Why
learn German?
English
is a Germanic language. This makes German quite easy to
understand once you know a few tricks. The old rumor that
German is a hard language stems back to the days when the
language was taught differently than it is today. In
fact, in the RC, students often comment on how surprized
they are at the relative ease of getting proficient in
German--partly because of the small class size and
individual attention students get, and partly because of
how easy it is to try to communicate using the language.
You can already read a lot of German words like: Apfel,
Banane, Sport, Trend, Winter, wandern, trinken, singen,
waschen, Club, Januar, Februar, Katze, Elefant,
Psychologie, Musik, Mathematik, Kindergarten and hundreds
more.
German is the most widely-spoken language in Europe. (Germany is the largest country in the EU.) Over 120 million people have German as their native language.
Germany
is America's largest European trading partner. More than
750 U.S. firms do business in Germany. 1,100 German
companies do business in the U.S. and the number is
growing each year. Many of these companies like to hire
employees who know the language. German companies in the
U.S. pay German-speaking employees premium
salaries.
Every
year, hundreds of American students complete paid
internships with German companies in the U.S. and abroad.
We can put you into contact with RC students who have
worked abroad.
German
is an important language globally-speaking. At many
American colleges and universities, German is the
language required most often for certain majors and
fields. At the University of California, for example: 56
majors require or recommend German, 43 majors require or
recommend French and 21 minors require or recommend
Spanish, and 7 majors require or recommend
Japanese.
Among
academic programs which often require or recommend German
are: anatomy, art, art history, bio-checmistry, biology,
biomedical physics, botany, chemistry, design,
engineering, film studies, genetics, linguistics, logic,
music, philosophy, physics, psychology, religious
studies, women's studies, and zoology.
More
than 25% of all foreign tourists visiting the U.S. are
from German-speaking countries. German-speaking countries
support the arts more than most any other country in the
world. For example, there are 400 theater troupes, 3
opera houses, 70 museums, 200 art galleries 120 movie
theaters in Berlin alone.
It
pays to know a foreign language that not everyone else
knows. Almost anything that sets you apart from everyone
else is a plus in the workforce today.
German
culture has had a substantial impact on the U.S.
According to the U.S. census, more Americans (25%) can
trace their ancestry to Germany than to any other
country. More than 60 million Americans are at least
partly of German descent.
It is very easy to fly to Germany. There are direct flights from Detroit to Frankfurt every day. Fares have gone as low as $500 roundtrip which has made it possible for students to travel to Germany for Spring Break or a long weekend just to test out their German. RC students have found that even after one semester of intensive German they can function quite well in German-speaking countries.