German as a Foreign Language
Strategy Paper for the U.S.A., 2011
(INTRODUCTION)
Daniel Hamilton, Johns Hopkins University, Washington D.C.
Michael K. Legutke, Justus-Liebig University, Giessen, Germany
German in Retreat
In the U.S., German is on the defensive — retreating, not advancing. To get out of this
defensive position, to strengthen the role of the German language and thus raise American
awareness about the importance of Germany, the German Federal Government should make
the United States a strategic “priority country” for the promotion of German, and offer some
appropriate stimulus. The Foreign Office should commit to an active language policy in the
United States, issue a correspondingly clear mandate to German institutions, and above all
support and engage more directly with American colleagues and decision-makers to win them as
equal, collaborative partners to advance the future of the German language in America.
At first glance, German remains strong in the U.S. — still the country’s third language,
with growing total numbers of learners. even with increased total numbers of students. But first
glances can be misleading. Changes in the U.S. require enhanced and modified German efforts
to support the German language. Since the end of the Cold War, promotion of German in the
U.S. has not been a particularly high priority. This cannot continue. Without new energy and
initiative, the linguistic bridge to one of Germany’s most important global partners could be in
danger. One must adjust to new times and act accordingly.
For a growing part of the U.S. population, German — and Germany — is losing its
relevance. Only 6 percent of Americans today who study a foreign language learn German —
more than a third less than in the 1960s. The learning opportunities for German have been halved
in that time; German students are confronted with a shrinking number of German programs and
teachers. The numbers of students are falling, compared to increases in other languages. In some
regions of the United States, German programs in high schools and colleges have already been
closed or are about to be closed — including very good, healthy programs. American teachers
of German are demoralized, and ever more frequently they lack a sense of being part of a
common enterprise how great it is to be part of a larger effort, that one's work is appreciated and
worthwhile.
In short, although German continues to remain an important language in the United
States, it is under increasing attack from many directions and for many different reasons. The
number of current learners can not obscure the impending decline in importance of German as a
foreign language in the American educational landscape. Given the steady population growth in
the U.S., German is more retreating than advancing, even though in some regions pupil numbers
have grown slightly.
Conditions in the U.S.A.
German has come under additional pressure for various reasons.First, in general, this
must be understood in a nation-specific context. The U.S. is a country of immigrants and foreign-
language speakers, but not a country of foreign language learners. A large majority of the
population do not see foreign language skills as relevant for their own economic, intellectual
and social progress. Those who learn foreign languages do so primarily at school — but only
20 percent of pupils study a foreign language. First there is Spanish, followed by French, and
German almost on par with Chinese. In addition, there are demographic developments. The
population of German descent, which until the end of World War I almost guaranteed that one
studied the language of one’s parents and grandparents, has played hardly any role since in the
choice of foreign language to be learned. In a survey in 2000, only 1 percent of pupils said they
learned German because of their own German origin.
In the United States, interest in learning a language is often dependent on geo-political
and socio-economic factors. In this respect, the relevance of German — and Germany — is not
always understood, especially given the plethora of challenges in the Asia-Pacific region, the
Middle East/Southwest Asia, and also at home. A typical response to globalization is to say that
the whole world is now learning English — another reason to waive foreign language teaching.
Others look more to the rise of China and believe that the schools should therefore offer Chinese
rather than another European language.
Moreover, some challenges exist at the federal level. The U.S. government attaches
importance to the education of multilingual global citizens, but this general appreciation
of multilingualism does not lead to concrete measures that could counteract widespread
monolingualism in the United States. The budget of the largest national foreign language
program was recently cut in half; further cuts seem inevitable. One must also consider that the
promotion of language teaching by the U.S. government could be described as a zero-sum game.
New funding for one language is usually deducted from that of another, while at the same time
government grants for foreign language teaching in general are stagnating or are declining. In
addition, there are also other federal government initiatives in education, for example the NoChild-Left-Behind Act, that push back the teaching of foreign languages even further.
Since education and training are for the most part a matter for the U.S. states or local
school districts, the challenges for German at this decision-making level are even more difficult.
Only eight states require that pupils actually learn a foreign language, and usually for only
two years. Due to the budget crisis in the U.S. states, foreign language programs with low
demand fall victim to the red pen. Not infrequently, German programs belong in this category.
Unfortunately, there are also places where German programs are cut even though they are in
good demand. This is due mostly to the language policy priorities of the respective school
districts.
Along with the students, the number of German teachers is also declining, and with it
those who can lobby on behalf of German as a foreign language. More importantly, German
teachers do not decide whether German is offered at a school. Local decision-makers —
principals and superintendents — also need to understand why German should be offered.
They usually are not integrated into German circles. Therefore, partnerships with entire school
districts, rather than with individual teachers of German, are of crucial importance. Because of
the size of the country one cannot work everywhere — 15,000 school districts decide on their
own foreign language offerings. But one can seek out specific strategic partners and win them for
the German language cause.
But to win such partners, one must keep clearly in mind that German as a foreign
language is under pressure by the encroachment of other languages, especially Chinese. China
pursues a very active policy of subsidies, and not only in the U.S., with the avowed goal of
anchoring Chinese instruction in the U.S. educational landscape. Some schools are directly paid
$30,000 and more to introduce Chinese in their schools.
Three thousand school superintendents and administrators were brought to China, at
Chinese cost, so far. Sixty Confucius Classrooms have been established at the school level
and more Confucius Institutes have been established at the university level. The Asia Society,
headquartered in New York, is planning to establish another 80 Confucius Classrooms in the
next two years; the state of North Carolina alone is planning another 45.
These efforts further crowd out German in a context in which it is less clear why
Germany/German should still be relevant.
To counter these trends, the German government should elevate the U.S. to the status of
a “priority country” and conduct an active language policy in the United States with new energy
and drive
For the promotion of German as a foreign language in the U.S. it is important to develop
strategies that in the long run not only keep the reservoir of German learners at the highest
possible quantitative and qualitative levels, but also continue to expand them further.
In this regard, the German government and relevant German language institutions should
understand one thing when they take standard language promotion programs used around the
world and simply implement them in the U.S.: the U.S., a global power, is a special case. What
from a German perspective may make sense worldwide, sometimes makes no sense for the
United States.
Many young people abroad for example, want to complete their entire university degree
in Germany. They therefore seek to learn German so well that they can be accepted by a German
university.
A small number of Americans may have similar goals, but an overwhelmingly greater
number of Americans consider spending at most a year at a German educational institution. Most
are more likely to spend a semester or less.
Furthermore, many American students would prefer that their study at a German
educational institution include the possibility of an internship or practicum. Most young
education-conscious Americans consider Germany and German, on the one hand, from the
perspective of a non-foreign language-learning world power that has its own excellent tertiary
education system. And on the other they view Germany in terms of personal career opportunities,
in which an experience abroad often only seems worthwhile if, in a relatively short time, it
promises to generate something concretely beneficial.
At the same time, it must be noted that millions of people in the U.S. are engaged every
day to promote the German language. They are not needy recipients of German ideas and
German funds. They themselves are imaginative, engaged and deeply rooted in their respective
professional circles and communities. Sometimes they know better about what could arouse
interest among their countrymen about Germany and German. It would be very worthwhile to
tap their proper potential — they stand ready.