Go Global ~ Learn German !
Germany, Austria, and Switzerland are the three main German-speaking countries.
Here are a few interesting facts.
Germany, Austria, and Switzerland are the three main German-speaking countries.
Here are a few interesting facts.
1. Did you know ... ?
2. Have you ever ... ?
3. Have you read ... ?
4. Have you seen ... ?
5. Have you heard of ... ?
6. Did you also know ... ?
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 have the chance 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 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 http://www.mrshea.com/genial/ and games to practice our grammar and vocabulary.
5. You will see recent videos of Germany, featuring German cities, sports, music, TV, etc.
6. You will learn alot about language, history and culture. You'll be smarter after this class!
7. We will learn a few poems and songs and discover how German really sounds.
8. You will also be surprised to learn how Germans have come to deal with their past and how they have re-built their country into a safe, beautiful and enjoyable place to live.
9. You will learn what Germans are really like and see how common stereotypes are wrong. You will also learn about stereotypes Europeans have about Americans.
11. 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.
12. 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 will learn a lot in his class!
German is useful in many ways. It can be used . . .
. . . in everyday use
To order food in a German restaurant (and get what you want);
To drive a Porsche, Mercedes, Audi or BMW on the Autobahn (no speed limit);
To e-mail penpals in Germany, Austria or Switzerland;
To understand special terms in philosophy, theology, history and art;
To understand world politics and history
To learn about the many things Germans brought to American life
. . . in business and careers
To enhance your career opportunities, in general;
To work for the numerous German companies in the USA such as Bayer or Siemens;
To work for the CIA, FBI or the US Government
To work for the airlines or import-export companies;
To get a summer job in Germany
. . . to enjoy reading in German and listening to German music
To read Astrix and Obelix comics;
To read the fairy tales collected by the Brothers' Grimm;
To sing "Silent Night" and "O Tannenbaum" in German;
To read Kant, Nietzsche, Heidegger, and other philosophers in German;
To listen to a Mozart or Wagner Opera in German; Beethoven, Bach, Strauss, etc.
To read scientific journals and study great scientists like Einstein
To study some of the world's great modern architechts
. . . to survive while travelling in German speaking countries and communities
To go to a soccer game in Germany. Soccer is King!
To survive while biking, climbing or skiing the Alps;
To be able to understand metric weights and temperatures
To communicate with other Europeans; everyone is learning German world-wide!
To travel and communicate with the many German tourists around the world;
To travel in Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, and Northern Italy;
To travel in Eastern Europe, where German is the most popular foreign language;
To visit the fairy-tale castles of King Ludwig of Bavaria
To take a trip down the Rhine or the Blue Danube
To visit Berlin and Dresden and travel through Eastern Germany
To hike through the Black Forest or go windsurfing in Northern Germany
To study in Germany, where college is free;
To eat at German restaurants in your hometown.
To attend German-American festivals like the Oktoberfest and Strassenfest
To research your family history
To understand what it is you ordered from a Speisekarte (menu)
To understand when someone is talking about you, and what they are saying about you
To understand the announcement in stores at 13:45 on Saturdays that you have 10 minutes to leave the store
To try to argue your way out of a speeding ticket (didn't work for me!)
Just for the fun of learning something new and different!!!
This is a public relations attempt to convince you, by pure logic, that (except in some occasional and highly exceptional situations), you shouldn't get involved with the study of foreign languages.
1. LANGUAGES ARE TOO HARD. Not true. Any average student can expect to do quite well with a reasonable amount of effort.
2. LANGUAGE STUDY IS IRRELEVANT IN TODAY'S WORLD. Not true. It contributes greatly to your ability to understand and appreciate other people and cultures, which helps you appreciate your own culture. Few subjects are more vital to a broad education.
3. YOU WILL NEVER USE IT. Possibly not. But you are required to study many subjects you may never have any practical use for. These are part of your liberal education which contributes greatly to your success in any career.
Going to graduate school? Get your language now for credit.
Travel? You may find yourself among the 9,000,000 Americans who go abroad every year.
4. YOU CAN GET A GOOD JOB WITHOUT A KNOWLEDGE OF A LANGUAGE. True. But you might find a better one if you've studied a language. A recent survey indicated that 70% of the nation's employers are interested in hiring personnel with some degree of language training.
5. LANGUAGE STUDY IS BORING. Not true. It can be fascinating, especially now that culture is given more emphasis. It helps you understand how other people think and react to life.
6. LANGUAGE STUDY IS NOT INTELLECTUALLY STIMULATING. Not true. Psycholinguists have found recently that a person who possesses two languages has a more extensively utilized cerebral range and a wider intellectual ability than the monolingual.
7. EVERYONE ELSE SHOULD LEARN ENGLISH This is an ethnocentric attitude which leads to serious problems at home as well as abroad. Americans are constantly criticized for thinking our language and system are the only acceptable ones for all people in the world. Foreigners really admire those who have shown enough interest in them to at least try to learn their language.
8. IT TAKES TOO LONG TO LEARN A LANGUAGE. It does take more than a year or two to master a language. This is true of any field. But even a basic knowledge of a language will benefit you more than you think.
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