1. German and English share many of the same words. German and English come from the same language family, namely Germanic. French and Spanish are based on Latin.
2. Learn about where many American families and traditions originally came from.
3. Experience an interesting culture with a long history and many interesting traditions.
4. Study the artists, musicians, scientists and great thinkers of German history.
5. You might get to be an exchange student as a high school student or to
meet one of the many German exchange students in our schools.
6. German is a language of science, business, literature, theology, music, art and history.
7. The German-speaking countries are beautiful, interesting places to visit.
8. The sooner you get started, the better. It has been suggested that the older you get, the more difficult it is to learn a foreign language, so start now! You can meet your foreign language requirements for high school and college sooner, too.
1. Mr. Shea's classes are challenging and interesting. You will definitely learn many new things.
2. Germany is modern. You'll learn about how German kids like yourself live.
3. Talk to German penpals through email and be on our own web page on the Internet.
4. We use the internet more than any class to practice our grammar and vocabulary.
5. Good work is rewarded with candy, colorful posters, stickers, books and other items.
6. You will see recent videos of Germany, featuring German cities, sports, music, TV, etc.
7. You will learn alot about language, history and culture. You'll be smarter after this class!
8. We will learn a few poems and songs and discover how German really sounds.
9. You will learn about German history and how the country has progressed.
10. You will learn what Germans are really like and see how common stereotypes are
wrong.
11. Mr. Shea created one of the first websites for teaching German, starting in 1995. His website is one of the largest for teaching German in the whole country.
12.
Mr. Shea has lived several years in Germany and other countries and studied German
for many years. You will benefit from his experience. He has developed the only full-time middle school program in the RSD, starting in 2002.
13. Mr. Shea also spent two years in Toronto, taught English for a year in Istanbul, has travelled to London, Paris, Venice, Munich, Geneva, Ephesus, Berlin, the former East Germany (and went through the Berlin Wall), Dresden, Denmark, Belgium, Holland, Montreal, etc.
14. Mr. Shea has an M.A. in German, will remain forever a thesis short of a PhD in German literature, has a B.A. in Political Science, and another M.A. in English.
He's also teaching an exploratory Chinese course, has studied Latin and Greek, and knows a bit of Turkish and Spanish. Your child will learn a lot in his class!
German is useful in many ways. It can be used . . .
. . . in everyday use
. . . in business and careers
. . . to enjoy reading in German and listening to German music
. . . to survive while travelling in German speaking countries and communities