Learning other Languages brings Opportunity (source: Associations of Departments of Foreign Languages)

Download PDF Brochure of the Associations of Departments of Foreign Languages:  http://www.adfl.org/resources/lang_brochure.pdf

Ten Reasons to learn German  (source: University of Exeter, UK)

1. European Union
As fellow members of the European Union, and amongst the eleven EU countries to introduce a single currency on 1 January 1999, our relations with Germany and Austria will be of pivotal importance to Britain in the 21st Century. Switzerland too is currently weighing up the pros and cons of joining the European Union.
  
Since the advent of the European Union, the international business community increasingly requires a thorough understanding of German to capitalize on multinational opportunities. 24% of the residents in the European Union speak German as their mother tongue, and 31% of European Union citizens say they can converse in German.

2. Business
Whilst German ranks 12th in the world in terms of the number of people who speak the language, it ranks third when measured in terms of GNP ($1,090 billion), behind only English and Japanese.
  
Germany is the world's third largest economy, and is the clear number one in Europe, producing more than one quarter of the European Union's gross domestic product. It is heavily reliant on foreign trade - it is the world's largest exporter and the second largest importer. With motor vehicles and industrial systems, chemicals and electronic devices to the fore, German products are sold in virtually all of the world's countries.
   
As the German population has a healthy disposable income and a penchant for quality, value-for-money products, Britain has a found a strong market for a broad range of products. In fact, Germany is the UK's largest European export market, the UK holding a 7% share of the market in 2001, worth over £22.9 billion. Almost 1000 British companies, including all the major UK multinationals, have subsidiaries in Germany.
   
Austria takes over £1 billion of UK goods each year and has a long-established role in trade between Eastern and Western Europe. With over 40% of its borders being with former Eastern Bloc countries, Austria, and particularly Vienna, has an important role to play in trade with these emerging markets. Over 1000 foreign companies are already tackling these markets from Austrian bases - and using German to communicate!
    
For as Eberhard and Ruth Reichmann have discovered: "German as a foreign language is again becoming increasingly important in the countries of Middle and Eastern Europe, where elementary school students chose German (49%) over English (44%). The number of German students in the Czech Republic rose 33% in the past four years now that Russian is no longer required."

3. Trade fairs
Many of Germany's products are premiered at the large number of international trade fairs and exhibitions held each year in the country. Attended by buyers from the whole world over, these trade fairs - including CeBIT, the IFA consumer electronics fair in Berlin or Hanover's Industry Trade Fair - are often the largest in their sectors. In fact, more "world's largest" trade fairs are held in Germany than in any other country.

4. Creating the right impression
Although English-speaking firms are often heard to say about their German trading partners that "their English is so good that we do not need to learn German", you will make a much better impression and stand a better chance of building your business if you can meet your partners half way. As Willy Brandt, the former German chancellor, once said: "If I'm selling to you, I speak your language. If I'm buying, dann müssen Sie Deutsch sprechen."
  
And it is not only language but business culture which needs to be learned. Should you shake hands on meeting your German client? Should you call them "Du" or "Sie"? What are the German business and banking hours? It may be hard to correct a bad impression if you get these wrong!

5. Job prospects
With ever more firms opening subsidiaries on the European mainland, learning German is becoming an ever smarter career move. And with such German-based firms as Daimler-Chrysler, BASF, Bayer, Hoechst, BMW, Siemens and Volkswagen so firmly rooted on the international scene, learning German appears to be twice as sensible a career move!

At the moment, Germany is crying out for qualified software designers in particular, and German is the second most used language on the Internet.

6. Academic research
German is the second most commonly used language in which to write a work of scientific research - especially engineering, chemistry and physics. This is why more than 40% of American scientists recommend that their students should learn German. In Hungary and Poland the figure is even higher, at over 70%. 

7. Culture
Many of the founding documents of European culture have been written in the German language.

• Literature (Goethe, Schiller, Thomas Mann, Kafka)
• Classical music (Bach, Beethoven, Mozart)
• Art (Kollwitz, Dürer, Klee, Kaninsky)
• Psychology (Freud, Jung)
• Philosophy (Kant, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, Benjamin, Adorno)
• Science (Einstein, Kepler, Röntgen, Planck, Virchow)

Reading or hearing them in the original language is the only way of appreciating their full power. Germany itself is the world's third biggest producer of books: 60,000 new German-language books are published every year. Every tenth book published in the world is written in German.

8. Tourism
It goes without saying that you gain more from a visit to a country if you can converse in their language and actually get to know the people rather than just conversing in English with your tour-guide. And as the Germans, Austrians and Swiss are well-known for their love of foreign travel, it makes sound commercial sense for people working in the tourist industry to meet them in their own language.

9. Language similarities
German and English belong to the same West Germanic language family and share thousands of similar words and phrases, particularly in terms of computer, telecommunications and medical vocabulary.

10. Avoiding embarrassing mistakes
Want to know why Clairol had to think twice about launching the Mist Stick in Germany? Then go to the next page!

  Reasons for Learning German, the Heritage Approach (source: http://www.serve.com/shea/germusa/ygermusa.htm)

WHY LEARN GERMAN?

Why learn German? Let's consider the notion of German as both a "World Language" and a "Heritage Language." The latter is easily done through inclusion of German-American Studies components in the course of language instruction. It reduces the "foreign" aspect of language study because German is embedded in American cultural history. After all, with 1 out of 4 Americans claiming some form of German ancestry there is lots of common ground. Also, proponents of the "natural approach" to foreign language study maintain that a foreign language can be best acquired when met and used in a naturally occurring text and context.

German was widely taught in the U.S. until World War I, when it was banned in 26 states. In the general population the regard for the culture of the German-speaking peoples was high. Not only its composers were well known, but also writers and poets like Goethe, Schiller, and Heine were part of the general education requirements in higher education. Their works were found in public libraries. After WW I German returned to the classroom, however it never regained the importance it held prior to the war.

THERE ARE MANY USUAL REASONS FOR STUDYING GERMAN.

1. German and English share thousands of the same words. German and English come from the same West Germanic language family. Both have expanded their vocabularies, especially with Greek, Latin and French words.

2. German is a leading language of science, business, literature, philosophy, theology, history, music and art. Becoming acquainted with artists, composers, scientists and great thinkers and their contributions to the world is doubly rewarding if done through their language. There is a rich Central European culture to be explored, both with a capital "C" and lower case "c."

3. Whether realizing any of the various possibilities for visiting a German-speaking country as an exchange student in high school or college, or simply traveling for enjoyment, a knowledge of German language and culture greatly enhances the overseas experience.

4. International engineering and business are crucial for the economic health of the U.S. The Federal Republic of Germany is America's largest trading partner in Europe and its third largest partner in the world. More than 1,100 companies from German-speaking countries have subsidiaries in the U.S. and more than 750 U.S. companies do business in Germany.

German and Japanese are the pilot languages for new Microsoft products that will eventually be brought onto the market. In the 1994 survey conducted by the German American Chamber of Commerce, 64.9% of all respondents conducting business with Germany "specifically ask for German and English bilingual skills when conducting a search for new employees."

"German is the language of commerce in the EC (European Community) and especially important as the bridge language into the former east block countries," says Manfred Reimann of Ballantrae International, LTD, in Seattle, Washington.

Germany and China host the most trade shows. Trade shows are an excellent way to sell products to distributors all over the world, not just in the host countries. 

5. Almost half of all U.S. pharmaceuticals come from Germany and Switzerland. Medical research continues to thrive in Germany and many American companies have affiliates in German-speaking countries. German continues to be one of the main languages of scientific publications.

Germany has made tremendous strides in pollution control, oceanography, forestry, agriculture, fisheries, and wildlife management. American and German research scientists often cooperate, as in JOIDES, the Joint Oceanographic Institutions for Deep Earth sampling. The creation of the international Nautical Almanac is another cooperative venture, as is the SPACELAB.

6. Germany's educational system is a leading model for our current emphasis on school-to-trade partnerships and mentoring, with businesses providing summer jobs and internships and retired business people serving as mentors to the young. It can be seen in the new emphasis on a dual system, both in high school as well as in college, which stresses not only preparation for college, but also vocational/technical education. It is the source of some of our own educational traditions: kindergarten, education for the deaf, technical training, graduate school and physical education.

7. Travel is an industry for pleasure, employment and economic development. The largest group of foreign tourists to the U.S. is German-speaking and Germans have money to buy products while they travel.

Travel in Europe is easier with a knowledge of German. According to the German Foreign Office, German as a foreign language is again becoming increasingly important in the countries of Middle and Eastern Europe, where elementary school students chose German (49% over English (44%). The number of German students in the Czech Republic rose 33% in the past four years now that Russian is no longer required. If one travels in Japan and English should fail, German might help: 68% of all Japanese students learn German.

Since 1945, more Americans have lived and worked in Germany than in any other country in the world. Still, there are over 100,000 American military personnel stationed in the Federal Republic of Germany. Many also have their families with them.

8. Not to forget--Personal enjoyment: German continues to offer rich rewards for personal enjoyment. Students studying music are helped greatly by knowing the language of the great composers and by visiting their homes, walking in their towns, and woods, and attending performances of world class orchestras in central Europe. A music lover, who has visited Salzburg, eaten their food and talked with Austrians, has a better understanding of Mozart and feels a stronger connection with his music.