1. Deutsch 5-H Why continue ? Concrete benefits of taking German in senior year, with news from LZHS grads

2. Many students say they don’t “need” to take German in their senior year. Many are under the impression that 4 years of high school German is “enough,” or they don’t think that taking German during senior year would help them...BUT... Many years of reports by LZHS grads who took German as seniors, however, clearly show that taking German 5 can be a great advantage for college and for future careers that may not even planned yet! Putting the time and effort in senior year can be worth thousands of dollars to students in college and might even help future careers!

3. General benefits of continuing in German 5: 1. capitalize on what you have learned so far and get even better 2. colleges will be impressed that you have committed to learning the subject stuck with it 3. Not so many students take German: German will help you to stand out!

4. 4. some college programs actively seek German students for their programs and may even offer substantial scholarships to students combining German with other studies (Example: Herr Z. gets a letter every year advertising three $24,000 German scholarships from SIU!) 5.You may have a very good chance of placing into higher-level language classes in college. This could easily lead to a minor or double-major with German. (See feedback from LZHS grads coming up.)

5. 6. Students who place into upper level language courses frequently get credit for the classes they place out of. (This depends on the college policy… and often simply scoring well on a placement test can yield similar results.) **Keep your German fresh and improve it in German!! 7. Having greater experience with the language can help you in study-abroad programs, not just for German but also for music, business, science and more.

6. Just a few life-long benefits of continued German study: 1.Knowledge of German is a great career asset. It can help you stand out. 2. Business & Travel: more than 120 Million people speak German fluently 3. Germany is the world’s #2 exporting country 4. German is the most widely-spoken language in the European Union after English and second-most common Internet language. 5. Many important original works in math and sciences have been written in German (Continued   )

7. 6. German language ability opens the door to understanding and appreciating a wealth of music, literature and culture. 7. The German Government offers many scholarships for study in Germany (millions of dallars worth!)

8. Many LZHS students have been placed in advanced German classes after taking German 5, even without using AP credit! (See examples coming up.) Some students have received up to 17 credit hours for having done well on a German placement exam continuing German in college. In at least several cases (2007, 2008, 2010), this was worth more that $10,000 to the student!

9. News from former LZHS German 5 students : (2008) “Herr Z, Wie geht es Ihnen?... In the fall I am going to study German. During my orientation I took a placement test and got a great score. Now I’m in a class that I would normally take in the 6 th semester. When I finish the class, I will get credit for four other German courses, 17 credit hours total! But the class will be challenging and I wil have to work hard.”

10. “Hey Herr,9/9/08 I just wanted to say thank you for everything that you have taught me the past couple years. I got into my German class the other day and found out I was the only freshman... everyone was surprised cause they were all over 20 years old. Also, we've been doing some readings and I can completely understand what the professor is saying but he has to stop and ask the class if they know what "sparsam" is... But I just wanted to thank you for preparing me for this class and college and because of you I find this German class very easy.” --attending Indiana University

11. (2008 Grad:) Just wanted to see how everything was on your end and let you know that I'm still in German, a junior now at Western Michigan University, studying Mechanical engineering. I've been longing to go back to Germany, and I finally got that opportunity as I applied and was accepted to a program through a company called CDS. They conducted and interview and chose candidates based on their language skills, and intern qualifications. I received news this past week that I got accepted and am scheduled to be in Berlin May 27th 2011!

12. (2005) Although he didn’t take German in college, keeping up his German through German 5 enabled one LZHS grad to place into a semester-abroad business program in Vienna. He was chosen over others who did not have as much German background. --Drake University

13. “Hallo Herr Z!9/20/07 I'm finishing the third full week of college at the U. of I. and just took my first college German test! It wasn't particularly difficult.... My class is mostly sophomores and juniors, and I think I am the only freshman! It's a little bit intimidating, but my teacher says I'm doing fine.” --University of Illinois

14. June 30, 2009: “ Hallo Herr! I just thought I'd email you to let you know that I took a German placement test at Mizzou and placed in the 4th level of German, which means all I have to do is take one class and I get the 3 credits for it + the 13 credits for the classes before it. Taking German in high school definitely did pay off. Danke für alles!” --University of Missouri

15. 3-04-08(re: 2006 grad) “Guten Tag Herr Ziarnik! (my daughter) has really enjoyed and excelled in her foreign language studies at U of I, with much credit due to her time studying German with you. She learned Spanish on her own for her recital...while taking French. I think that she may be taking German diction now... Last year was Italian... She is considering studying abroad in Vienna next (  NOTE: She did have a successful time studying abroad in Vienna for voice.)

16. “ Guten Tag Herr Ziarnik,9-2007 I am at the University of Iowa and... I am getting double the credit for continuing German at Iowa. I am enrolled in the Conversation and Composition German class... and a lot of the grammar looks like review... We are going to be reading "Der Richter und sein Henker." I looked at it and I do know what some of it means...I think I can handle it. Good luck with my brother 9th hour...” --University of Iowa

17. Hallo Herr Z!(2011 Grad). (U.S. Naval Academy)... Hope you are having a great year and class is going well. As I told you a year ago, I was able to validate two semesters of German and should therefore be able to take enough credits to minor in German which I am very excited about...Anyway, I wanted to tell you know about the amazing opportunity that I have received at school. There is (the) Language Study Abroad Program that takes place over the summer... I applied...and recently found out that I have been picked to go... to study at the Goethe Institute in Berlin.... Thank you again for everything you taught me back at LZHS. I know none of this would really be possible if I did not receive such a solid foundation in high school from your class. Some of my classmates have not been as fortunate, and do not have as strong of a background in the language.

18. Dear Herr Z, (2008 Grad –U. of Illinois) I wanted to let you know that I have been granted a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship to Germany for next year!! They have not provided a specific town or school assignment yet, but I will be somewhere in Nordrhein- Westfalen from this September through June/July 2012. Also, this fall I will be applying to Ph.D. programs in Germanic linguistics, which I will (*hopefully*) begin upon my return to the states. I will always be grateful for the education and experiences that I received from Lake Zurich High School, and please know that your classes, German Club, and the German/Austria trips provided much inspiration for my chosen path.

19. 9-16-08 “Hi Herr Z!!...I hope the school year so far has been good for you. As for Indiana University, I'm taking a 300 level course that focuses on grammar (which so far, I've known pretty much everything because of what we learned in high school) and we really only speak in German... I might even be minoring in German!...” --Indiana University

20. 2-2-2009 “ Herr... all I can say is thank you so much for the knowledge you have given me in German. Right now I am in a third level conversational German class…. We had our first presentations last week where we had to talk for 20 minutes. My German has become very fluent and I just cannot believe that I can speak that long. I didn't use any notes either, I spoke from my head... I wish I would have been more attentive in your class so I could have lived up to my full potential. I am planning on minoring in German, and am applying for an internship in Germany this summer. If all goes well, I also hope to study abroad sometime next year.” --Western Michigan University

21. “Hallo Herr Ziarnik,Sept 2009. …I am attending Carroll University in Waukesha, Wisconsin and I am double majoring in History and International Relations with a German minor... Additionally, my trip to Marburg, Germany was really amazing this summer. My class participated in a Grimm Brothers Scavenger Hunt and walked the 500 steps up to Marburg Schloss quite a few times. I now know first hand just how fast a ICE train goes...”

22. Hey Herr (August 2009) It's Herr M. from your favorite AP German class last year!! I'll be starting school at Indiana University in Bloomington in a couple of weeks, and yes you will be proud to know, that I'm taking German. I've been meaning to email you to let ya know about all the college credit I got... So I wish I would of looked this up before that 10 hours of AP testing, but IU doesn't really care about AP foreign language tests. Instead, at orientation, I had to take a foreign language placement test, so I obviously took German. The next day of orientation they let you know your scores. At IU, they have German 100, 150, 200, 250, and 300... (Continued next slide    )

23. (Herr M. cont’d)...I can't remember exactly what I got, but I got placed in German 300, which is conducted all in German (*$!*!%!). So I automatically get credit for German 100 and 150 (8 credits), and then at the end of the semester once I (hopefully) pass German 300, I will not only get credit for German 300, but German 200 and 250 (9 credits) as well! That means by the end of my first semester in college I'll have 17 credits because of German alone, and I'll have 30 all together, so I'm way ahead of the game! Just wanted to give ya a little update about Deutsch in my life!! P.S. I know there's no way that any German class you have this school year can top ours last year!!

24. “Lieber Herr Z, (2012 Grad) Die Hauptsache ist, dass ich Deutsch als zweites Hauptfach erklärt habe, und deswegen muss ich (bzw.darf :D) ich ein Semester irgendwo in Deutschland studieren” (declaring double-major with German, studying abroad) --Wheaton College

25. Herr Ziarnik,6-9-09 (2008 Grad) “Hello!... I just finished up my first year at Rose- Hulman. It was a good year - I got a lot done, and I have enough credits now to be a junior when I go back in the fall. I only got actual credit for German I and II from the AP test - they can't really hand out 20 credit hours for one test, so they limit it to the first two courses - I was able to place into German VI [That’s German 6!] with no problems because of the AP. I found it pretty cool that I could get the minor with only one course :)” --Rose Hulman University

26. Hallo Herr! “I am taking German this semester in college and my A.P. scores placed me into German 201 which is the fourth level of German language. There are scheduled movie nights and two of the movies we watched in high school German…. I was nervous starting out but so far all of the grammar we have gone over is pretty much review for me and everything is going very well... just wanted to say thank you for preparing me so well for college level German... --University of Illinois

27. “Herr Ziarnik,May 2010 (2005 Grad) It was a nice surprise seeing you last weekend...I graduated from Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE) last May and now I'm working as and Electrical Engineer in Lake Zurich. MSOE has a great exchange program with The University of Applied Sciences in Luebeck also known as Die Fachhochschule Luebeck (FHL), so as a junior I studied abroad there for an entire year. Then my senior year the students I studied with came back to study at MSOE...When I graduated school I received a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from MSOE along with a German Diplom Urkunde as a Diplom-Ingenieur from FHL. I am really lucky to have had the opportunity to participate in this exchange program. My time in Germany was unbelievable, and I was really fortunate to already know so much about the culture and language... --Milwaukee School of Engineering

28. Herr Ziarnik, (2005 Grad, --Finance at Purdue) It's your one time favorite student... I was just wondering if you could do me a favor. I have an interview coming up with the company Düsseldorf Messe (organizes international conventions). The job in question apparently requires me to speak and read German...  (Follow-up after getting the job: ) My job is going well. I write and speak German every day, and it is improving… I understand almost everything... In September I will travel to Germany for a shoe convention…”

29. “Hey Herr Z, (2009 Grad) I hope everything is going well with German Club and all the classes you are teaching this year!! I took this past semester off of German because my schedule would have been way too crowded. However, I recently registered for my spring classes and placed into junior year German! I will be taking an advanced German grammar course next semester (eek!) I was really excited about this, and even more happy when I realized that I got SIXTEEN credit hours worth of German from the AP exam!!!!! That is OVER a semester worth of classes at University of Texas and I am only two more semesters away from a German minor. The AP exam DEFINITELY paid off for me!!! :)...” -University of Texas

30. „Hallo, Herr Ziarnik! (2012) Wie geht es Ihnen? Ich genieße meinen Sommer, aber es ist fast vorbei und College beginnt in zwei Tagen... Auch herzliche Grüße von meiner Familie in Litauen! Meine Mutter (Deutsch-Lehrerin in Litauen) wollte Ihnen sehr viel danken; sie war mit der Qualität der Bildung beeindruckt, als ich ihr mein AP Handbuch gezeigt habe. Ich wurde acht College- Credits gegeben und ich kann Intermediate Deutsch nächstes Semester lernen.“

31. Lieber Herr Z - (2009 Grad) Hope all is well -- just thought I'd send you a quick note to let you know what I'm up to and how German has helped me since I graduated from LZHS. Believe it or not, I'll be graduating from Indiana University in May majoring in Accounting and Finance and minoring in German. This past summer, I interned at an accounting firm in Chicago called Ernst & Young. I received a full-time offer a few weeks ago, and I will be starting full-time next July......one of my assigned clients was a U.S. corporation that owned several German companies that owned a large number of German subsidiaries.... the financial statements were all provided in German...(Continued)  

32. None of my peers nor my superiors had any background in German... I was able to help move this process along because of my background in German. My knowledge of the German language was definitely a positive influence in the consideration of receiving a full-time offer. In addition, I am planning on doing a rotation in Germany within the first few years of my career as Ernst & Young has numerous offices located throughout Germany... Thanks again for pointing me in the direction of studying German -- it has helped aid in the success of both my college and professional careers. --Indiana University

33. “Lieber Herr Z, (2012 Grad) Ich moechte Ihnen fuer die sehr guten Klassen danken. Auch moechte ich Ihnen sagen, dass ich mehr Deutsch bei der Universitaet studiere! Nach der Pruefung haben sie mich in einer 300 Klasse gestellt. “ (placed into 300-level)

34. Final words: Many students say they don’t “need” to take German in their senior year. Many are under the impression that 4 years of high school German is “enough,” or they don’t think that taking German during senior year would help them Many years of reports by LZHS grads who took German as seniors, however, clearly shows that taking German 5 can be a great advantage for college and for future careers that may not even planned yet! Putting the time and effort in senior year can be worth thousands of dollars to students in college and might even help future careers!