Top 10 reasons to learn German

1. German is important for school. Students who take German score

higher on college acceptance tests (ACT / SAT) than other students. You

need at least two years of a foreign language to study at a Minnesota

State college. Other colleges highly recommend it.

2. German and English are both Germanic languages. They both started

out as the same language. They share many of the same words, word

origins and grammar characteristics. That makes German a good choice

for English speakers.

3. German is important to our American heritage. Three out of every

four Wasecans have German heritage. One out of every four Americans

nationwide has German heritage. German-Americans are the largest ethnic

group in America today. They have made innumerable contributions to

our country. The United States government sponsors exchange programs

with Germany. One of those is the German American Partnership Program

(GAPP). Waseca High School's partner school is in Neuhaus am Rennweg,

Germany. And Waseca's official sister city is Neuhaus.

4. Over 120 million people speak German as their native language.

German is spoken in Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Luxembourg and

Liechtenstein, as well as parts of other European countries. Twice as

many people speak German in Europe than any other language. And after

English, German is the most popular foreign language to learn in Europe.

5. German is important in the global economy. Germany also has the

world's third biggest economy (after the USA and Japan). Germany is the

largest economic and political influence in Europe. Germany has the

highest paid workers in the world. Germany is also the leading export

nation in the world in proportion to its population. And Switzerland,

another German-speaking country, is the world's richest country. The

standard of living in German speaking countries is among the highest in

the world.

6. German is very important for business. Many American companies are

owned by German companies. Brown Printing in Waseca is a German-owned

company. Corchran's in Waseca also does much business with Germany.

More Americans have lived and worked in Germany than in any other

foreign country since 1945. Germany and the USA invest $40 billion in

each other's businesses per year. Many companies name German as the

language they would most like their employees to know. For example,

American car company Chrysler and German car company Mercedes just

merged, and a lot of Chrysler employees are now learning German.

7. German is important for science. Most of the world's scientists have

come from or studied in German-speaking countries. Many new scientific

discoveries happen in German-speaking countries, and some scientific

information is only available in German. The newest elements on the

Periodic Table were just discovered by a German scientist. Universities

encourage science majors to learn German.

8. German is important in music. Most of the world's famous composers

and musicians came from German-speaking countries. Vienna, the capital

of Austria, has been the world center of music for hundreds of years.

Think of Beethoven, Brahms, Bach, Handel, Mozart......

9. German is important for the tourist industry. Germans are the most

traveled people in the world. You will find German tourists

everywhere. In the USA, they will especially be at the top tourist

spots like Florida, New York, and California. Many American tourists go

to German speaking countries, which are some of the most beautiful

countries in the world. Plus, German is widely spoken throughout

Europe.

10. The importance of German may not seem as obvious to Americans

because we are separated from the rest of the world by ocean. We tend

to notice only what's in our backyard. Worldwide, German is the third

most popular foreign language to learn. In Europe, it is the second most

popular (after English). The world sees the importance of German. We

really do live in a global society, and we need to look at more than

what's right around us. We need to see the entire picture.

Sources: American Assoc. of Teachers of German, Dartmouth College,

National Council for the Social Studies, St. Olaf College, Univ. of St.

Thomas, US News & World Report, World Book Encyclopedia