Weather: Exam Skills (AQA GCSE German): Revision Note

You hear a weather forecast on a German radio station. Choose the correct answer and write the letter in each box.

1. What will the weather be like today?

A. cloudy and cold
B. sunny and cold
C. sunny and warm

2. What will the weather be like on Saturday?

A. rainy all day
B. rainy and cold
C. windy and sunny

3. What will Sunday be like?

A. no rain and windy
B. rainy and windy
C. sunny and warm

Answers:

1. B - Heute wird die Sonne scheinen, aber es bleibt kalt. Genießt den Sonnenschein!
2. A - Am Samstag wird es den ganzen Tag regnen.
3. A - Am Sonntag regnet es nicht mehr, aber der Wind wird stark sein.

• Use the five minutes' reading time to jot down German weather words for each option, for example, for option B in question 1: sonnig, kalt

• This helps you listen out for key words rather than translating on the spot

• Watch out for distractors: in question 1 the sun is mentioned (suggesting option C), but the key detail bleibt kalt rules out 'warm'

• For question 3, the fact that it stops raining is the key, not the wind, which is a separate detail

You hear two friends, Laura and Jonas, talking about the weather in different seasons. Answer the following questions in English.

1. What does Laura say about summer where she lives? Give two details.

2. Why does Jonas prefer autumn to summer? Give one reason.

3. What problem did Laura have on her winter holiday last year?

4. What does Jonas say about the climate in his region? Give two details.

Answers:

1. Any two of: it gets very hot / temperatures rise above thirty degrees / she likes being outdoors / sometimes the air is so heavy it becomes unpleasant [2 marks]

2. It is cooler / nature looks very beautiful [1 mark]

3. It hardly snowed / there was not enough snow to do sport [1 mark]

4. Any two of: the climate is not very extreme / it rarely snows in winter / summer is never too hot / it is getting warmer every year due to climate change [2 marks]

• When a question asks for two details, make sure both are clearly stated - a vague general answer will only score one mark

• Question 2 asks for Jonas's reason for preferring autumn - not just what he says about summer, which is a distractor earlier in his turn

Prepare the following role-play. You are talking to your German friend about where you live.

1. Say where you live. (Give one detail.)

2. Say what the weather is like today. (Give one detail.)

3. Give one opinion about the weather in your region.

4. Say what you like to do when the weather is good. (Give one detail.)

5. ? Ask your friend a question about the weather where they live.

Answers:

Here are some example responses.

1. Ich wohne in Manchester. I live in Manchester.

2. Es ist heute sonnig. It is sunny today.

3. Das Wetter hier ist oft kalt und schlecht. The weather here is often cold and bad.

4. Wenn es warm ist, gehe ich gern in den Park. When it is warm, I like going to the park.

5. Wie ist das Wetter bei dir? What is the weather like where you are?

• For the question prompt (?), always include a verb - Wie ist das Wetter bei dir? scores full marks, but Das Wetter bei dir? would not, as it has no verb

• A good way to form questions is to start with a question word: wie, was, wo, wann - these almost always lead naturally to a verb

Prepare the following role-play. You are talking to your Swiss friend about holidays and seasons.

1. Say one positive thing about the summer holidays. (Give one detail.)

2. Say what sort of weather you like. (Give two details.)

3. Say where you went on holiday last year and what the weather was like. (Give two details.)

4. Give one opinion about the climate in your region.

5. ? Ask your friend a question about the weather next weekend.

Answers:

Here are some example responses.

1. Man muss nicht früh aufstehen. You don't have to get up early.

2. Ich mag warmes, sonniges Wetter. Es ist schön, wenn die Temperaturen steigen. I like warm, sunny weather. It is nice when temperatures rise.

3. Letztes Jahr bin ich nach Spanien gefahren. Das Wetter war heiß und die Sonne hat jeden Tag geschienen. Last year I went to Spain. The weather was hot and the sun shone every day.

4. Das Klima in meiner Region ist ziemlich kalt im Winter, aber im Sommer ist es angenehm. The climate in my region is quite cold in winter, but in summer it is pleasant.

5. Wie wird das Wetter nächstes Wochenende? What will the weather be like next weekend?

• Prompts requiring two details need two clearly distinct pieces of information

• Make sure your two details add genuinely new information, for example, the type of weather you like, followed by what you enjoy doing in it or why you prefer it

You read a blog post by Felix about where he lives. Answer the following questions in English.

Ich wohne in einem kleinen Dorf in Süddeutschland. Im Sommer ist das Wetter hier wirklich schön - die Sonne scheint fast jeden Tag und es ist warm. Letzten Sommer sind wir oft in den Park gegangen, weil es so heiß war. Im Winter ist es aber sehr kalt und es schneit manchmal. Das gefällt mir nicht so gut, weil ich nicht gern draußen bin, wenn es kalt ist. Aber ich wohne gern hier, weil die Gegend sehr schön ist.

1. What does Felix say about the weather in summer? Give two details.

2. What does Felix say about winter? Give one detail.

3. What does Felix think about living in his region overall? Write the correct letter.

A. He thinks the weather is always bad.
B. He likes where he lives despite the weather.
C. He would prefer to live somewhere warmer.

Answers:

1. Any two of: the sun shines almost every day / it is warm / last summer they often went to the park [2 marks]

2. It is very cold / it sometimes snows [1 mark]

3. B [1 mark]

• For question 3, the temptation is to choose C because Felix says he doesn't like the cold, but read the whole text before answering

• The final sentence makes his overall opinion clear: wohne ich gern hier means 'I like living here'

• Always read to the end before deciding on an opinion question

You read three posts about the weather and climate where each person lives. Answer the following questions in English.

Klara
Bei uns im Norden ist das Wetter leider meistens grau und kalt. Im Sommer scheint die Sonne manchmal, aber es ist selten wirklich warm. Ich finde das sehr deprimierend* - ich würde viel lieber in einem Land mit mehr Sonne wohnen.
*deprimierend - depressing

Stefan
Ich wohne in den Bergen und das Klima hier ist wirklich besonders. Im Winter schneit es viel, was ich toll finde, weil ich gern Sport mache. Im Sommer kann es aber sehr heiß werden, und das finde ich manchmal zu viel. Insgesamt bin ich aber zufrieden mit dem Wetter hier.

Mia
Das Wetter in meiner Region ist angenehm - nicht zu heiß und nicht zu kalt. Früher war der Sommer kürzer, aber durch den Klimawandel wird es von Jahr zu Jahr wärmer. Das macht mir Sorgen, weil die Natur darunter* leidet.
*darunter - as a result

What is the opinion of each person about the weather where they live?

Write P for a positive opinion
N for a negative opinion
P + N for a positive and negative opinion.
Write the correct letter in each box.

What does Mia say about climate change? Give two details. [2 marks]

Answers:

N - Klara says the weather is mostly grey and cold, she finds it depressing and would rather live somewhere sunnier.

P + N - Stefan likes the snow in winter for sport, but finds summer sometimes too hot; overall, he is satisfied.

P + N - Mia describes the weather as pleasant, but is worried about the effects of climate change.

Any two of: it is getting warmer year by year/summers used to be shorter / nature is suffering as a result [2 marks]

• The P+N option is easy to miss if you stop reading too early

• Stefan's first sentence is clearly positive, which might suggest P - but he then gives a negative point about summer, before finishing positively

• Always read the whole paragraph before deciding

• If a person gives both a positive and a negative opinion, the answer is P+N even if one outweighs the other

You are writing to your Swiss pen pal about the weather where you live. Write approximately 90 words in German. You must write something about each bullet point.

Describe:

• what the weather is like where you live

• what the weather was like last summer

• what you hope the weather will be like next summer

Answer:

Here is an example response of approximately 90 words.

Das Wetter bei mir ist oft kalt und es regnet viel. Im Winter schneit es manchmal, aber ich finde das schön. Die Sonne scheint leider nicht so oft, und das finde ich nicht so schön.

Letzten Sommer war das Wetter sehr warm und es hat fast nie geregnet. Ich bin viel in den Park gegangen und wir haben draußen gegessen. Das hat mir gut gefallen.

Nächsten Sommer hoffe ich, dass das Wetter wieder warm und sonnig sein wird. Dann möchte ich jeden Tag schwimmen gehen und Zeit mit meinen Freunden verbringen.

• The bullet points in the 90-word question always follow the same order: present, past, future

• Work through them in order and you will naturally cover all three tenses

• A common mistake is to write too much on the first bullet and run out of space for the others - aim for roughly equal coverage of all three

You are writing to your Swiss pen pal about the weather and the climate. Write approximately 150 words in German. You must write something about each bullet point.

Describe:

• your opinion of the weather in your region and how it affects what you do

• how the climate has changed in recent years and what you think about this

Answer:

Here is an example response of approximately 150 words.

Das Wetter in meiner Region ist nicht immer gleich - manchmal scheint die Sonne und es ist warm, aber dann regnet es plötzlich. Im Sommer steigen die Temperaturen manchmal auf über dreißig Grad, was ich toll finde, weil ich dann gern draußen bin und Sport mache. Im Winter ist es dagegen sehr kalt, und ich bleibe lieber zu Hause. Ich mache viel mehr draußen, wenn das Wetter schön ist. Ich finde, dass das Wetter wirklich wichtig für meine Laune ist.

In den letzten Jahren hat sich das Klima in meiner Region verändert. Die Sommer sind heißer geworden und der Schnee im Winter ist seltener als früher. Ich glaube, der Klimawandel ist dafür verantwortlich, und das macht mir wirklich Sorgen. Meiner Meinung nach ist es wichtig, dass wir alle etwas tun, um die Umwelt zu schützen, bevor es zu spät ist. Wir müssen jetzt handeln und mehr für die Natur tun.

• At Higher tier, both bullet points need to be developed in depth - aim for roughly equal coverage of each

• The first bullet point will always be present tense; the second will be a different tense

• A strong answer goes beyond stating facts - it includes opinions and reasons, using connectives like weil, obwohl and dass to create more complex sentences