Considering German Language Courses?
The best way to learn German is by doing one of the many German language courses currently available right now. Learning an additional language has many benefits. Are you ready to unlock them? In addition, it is a great way to learn more about the country, meet new people and make new friends. The great news is there are tons of German language courses currently available both in-person and online.
About the German Language
The German language is spoken by 95 million native speakers across the globe. It is the European Union’s most widely spoken native language. The language is famous for its extensive use of long words. It even has its own unique words that are very difficult to translate into other languages. Until the mid-20th Century, German was written using different scripts of the Latin alphabet. The script was called the Fraktur script. This form of Gothic script was introduced in the 16th Century and remained in use up until the Second World War.
Interesting Facts About Germany
Germany has a population of around 83 million people. The vast majority of those people live in towns and cities. The capital of Germany is Berlin and it is also Germany’s biggest city with 3.5 million inhabitants. Interestingly, Germany also has a high literacy rate, over 99% of people in Germany can read and write. Germany is located in the center of Europe and shares borders with 9 countries: Poland, Republic, Denmark, Switzerland, Austria, Belgium, Luxemburg and Netherlands.
The second most populous country in Central Europe is Germany following Russia and many immigrants study and live in Germany. The North Sea, Baltic Sea and the lowlands from the natural borders in the North of Germany and the Southern Germany borders are formed by Lake Constance and the Alps mountains. ‘Zugspitze’ is the highest mountain in Germany with 2,963 metres. This mountain is one of Germany’s top attractions and tons of tourists visit the mountain top each year.
Why Should You Learn German?
Despite the jokes people make about German being an impossible and hard language to learn, if you speak English already, you are actually already at an advantage. This is because English and German share the same Germanic root. In addition, unlike Japanese, Korean, Arabic, Russian or Chinese, there is no new alphabet to learn for the German language, just a few letters to add. Another reason to learn German is that it is the language of inventors and innovators. More than one hundred Nobel Prizes have gone to brilliant Germans for accomplishments in chemistry, medicine, physics, literature and other various areas. That is not even counting the prizes that have been awarded to individuals from the other two major German-speaking countries, Switzerland and Austria.
In addition, most of the recipients from other nations got their training at German universities. So if you are keen to add a Nobel Prize to your CV, learning German may be a good place to start. German is also an important language in academia. Given that big number of award-winning scientists from the country, it is no surprise that German is very crucial in the academic community. In fact, it ranks second as the most commonly used scientific language. One main reasons for this is that the German book market is the third biggest in the world, right after the English and Chinese publishing industries.
Since the percentage of these books that are being translated into other languages is rather small, only a knowledge of German will give you access to them. The German language is also the gateway to a world-class higher education. It is the fourth most popular destination for students from abroad with over a quarter million foreigners being enrolled in German schools. What’s more, the German system for higher education has numerous universities with very low or non-existent fees. It is no wonder that researchers and scholars are flocking there. Learning German to save on student debt sounds like an excellent return of investment.
What Will I Learn?
Each course varies depending on the course provider; however, you can expect to learn how to build your knowledge and commands of German grammar and vocabulary. You can expect to leave the course feeling confident in using your German in real life social and business situations. Some courses may cover more than you read here. If you would like an exact list, do not hesitate to get in touch with your course provider.
If you’re serious about doing a German language course, check out courses near you in the Nightcourses.co.uk national course finder.
