Chapter "Das Leben ist nichts für Feiglinge": didactic film material

The teenage years are not the easiest, as we all know. Kim is an only child and a loner. In everyday life, she stands out because of her clothes, and at school because of her extraordinary knowledge. And then suddenly her mother dies and Kim is alone with a father who can't handle the situation and a grandma who is now diagnosed with cancer, of all things; and then there's Alex... Life is not for cowards could have been an overloaded film, because there's no shortage of themes. Nevertheless, André Erkau and the actors and actresses succeed in making a beautiful, entertaining and interesting film that makes you think, makes you laugh - and maybe even makes you cry a little.

This teaching material has two thematic foci: One is living and dealing with cancer, and the other is what is so much a part of the teenage years: Living with a variety of emotions and feelings.

There are vocabulary exercises (with written and oral reinforcement) and research tasks clearly oriented towards the film, giving the students the opportunity to express themselves more confidently about the content and semantics of the film and topics in the film. There are also somewhat freer forms, such as writing a verse for the film music or putting oneself in the shoes of the characters in the film. Methodical suggestions can be found as well.

Learning objectives

Learners can:

• understand information about the film in a reading text
• describe the characteristics of their dream woman/man
• express their opinion
• talk about emotions and being in love
• put themselves in a role 
• conduct research on the topic of "living with cancer" and present their results