Second Foreign Language (German, Russian, French, Italian, etc.)
Shared demands
The second-language paper tests receptive and productive control at A2–B1. Whatever the language - German, Russian, French, Italian, or another - revise the same core: gender and number, case or article systems, agreement, verb tense and aspect, word order, prepositions, pronouns, and basic connectors. Vocabulary topics recur: family, school, travel, health, environment, media, and plans.
Language-specific traps
In German, learn verbs together with their case and preposition: helfen + dative, warten auf + accusative, sich interessieren für + accusative. Adjective endings depend on article type, and subordinate clauses send the finite verb to the end ('weil ich keine Zeit habe'). In French, distinguish passé composé from imparfait and check past-participle agreement with avoir and a preceding direct object. In Italian, use passato prossimo with the correct auxiliary and agreement. In Russian, aspect controls meaning: perfective for a completed result, imperfective for process or repetition; verbs of motion need the right prefix and preposition. Across all languages, beware false friends and literal translation from Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian.
Worked example
German: 'Ich helfe ___ Mann.' The verb helfen governs the dative, and Mann is masculine, so the correct form is 'dem Mann.' Rule of thumb: when you learn a verb, write a short example with its case or preposition; do not memorize bare infinitives.
Productive tasks
For writing, use a clear structure and familiar connectors (zuerst, dann, außerdem; d'abord, ensuite; сначала, потом). For speaking or letter-writing, recycle model phrases but adapt the details to the prompt. Check verb position in main and subordinate clauses, and agreement in gender, number, and case.