Just Add German

A high-level language conference at the Goethe-Institut in New York produced new ideas how to strengthen and promote German language programs. German is still number three.

By Petra Schuermann

Practical thinking, regional cooperation, and targeted advertising: These were the goals agreed upon by the participants invited to the New York language conference hosted by the Goethe-Institut on September 17 with thirty-five top representatives from American education agencies, universities, professional associations and media in attendance to discuss “strategies for a sustainable promotion of German in the USA.”

Although German is still number three behind Spanish and French, and the number of enrollments for German at schools and universities is at six percent, with the trend even slightly on the rise, reported Helene Zimmer-Loew, executive director of the AATG, but a non-existing, no coherent foreign language policy in the US, the aggressive subsidizing of Chinese language teachers in the US by the Chinese Government, and the recent budget cuts that the largest federal foreign language program had to undergo since April, have not created an ideal situation for hoping to grow the number and size of German language programs in the US.
Finally, globalization has create a certain self-complacent pragmatism among Americans: If English is the world language, then why waste time learning other languages?

The participants at the New York workshop all agreed: The practical added value of German in education and in careers, especially in scientific, technical and industrial fields must be conveyed more clearly and loudly. A coordinated promotional campaign for German would ideally bring together German-language promoters and German-language mediators, German diplomatic representatives, German-American chambers of commerce as well as German companies in the US. The working title for the new slogan: “Just Add German.”

Existing PR measures like the ˝Spot the bus“ campaign in Washington DC and the subway advertising that has been tried successfully in Chicago, would certainly also make sense for other bigger cities.

The conference participants also saw a possibility to seek more solidarity at schools and universities with collaborative partners from the areas of science, and engineering to promote  German as  “Your best Second Major”. Representatives from various German programs in the US stressed the need to expand cooperation between universities, colleges and high schools, particularly at the regional level.

Dr. Eva Marquardt, director of Language Programs North America at Goethe-Institut New York also mentioned that it is no longer enough to market German as just “cool” or “super cool.” “We must promote the practical benefits and added value of German on the job market.

The timing to launch comprehensive PR-campaigns seem to be right since the German Foreign Office in Berlin is currently considering whether in the future to shift its focus back to promoting the German language in the US.