German

Course summary

German is a vitally important language in today’s world. It is the language of over 100 million Europeans, the second language of millions of Eastern Europeans, and, with French and English, one of the three working languages of the EU. The value of a language to us is defined primarily by its economic importance to the UK – German is in fact the foreign language most in demand by UK employers. There are numerous reasons for its importance: even disregarding other Germanspeaking countries, Germany is the world’s largest trading nation, and has the most powerful economy in Europe. It is also a fellow-member of G8. Britain has close ties with Germany and the other German-speaking countries. It is the UK’s most important trading partner by far, as a glance at the makes of many of the cars on our roads and the ownership of companies in the City of London show. As well as being valuable for business and engineering, German also combines well with the study of music, culture, history and philosophy. Spending some time in a German-speaking country is, as with all language study, of considerable value and importance. Pupils may wish to use their own contacts or use the department’s links with its partner school in Dresden. Pupils also spend time each week in small conversation groups with the German assistant, and a number of extra-curricular events are on offer each term, including film evenings, theatre visits, dinners, and visiting speakers.