subordinate Clauses, direct and indirect Subordinate Clauses, Prepositions.
Outline of course content:	After completing Elementary 3 the student should have a basic command of the fundamentals of German grammar and be in the position to participate in simple discussions and to understand simple texts, including the main points of short press articles. He/she consolidates and revises basic grammar structures and learns to discuss interesting topics. Main topics include: Travel & tourism, employment and the working world, school, education, history, politics & culture, literature.
Certificate:	Optional: "B1 Zertifikat Deutsch".

Intermediate 1 (B2)*

You have a command of the essentials of German. You practise reading, writing and discussing difficult topics and work-related issues.

Contact hours:	Standard Course: 20 course lessons & 5 lessons of cultural programme per week. Intensive Course: 30 course lessons & 5 lessons of cultural programme per week.
Average course duration	8 weeks.
Starting dates:	every Monday.
Prerequisites:	16 - 20 weeks of Beginner, Elementary 1, 2 & 3 or good German skills: problem-free and fluent communication in everyday situations, basic understanding of simple press articles and films, the ability to discuss familiar topics.
Grammatical prerequisites:	Basic command of the essentials of German grammar, in particular all tense forms, Present and Imperfect Subjunctive, Passive, Adjective declension, Subordinate Clauses & sentence structure.
Outline of course content:	The student should learn to express him/herself fluently about a variety of moderately difficult topics and without preparation. He/she learns to express his/her opinion, to state his/her views, to discuss, analyse and interpret simpler texts, to summarize them and give an account of them. The basic grammatical structures are revised again and consolidated on an intermediate level. The prerequisite is a command of basic grammar!
Certificate:	Optional after completing the course level: "ÖSD – B2 Mittelstufe Deutsch".

Intermediate 2 (C1)*

You have a good command of German. You learn to express yourself clearly both in speaking and writing on a large number of topics and to understand almost all texts.

Contact hours:	Standard Course: 20 course lessons & 5 lessons of cultural programme per week. Intensive Course: 30 course lessons & 5 lessons of cultural programme per week.
Average course duration	8 weeks.
Starting dates:	every Monday.
Prerequisites:	28 weeks of Beginner, Elementary 1, 2 & 3 and Intermediate course or a very good knowledge of German: problem-free and fluent communication in everyday situations, understanding of newspaper articles and films, ability to converse on a number of topics. Comprehensive and sound command of the language and use of a large range of language devices.
Grammatical prerequisites:	The student must have a good command of German grammar, all tense forms, all applications of the Present and Imperfect Subjunctive, Subordination, Participle Constructions, Prepositions.
Outline of course content:	The student has a good command of German. He/she learns to express him/herself clearly both in speaking and writing on a large number of topics and to understand almost all texts. For example: Art: fine arts - interviews given by artists - interpretation of art, learning German: experiences and problems in assimilating a foreign language, sports, Austrian regional studies, Austria-Germany-Switzerland comparison, use of different types of text, literature (poetry).
Certificate:	Optional after completing the course level: "ÖSD– C1 Oberstufe Deutsch" or "C2 Wirtschaftssprache Deutsch".

Advanced (C2)*

You can express yourself fluently in German. You work on literary, socio-political, cultural and scientific topics.

Contact hours:	Standard Course: 20 course lessons & 5 lessons of cultural programme per week. Intensive Course: 30 course lessons & 5 lessons of cultural programme per week.
Average course duration	8 weeks.
Starting dates:	every Monday.
Prerequisites:	36 weeks of Beginner, Elementary 1, 2 & 3 and Intermediate course or excellent knowledge of German: problem-free and fluent communication in situations of all kind, understanding of complex written and oral passages of all kind, the ability to discuss complex topics. Comprehensive and sound command of German and use of a large range of language devices.
Grammatical prerequisites:	The student must have a very good command of German grammar.
Outline of course content:	The student can express him/herself fluently in German. He/she works on literary, sociopolitical, cultural and scientific topics.
Certificate:	Optional after completing the course level: "C2 Wirtschaftssprache Deutsch".

*The expression in brackets refers to the Common European Framework of Reference as issued by the European Commission that is the basis for the advancement of European multilingualism.