Interest in the Second World War, fine European automobiles and family heritage are just some of the reasons young scholars choose German as their language of learning.
But a disinclination to continue with French is also a strong influence, says the long-serving Deutsch instructor at Lindsay Thurber Comprehensive High School.
Elke Brase invited to her class on Monday the roving Deutschmobil, a German government-sponsored duo who are in the midst of a three-month tour of Canada in a Mercedes-Benz van to act as ambassadors for the Central European language.
With German raps, trivia, prizes and self-aware jokes — “If I’m looking for a girl, I always put on my lederhosen,” said 27-year-old Florian Goestl — the Deutschmobil crew sought to use laughs and interactive lessons to bolster students’ passion for their mother tongue.
“We’re doing language promotion because our government is very eager to make sure that the language here and all over the world doesn’t die out,” said Florian’s partner, 26-year-old Eva Porten.
Brase can sympathize. She started teaching German at Lindsay Thurber in 1990, and there was much more interest in Germany and the German language after the world watched the Berlin Wall come down.
Now, competing with French, Japanese — and, come September, Spanish — Brase is concerned about enrolment numbers. An additional available language could further split her student numbers, she said.
“It depends on what I do and how I try to salvage the program.
“In the early years, I had 30-plus kids in the beginner levels, to where I have 20-some kids at the beginner level, to where I have five kids at the 30 level,” said Brase, whose parents were from Germany and whose first language is German.
There are more than mere glimmers of hope, however. Students like Darcy Allison, a 17-year-old in Grade 12, are passionate about learning German and plan to continue with it. Allison went on an exchange with Brase’s class last year and hopes to use his planned post-secondary education in animal sciences to land a job in Germany some day.
Khrystina Hermary, another Grade 12 student, said she developed an appreciation for all things Germanic when her older brother took Brase’s course a decade ago.
“I love the language, I love the country, and I can’t wait to go,” said Hermary.
mgauk@www.reddeeradvocate.com