Shout Out For German

We recently celebrated #ShoutoutforGerman! A week dedicated to raising the profile of German across the UK.

Year 8 Germanists enjoyed a music workshop by Munich Supercrew in collaboration with the Goethe Institute. Students joined from schools across the UK and heard some of their songs aimed at helping students learn German. They were encouraged to join in and sing along, with opportunitites to ask questions and try out their German.

‘We really enjoyed the music workshop, where we were introduced to Munich Supercrew, the German musicians, who treated us to an online concert where we could listen and sing along to some of their songs. We especially enjoyed ‘Hobbys’ song which was very catchy and helped me remember lots of German hobby vocab’.  Lilian, Y8

‘The upbeat songs were creative and fun to listen to Helen,’ Y8

‘I loved learning all the new words in a catchy, engaging way.’ Eliav, Y8.

‘Now I know lots of new hobbies vocab, thanks to the fun songs!’ Niamh, Y8

The Year 9 and Y10 Germanists listened to a presentation by a Young Ambassador from the Goethe Institute about her experience of studying German in school and her intention to study German at university next year.

‘We found the presentation very informative. It helped us to see how powerful and impactful studying German is. We found that Germany has lots of things that we didn’t know about such as it being the 3^rd biggest economy in the world. The presentation made us feel more eager to start the German GCSE course in year 10. Danielle (the speaker) talked positively about her journey of studying German and she also answered our questions well. ‘

Shary, Y9

‘We were told some key facts and parts of culture from Germany which was very interesting. We also learned about the longest word in the German dictionary- Kraftfahrzeughaftpflichtversicherung meaning Motor vehicle liability insurance. The presentation was also interactive as she had a fun quiz at the end which made it more engaging and enjoyable. We loved us have this opportunity to broaden our knowledge on’

Giada, Y9

Year 11 were invited to take part in a business workshop, lead by the Goethe Institute and Dr Rhian Thomas, a Business Consultant specialising in Commercial and Contract Management. Dr Thomas previously worked in the Aerospace and Marine industries, for Rolls-Royce plc, specialising in bid management, negotiation, risk and contracting. She shared her experiences of studying German and Business at Warwick University, of travelling to Germany, of further studies including her PhD in Modern History. Dr Thomas credits her German studies and experiences living abroad for giving her the bravery to start her own business consultancy.

‘Dr Thomas told us about her education and work pathway and how she made her career choices. She highlighted the importance of studying languages at university and how foreign language skills allow you to communicate effectively, especially helping foster empathy with others. She highlighted how learning a language and for example, living abroad as part of her studies, takes you out of comfort zone which allows you to grow and build your capabilities. When you study the German language and visit Germany for example, it is easier to communicate with local people and learn about their culture and traditions. Dr. Thomas also highlighted that studying language at university makes you stand out to employers in the future.’ Sofiia, Year 11.

With the third largest world economy, Germany is the UK’s second largest trading partner, with over 450, 000 people employed in the UK by German businesses. German is the most in demand foreign language in UK job adverts, especially since Brexit. There are over 60 combinations of German and other subjects that graduated can study at UK universities.

We received some very positive feedback from our students...

‘I found the meeting very inspiring and interesting’, Charlotte, Y11

‘I particularly enjoyed hearing from Dr Thomas’s experiences of studying German at University’, Sophie, Y11

‘It has inspired me to learn languages so that I can communication with others’, Linett, Y11