Foreign Language learning in Germany

Foreign Language learning in Germany

The aim of this report is to discuss foreign language learning in Germany and to comment and recommend changes that could improve the different ways of learning.

Firstly, learning another language starts in primary school and continues until the end of school. In our third year, when we are eight years old, every school starts teaching English. Our learning process continues in middle school when we have to choose between French and Spanish. Furthermore, we can do extra courses with lots of different languages like Latin, Italian and Ancient Greek. There are also some kinds of schools where they teach different subjects in English or other languages for example history and geography to make the foreign language more familiar. We also have special language schools and courses for learning every language you want and for all ages. That can help people who are more interested in foreign languages and you can study whatever you want, not just the normal school languages.

Our teachers always taught us that speaking another language is important for travelling, studying and getting around. To support the idea of getting used to it a lot of schools are doing exchanges with other schools and there is also the opportunity to do a gap year. Lots of young students really like this idea and they are taking this chance to improve their skills.

Most of the students in school learn their language just to pass an exam. They only learn the things that the teacher wants them to know and not really that what they need. I recommend that teachers show the pupils more clearly how important it is to speak a language properly and not just in class. Furthermore, the teachers only speak the foreign language they are teaching in class so they are not really used to speaking it. It would be more helpful for teachers to spend their time in a foreign language environment or to have a native speaker as a teacher because they know better what is important for speaking a language properly. I have the feeling that a lot of teachers only know the things in the textbooks and nothing in addition. So they can not teach that way that a lot of students wish they could.

Moreover, learning another language should be fun and interesting. I recommend that the way of teaching should be changed to make it more comfortable and interesting for the students. Teachers should be enthusiastic and convincing in their classes.

All in all, the way of teaching and the amount of different languages you can learn has changed for the better and I hope it will continue to chaneg over the next few years.