Why learn German?? Die ewige Frage! The eternal question!

German is an important business language Germany is a major economic force in the world. ◦ It is the 5 th strongest economy (following the US, China, Japan, and India) ◦ It is the largest export nation in the world after China Speaking German leads to employment advantages. ◦ German companies account for 700,000 jobs in the United States, and US companies have created approximately the same number of jobs in Germany. ◦ There are many German companies right here in the Bay Area. In the high-tech industry, Germany is the second most important region in the world – the Bay Area is the first.

German is spoken widely in Europe & around the world German is the national language of four countries in Europe ◦ Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein It is an official language of Belgium and Luxembourg It is spoken regionally in many other countries ◦ Russia ◦ France ◦ Poland ◦ Romania ◦ Hungary ◦ Czech Republic ◦ Denmark ◦ Slovakia

German is spoken by many well-known personalities Arnold Schwarzenegger (native of Austria) Sandra Bullock (her mom is German) elated elated Leonardo di Caprio (his grandma is German) lated lated Bill & Chelsea Clinton, Kim Cattrall, Natalie Portman, The Pope, Renee Zellweger, Roger Federer, Sigourney Weaver, Ted Koppell, Heidi Klum, Vladimir Putin, Lucy Lawless, and many more!

Small class sizes High pass rate on the AP German exam year over year High scores on the National German Exam every year ◦ The NGE looks great on college applications! Foothill has maintained an exchange with a high school in Eastern Germany since 1992.exchangehigh school ◦ FHS German students will spend 4 weeks in Germany in June 2011! German classes at FHS celebrate culture! ◦ Oktoberfest, St. Nikolaus Day, Christmas, Carnival, and Easter. ◦ German class parties include tasty and authentic German food!

German fun facts 32% of Europeans can converse fluently in German German is the second most common language in the Internet – English is the first! German helps you with English! ◦ German and English are closely related languages ◦ This makes German vocabulary easy to learn, and learning German grammar helps you understand English grammar better! The German Academic Exchange Service offers many scholarships for university study in Germany, and Germany is a great place to spend a semester or a year abroad! ◦ Great for future engineers, musicians, chemists, businesspeople, archeologists, physicists, lawyers, doctors, teachers, historians…

Famous people Albert Einstein Ludwig van Beethoven Sigmund Freud Steffi Graf Annette von Droste-Hülshoff Günter Grass Rammstein The Scorpions Xavier Naidoo

Sources advantage.com/Articles/Bilingualcelebs.aspx advantage.com/Articles/Bilingualcelebs.aspx