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Actualizado en 2 abr 2021

27 mar 2021

Ruso

Alemán

Pregunta de Alemania

hello, folks! I've sank into German grammar a lot and today I'd like to move further and learn about your mentality. I wonder, what languages do you study in German? How do you prove the choice? Is it a piece a cake for you to learn English and speak it fluently? I'd also gladly hear out a personal story)

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Ema_non

30 mar 2021

Respuesta destacada

País o región Alemania

@Wikinger_98 Depends, a lot of Germans are not particularly fond of French, but I reckon most of the students at Gymnasium who chose French would be able to hold at least a basic conversation after graduation. Language skills can only be maintained if they stay relevant to the person, which is the case in the border region of Germany and France, but else not so much (English is much more important for job hunting). About private language schools I don't really know if there are that many, certainly you will find some in all bigger cities like Frankfurt, Hamburg, Munich, Berlin etc.

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Ema_non

28 mar 2021

País o región Alemania

For me it was English starting from grade 3-13, then Latin from grade 7-13 and Spanish from grade 9-10. It depends on the state and school which languages you can pick, usually the choice is between Latin and French as the 2nd foreign language, and optionally a third foreign language in grade 9 or 10 (like Spanish, Russian, ancient Greek or the languages you didn't pick as your 2nd foreign language).
It is fairly easy for a German to learn English compared to other languages, yes! They have similar grammatical structures and share a lot of vocabulary. Still, that doesn't mean everyone can speak it fluently or is comfortable with it, especially older generations or people in rural areas.

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Wikinger_98

28 mar 2021

País o región Federación Rusa

@Ema_non wow, that's nice, for me it was English as the first foreign language and plus German a bit later. I only studied Latin and ancient Greek at the university. Can I specify if it's in general not a problem to express themselves in the second foreign language after school? because in Russia you will hardly find a person who can utter a word after a school course. Do you maintain the skill or it is getting forgotten after 5-10 years? Are there many private language schools in German?

Ema_non

30 mar 2021

País o región Alemania

@Wikinger_98 Depends, a lot of Germans are not particularly fond of French, but I reckon most of the students at Gymnasium who chose French would be able to hold at least a basic conversation after graduation. Language skills can only be maintained if they stay relevant to the person, which is the case in the border region of Germany and France, but else not so much (English is much more important for job hunting). About private language schools I don't really know if there are that many, certainly you will find some in all bigger cities like Frankfurt, Hamburg, Munich, Berlin etc.

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Wikinger_98

31 mar 2021

País o región Federación Rusa

@Ema_non danke, es ist sehr interessant!

LottiJP

1 abr 2021

País o región Alemania

For me. I had French from 3-13 grade, because I live at the border. But now after many years I almost forgot every thing, when I was fluently after school. English cam later in school. At 5 grade, going from elementary to high school, my parents chose French again. English had been also possible. So I got English from 7-10 grade. I switched to Gymnasium and had French again. But choose to cancel English at the 12th grade. At the end I took my final exam in French, German, Math, Health and History. French was one of the best. But after all these years without practicing I can’t order something in a restaurant anymore. At university I started with Japanese. And tried to improve my English skills.

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julifelicitasmueller

1 abr 2021

País o región Alemania

@Wikinger_98 When I entered the Gymnasium, I had to choose between English and Latin. If you have chosen English you still have to learn Latin, just one year later in the 6th grade. If you have chosen Latin you also learn English, but not as intensive as the ones who started with English. But this changes in the 6th grade. In the 8th grade you had to choose between Ancient Greek and French. In the 10th grade you had to choose between English, French, Latin, Italien, Ancient Greek (only if you chose it in the 8th grade), Hebrew and you had to choose German. I've learned English from grade 5-12, French from grade 8-10, Latin from grade 5-10. This is just an example and of course not every Gymnasium is the same.
English wasn't always so easy for me. From grade 5-6 I was really bad at it and didn't know anything at all. But in the 7th grade we got a new teacher and it was more fun and even easier. I've started interesting in the language and I've watched TVshows. This helped me a lot. I know my English isn't perfect and I'm not a native speaker, but now I feel more confident and help other people in learning English because I know how hard it can be. I really want to learn Korean and no matter what other language you want to learn, you're lost if you don't know English. Or if you want to travel to other countries, etc.

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Wikinger_98

1 abr 2021

País o región Federación Rusa

@LottiJP wie, that's a cool story! ist a pity that we forget skills so quickly. If I got it right most people don't travel around The EU? I don't mean business occasions. What are relations between people of neighbouring countries to each other? Are there any prejudices?

LottiJP

1 abr 2021

País o región Alemania

@Wikinger_98 Yes. Most travel goals of my friends or I are far away, like Canada or Japan. During high school you travel often to neighbouring countries. We flew to Spain or drove with the train to Paris. 2/3 years ago I started to travel to other EU-states like UK. Germany may be in the center of Europe, but most popular cities in the other nations are still hundreds/thousands of km away. 🤷🏼‍♀️
I live near the French border. We joke about the bad driving style (prejudice) but we also cross the border to go shopping. Food is cheaper over there. Clothes are cheaper in Germany, because of tax. It’s friendly. Sometimes pupil cross the border to go to school in the other nation.

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Wikinger_98

1 abr 2021

País o región Federación Rusa

@LottiJP oh, I see. it's like living on the shore, you don't worry about being late for swimming)) In Russia people also tend to going abroad, though there are many interesting places in it, but it may be because it's even more expensive. Yeah, I've heard something like you need to bump the cars in France to clear a space for yours. Thanks for the talk

Wikinger_98

1 abr 2021

País o región Federación Rusa

@julifelicitasmueller thanks for sharing your experience! I find it good that you have such a large choice of languages for studying, you can really find what's really yours.