Intensive courses for preparation of studies (DSH courses)

German courses as preparation for the DSH exam

In our introductory session on the first day at ISZ Saar, we offer you a language screening that is organised by appointment through ISZ Saar before your arrival. Your place in our classes is already guaranteed through your admission, but the screening enables us to assign you to a group appropriate to your current level of proficiency in German.

The DSH intensive preparatory courses are offered at two levels:

• Level I courses are for learners with no prior knowledge of German or for those with elementary/intermediate proficiency in German (CEFR levels A1 to B1)
• Level II courses are for upper-intermediate and advanced learners of German (CEFR levels B2 to C1)

Typically, between four and seven courses are run in parallel at each of the two levels I and II. This ensures that you will be placed in a learning group that accurately reflects your current level of German. You will have 20 hours of teaching each week and your course will typically last between 16 and 20 weeks per semester, during which time you will be prepared for the end-of-course exam. At the end of a level I course, students will take a diagnostic language test. Students taking a level II course will take the DSH language proficiency test.

The courses are designed to develop student competence in:

• Grammar (particularly the structures found in academic language)
• Listening comprehension
• Reading comprehension
• Oral communication
• Written expression

The preparatory German language courses are supplemented by introductory level elective subjects and student-centred, tutor-guided learning sessions.