Willkommen!
Learn to speak, read and write German at our weekly classes designed to make learning fun and engaging. Join us for our cultural events and learn more about our 50 years of nurturing “Weltoffenheit.”
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Holiday crafts 1
students working together on holiday crafts
Der Nik
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holiday crafts
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Sankt Nicolas
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Learn German
Deutsch
Why
?
Celebrity Company
German
Why
?

Bach & Beethoven, Einstein & Freud, Goethe, Kafka & Nietzsche (some of Germany’s famous “Dichter and Denker” Writers & Thinkers)

THEN:

You’ll have more celebrity company than you might expect!

Bruce Willis
Diane Kruger
Henry Kissinger
Kim Cattrell
Kirsten Dunst

NOW:

Leonardo DiCaprio
Natalie Portman
Paula Radcliffe
Sandra Bullock
Terence Hill

German's Popularity
German
Why
?

• 93 MM+ Europeans speak German, the second most common European Union language.
• German is the most widely taught third language around the world.
• German is the second most common language used in science worldwide.
• German: the official language in Austria, Germany, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg and Switzerland.
• 35 German language dialects are spoken worldwide.

You’ll be in good company!

And because you’ll learn to pronounce a 79-letter word! Donaudampfschifffahrtselektrizitätenhauptbetriebswerkbauunterbeamtengesellschaft is the longest published word. (Extra credit if you can guess its meaning!)

Fun Facts
German
Why
?

• Kinder = children
• Garten = garden
• Hand = hand

You already speak some German:

• The first printed book was in German.
• The first magazine debuted in 1663 in 
Germany.
• Germany publishes about 94,000 book titles 
annually, 18% of the world’s books.

German Heritage
German
Why
?

• German is an American heritage language, representing the largest ethnic group in the USA, with 1MM+ speakers.
• 42.9 million Americans (15.2%) claim a Germanic heritage.
• Pennsylvania and California boast the largest number of Americans of German descent
• A community of descendents of German immigrants in Texas speak a unique German dialect, 
not found anywhere else in the world (http://germantexans.org/)

You may have German in your DNA

Source: (http://taxomita.com/map-of-languages-spoken-in-us-after-english-and-spanish/map-of-languages-spoken-in-us-after-english-and-spanish-map-us-language/)

Germans & Americans
Germans
In fact,

• America’s earliest settlements in Pennsylvania, New York and Virginia spoke German.
• Early US colonists recorded information, letters, diaries and more in German.
• The Pennsylvania Dutch speak a form of German, not Dutch.
• Germans who settled in the U.S. have been influential in almost every field, from science, to architecture, to entertainment, and to industry.

helped America win its freedom

Founding Father and Statesman Benjamin Franklin enlisted the help of General Friederich von Steuben, to teach Washington’s Continental Army Prussian military methods in their quest for freedom from British rule.

His efforts during the Revolutionary War laid the groundwork for modern military strategy and the birth of the republic.

German Food
German
Why
?

• Bread (300 + kinds of bread)
• Brats (1,000 varieties and counting)
• Ja, Ein Prosit for beer (1,500 varieties)
• Beer is an official food in Bavaria
• Drinking in public is totally legal.

Your tastebuds will thank you!

• Pretzels and Kraut
• Schnitzel (usually Pork or Veal) is popularly served with French Fries.
• Maultaschen – dumpling stuffed with chopped meats, vegetables, spices and cooked in beer broth.
• Donner kebab - typical “street food” introduced to Germany by Turkish immigrants

• Beer Ordering Rituals: Use a thumbs up to ask for 1 beer, but a first index finger means you want 2 beers.
• Go big or go home: Oktoberfest, the world’s largest beer festival serves beer in ein Mass – that’s a liter (quart) at a time!

When You Visit
German
Why
?

• 2,100 Castles
• Europe’s largest train station is in Berlin
• 309 Zoos (Tiergarten)
• Hamburg, which has 2,500 bridges - more than Amsterdam, 
London and Venice combined!
• #1 Soccer Fan Clubs
• Home of luxury car brands: Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche
• Vroom! 65% of Germany’s Autobahn have no speed limit

You're going to want to visit:

Quirky Germans
German
Why
?

• Free Education! Really: German universities and technical colleges are tuition-free or have very low tuition. (Yes! 13% of Germany‘s higher ed students come from abroad)
• Jail escapees go free because freedom is a right.
• Spreuerhofstrasse, at 31 cm (1 ft.) is the world’s narrowest street in Reutlingen
• Softest toilet paper
• One of the world’s largest car producers, 5.9 MM sold annually.
• First country to adopt daylight savings time in 1916.
• When JFK visited Berlin, he said, “Ich bin ein Berliner,” which sadly translates to “I am a jelly donut.”
• Most taxis are Mercedes-Benz!
• Mattel made a Barbie doll in Chancellor Angela Merkel’s likeness.
• Thank Germany for the tradition of Christmas trees, Tannenbaum.
• Germany has committed to become 100% renewable/green energy by 2022.

German language & culture is – well, quirky!

Financial Gain
German
Why
?

• According to The Economist, learning German 
provides a greater economic benefit compared to learning Spanish and French. Earning potential is 2.5x greater than that of a Spanish language speaker.
• Germany is the EU’s largest economy. With a gross domestic product (GDP) of 3.73 trillion $USD.
• Germany is the 4th largest economy behind the USA, China and Japan.

It pays to learn German!



Willkommen!
Learn to speak, read and write German at our weekly classes designed to make learning fun and engaging. Join us for our cultural events and learn more about our 50 years of nurturing “Weltoffenheit.”
Image not available
Image not available
Image not available
Students making holiday gifts
Holiday crafts 1
students working together on holiday crafts
Der Nik
Slide 1
Slide 2
Slide 3
holiday crafts
holiday crafts 1
holiday crafts 2
Sankt Nicolas
ED04EB36-DCB7-4BB2-8B91-A0E438CFE5F2
F37418E9-E64B-482A-AFD2-548BA57125D0
FD959441-0CC7-4C80-9342-FF4A63E60960_1_105_c
7FB70D37-7A02-474E-A748-D000C9012F14
50_GLSMC_2
PlayPause
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