Schleswig-Holstein Abitur English flashcards

33 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Global listening

Listening for the overall meaning, structure and speaker roles of a text rather than individual details. In the Abitur it is the aim of the first playback, before numbers and names are noted.

Selective listening

Listening with a specific question in mind, filtering out irrelevant passages. Used in the second and third playbacks to confirm figures, names, dates and causal links.

Distractor in listening items

A wrong answer option whose words are actually spoken in the audio, often before the correct option. The correct option matches the whole passage, not a single heard phrase.

Hedging

Language that softens a claim, such as "arguably", "perhaps", "to some extent". Hedges signal a speaker's uncertainty or polite disagreement and often carry attitude questions.

Note-taking shorthand

Abbreviations, arrows for cause and effect, and plus or minus signs used while listening. It preserves content without full sentences, which would slow comprehension during playback.

Not stated option

An answer choice in a reading task that the text neither supports nor contradicts. Plausibility from general knowledge does not make it true; the correct label remains "not stated".

Skimming

Reading rapidly for gist, topic sentences and text structure before answering detailed questions. It precedes targeted re-reading and prevents word-by-word translation.

Scanning

Searching a text for a specific keyword, name or number without reading every word. It is the fastest route to the sentence that contains the required evidence.

Reference words

Pronouns and phrases such as "this", "such a move" or "the latter" that point back to earlier content. They must be resolved before judging what a statement claims.

Attribution verbs

Verbs introducing quoted views, e.g. "claims", "concedes", "admits", "insists". They reveal whether the author reports, endorses or distances herself from the quoted position.

Topic sentence

The sentence stating a paragraph's main claim, usually near its beginning. Heading-matching tasks require this claim, not the examples that illustrate it.

Mediation purpose

The stated situation and addressee that determine what a mediation text must contain. Content is selected and re-registered to serve that reader, not translated word for word.

Register shift

Adjusting formality between source and target text, for example turning a formal German official letter into a neutral English email for a student audience.

Cultural gloss

A brief explanation inserted for a culture-specific term such as duale Ausbildung or Betriebsrat, so the target reader can understand it without background knowledge.

Content points

The information units listed or implied in a mediation prompt. All must appear in the target text; omitting one costs marks even if the language is accurate.

Email conventions in English

Salutation, opening reference, body paragraphs, closing formula and signature. These layout elements must be produced in English, with no German conventions left over.

Paraphrase in mediation

Rewording source content when no direct equivalent exists, especially for idioms or culture-bound phrases. Meaning and function are preserved; the original wording is not.

Thesis statement

The central claim of an analytical essay, stated in the introduction. Every body paragraph supports it and the conclusion returns to it with a judgement.

Quote integration

Embedding a short quotation in your own sentence, marking it and giving a line number, then commenting on its function. Uncommented quotations earn no analysis marks.

Narrative perspective

The viewpoint from which a fictional text is told, e.g. first-person, omniscient or limited third-person. It shapes what the reader knows and how characters are judged.

Direct characterisation

Information about a character given explicitly by the narrator or by other figures, such as stated traits, profession or background, as opposed to inference from behaviour.

Indirect characterisation

Revealing character through behaviour, speech, appearance, thoughts or others' reactions. The reader infers traits rather than being told them directly.

Anaphora

Repetition of the same word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses or sentences, used for emphasis and rhythm in speeches and argumentative texts.

Antithesis

Placing contrasting ideas in parallel structure, e.g. "not because it is easy, but because it is hard". It sharpens a claim by juxtaposing opposites.

Tricolon

A series of three parallel elements, such as three adjectives or three clauses. The pattern is memorable and often closes a rhetorical build-up.

Stellungnahme structure

A clear position, at least two developed arguments with examples, one counter-argument that is refuted, and a concluding judgement. Assertion without support scores low.

Operator in a writing task

The instruction verb, e.g. describe, analyse, discuss, evaluate. It sets the required depth: evaluate demands a judgement, describe does not.

Monologue signposting

Phrases such as "First of all", "What is more", "To sum up" that make the structure of a spoken contribution audible to the examiner and partner.

Turn-taking

The alternating pattern of speaking in a dialogue. In the oral exam it means responding to the partner's point before adding your own and sharing speaking time.

Circumlocution

Describing a missing word instead of stopping, e.g. "the kind of programme where people compete". It keeps fluency when vocabulary fails.

Self-repair

Correcting your own error explicitly with phrases like "or rather" while continuing the sentence. It is expected in spoken exams and preferable to restarting.

Word stress shift

Change of stress when a word changes form, e.g. deVE lop but DEvelopment. Errors here reduce intelligibility more than individual sound errors.

Describing versus interpreting

Separating what a chart or cartoon literally shows from what it means. Material-based oral tasks require description first, then interpretation, then evaluation.