German
German at Nottingham High School
German is taught from Year 8 onwards and is a language to which many boys respond very enthusiastically. We offer a popular taster trip to the Rhineland for boys in Year 8 and a highly successful exchange with the Christoph-Probst Gymnasium in Gilching, near Munich. This exchange, which has been running for over 10 years, is targeted at pupils in Years 9 and 10. Sixth-form students of German have the chance to take part in another exchange, this time with the Paulinum Gymnasium in Münster.
We use the AQA syllabus for GCSE and the Edexcel syllabus at AS and A2. Our pupils have earned some outstanding results in recent years and we firmly believe that German is a language which all the boys, whether ‘natural’ linguists or not, can learn successfully. For the most gifted and linguistically fascinated, the language provides many further challenges which we take every opportunity to exploit.
German is taught by Mrs Griffin, Mr Holding, Mr Brown, Mr Picardo, Mr Burn and Mr Whitehead, who is Head of Department. Frau Krüger, our Assistentin, helps boys with their oral German.
If anyone is wondering why we should go to the trouble of learning German, the following list, compiled by the Goethe Institut and taken from the website of the University of Alabama at Birmingham, may provide food for thought:
10 Good reasons for learning German other than Bier, Mercedes, Autobahn…
- An important language for communication in Europe and the World Anyone who can speak German can easily communicate with around 100 million people in their own language for German is not only spoken in Germany but also in Austria, in large parts of Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg as well as areas of Northern Italy, Eastern Belgium and Eastern France. Alongside Russian, German is the most frequently spoken native language in Europe and is one of the ten most frequently spoken languages in the World.
- Reading original material – Anyone interested in literature cannot avoid German. Over 60,000 new books are published in Germany each year, equivalent to 18% of books published world-wide, making German the third largest publisher of books in the world. Translations can never fully reproduce the cultural depth of German literature.
- Doing business with Germans – German is the most important trading partner for almost all European and many non-European countries. The ability to speak German improves business relationships with partners in the third largest industrial nation and one of the most important exporting countries in the world. A knowledge of German is a big advantage in business, as negotiations in a third language can easily lead to misunderstandings with costly consequences.
- Experiencing success – Learning and speaking German is no harder than English, French or Spanish. Thanks to modern communicative teaching methods it is possible to achieve a high level of communication skills in a very short time.
- Advantages for tourism - In many countries visitors from Germany, Austria and Switzerland make up the largest and most important tourist groups. A knowledge of German is therefore a great advantage for many people working in the tourist industry.
- Opportunities on the job market - A knowledge of German improves your chances on the job market. Many German companies abroad, many foreign companies in Germany and companies with close business connections with the German-speaking countries all look to recruit workers with language qualifications. Within the European Union it is not only specialists but also students and scientists with a knowledge of German who can find many interesting training, study and job opportunities.
- German prepares you for Europe – A knowledge of foreign languages always broadens both your intellectual and professional horizons. Those who learn German gain access to an important intellectual, economic and culturally historic area of central Europe.
- Scientific progress – A knowledge of German is very important for scientists and students as German is in second place in the field of scientific publications. If you can read German, you have access to a whole world of research findings in all areas of modern science. This is why 40% of Scientists in the USA recommend their students to learn German. In Poland and Hungary the figure is over 70%.
- Experience Germany in more depth – Each year millions of tourists from all over the world visit Germany which lies in the ‘heart of Europe’. Being able to speak and understand German means you to get to know the Germans better and gain a deeper insight into their history and culture.
- German, language of culture - A knowledge of German opens the door to the birthplace of one of the greatest cultures in Europe, for German is the language of Brecht, Goethe, Nietzsche and Kafka, Mozart, Bach and Beethoven, Freud and Einstein.
Mr Whitehead
Picture by Mr Burn.
