Englisch
It’s National Grammar Day. Wow!
Is syntax important? And how!
Though the rules may confuse,
You should never abuse
Our great language. So rules learn them now!!!
Who came here to preach his first sermon
He failed to enthuse
The folk in the pews,
Because he could only speak German.
Welcome to English!
„Wir helfen Euch die Sprache zu lernen, die die Welt öffnet und zusätzlich den Ländern zu begegnen, in denen Englisch gesprochen wird!“

Die Fachschaft Englisch am MCG mit ihren 14 Lehrkräften versucht Euch mit großem Engagement die englische Sprache sowie ihre vielen kulturellen Reichtümer anschaulich und erlebbar zu machen; egal ob Ihr in der Sekundarstufe I oder Sekundarstufe II unterrichtet werdet.
Unser Kernprogramm in der Sekundarstufe I:
Orientierungsstufe (Klasse 5 und 6): Hier geht es um Großbritannien. Wir legen Wert darauf, dass Ihr von Anfang an Englisch hört und sprecht, dass es aber für Euch einen sanften Übergang von der Grundschule gibt. Wir bieten Lieder, Reime, Partnerdialoge, Rollenspiele… und natürlich die Landeskunde.
Etwas ganz Besonderes sind unsere digitalen Klassen. Das Zeitalter der Digitalisierung macht es möglich, Englisch hautnah zu erleben. Mit Apple iPads im Klassenzimmer und Silky, eurem Wegbegleiter, geht es in dem Lehrwerk Access 1 von Cornelsen auf nach Plymouth. Im zweiten Band unseres Lehrbuchs Access 2 gibt es viel Spannendes und Magisches mit Master Wu zu entdecken.
Hier sind einige kreative Produkte aus dem Englischunterricht der Klasse 5 zu bewundern:
In der Mittelstufe begegnen Euch Länder wie Kanada, Neuseeland, Australien und die USA und die verschiedenen Englishes, die in diesen Ländern gesprochen werden.
In der 8. Klasse nehmt ihr an der landesweiten Lernstandserhebung teil, die Hörverstehen und Lesekompetenz abprüft. Wir freuen uns darüber, dass wir bisher immer über dem Landesdurchschnitt abgeschnitten haben.
In der 9. Klasse wird eine Klassenarbeit durch eine mündliche Team-Prüfung ersetzt. Dafür wird gut geübt, denn uns ist es wichtig, dass Ihr nicht nur gut schreiben könnt, sondern mit umfangreichen Vokabel- und Grammatikkenntnissen bewaffnet weltweit auch mündlich kommunizieren könnt. Und für den globalen Arbeitsmarkt bieten wir in dieser Jahrgangsstufe ein Bewerbungstraining an.
Hier sind alle relevanten Informationen zu den fachlichen Vorgaben und ihrer Umsetzung im Unterricht sowie Informationen zur Benotung im Fach Englisch (Link zu Curriculum Sek I und Sek II)
Und das ist unser PLUS in der Sekundarstufe I:
Wir bieten einmal in der Woche eine Sprechstunde und Schülerhilfe zur individuellen Förderung an, wenn es in der Unter- und Mittelstufe mal nicht so gut klappt. Dort könnt Ihr alle Fragen stellen und bekommt zusätzliche Unterstützung. Eure Lehrer helfen euch gerne und sind über Teams ansprechbar.
Wen Geschichte interessiert und wer noch mehr Englisch lernen will, für den steht in den Klassen 8 und 9 im Differenzierungsbereich Geschichte bilingual zur Wahl. Dort wird sehr viel Projektarbeit im Team und einzeln gemacht. Auch Klassenarbeiten werden durch Projekte ersetzt. Ihr versetzt Euch in eine historische Persönlichkeit und erlebt die Geschichte, entweder eines Steinzeitjugendlichen der an einer Begräbniszeremonie in Stonehenge teilnimmt oder als Plantagenbesitzer aus den amerikanischen Südstaaten im Amerikanischen Bürgerkrieg!
Für alle Stufen laden wir Schauspielgruppen ein: das White Horse Theatre mit seinen amüsanten bis nachdenklichen Beiträgen und die American Drama Group, die uns mit Dickens’ Christmas Carol alljährlich in Weihnachtsstimmung versetzt.
Sprachreisen: Wir sind zurzeit in der Planung für eine Sprachreise in der Mittelstufe, wo das Gelernte dem Praxistest unterzogen werden und Großbritannien einmal hautnah erlebt werden soll.
Unser Kernprogramm in der Sekundarstufe II:
Englisch prägt unseren Alltag! Let´s go to the pictures! Oder doch lieber ins Bochumer Theater?!
Außerdem könnt Ihr Euch im Sprachlabor der Universität Bochum bereits unter „universitären Maßstäben“ unter Beweis stellen.

In der Einführungsphase legen wir Wert darauf, an Euren Kenntnissen aus der Mittelstufe anzuknüpfen und diese Schritt für Schritt zu erweitern, sodass Ihr Methoden des wissenschaftlichen Arbeitens anwenden könnt und nach dem Abitur in der „World of Work“ oder im Studium an der Universität erfolgreich seid.
In der Qualifikationsphase I wird ein Schwerpunkt auf das Schreiben im Englischen gelegt durch die Facharbeit, die eine Klausur ersetzt. Ihr wählt Euch ein Thema Eures Interesses aus dem englischsprachigen Raum und verfasst dazu eine 15-seitige Ausarbeitung in der englischen Sprache. Wenn das gut gelingt, ist es wirklich beeindruckend!
Auch der mündliche Kommunikationsschwerpunkt wird fortgeführt, durch eine mündliche Prüfung zum Thema „American Dream“ in der Q1 (11. Klasse).
In der Qualifikationsphase (11./12. Klassen) wird auch das Bewerbungstraining auf erhöhtem Niveau fortgeführt. Aber auch diejenigen, die nach dem Abitur ein Gap-Year einlegen, kommen bei uns nicht zu kurz!
Und das ist unser PLUS in der Sekundarstufe II:
Für die Oberstufenschüler bieten wir die Gelegenheit sich in einem speziellen Kurs auf ein englischsprachiges Zertifikat vorzubereiten, dass bei der Suche nach einem Arbeits- oder Studienplatz im Ausland als Nachweis der Sprachbeherrschung anerkannt wird: das Cambridge English Language Assessment.
In der Oberstufe werden regelmäßig Kursfahrten ins englischsprachige Ausland angeboten.
Projekt “Vaping” der Klasse 9b
Vaping in the school toilets – No way out of the smoke?
Interviewing the principals
By Shelby Koch, 9b
A lot of students have already smelled the unmistakable smell of the smoke produce by vaping. As a result, an often-asked question is, “What will our principals do in the future to stop this?” To answer this question and more we interviewed our two principals for you.
Not only countries like New Zealand or Japan have a big problem with vaping at school, also our school and especially the girls’ toilets, has become one of the vaping hotspots.
“At a certain age it is normal to try thing out. Even if these different things bring their risk with,” says Mr Passerah in our interview. He and Mr Biewald agree on the problem of peer pressure as a motivation to vape. I think we all want to be cool in front of our friends and other students, so some of us even do unhealthy things to be popular or even to belong to the group. The problem with this is not just the rule to not smoke or vape at school, an also even more important point is that vaping is very unhealthy and dangerous. Even the people standing next to the smokers are exposed to the same health risks as smokers.
Mr Biewald answers the question, “Do you think prevention and education on vaping would be better than locking the toilet doors?”, with a clear: “Yes I do.” Both principals hope that the parents and people outside school will inform students about vaping. Closing the toilets was just the first possible step to reduce vaping. The next step, if this will not help, is going to be a prevention event on vaping. “I hope that this situation will get better after school holidays,” answers Mr Passerah. “There are individual punishments for student who vape alone and student who vape next to a student who does not vape,” replied Mr Passerah after being asked about the punishments for getting caught vaping.
Another punishment that a lot of us have heard about is the assignment of a presentation. This might inform students about the consequences of vaping and might also stop them from starting to vape or also stop pupils from vaping. Both principals agree on not losing the certificate “Gute gesunde Schule”, because vaping teenagers are a general problem, it happens everywhere. “Tackling the problem is what makes us have this certificate,” replied Mr Passerah.
One reason for the increasing numbers of vaping pupils are the many shops that sell vapes to under-aged teenagers. Even in year 7 some students were able to get vapes and these year-7- students, or other students will always find a way to get vapes. “You cannot make a difference between something like vodka and vapes. If you raise the age for one, then you should also raise the age for the other. It is not a solution,” adds Mr Passerah.
I think we all hope that this trend will go away soon, so that the girls can use their toilet without getting a key, just like it used to be.
.
Vaping in school – an unsolvable problem?
Principal Christian Passerah of Marie-Curie-Gymnasium in Recklinghausen comments on the vaping problem
By Emily Gerstenberg, 9b
Vaping in school is a huge problem in many countries nowadays, especially in Japan and the United States and New Zealand. So, it was only a matter of time till teenagers in Europe, Recklinghausen would start vaping too.
“It’s the age. The teenagers try things out and think it’s worth taking the risks,” Passerah says when asked why he thinks students start vaping in the first place. He also adds that other reasons are peer group pressure and the media. “Because of the media they think that vaping is cool. Also they have the false idea that vaping was healthier than smoking. Of course, it’s also a matter of personality.”
His main concerns about vaping are the law and students’ health. According to law, smoking in school is not allowed for both students and teachers. “There is no smoking area in school, like there used to be for teachers many years ago,” Passerah says.Besides, he is concerned about the students’ health because in a vape, there are nicotine and other toxic substances.
By far the most popular place to vape in school is the girls’ toilet. To stop vaping, the toilets are locked and the key needs to be picked up from the schools’ office. “Closing the toilets is a step that reduces vaping but cannot prevent it all the time.” The parents have already been informed about the problem and Passerah hopes that “girls tell other girls in the toilet to stop vaping.” But these are not the only measures. “In April, someone from the Drogenberatungsstelle will visit MCG and inform the students about how dangerous vaping is.”
When students are caught vaping, they get an individual punishment. “We need to look at the case. And the parents will be informed,” Passerah said.
Marie-Curie-Gymnasium was awarded the certificate “Gute gesunde Schule” a few years ago and some students think that this certificate might be taken away if the vaping does not stop. “No. It’s a general problem, it happens everywhere. We need to tackle the problem and deal with it,” he answered when being asked if he thinks that the certificate could be taken away.
Even though vaping is recognized as a big problem, under-aged students still manage to get vapes from shops. “The fact that vapes are so easy to get by, even for younger students, is a problem.” Nevertheless, Passerah does not think that the age-limit for vaping should be raised, because then the limit for other things, like vodka, etc. would need to be raised too. “I don’t see the difference. It’s not a solution,” he adds.
Hopefully, the irresponsible vaping trend will go away as quickly as it came.
MCG wants to stop vaping by locking the girls’ toilets
By Violeta Dernjani, 9b
Worldwide, many children and teenagers are smoking vapes who are under the age limit. Now, the addiction to vaping is so big that the students take the opportunity to smoke in secret or deal with vapes in school toilets, just like at MCG.
MCG is having the same problem, so the principal decided to solve the problem by locking the doors of the toilets. Many students are questioning, if this is the right way to handle this problem ?
”Why do teenagers smoke in the first place?” is a question we asked our principal Mr Passerah. He thinks it “is happening because of Social Media especially Instagram, People think that smoking is cool.” According to him, most people start vaping because “they think it’s healthier than smoking cigarettes“. Deputy principal Mr Biewald agrees, adding that teenagers, who smoke might want to ”impress their friends”. Children are impressionable, so they should be critical of what they see on the internet, because it is not always good or cool.
The main concern in connection with smoking vapes in school is strong. ”There are many aspects to consider. For one, the law does not allow smoking in school”, as Mr Passerah points out. The most important concern, however, is young people’s health which is threatened by the fact that the students can get addicted of the nicotine in the vape. So if you decide to vape you should be aware of the damage it could do to your body.
To prevent vaping in school the MCG decided to lock the girls’ toilets. If you want to go to the toilet, you have to get a key from the school office and enter your name on a list. As a consequence, many students now are complaining, convinced that teachers should rather educate their students about the risks rather than locking toilet doors. ”Locking the doors of the girls toilet is a step towards reducing smoking vapes and not preventing it”, Mr Passerah told us. Many students have complained about this, but it is obviously difficult to get someone, who has time to inform the students about vaping, but,” end of April, someone from the drug advice center (Drogenberatung Recklinghausen) will visit us to inform the students about vaping.“
Despite limiting access to toilets, female students still continue vaping in the school toilet, blowing smoke out of the window so they will not get caught. But what if someone gets caught, what punishment will they get? ”The punishment depends on the case, it is worse if someone is vaping in school than behind the gym“, we were told. On top of that, the smoker’s parents will be informed and they are expected to talk to their child.
MCG holds the title ”Gute Gesunde Schule” and we asked ourselves whether this was now in danger. Mr. Passerah informed us that, ”It’s a general problem and it happens at every school and we have to deal with the problem”. So to earn the certificate you have to deal with such problems and not just pretend nothing was happening.
Another big problem is that most shops are selling vapes to minors. Mr Passerah agrees that selling vapes at minor is ”a big problem and it should be more difficult to buy vapes.”
On the question whether the age limit for buying vapes should be raised to 21, as decided in New Zealand, Mr Passerah disagrees because, he does not expect a difference in outcome. Also, age limits for buying alcohol would also have to be raised.
Teenagers and kids under the age limit should be aware of how unhealthy vaping is and it is a bad decision to smoke in general. So stop Vaping and handle right.
Vaping in toilets now more normal than peeing in there?
Interviewing the principal of MCG
By Maira Gebauer
A lot of students smoke while being in school and that sadly effects everyone. Recently the girls’ toilets had to be locked, because they vape in there. The problem with vaping in general is that a lot of people don’t know how dangerous it is. And when they vape in the toilets it is not dangerous for them alone, but also for the other girls who breathe in the smoke they blow out. But does it help to lock the toilets? We asked that and more.
We asked Mr Passerah what his main concern about vaping in school is and he said that there are different aspects, one of them being that the school laws say that it is not allowed to smoke on the school property. And his second concern is about the health of the children because of the nicotine in the vape.
On the question, “What do you think makes the students start to vape in the first place?”, he answered, “It’s the age. Teenagers try out new things and they don’t think of the danger that could come along with it.” He also thinks that social media are a reason kids vape, because when influencers vape, they think it is cool and it will make them popular.
On the question, “Do you think prevention and education would be better than locking the toilet doors?”, Mr. Passerah said that the girls’ toilets are locked because the teachers want to prevent other girls from breathing in the smoke and they hope it will prevent them from smoking in general. But he knows that it will not stop the vaping.
He also said parents and people from outside the school should tell our students how dangerous vaping is. Mr Passerah also added that someone from the “Drogenberatungsstelle “will come to inform us more about the danger in vaping.
“What is the punishment for getting caught vaping in school?” – Mr. Passaral explained to us that it “is individual. If they vape in the toilets they will get a bigger punishment because they put other people in danger too, but if you vape for example behind the Gym you will get a lighter punishment.
Another huge problem is that shops sell vapes to under-aged people and even in the 7 grade some pupils were caught vaping. To that we asked if he thinks it would be a good idea to raise the age limit for vapes but he said it would not make a difference because somehow students would always find a way to get them. He also added, “If they raise the age limit for vapes they have to raise it for everything else, like vodka
and driving a car so it does not makes much sense.”
We all hope that it is just a trend and that is goes away quickly so we all can have a normal toilet break again.
Geschichtsunterricht in englischer Sprache
Etwas mehr von der Welt verstehen in der Weltsprache:
Die 8. Klasse erlebt den Sturm der keltischen Königin Boadicea auf Camulodunum (Colchester) im Jahre 61n.Chr.
Und betrauert den Tod einer englischen Legende:
Die 9. Klasse beschäftigt sich mit der Mutterkatastrophe des 20. Jahrhunderts
- in einer selbst erstellten Dokumentation (mit professioneller Hilfe in der technischen Umsetzung)
- vor Ort
- und erlebt die nachhaltigste Auseinandersetzung auf amerikanischem Boden, den American Civil War (1861-65) in verschiedenen Rollen.