Orientierungskurs
If you have any plans to obtain a German citizenship, you have to take part in Integrationskurs. The course comprises of 2 parts: Sprachkurs (German language course) and Orientierungskurs.
I didn't take the Sprachkurs because I already have a B1 certificate from Goethe Institut, which is an equal skill level expected at the end of the Sprachkurs. So I only joined the second part of the Integrationskurs, which is called Orientierungskurs. It's funny because when I started the course, everyone in the class already knew each other including the teacher as well. We started the first day by chatting casually about their B1 exams, and I just sat there listening.
In Orientierungskurs we learn the basics about Germany: politics, geography, history, and culture. Which is great for me because I generally love to learn, and I also have always had an inexplicable fascination with World War II era Germany history. Everything is in German, which is why at least B1 level knowledge of the language is required; but apart from some special vocabulary, the course is pretty easy to comprehend.
We are using a textbook from Hueber:
It is full colour, filled with useful basic information about Germany, along with an audio CD for some listening exercises and many written exercises as well. It has a vocabulary list and answer key at the back. Overall I love using this book.
The Orientierungskurs last for 5 weeks: 4 days for each week, and 4 hours each day. We have 20 meetings in total. I take mine at the Volkshochschule at Ober Roden, which is also a nice place and I love going there. My class has 13 participants in total, but 1 never showed up, so 12 in reality.
The Orientierungskurs will end in a test called Leben in Deutschland. There will be 33 questions: 30 general question and 3 specialised questions for your Bundesland (in my case, Hessen). To pass the Integrationskurs successfully, you need to answer at least 15 questions correctly, and if you want to obtain a German citizenship, you need to answer at least 17 questions correctly. The questions are multiple choice, only 1 out of 4 options is correct.
I was initially discouraged by the prospect of having to do the whole test in German, but after studying hard for it, I find it pretty easy. The list of questions is available online, in the form of catalogue comprising 310 questions (300 general, 10 Bundesland questions). You can study and practise them here in the official list:
We also practise and discuss these questions in class, typically every Friday. If you pay attention and study these questions in your own time outside of class, you should have nothing to worry about. I started learning the questions about 3 weeks before the course started, and by the time I started going to the course, I basically knew all the answers already. The discussions added more of my understanding of the questions and why the answers are what they are.
Overall it has been a great experience, and I can say I know more than some German citizens now about Germany ;)
I didn't take the Sprachkurs because I already have a B1 certificate from Goethe Institut, which is an equal skill level expected at the end of the Sprachkurs. So I only joined the second part of the Integrationskurs, which is called Orientierungskurs. It's funny because when I started the course, everyone in the class already knew each other including the teacher as well. We started the first day by chatting casually about their B1 exams, and I just sat there listening.
In Orientierungskurs we learn the basics about Germany: politics, geography, history, and culture. Which is great for me because I generally love to learn, and I also have always had an inexplicable fascination with World War II era Germany history. Everything is in German, which is why at least B1 level knowledge of the language is required; but apart from some special vocabulary, the course is pretty easy to comprehend.
We are using a textbook from Hueber:
It is full colour, filled with useful basic information about Germany, along with an audio CD for some listening exercises and many written exercises as well. It has a vocabulary list and answer key at the back. Overall I love using this book.
The Orientierungskurs last for 5 weeks: 4 days for each week, and 4 hours each day. We have 20 meetings in total. I take mine at the Volkshochschule at Ober Roden, which is also a nice place and I love going there. My class has 13 participants in total, but 1 never showed up, so 12 in reality.
The Orientierungskurs will end in a test called Leben in Deutschland. There will be 33 questions: 30 general question and 3 specialised questions for your Bundesland (in my case, Hessen). To pass the Integrationskurs successfully, you need to answer at least 15 questions correctly, and if you want to obtain a German citizenship, you need to answer at least 17 questions correctly. The questions are multiple choice, only 1 out of 4 options is correct.
I was initially discouraged by the prospect of having to do the whole test in German, but after studying hard for it, I find it pretty easy. The list of questions is available online, in the form of catalogue comprising 310 questions (300 general, 10 Bundesland questions). You can study and practise them here in the official list:
We also practise and discuss these questions in class, typically every Friday. If you pay attention and study these questions in your own time outside of class, you should have nothing to worry about. I started learning the questions about 3 weeks before the course started, and by the time I started going to the course, I basically knew all the answers already. The discussions added more of my understanding of the questions and why the answers are what they are.
Overall it has been a great experience, and I can say I know more than some German citizens now about Germany ;)
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