Rhetoric School German
German in the Rhetoric School employs a multi-faceted approach to help students develop skills in a balanced, wide range of areas.

• Communicative competence includes knowledge of vocabulary and grammar, of course, but also includes ability in organizing and connecting concepts, communicating a message, and displaying appropriate behavior in a cultural context when using language.

• Emphasis is placed on creative language in written and oral forms as students are given opportunities to not only learn the building blocks of language, but to practice their use in the classroom.

• Listening skills are developed with exercises in perceiving discrete sounds and perceiving meaning in longer utterances.

• Extemporaneous speaking sills are developed with exercises in which students interact with each other in German.

• Reading and writing skills are developed early in the course, as students read and write passages relating to the topics studied. Vocabulary and grammar are developed as students use what they learn in each of these areas.

• Students are also allowed to explore topics of personal interest in annual presentations of German culture, and are strongly encouraged to participate in a visit to a German-speaking country sometime after their second year of study.

• Scripture memorization and biblical values are integrated into the classroom. In addition, when cultural issues contrast with a biblical worldview, we challenge the students to examine the thinking.

• Instruction develops awareness of and concern for the Body of Christ in German-speaking cultures, as the students pray by name for native German missionaries to their own people.

• Students learn about Martin Luther, one of the most influential human figures of German culture, as they study his life and his role at the time of the Protestant Reformation.