Whether trained teacher or career changer – the Goethe-Institut’s advanced training courses offer present and future teachers additional qualifications in “German as a foreign language” and “German as a second language”.
The subjects “German as a foreign language” (GFL) and “German as a second language” (GSL) are regular courses at colleges and universities worldwide. But many GFL and GSL teachers discover the desire to teach German only in the course of their professional career. Moving abroad, for example, often changes the German native speaker’s career prospects. Or there arises, as a result of immigration and high numbers of refugees, a greater need for GFL teachers.
International orientation and flexibility
For these heterogeneous target groups, online advanced training offers an anytime-anywhere additional qualification that can be acquired while working. Depending on the requirement and goal, participants can choose among courses with various focal points. Using a learning platform, they have online access to their classroom and digital materials, exercises, tests and participant forums.
The special feature of these services is that they enter into the life scenarios of an international clientele and have been developed in accordance with the latest findings in training teaching and action research. Equipped with many intercultural elements, they can quickly qualify both native and non-native speakers with a very good knowledge of German for purposes of teaching throughout the world.
Advanced training in cooperation with universities
The online course Deutsch Lehren Lernen® (DLL) Premium is aimed primarily at university graduates, with or without teaching experience, who have degrees in related disciplines such as German philology, education or modern languages. The course is a cooperation with the University of Jena and is strongly oriented to practice. It concludes with a graded university certificate and is, thanks to 28 ETCS points, the European credit transfer system, recognized internationally by other universities.
The online course Deutsch Lehren Lernen® (DLL) Modular offers the opportunity to choose from specific modules and concludes also with a graded university certificate with 3 ECTS points. After 6 successfully completed modules, an additional package provides access to the certificate of DLL Premium with 28 ECTS points.
Thorough further training for career changers
Even coming from a different professional background, the Goethe-Institute offers career changers professional qualification. The online course Deutsch Lehren Lernen® (DLL) Standard offers a basic qualification in the principles of teaching GFL/GSL within 12 months. The learning platform enables to connect with other participants and the qualified tutors, who supervise the course.
Independent of location and practical
The Austrian intercultural language teacher Sarah-Therese Mann (born 1988) commutes between Mallorca and Germany. She broadened her teaching skills in an online course. “As a phase teacher with more than one residence and work commitment, the independence of location and flexible scheduling were decisive for me”, she says. “I had to motivate myself again and again and keep at it over the study period of one to two years, but then I got a complete package and a certificate with which I can come closer to my goal of working as a GFL teacher worldwide and in different types of schools.”
Mann found the practical suggestions particularly inspiring: “I applied everything directly in my teaching. These experiences I could then bring into so-called practical exploration projects in my studies”. She thereby hit on completely new ideas; for instance, in the use of media. With her Mallorcan pupils, she spontaneously shot a soap opera. Those who, unlike Mann, do not yet have GFL teaching experience can alternatively work with filmed lessons available in the course database.
Networked online and individually supervised
“The advantage of online advanced training is that I can respond individually to participants and their questions”, says the long-time GFL teacher and online tutor Daniela Serve. From her adopted home in Bangalore, India, she supervises participants in various advanced training courses for the Goethe-Institut. “Even if we communicate mainly by writing through e-mails, it’s finally like classroom teaching with international students: I serve different types of learner and learning cultures.”
Online advanced training for teachers and educators
For trained GFL / GSL teachers and other teachers and educators, the Goethe-Institut also offers online advanced training courses with various emphases. Deutsch für Lehrkräfte (German for Teachers), for example, is a service for non-native speaker German teachers. In the area of Mediendidaktik (Media Didactics GFL / GSL), several course treat the use of digital media in teaching. Training is also offered at Online-Tutorieren (Online-Tutoring) and Online Moderieren (Online-Moderating). These courses too are flexible as to time. Unlike the GFL basic courses, however, they begin on fixed dates and have a fixed term so as to allow for group work.
How specifically does an online advanced training course proceed?
The courses are conducted in German on the online platform, where all homework and materials are available. You will be personally supervised by the correspondence course team or by online tutors. The exact sequence of the course differs according to the chosen service.
General information on the sequence of an advanced training course can be found here.
The exact sequence of the courses are given in the course descriptions.
Are the online qualification courses accepted as a professional qualification?
After successfully completing one of our DLL-Training you can apply at Goethe-Institutes, the ZfA, the DAAD and numerous other public or private education centers. Some of our online services are also approved by the BAMF (Federal Office for Migration and Refugees). Regarding the acceptance outside of Germany, the acceptance differs depending on the country you want to work in. Please contact your partner of interest to clarify the requirements.
Are the online courses accepted by the Goethe-Institutes worldwide?
Our online courses are accepted by the Goethe-Institutes worldwide.Additionally, to work as a teacher at Goethe-Institute practical teaching experience is required. Please contact the local Goethe-Institute for further information.
How can I register for a course?
Registration is by post. The registration form for printing out and more information can be found here.
What amount of work do I have to calculate for the online course?
For each course we provide a calculated workload. Depending on your individual learning rate and background knowledge the time needed may vary.
What is the ‚BAMF-Certification‘ and how do I obtain it?
The BAMF (Federal Office for Migration and Regufees) offers integration courses for migrants. To be allowed to teach these courses, a special approval is necessary, which is exclusively granted by the BAMF Some of our online courses are recognized by the BAMF to as certification towards an ‘additional qualification in GFL’.
The following online courses are accepted by the BAMF:
DLL stands for Deutsch Lehren Lernen® (Learning to teach German) and represents the advanced training material of the Goethe-Institute. Developed by leading academics to current standards of qualification programs. DLL serves to practically qualify instructors worldwide, whether in primary, secondary or adult education.
The online courses DLL Standard, DLL Premium and DLL Modular are based on this material. All materials and contents are available for download on the learning platform as PDF files for printing purposes. Materials are not sent physically.
Warum bekommt man für manche Why do some courses result in a graded university certificate and what are the advantages?
Our courses DLL Premium
and DLL Modular are a cooperation with the Friedrich-Schiller-University of Jena.
These courses conclude with a graded university certificate issued jointly by the Goethe-Institute and the Universityof Jena that is recognized internationally by other universities and the participants earn the following ECTS points after successful conclusion:
DLL Premium: 28 ECTS
DLL Modular: 3 ECTS
What exactly is meant by ‚duration of the course‘?
For each course a duration time is indicated. In group courses, this duration time is set and cannot be individually changed. In individual courses, the duration time represents the maximum of time disposable to complete the course. The individual courses give you the freedom to make your own hours, therefore it is possible to finish earlier than indicated in the duration time.
Which kind of material is used within the courses and how do I receive it?
All material and contents are disposable on the learning platform. You can download it as PDF and print it out.
We do not send out any print material.
The online courses DLL Standard, DLL Premium and DLL Modular are based on Deutsch Lehren Lernen® (DLL), the scientifically recognized material of Goethe-Institute. You can download the material on the learning platform.
Can I, as a non-native speaker, take part in a GFL / GSL advanced training course?
You can take part in an advanced training course as a non-native speaker, but need an additional requirement certifying knowledge of German. Depending on the course, certification (for instance, a certificate of the Goethe-Institut) of language level B2 or C1 is required.
What are the advanced training service’s standards of quality?
The correspondence course service is regularly reviewed and certified by the State Central Office for Distance Learning (ZFU).
All courses offered bear the corresponding seal of approval. Goethe-Institut diplomas enjoy the highest international reputation and generally open good career prospects.
More information about the course material and tutors can be found here. http://www.goethe.de/lrn/prj/for/flm/deindex.htm
I have technical problems. Whom can I contact for help?
If you have problems with the presentation of videos or audio files, it might help to change browser and clear the cache.If you are experiencing difficulties beyond that, you can always contact our course team.
What technical requirements and what amount of time are expected and what are the costs?
To graduate from an online advanced training course you need to have regular access to a computer with an internet connection. Time and costs vary depending on the course. Information can be found in the course descriptions.
What is the function of the tutors?
You will be personally supervised throughout the course by qualified online tutors.
Their task is:
organisation and support
moderation of group tasks
correction and grading of tasks
personal feedback
assistance in case of questions and difficulties
You can reach your tutors anytime via the learning platform or e-mail.
What is the difference between GFL and GSL?
“German as a foreign language” (GFL) refers to those who do not live in a German-speaking country and therefore are confronted with the German language almost exclusively in class. Accordingly GFL takes place abroad . If children or adults come to a German speaking country to visit a language course, it is also referred to as GFL.
“German as a second language” (GSL) refers to those who do live in a German-speaking country and therefore are confronted with and learn the German language mainly outside of class. GSL courses systemize these existing language skills of migrants.
What is the difference between individual and group courses?
Individual courses have a flexible course starting time and scheduling, and learning intensity can be designed flexibly by the individual participant.
Group courses have a fixed starting time and include a proportion of cooperative work done online in the course group.
Scheduling and learning intensity can nevertheless be designed flexibly.
Whether a course is offered as an individual or group course can be found in the course description.
Is it possible to extend the duration of the course?
For each course a duration time is indicated. In group courses, the duration time is fixed and cannot be individually changed. In individual courses, the duration time represents the maximum of time disposable to complete the course. The individual courses give you the freedom to make your own hours, therefore it is possible to finish earlier than indicated in the duration time.
It is possible to extend the following courses:
DLL Standard and DaZ Grundschule can be extended by three months (300,- Euro fee required).
DLL Premium can be extended once by nine months free of charge.
At whom are the Goethe-Institut’s online services aimed?
The advanced training and further training services are aimed at already working future German teachers and career changers. There are courses with various emphases and goals for various target groups.
What are the requirements for participating in the advanced training course?
The requirements vary depending on the training. Information can be found in the description of the courses on our website.
Special admissions are possible in warranted exceptional cases. In such cases, please get in touch with our customer service.
