German is becoming less and less popular, both as an exam subject and as a study programme. The language is struggling amid all the excessive focus on science, according to teachers and researchers. More attention to cultural differences should help turn the tide.

Mit, nach, bei, seit, von, zu, aus, außer, entgegen, gegenüber. Who can’t recite this list off by heart? Yet German is heard less and less in secondary schools, and it is increasingly being replaced by Spanish or even Chinese. Whereas back in 2017, 70,000 pupils took German for their final exams, last year only 56,000 did so.

At universities, enthusiasm for the study programme in German language and culture is also waning. Nijmegen only has 6 first-year students this year (compared to 24 in 2017), and 49 nationwide. How can we explain the decline in popularity of the language of Goethe and Günter Grass in schools and universities? And is this decline a bad thing?

To begin with the last question: it certainly is a bad thing – at least, as far as Sabine Jentges and Chrissy Laurentzen from the German Language and Culture Department are concerned. Jentges has no shortage of arguments: ‘German broadens the world you live in, especially here in the border region. In Kleve, for example, there are great museums and cultural events.’

In addition, economic cooperation with our eastern neighbours is massive, she says. Plus, German is the most spoken language in the European Union. ‘Of course, you can also get by fine with English these days, but speaking to someone in their mother tongue allows you to understand them at a deeper level. It also helps avoid cultural misunderstandings.’

‘Science and engineering are given an enormous boost in higher education’

Associate Professor Jentges studied German Studies, has worked in Nijmegen since 2008, and is German herself. Laurentzen is researching new teaching methods for German as a secondary school subject, thanks to a PhD grant for teachers from the Dutch Research Council (NWO). She works three days a week at Radboud University, and two days as a German teacher at the Commanderij College in Gemert.

German has an image problem, according to the two experts. ‘Incidentally, all language programmes are struggling,’ Jentges stresses, ‘not just German.’ And the reason? First of all, as a school subject, German puts pupils on the wrong track. Laurentzen: ‘For example, in secondary school there’s a lot of focus on text interpretation because that’s what the central final exam is all about.’ But the study programme is about so much more, says Jentges, such as linguistics – or how German works ‘technically’. ‘In other words, its semantics, phonetics, etc. Students also learn about German literature and culture. But we also have less traditional courses, such as intercultural communication and 21st-century issues seen from a Dutch, German, and European perspective. Think of sustainability, environment, and gender issues, for example.’

Another factor here is that languages are fighting an unequal battle against the excessive focus on science, says Jentges. ‘Science and engineering are given an enormous boost in higher education. The government has also invested a lot of money in these fields.’

Something similar is happening in secondary schools. Laurentzen: ‘Many secondary school pupils choose – also at their parents’ insistence – for the broad NT and NG profiles: Nature & Engineering and Nature & Health. This allows them to keep nearly all study programme options open, including medicine and science programmes.’ However, these profiles leave less room for languages than the other two: Culture & Society (CM) and Economics & Society (EM).

Wave

According to secondary school dean and French teacher Inge Holthuizen (Stedelijk Gymnasium Nijmegen), the profiles aren’t the whole story. ‘In VWO, you are required to choose one foreign language in addition to English, even with a science profile. Usually, pupils choose French or German or, in schools that offer it, Spanish. In gymnasium schools (grammar schools), this second language is automatically Greek or Latin, since they are compulsory.

As a result, our students are less likely to choose yet another additional language in their package.’ What about being pushed aside by Spanish? This is more of a problem for French than for German, she says, since the two languages are related.

At her own school, Holthuizen generally sees a wave motion when it comes to the popularity of certain languages. Sometimes German is popular for a while, then it’s French again. This matches what we see happening nationwide. At VWO level, the number of exam candidates with German in their package has hovered around 21,000 for over a decade, compared to approximately 16,000 for French. The recent downward trend for German can mostly be observed at HAVO and VMBO level.

‘If you study German, you’re guaranteed a job, I always say’

Holthuizen takes a look at her school’s grades. ‘For this examination year, German and French are almost perfectly in balance: 28 out of 169 sixth-graders have opted for German, and 32 for French. In addition, 12 exam students have chosen Spanish.’ But among the current fourth-graders, French is actually twice as popular as German: 69 against 34. Even Spanish (37 pupils) is more popular than the language of our eastern neighbours. Holthuizen is unsure why this is the case. ‘Sometimes it depends on how much of a connection students have with a teacher. If their teaching style isn’t appealing, pupils tend to drop out.’

This can lead to a downward spiral. Fewer German exam pupils also means fewer students, and ultimately fewer first degree teachers. This in turn only makes it harder for schools to find good, experienced teachers. ‘If you study German, you’re guaranteed a job, I always say,’ laughs Jentges of the Radboud University German department. ‘And not only as a teacher, by the way. You also have great opportunities at international institutions, like the European Union, and international companies or organisations in the border region.’

Understanding someone’s world

How can the tide be turned? The University is investing a lot in school visits, information and continuing education, according to Jentges and Laurentzen. This should improve the connection between VWO and the University. In addition, the content of German as a school subject needs to be revamped, they believe. There should be less emphasis on text interpretation and cramming grammar rules, especially in the lower grades. Jentges: ‘Most school pupils only have one or two years of German anyway. Above all, you want them to be able – and to dare – to manage in practice afterwards.’

So communication skills should come first in secondary school, as well as reflection on cultural differences, Jentges stresses. ‘For example, in the Netherlands, it’s perfectly normal to say to someone: just jump on the back of my bike. But to a German, that’s shocking, because it’s forbidden in Germany.’ What she means is that you can speak perfect German, but ultimately, society is also about understanding each other’s world.

Whether these plans are enough to make the German language more popular once again remains to be seen in the coming years. But there’s hope on the horizon. Curriculum developer SLO (Stichting Leerplan Ontwikkeling) is currently revising the examination programmes for modern foreign languages, including German, on behalf of the Dutch government. This revision is in line with the ideas of Jentges, who is involved in the process as a consultant. ‘SLO’s plan places less emphasis on traditional skills – reading, writing, listening and talking, and literature.’

The focus lies more on language and cultural awareness and communication – in other words on being able to use a language in everyday situations. Jentges: ‘You could for example – I’m just making something up here – be presented with an assignment in the final exam where you have to explain a Dutch restaurant menu to a German exchange student. You may know the literal translation of “patatje oorlog” or “kapsalon” in German, but that doesn’t tell you what you are actually ordering. Or take the example of sitting on the back of someone’s bike: explain why a German might be startled by this suggestion.’

The introduction of the new plans may take a few more years, but soon it could actually be a good thing that we hear fewer German preposition lists being recited in the school corridors.