German

"We import more from Germany than from any other country in the world; we export more to Germany than to any other country in the world bar the USA."

Source: BBC News, November 2008

Every pupil at Eltham College learns German from Year 8, with the possibility of continuing to GCSE and beyond. In increasingly unstable economic times, Germany possesses the largest economy in the European Union and the third largest in the world. On November 27th, 2010, The Daily Telegraph reported that the German economy is growing at its fastest pace since reunification in 1990.

Beyond the obvious advantages of being able to trade in the mother tongue of our closest and strongest economic partner and communicating with the 100 million plus German speakers worldwide, German is an extremely useful language to learn because its similarities to English make it surprisingly straightforward. A Year 8 Eltham College beginner already knows much more German than he thinks, as German and English are close cousins in the European family of languages. If you’ve ever carried a rucksack, attended a kindergarten, been abseiling or even felt a little schadenfreude, then you’re closer to German than you may think. English is, in fact, a Germanic language and your family will confirm that. Just ask your Vater, Mutter, Bruder or Schwester. The Germans are like us in so many ways. They are obsessed with football and iPhones; they have their own home-grown versions of X Factor, Come Dine With Me and I’m A Celebrity… about which they then tweet, text, blog and facebook. They are also strikingly ahead in terms of the government’s environmental policy and the trains are state of the art and run on time. It’s that recognition of the similarities and the luxury of seeing a country’s quirkiness from the outside which make learning foreign languages so rewarding. Time spent abroad also enables you to view your own country in a more objective manner.

In uncertain times, the strength of German lies in its stability. It is a country as reliable as it brand names. Mercedes, BMW, Audi, Volkswagen, Bosch, Siemens, Adidas and Puma have all become industry benchmarks for quality. The richness of German goes well beyond its brands. It is the language of philosophy (Kant, Hegel, Nietzsche), of politics (Marx, Engels), theology (Luther), music (Mozart, Brahms, Beethoven) and science, a field in which Germans have won 74 Nobel prizes. It is also fortunate enough to be home to one of Europe’s coolest and constantly changing cities. The fall of the Berlin Wall has created a scene unlike any witnessed since the heady days of the early 1980s on New York’s Lower East Side. It is the home of MTV’s European headquarters, a breeding ground for upcoming artistic talent, a comparatively cheap place to invest in property and, above all, one of Europe’s most thriving and thrilling destinations. There’s so much more to Germany than sausages, schnitzel and strudel.

Having studied German for three periods a week in Year 8, boys at Eltham College can continue German in Year 9, in which there are currently four sets. We have two GCSE sets in Years 10 and 11, with over thirty boys in each year (more than a third of the year group) opting for German as their GCSE language. In Year 10 there is a long-standing exchange to the Besselgymnasium in Minden (near Hannover) and we have now taken five year 11 groups on cultural trips to Berlin. As well as tours through the fascinating remnants of the city’s grim past, the highlight is always a Hertha Berlin football match in the legendary, notorious Olympiastadion. We run GCSE trips to London to German films such as Die Welle.

Our A Level groups surpass the national norms for a subject often threatened elsewhere with extinction. The course includes a week-long Exchange visit to the Bertolt Brecht Schule in Nuremberg and another trip to Berlin. We study literature (currently Bernhard Schlink’s novel Der Vorleser) and the film Good-bye Lenin! for the A2 cultural topics. There are frequent trips to London cinemas and film festivals (recent visits include Requiem at the Goethe Institute and The White Ribbon at the BFI) and in-school screenings by the Kino!, the Sixth Form Film Society. The department is exceptionally well-resourced, with a library of some 40 modern German films and pupil access to the full range of AQA material via kerboodle online.

Many Sixth Formers study German at University. Currently, two of last year’s Germanists are in their first year at Oxford, with three pupils from the previous year living in Germany: studying at University in Berlin, teaching English in the Bavarian city of Passau and working for a bank in Frankfurt. Of these three Old Elthamians currently living in Germany, two will return next year to complete their degrees at Oxford University and one will return to his final year reading German and Economics at the University of Nottingham. We prepare our pupils and provide additional tuition in language and literature for those aiming to study German at a higher level.

German is alive and well at Eltham College. We have three full time teachers, two foreign language assistants and each January we now welcome students from the Bertolt Brecht School in Nuremberg to assist in our classroom activites. An evening of European pop music is planned for Spring 2011. Keep checking back for further details.

Ben Pollard, Head of German/Modern Languages