The teaching of English tenses in German schools

For German pupils the learning of English language means getting acquainted with the language that has a lot in common with their own one: similar words, grammatical terms and constructions. The latter is due to the fact that both languages belong to the same language family, namely to the Germanic one. The English language is the most widespread foreign language in Germany - both in the State and Waldorf schools. That means the level of knowledge that should be achieved is very high. Even though both languages have many parallels, there are some significant differences in the usage of grammar tenses: the German language does not have the continuous form of the verb; moreover, there is a difference in the usage of the future tense (Germans tend to use the present tense even when the sentence supposes the future meaning). This article deals with the methodology of the English language teaching in German Waldorf schools. Moreover, the author shows how different grammar constructions influence the way people think. On the one hand, the ideas of Waldorf schools have been integrated into the State schools, and on the other hand, they are up-to-date because they have many parallels with the recent investigations. For instance the phenomenological approach to the way the new material is presented (rules and conclusions follow the experience and not vice versa) or the learning of two foreign languages from the first grade. According to the author the methods of foreign language teaching in the Waldorf schools can be successfully transferred in the State schools due to their up-to-dateness.

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