Back to school!
Many German children are already back at school in August and often have a very early start to their day. Find out more in this article, you can even cast your vote on whether school begins too early or not!
Brexit; a German perspective
Here is an article and video on the German reaction to Bexit. What do you think will be the main consequences for Germany after Brexit? Will Germany follow us?
Top 100 German Words Competition
This year's Top 100 German Word Competition will be held on Wednesday 20 June at lunchtime in the Hospitality Suite. The competition is open to all First and Second Year learners of German plus the Third Year ML2 class. Ask your teacher for further details and get learning your words here:
www.vistawide.com/german/top_100_german_words.htm
Rhababerbarbarabarbarbarenbar-barbierbierbarbärbel
Here is an amusing video about the German propensity for sticking words together to make longer words. It tells the story of Rhubarb Barbara and the barbarians who come to her bar, their beard barber, and Barbara's assistant Bärbel, who runs the bar where the barbarians buy their beer.
Die Hitparade
If ever you want to see the current state of pop music in Germany, just visit this site to have a look through the Top 40! As this message is written, Ed Sheeran is Number 1, so not much difference there, but you may spot the title of some German songs to look up as well. Happy listening!
Frohe Weihnachten!
Wishing all Germanists "frohe Weihnachten" and a "guten Rutsch ins Neujahr"! Good luck in particular to all the Fifth Year and Sixth Form students preparing for their mocks when we get back. Three new DVDs have arrived in the department which are free for students to sign out, along with the rest of the library, if you need some holiday viewing: "Er ist wieder da", "Toni Erdmann" and "Victoria", all fantastic, if not the most Christmassy of films!
German is the language of engineering
Germany has the highest number of employed engineers in the European Union, who are well respected word-wide and enjoy a relatively high salary. Make sure you stand equal to if not above other qualified personnel and add German language to your assets. Not only will speak German aid you in finding the job, it will also help you with your everyday life in the country! This website gives you some interesting vocabulary and information about German for engineering.
German coalition struggle and its implications for Britain and Europe
Angela Merkel is struggling to form a governing coalition in Germany following the recent election. This article offers an interesting analysis of the implications for the UK and the rest of Europe.
Post-Brexit, we need language more than ever!
Dorothy Lepkowska, an education writer, puts the case for learning languages in schools in post-Brexit Britain. You can read the full article here.
Liebe Grüße zum Tag der Deutschen Einheit!
3rd October is a public holiday in Germany, celebrating the day twenty-seven years ago when the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic united to form the country we know today. Read more about it here.
German election latest
See the latest analysis on the German election in Kate Connolly's article in The Guardian, here.
John Le Carré in The Guardian
Legendary author John Le Carré wrote a piece for The Guardian in July 2017 on 'Why we should learn German'. You can read his article here.