Picture 1 - Handy Mobbing

What the Picture Sequence Asks You to Do

If you choose the picture sequence rather than the project, your assessment consists of two connected parts: an uninterrupted narration of the six pictures, followed by a discussion with the examiner exploring future outcomes, unseen motives, and the wider social issues raised by the images.

Marks across the oral examination reward your ability to transfer meaning, the range and accuracy of your vocabulary and structures, and the clarity of your pronunciation and intonation. You should aim for roughly ten to fifteen clear, well-connected sentences in your narration: enough to cover every frame thoroughly without rushing. Preparing only the story narration is a serious trap; the subsequent discussion is an essential part of the assessment.

Examination Register

Most examiners address candidates using the formal Sie register (for example, Was meinen Sie dazu?), and you should routinely use Sie when asking questions or seeking clarification (Könnten Sie das bitte wiederholen?). However, if an examiner addresses you with du, simply mirror that register naturally. Notice that the text messages depicted in the drawings use informal address (dein Freund, wir kriegen dich)—that reflects how teenagers text one another, not your dialogue with the examiner.

Signposting Frames and Narrative Connectors

To prevent your narration from sounding like an isolated list of memorised lines, use framing phrases to guide the examiner through the visual sheet.

Frame Framing Phrases

• Auf dem ersten Bild sieht man Maria in ihrem Schlafzimmer. (In the first picture you can see Maria in her bedroom.)
• Auf dem nächsten/zweiten Bild sitzt die Familie am Frühstückstisch. (In the next/second picture the family is sitting at the breakfast table.)
• Im Vordergrund sieht man Maria, im Hintergrund hängt ein Poster. (In the foreground you can see Maria, in the background a poster is hanging.)
• Links im Bild / Rechts im Bild / In der Mitte ... (On the left / on the right / in the middle of the picture ...)
• Im letzten Bild stehen die Geschwister auf dem Schulhof. (In the last picture the siblings are standing in the schoolyard.)

Word order rule: Because framing phrases like Auf dem ersten Bild or Im Vordergrund occupy first position in the clause, they require immediate verb-second (inversion): the conjugated verb must precede the subject (sieht man, hängt ein Poster).

Sequencing Connectors and Word Order

Connecting words structure the storyline chronologically. German connectors fall into strict grammatical groups that dictate where your verb must go:

• Adverbs requiring verb-second (inversion) (Position 1):

zuerst (first of all), dann (then), danach (after that), später (later), plötzlich (suddenly), am nächsten Morgen (the next morning), inzwischen (meanwhile), schließlich / am Ende (finally / in the end). Example: Danach gehen die Geschwister zur Schule. (Never Danach die Geschwister gehen...)

• Subordinating conjunctions requiring weil / dass + verb at the end:

als (when, referring to a single past event): Als sie die SMS liest, wird sie blass. (When she reads the text, she turns pale.) während (while): Während die anderen Mädchen tuscheln, sitzt Maria allein. (While the other girls whisper, Maria sits alone.) bevor (before) / nachdem (after): Bevor die Familie frühstückt, liest Maria die Nachricht. (Before the family eats breakfast, Maria reads the message.)

Remember that when a subordinate clause comes first, the following main clause must open immediately with its finite verb (...sitzt Maria allein).

Two Ways to Tell the Story: Present versus Past

You can narrate your picture sequence in either the present tense (Präsens) or the conversational past (Perfekt). Whichever tense you select, you must remain in it consistently throughout your entire description.

Present Tense Narration

The present tense is safe, immediate, and recommended for most candidates:

• Maria bekommt eine SMS und ist schockiert. (Maria receives a text and is shocked.)
• Die Mädchen tuscheln in der Turnhalle. (The girls whisper in the gym.)

Past Tense Narration

If you choose the past, use the conversational past: haben or sein in position two, with the past participle at the end:

• Maria hat eine SMS bekommen und war schockiert. (Maria received a text and was shocked.)
• Die Geschwister sind zur Schule gegangen. (The siblings went to school.)

Rule: Verbs denoting movement or a change of state take sein (gehen → ist gegangen, passieren → ist passiert); transitive and stationary verbs take haben (lesen → hat gelesen).

Exception: The auxiliary verbs sein and haben, as well as modal verbs, are almost always expressed in the simple past (Präteritum) rather than the perfect: sie war schockiert (she was shocked), er hatte Angst (he was afraid), er konnte sich nicht konzentrieren (he could not concentrate).

Frame-by-Frame Visual Breakdown

A thorough narration must track both Maria and her brother across all six frames. The brother's side of the story matters just as much as Maria's:

Bild 1 (Marias Schlafzimmer)

Early morning in Maria's bedroom. Maria sits on her bed looking at her mobile phone. On the wall hang a photo of her and her boyfriend and a poster reading „Rettet die Eisbären“ (Save the polar bears). She receives an anonymous text message claiming: „Dein Freund Hannes geht mit Franka!“ (Your boyfriend Hannes is going out with Franka!). She is visibly shocked.

Bild 2 (Am Frühstückstisch)

The family gathers for breakfast. Maria and her brother sit silently, staring downwards without eating. Question marks above the parents' heads show that they cannot understand what is wrong with the children.

Bild 3 (Auf dem Schulweg)

Walking to school with schoolbags, both teenagers check their phones. The brother receives a threatening text: „Feigling! Wir kriegen dich noch!“ (Coward! We will get you yet!). Both siblings are intimidated and frightened.

Bild 4 (Im Klassenzimmer)

During a mathematics test (the blackboard reads „Heute Mathearbeit“), the brother sits with his head buried in his hands. He cannot concentrate because he is terrified by the abusive threats.

Bild 5 (In der Turnhalle)

During physical education, Maria sits isolated on a bench in the gym (die Turnhalle). Across the hall, a group of girls are whispering about her (tuscheln) and pointing at her, deliberately excluding her.

Bild 6 (Auf dem Schulhof)

In the schoolyard during break time, exclamation marks above pupils' heads show that rumours have spread across the entire school. Maria and her brother stand together feeling miserable, isolated, and completely helpless.

Chronological Model Narration (14 Sentences)

This fourteen-sentence model demonstrates clear, linked storytelling using the present tense. It incorporates varied connectors and subordinate clauses while keeping sentence lengths controllable under exam conditions.

Production Practice Drill

Look at these raw prompts: Bild 2 – Frühstück – niemand spricht – Eltern verstehen nichts. Try saying the German sentence out loud before reading the suggested solution: Beim Frühstück sagt niemand ein Wort, und die Eltern verstehen nicht, was los ist.

Future Projections, Narrative Gaps, and Giving Advice

Directly after your story narration, the examiner will explore future consequences and open narrative gaps.

Future Predictions (werden + Infinitiv)

Form future statements with conjugated werden in second position and the lexical infinitive placed at the end of the clause:

• Die Geschwister werden ihren Eltern am Abend die ganze Wahrheit erzählen. (The siblings will tell their parents the whole truth in the evening.)
• Die Eltern werden sofort mit dem Schulleiter sprechen. (The parents will speak to the principal immediately.)
• Maria wird die unbekannte Nummer blockieren und die Nachrichten als Beweise speichern. (Maria will block the unknown number and save the messages as evidence.)

Explaining Narrative Gaps

Use probability markers like vielleicht (perhaps) or ich vermute, dass... (I suspect that...) to account for details not shown in the drawings:

• Warum nennt man den Bruder einen Feigling? → Vielleicht wollte er bei etwas Gemeinem nicht mitmachen, und deshalb wollen sich die anderen Schüler jetzt an ihm rächen. (Perhaps he did not want to join in with something mean, and that is why the other pupils want to take revenge on him now.)
• Warum sagen die Kinder beim Frühstück nichts? → Sie schämen sich und haben Angst, dass die Eltern ihnen das Smartphone wegnehmen. (They feel ashamed and fear their parents will confiscate their smartphones.)

Giving Advice (sollte / könnte + Infinitiv)

The examiner will often ask: Was sollte Maria jetzt machen? (What should Maria do now?). Modal forms take position two, and the infinitive moves to the end:

• Maria sollte sofort mit ihren Eltern sprechen. (Maria should speak to her parents immediately.)
• Sie könnte den Vertrauenslehrer um Hilfe bitten. (She could ask the guidance/trusted teacher for help.)
• An ihrer Stelle würde ich die Nummer blockieren und die SMS nicht löschen. (In her position I would block the number and not delete the texts.)
• Man darf so etwas nicht ignorieren. (One must not ignore something like that.)

Thematic Discussion and Incidental Visual Details

After the story, the examiner will talk to you about the issue behind it: cyberbullying, pressure from social media, how much time young people spend on their phones, and how this compares between Ireland and Germany.

Word-Order Trap: Opinion Phrases

A very common oral error is placing the subject directly after an opening opinion phrase. Remember that Meiner Meinung nach + verb and Meiner Ansicht nach occupy first position, so the verb must follow immediately:

• Correct: Meiner Meinung nach ist Cybermobbing heutzutage ein großes Problem. (In my opinion cyberbullying is a major problem nowadays.)
• Incorrect: Meiner Meinung nach Cybermobbing ist...

If you prefer normal subject-verb order, use Ich finde, dass... or Ich bin der Meinung, dass..., keeping in mind that dass pushes the conjugated verb to the end of its clause.

The Conjunctions: weil versus denn

Both conjunctions mean 'because', but their word order differs fundamentally:

• weil / dass + verb at the end: ..., weil die Täter im Internet anonym bleiben. (because the culprits remain anonymous on the internet.)
• denn (coordinating, normal word order): ..., denn die Täter bleiben im Internet anonym.

Structuring a Balanced Argument

Show balanced thinking using einerseits ... andererseits (on the one hand ... on the other hand), with verb-second order following each adverb:

• Einerseits bieten Smartphones tolle Möglichkeiten, andererseits führen sie oft zu digitalem Stress. (On the one hand smartphones offer great opportunities, on the other hand they often lead to digital stress.)

Be prepared to compare the situation in Ireland with Germany if asked (Ist das in Irland auch so?):

• In Irland ist die Situation ähnlich: Fast jeder Schüler hat ein Smartphone, und viele Schulen sammeln die Handys morgens ein. In Deutschland gibt es auch strenge Regeln, aber das Problem existiert genauso. (In Ireland the situation is similar: almost every pupil has a smartphone, and many schools collect phones in the morning. In Germany there are strict rules too, but the problem exists just the same.)

Handling the Poster Detail in Bild 1

Examiners frequently pick up on background drawings such as the polar-bear poster („Rettet die Eisbären“) to test environmental vocabulary:

• An der Wand hängt ein Poster mit der Aufschrift „Rettet die Eisbären“. Das zeigt, dass Maria sich für den Umweltschutz interessiert. (On the wall hangs a poster with the inscription "Save the polar bears". That shows Maria is interested in environmental protection.)
• Ich finde den Klimawandel auch besorgniserregend, weil die Tiere ihren Lebensraum verlieren. (I also find climate change worrying because animals are losing their habitat.)

Personal Follow-Up Questions

• Wie lange sind Sie pro Tag am Handy? → Ehrlich gesagt verbringe ich ungefähr drei Stunden pro Tag am Handy, vor allem auf WhatsApp und Instagram. Ohne mein Handy könnte ich mir das Leben kaum vorstellen. (Honestly I spend about three hours a day on my phone, mostly on WhatsApp and Instagram. Without my phone I could hardly imagine life.)
• Sind Handys an Ihrer Schule verboten? → Während des Unterrichts dürfen wir unsere Handys nicht benutzen; sie müssen in der Schultasche oder im Schließfach bleiben. (During class we are not allowed to use our phones; they must stay in the schoolbag or locker.)

Pronunciation and Conversation Management

Accurate pronunciation and conversational resilience directly influence your marks.

Key Pronunciation Points

• Soft ch (ich-Laut): Raise the middle of your tongue towards the hard palate and let air hiss through—similar to the start of English 'huge'. Heard in ich, nicht, Mädchen, schrecklich. Never pronounce it as an English 'k'.
• Hard ch (ach-Laut): Produced further back in the throat after a, o, u, au, as in Nachricht (message) or auch (also).
• Initial sp- and st-: Pronounced 'shp-' and 'sht-' at the start of words or syllables: Sporthalle (shport-halle), Stunde (shtunde).
• The letter w: Always pronounced like an English 'v', as in während (during) or werden (to become).
• The letter z: Always pronounced 'ts', as in zur Schule (tsur Schule) or ganz allein (gants allein).

Repair Phrases for Buying Time

Never switch into English or sit in silence if you stumble. Use these standard phrases:

• Wie bitte? (Pardon? / Sorry?)
• Könnten Sie die Frage bitte wiederholen? (Could you please repeat the question?)
• Ich habe die Frage nicht ganz verstanden. (I did not quite understand the question.)
• Was bedeutet „...“? (What does "..." mean?)
• Moment, ich muss kurz nachdenken. (One moment, I need to think briefly.)

Key terms

das Cybermobbing / Handy-Mobbing

Cyberbullying or digital harassment carried out through smartphones, messaging apps, and social networks.

der Täter / die Täterin

The culprit or perpetrator of bullying or malicious acts.

das Opfer

The victim (always grammatically neuter: das Opfer, plural die Opfer).

der Feigling

Coward; the written insult sent to Maria's brother in Bild 3 („Feigling! Wir kriegen dich noch!“).

tuscheln

To whisper maliciously behind someone's back, as seen among the girls in Bild 5.

jemanden ausschließen

To exclude or ostracise someone from a group or social activity.

die Vertrauensperson

A trusted person or confidant (such as a parent, guidance counsellor, or trusted teacher).

der Beweis (die Beweise)

Proof or evidence (e.g. saving screenshots of abusive text messages).

angeblich

Allegedly or supposedly; used to report unverified claims without presenting them as proven facts.

In der Nachricht steht: „...“

The message reads / says: "..."; the standard introductory formula for quoting on-screen text.

die Anonymität

Anonymity; the condition of remaining unidentified online.

der verantwortungsvolle Umgang

The responsible handling or usage of something (e.g. smartphones or social networks).