Online German Learning resources and other valuable study tools are available through the links page. Additional tools for your academic success, such as studyguides and library info, can be found on the Resources page.

German is the most widely spoken language in Europe. In addition to native born Germans, who comprise the most populous nation in Europe, it is an official language of Austria, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, and Switzerland…

German is also the native language of significant ethnic German populations in Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Russia and other parts of Europe. After English, German is the most popular 2nd language people choose to acquire in Europe and Japan and it remains one of the most common 2nd languages learned worldwide.

Can you interpret the meaning of the following sentence?

Meine Schwester, Heidi, ist jung und intelligent. Sie hat braunes Haar. Sie studiert Musik in Frankfurt.

There’s a good chance you can because English is a Germanic language that developed during the Anglo-Saxon time in England. Aside from our distinct language heritage, the German influence in the United States is substantial. German names of cities and streets dot our landscape while German cultural heritage can be seen in such fixtures as kindergarten, Christmas trees, and hamburgers. This is not surprising, considering that Germans accounted for the single largest heritage group in the U.S. according to recent census bureau statistics. Here in central Texas we do not need to go far to find the German influence in our own backyard; the opportunity to experience German culture is readily at hand. Studying German reveals new perspectives on both American and Texan heritage.

Aside from expanding cultural awareness, learning German has the added benefit of enhancing marketability in the job market. Germany has the one of the strongest economies in the world and despite the strength of the euro, it surpasses the U.S. and China as the world’s top export nation. The strength of the German economy is in part due to Germany’s dedication to research, development, and innovation; Germans routinely rank in the top tier among nations in annual patent applications. Her economic strength directly equates with greater prospects abroad for those who can conduct business in German, thus enhancing their greater desirability amongst job recruiters.

Another excellent reason to study German is that roughly 10% of the books and articles published in the world each year are in German; only a small fraction of these titles are ever translated into English. As such, many graduate programs prefer candidates with a working knowledge of German because they are able to tap into this enormous reservoir of research and knowledge. In addition, there is an immense German presence on the web: Germany’s top–level nation domain .de is second only to .com in the total number of domains. It is also worth noting that there is an intrinsic value to being able to read some of the finest works of literature and intellectual thought. Learning German enables you to read authors such as Goethe, Kafka, Hesse, Kant, Nietzsche, Jung, and Freud in their original words.

Are you interested in studying abroad? Germany sponsors several thousands of international exchanges worldwide each year. Like their German counterparts, international students who enroll directly into most public German universities pay no tuition fees. However, modest tuition fees maybe instituted in the future and so if you are interested in pursuing higher education in Germany in the near term, be sure to investigate which federal states charge fees. Austin Community College International Programs sometimes offer study abroad trips to Germany. Please contact our departmental office for more info on German study abroad resources. “Wir wünschen Ihnen viel Glück!”