Job Discussion Forums

[Hod]

learn it or perish!

My first day in Germany. Desperate for a frankfurter and a beer, but god wotsit I spoke not one word of German, and did I go home hungry to a crash course in sausage ordering or what! As the long hungry months passed, I started picking up the odd German word or two and before I knew it I was eating almost once a day.

I agree it'd be a super idea to be fluent in German before setting foot there. However, living in a non-German speaking country, no matter how much you study, the number of people reaching any sort of fluency this way can be counted on the thumbs of one foot!

Germany is pants! If, however, you really want to work there, don't let your non-existent German worry you too much. Sure, you won't get the golden private jobs, but your fluency will increase with time. It's better to be in at the deep end learning German than fooling around with books in the UK or wherever.

Perhaps, places like Frankfurt, with its international banks and companies, would be ideal places for total beginners of German to start teaching. There are very few low-level students in such cities. These students don't insist on teachers who speak good German. I've never read such rubbish. Yes, good German is more than helpful for your teaching and daily living but I've yet to hear of anyone perishing because their German is a bit dodgy. As for the old DDR, who knows?

Guten Appetit (hope that's right)

[scot47]

I thought education meant learning a foreign language.
When I went to school it was normal to learn two. In my case French and German. And we achieved a fair level of competence.

Nowadays does no one learn foreign languages in English-speaking countries ?

[longtimeteach]

By 'perish' I didn't mean to actually 'perish' but to say that life really isn't much of a life in a foreign country until you can speak the language, even at a basic level.

It's a bit thick to want to teach people a second language if one hasn't even bothered to learn a second language themselves.

Oh, sure, you can get jobs here without being able to speak any German but as you said, Hod, they won't be the better paying ones and life gets lonely without anyone to speak with. New colleagues probably already speak some German, have lived there longer and have already formed friendship groups, which means the newbie is left in the cold not being able to even break the ice without much German.

I encounter a fair number of German people who now work for companies taken over by Amis or Brits. The German workers are expected to conduct and contribute in meetings - in English - because the expat execs don't 'have time to learn German'! Oh please! The Germans are rightfully resentful that they must speak English in a company in their own country!

Imagine the outrage if the tables were turned in Britain and the US and the new German managers expected everyone to conduct and contribute in meetings in German!

If we hope to eliminate the idea that the spread of English is just another cover for the spread of some sort of imperialism or CIA or MI5 plot then we must be willing to "when in Rome..."

I learned Spanish and German at school. I didn't have any trouble communicating when I arrived here. My accent wasn't good but at least I knew the words and my effort was and has been sincerely appreciated. It's given me an entree I wouldn't otherwise have had.

[longtimeteach]

Hod's comments about food reminded of a story an Australian colleague told me once.

Newly arrived in Germany he knew only a few words in German and he wanted some chips. So he stopped at a Pommes stand and ordered "ein klein portion Pommes mit vinegar". He didn't know the German word for vinegar but he assumed they would 'just know what it was'.

The lady filled the paper cone with chips and then took some out and gave him his cone. He did this a few more times and was so puzzled as to why she would take some out before giving him his cone of chips so he asked a class group he was teaching. Naturally, they all had a good laugh over his 'vinegar' sounding so similar to 'weniger' - the German word for 'less'.

[The Overcoat]

[sherrymole]

[The Overcoat]

I was once in a German restaurant and couldn't decide what to eat, i ended up asking the waiter for Rat.

[Albulbul]

Looking on the other side what about the German who asked in MacDonalds,"Can I become a hamburger ?"

[longtimeteach]

I had another thought, while I was writing another post, about why someone needs to speak German to be successful here.

Train and bus schedules are in German and they're vital to your success. Announcements of canceled trains, and their alternatives, are given in German over poor loudspeakers, often nearly unintelligible when you DO understand German!

If you didn't understand the announcement, you could always ask someone else or ask one of the Bundesbahn officials wandering around - IF you speak German and can understand the reply that is.


If you get lost by getting on the wrong train - which does happen when you're rushing to catch what you think is YOUR train leaving the station but isn't your train at all - how will you ask for help to get where you wanted to go?

Train and bus schedules here aren't always straightforward either. Some trains/buses run between such and such a time but only on Thursdays, except for the summertime when they will run on Thursdays but not on Tuesdays, and so forth. It can be a real mess for you if you can't read the schedule!

[schminken]

Very true longtimeteach. Or when you're on a train but happen to be sitting in a Kurswagen going to Beograd and you wanted to go to Leipzig. The Schaffner makes the 3 minute announcement in German explaining the whole thing and then says in English, "Our next stop is Frankfurt." without any explaination at all.

[The Overcoat]

The thing that i can't get my head around is why someone would want to live in a country where they don't speak the language. Apart from looking extremely ignorant and a typical "Tommy Tourist", i imagine it would be living hell!

[Hod]

Careful, this thread's in danger of becoming interesting.

Let's face it, Germany is not one of those interesting places like Laos. No one suffers culture shock stood at a table eating sausages. In your most desperate moments in that DDR backwater, there'll always be someone who speaks some English.

Sprechen sie Deutsch? Nein? Kein Problem. Herzlich Willkommen Lehrer.

(apologies, albeit halfheartedly if that's wrong).

[longtimeteach]

Albulbul,

One of my favourites is when a pregnant woman says, "I become a baby".

Another is a friend from Germany visited the US and wanted a pork dish. Hold the waiter, "I become a pig".

[Chris]

Hi Gang,

Interesting discussion going on here! Yes, I think it is very important to get to know the language a bit in the place where you are living. That was a big reason why I moved from Poland to Germany--I had studied German and wanted to refresh my memory. However, it is going ever so slowly because I am not allowed to speak German at my job.

A big difference I found between here in Poland though is that here, everyone in the shops, etc expects you to speak German whereas in Poland, many were shocked that you were even trying to learn their language! Po co? is the big question (what for?).

[Chris]

On a different topic, but originally part of this discussion.

Regarding American driver's licenses...

My German isn't all that great so I asked my Swiss boyfriend (the jury's still out on whether he actually speaks German!) to call the office in Karlsruhe that issues driver's licenses. They were the ones who told me that my Wisconsin license is valid for 6 months of residence here. After that I must apply for the German license because my contract is for longer than 1 year. The US consulate website has some similar info. Had my contract been shorter, I could have just extended it up to 364 days of residence. This is the up-to-date info.