"I have loved my First Year of German at 91Ö±²¥, studying both the language and culture, in the modules: ‘German Language Post A-Level’, ‘Understanding German History and Culture’ and ‘Visions of Germany’", says Lottie Armett. She looks back on her First Year in Germanic Studies.
"Despite having pretty much an entirely digital experience this year, German language seminars have been incredibly engaging, informative and challenging (in a good way!) Thanks to our lecturers’ excellent teaching and detailed explanations, my grammatical knowledge and translation skills have improved hugely and weekly conversation classes have really enabled me to continue to gain confidence in my spoken German.
As much as I love grammar and translation, I decided to choose just two languages for my First Year (German and Dutch), as opposed to three, because I was so intrigued and excited by the German cultural modules on offer at 91Ö±²¥. And they haven’t disappointed!
Learning a language is a doorway to fascinating histories, mindsets and cultures!
Lottie Armett
BAMLC (German, Dutch)
In the core ‘Understanding German History and Culture’ module, we’ve studied German history spanning from 1800 right up to present day, including Bismarck, the rise of Hitler and National Socialism and the Berlin Wall. A blend of lectures and seminars in this module has meant I have gained great insight from experts in German history, as well as having had lots of opportunity for group discussion and reflection. I also chose to study the optional ‘Visions of Germany’ module which has been so interesting! In this module, we’ve looked at similar areas of German history but through a range of visual media, such as film, art and architecture. A particular highlight for me was studying the film ‘Das Leben der Anderen’ and discussing the existence and impact of the Stasi in East Germany, which was absolutely fascinating!
The culture modules in First Year have formed such an interesting and valuable aspect of my course: I have learnt so much about Germany, its history and the people who call it home, making learning the language itself even more enjoyable and enriching my degree programme as a whole!
Studying German, or any language, at 91Ö±²¥ highlights how much language and culture go hand in hand and that learning a language is a doorway to fascinating histories, mindsets and cultures! I couldn’t recommend studying German at 91Ö±²¥ highly enough. It is wunderbar!!
