Why learn German??Die ewige Frage!

The eternal question!

German is an important business language

Germany is a major economic force in the world. ◦ It is the 5th strongest economy (following the US, China, Japan,

and India)◦ It is the largest export nation in the world after China

Speaking German leads to employment advantages.◦German companies account for 700,000 jobs in the United

States, and US companies have created approximately the same number of jobs in Germany.

◦There are many German companies right here in the Bay Area.In the high-tech industry, Germany is the second most

important region in the world – the Bay Area is the first.

German is spoken widely in Europe & around the world

German is the national language of four countries in Europe◦ Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein

It is an official language of Belgium and Luxembourg

It is spoken regionally in many other countries ◦ Russia◦ France ◦ Poland ◦ Romania◦ Hungary ◦ Czech Republic ◦ Denmark ◦ Slovakia

Germanis spoken by many well-known personalities

Arnold Schwarzenegger (native of Austria)

Sandra Bullock (her mom is German) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yz3hKaGh1xo&feature=related

Leonardo di Caprio (his grandma is German) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OzZZ3r7qfsY&feature=related

Bill & Chelsea Clinton, Kim Cattrall, Natalie Portman, The Pope, Renee Zellweger, Roger Federer, Sigourney Weaver, Ted Koppell, Heidi Klum, Vladimir Putin, Lucy Lawless, and many more!

German @FHS

Small class sizesHigh pass rate on the AP German exam year over yearHigh scores on the National German Exam every year

◦The NGE looks great on college applications! Foothill has maintained an exchange with a high school

in Eastern Germany since 1992.◦FHS German students will spend 4 weeks in Germany in June

2011!German classes at FHS celebrate culture!

◦Oktoberfest, St. Nikolaus Day, Christmas, Carnival, and Easter.◦German class parties include tasty and authentic German food!

Germanfun facts

32% of Europeans can converse fluently in GermanGerman is the second most common language in the

Internet – English is the first!German helps you with English!

◦ German and English are closely related languages◦ This makes German vocabulary easy to learn, and learning German

grammar helps you understand English grammar better!The German Academic Exchange Service offers many

scholarships for university study in Germany, and Germany is a great place to spend a semester or a year abroad!◦ Great for future engineers, musicians, chemists, businesspeople,

archeologists, physicists, lawyers, doctors, teachers, historians…

Famous people

Albert EinsteinLudwig van BeethovenSigmund FreudSteffi GrafAnnette von Droste-HülshoffGünter GrassRammsteinThe ScorpionsXavier Naidoo

Sources

http://www.economywatch.com/economies-in-top/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_exports

http://german.about.com/od/culture/a/germanspoken.htm

http://german.about.com/od/culture/a/germanspoken.htm

http://www.studyabroad.com/http://www.early-advantage.com/Articles/Bilingua

lcelebs.aspx