Why study German? " German is spoken in four countries with widely diverse cultural, political, and economic traditions: The Federal Republic of Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. More Europeans (approximately 93 million) are native speakers of German than of English, French, Italian (58-60 million each) or Spanish (36 million). Knowledge of German grants access not only to rich literary, philosophical, artistic and scientific traditions but also to many kinds of contemporary economic, political, and cultural developments. " Dartmouth College, Hanover, N.H.

Here's what Andover students have to say about taking German: KMK - "German at Andover is not too big and not too small. There are just the right number of students taking the language to make it feel comfortable, but you also don't get lost in the shuffle." LN - "Not only is German an important language to knoow, but it's interesting and different from the traditional Romance languages most kids take - French and Spanish." AM - "I decided to take German, because it seemed to be an exotic language qhich was becoming more useful. I soon discovered that the class was exciting and the teachers were fun! It has been and always will be the class that I look forward to." MD - "I took German because I was very interested in a lot of German history ... I thought that learning the language would be a way to connect myself to what happened." CF - "I'm taking German because it is an advancing language that will open many doors for me in the business world. German at Andover is great, because the department is experienced and small enough to make you feel at home and give you the extra help when needed." MR - "I think the way the class works, always doing different things makes the class interesting. It's never repetitive." RL - "I took German because it isn't offered at every school and I wanted to make use of this opportunity." RF - "I like the teachers because of their enthusiasm!" If you speak English, you already recognize many German words. German English Winter winter Sommer summer Alphabet alphabet Doktor doctor Universitat university Kindergarten kindergarden Taxi taxi Elefant elephant Musik music Telefon telephone Did you know? German is spoken not only in Germany but in 5 European countries - Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Leichtenstein and Luxembourg! That's over 120 million people who speak German natively. It is the second language studied by millions of people across the world, including the USA, Eastern Europe, Canada, Australia and Japan. In fact 68% of Japanese students and 9.5 million Russians study German as a second language. Want to work for a high-tech firm? If so, knowing German may land you a job. Out of 50 recently interviewed high-tech firms in the Boston area, 32 said they would prefer you know German. More than 750 US companies do business in Germany. Maybe you'll work for one of them one day! Students of German achieve higher scores on the SAT verbal than students of other foreign languages. Since 1945 more Americans have lived and worked in Germany than in any other foreign country in the world! Are you interested in music?You're in good company with Bach, Schubert, Beethoven, Haydn, Brahms, Mendelssohn and Mozart!

German Department Contact: Lisa Svec