Schleswig-Holstein MSA English study plan

Schleswig-Holstein MSA English · Give each week a clear focus.

8 weeks · About 7 hours per week

Week 1

Hörverstehen & Leseverstehen

Set up a listening log and complete five 3-minute authentic audio tasks (news, podcast, interview) with note-taking in English only.
Identify the four SH MSA listening task types (short announcements, longer monologue, dialogue, note completion) and write a one-line strategy for each.
Read two 400-word non-fiction texts and mark every unknown word; build a 40-item vocabulary list with English definitions, not translations.
Time one reading task at 20 minutes and record where you lost time (skimming vs. detailed reading).

A dated listening log with 5 entries plus a 40-word vocabulary sheet with English-only definitions.

Week 2

Complete six listening tasks under exam timing (one play only) and self-correct against transcripts.
Practise note completion by predicting word class (noun, verb, number) before listening, on three tasks.
Skim three texts for gist in 3 minutes each, then answer two detail questions per text.
Reduce unknown-word lookups to zero during timed reading; log guesses instead.

A scored table of 6 listening tasks (score, error type: missed signal word / spelling / inference) and 3 timed reading scores.

Week 3

Drill listening for numbers, dates, times and prices in five short audio clips, writing them in digits.
Identify distractors: find where a speaker corrects themselves ('actually', 'no, wait') in three recordings.
Practise matching-headings and true/false tasks on two texts, justifying each answer with a quoted line.
Cut average reading time per task to 18 minutes while keeping accuracy above 70%.

A distractor log listing 10 self-correction phrases heard, with the corrected information written out.

Week 4

Sit one full timed mock of Domain 1 (listening) and one of Domain 2 (reading) in a single session without pausing.
Analyse every wrong answer and label it: vocabulary gap, missed signal, misread question, or time pressure.
Re-listen to the two hardest audio sections at 0.9x speed and transcribe 60 seconds verbatim.
Re-read the hardest text and paraphrase each paragraph in one English sentence.

A mock-exam error analysis sheet with all wrong answers categorised and a revised score target for Week 7.

Week 5

Summarise five German source texts (150-200 words each) in English in 5-6 sentences, keeping all key facts.
Practise mediation register: rewrite three formal German notices as informal English emails and vice versa.
Draft two opinion essays (180-220 words) with a clear thesis, two arguments and a counterargument.
Build a 25-item phrase bank for linking, hedging and reporting in English.

Five German-to-English summaries with a checked fact list showing no key detail was dropped.

Week 6

Mediate two longer German texts (300+ words) into English under a 25-minute limit each.
Write one formal letter/email and one informal message, each hitting all four required content points.
Self-edit three drafts using a checklist: tense consistency, articles, spelling, word count.
Reduce first-draft errors by 50% between the first and third essay of the week.

A before/after error count for three written pieces, with the edited final versions attached.

Week 7

Complete a full timed mock of Domain 3 and Domain 4 on separate days, no dictionary, no pausing.
Rewrite the weakest mock answer to full marks and compare word by word with the original.
Practise 10 minutes of planning per writing task to cut planning time from 20 to 10 minutes.
Check mediation answers for tone and audience fit using a three-question test (who, why, how formal).

Two graded mock scripts (mediation and writing) with a rewritten model answer for the weaker one.

Week 8

Run one full four-domain mock under real timing across two days, then mark it against your own criteria.
Review all error logs from Weeks 1-7 and list the five most frequent recurring errors.
Drill only those five error types with 20 targeted mini-exercises.
Finalise a one-page exam-day checklist covering timing per task, order of answering and common traps.

A one-page exam-day checklist plus a final mock scorecard across all four domains.

Week 2: Listening accuracy at or above 60% on timed single-play tasks; reading task completed within 20 minutes without dictionary.

Week 4: Full mock of Domains 1 and 2 completed under exam conditions with a written error analysis and a target score set for Week 7.

Week 6: Five German-to-English summaries delivered with no dropped key facts; first-draft writing errors cut by half by the third draft.

Week 8: Full four-domain mock finished within time in every section, with a one-page exam-day checklist ready.