School of Modern Languages
Newcastle University
GERMAN@NEWCASTLE
Guest edited by Jenny Lemke and Sascha Stollhans
Summer 2013
Extracurricular Activities 2012/2013
The DAAD team at the School of Modern Languages – DAADLektorin Franziska Schulz and DAAD-Sprachassistent
Sascha Stollhans – hosted a variety of extracurricular
activities this year. Once a month, there is a German Film
Night and a Stammtisch – an informal get-together in a pub.
We also had a German Christmas party, a picnic, and many
other events such as a Pub Quiz against Durham University
and a "Wandertag", when SML students, German ERASMUS
students and staff went on a hiking trip to Hadrian‘s Wall,
chatting in German while enjoying the beautiful landscape.
Fairy Tale Project
In Semester 2 we hosted Märchen@Newcastle, a project on
German fairy tales for SML students involving a variety of
activities: a poster exhibition provided by the Goethe Institute
London, a writing competition for which students wrote a
modern version of their favourite fairy tale, a workshop with
various activities such as creative writing, "mini theatre" and
the prize giving ceremony for the writing competition, and a
film night.
All fairy tales written by students have been published in a
booklet. Here is the beginning of one of them:
Der arme Pinguin
Es war einmal ein kleiner, süßer, aber armer Pinguin. Der arme Pinguin
liebte seine Socken. Er hatte grüne Socken, orange Socken, Socken mit
Streifen und bunte Socken. Einmal ist eine seiner bunte Socken verloren
gegangen. Seine Mutter war sehr ärgerlich. Sie sagte: „Du musst deine
Socke finden, sonst bekommst du kein Abendessen!“ Der arme Pinguin war
sehr traurig. Wo war seine Socke? Wie konnte er die Socke finden? Er hatte
keine Ahnung, was er tun soll…
By Michelle Deeter (MA Translation and Interpreting)
Real Translation Project
Das Real Translation Project ist ein Projekt für Studenten im Abschlussjahr, bei dem wir
mit Wohltätigkeitsorganisationen zusammenarbeiten und reale Texte übersetzen. Das
Projekt existiert seit vier Jahren und wird jedes Jahr in den Sprachen Deutsch, Französisch
und Spanisch angeboten. Das Ziel ist es, dass Studenten wichtige Erfahrungen im
Übersetzen sammeln können, ihren Lebenslauf „aufmotzen“ und gleichzeitig etwas
Wohltätiges für die Gemeinschaft tun.
In diesem Studienjahr haben 17 Studenten an dem deutschen Projekt teilgenommen.
Zusammen mit Sucess4all, einer Organisation, die benachteiligte Kinder und Jugendliche
in der Region unterstützt, haben wir ein Booklet
für das Walker Technology College erstellt.
Dieses Booklet ist ein kleines „language survival
kit“ mit Vokabeln für Schüler, die ein
Praktikum in Deutschland machen wollen. Es
richtet sich ganz spezifisch an Schüler, die eine
Ausbildung zum Maler und Maurer absolvieren
und bisher kein Deutsch gelernt haben. Die Studenten haben zwei Monate in Gruppen an
ihren Übersetzungen gearbeitet und ein 24-seitiges Heft mit ganz spezifischem Vokabular
für das Baugewerbe zusammengestellt. Alle Studenten haben am Ende des Projektes ein
Zertifikat erhalten und die beste Übersetzung wird veröffentlicht.
Franziska Schulz, DAAD-Lektorin
SML student wins German competition
With her poster "Wir müssen zusammen arbeiten", Lydia Conlin (1st year Modern
Languages with German) won this year's DAAD competition "Europe – What next?" She was
awarded her prize – an intensive summer course in Germany – at a ceremony in London,
marking the 60th anniversary of the German Academic Exchange Service. Congratulations,
Lydia!
Sascha Stollhans (DAAD-Sprachassistent at SML), Dr Andreas Hoeschen
(Director of the DAAD office London), Lydia Conlin and her father
Six months in the Toon:
A report by Jenny Lemke
When I started my 6-month ERASMUS internship in April
2013, I did not expect to be thrown in at the deep end
straight away, but I was – in a very good way!
The Schwitters@Newcastle project curated by LEONARDO
intern Aletta Rochau was already in full swing when I
arrived. It was centred around Kurt Schwitters, a German
artist who fled from the Nazi regime and whose final and
unfinished work, the Merzbarn, can be seen in the Hatton
Gallery.
The project offered poetry, translation and journalism workshops and even a hugely
successful Jumble Art competition for schools in the North East. Using lines taken from
Schwitters’ famous poem An Anna Blume as well as everyday materials, students and
pupils created colourful and imaginative collages that were exhibited in the Hatton Gallery.
They also transcribed and translated some of Schwitters’ letters and wrote articles about a
wide variety of topics relating to Schwitters and the era subsumed under the heading Art in
Exile. The ambitious project was made complete by two delightful talks given by Ben Read,
art historian and son of Herbert Read, who was a close friend of Schwitters’, and Emma
Chambers, co-curator of the Schwitters in Britain exhibition at the Tate Britain.
In just a few short weeks, I learned an amazing amount of things – not only about Kurt
Schwitters himself, but also about things I have never done before, like designing leaflets,
filming talks and interviews or mounting and dismounting an exhibition as I gave Aletta a
hand with the organisational details. But that is still not all – I also gained insight into the
‘behind-the-scenes’ of university life and was introduced to a warm and friendly working
environment where everyone, especially my internship mentor Prof Lähnemann, my fellow
intern Aletta Rochau and Head of School Dr Elizabeth Andersen, went out of their way to
make me feel welcome. As an intern, I am allowed to do so much more than I was expecting
and I feel that my work is meaningful
and appreciated.
It has been almost two months since I
arrived and, as it always does when
you are having fun, time has flown by.
I am very much looking forward to
what the next four months will bring!
Work for the Jumble Art competition by a student from
Valley Gardens Middle School
Jenny Lemke, ERASMUS intern at SML
The Modern Languages Society
Trips to Berlin and Barcelona, countless film nights, language
taster sessions, language themed nights out, the greatest MLS
ball in history and a memorable end of year social are but a
few of the things achieved by the Modern Languages Society
this year. Having recently won second place in the Student
Union's prestigious '"Society of the Year Award", it cannot be
denied that the Modern Languages society is a truly excellent
one to be part of. We have over 300 members, and not only are
our members offered exciting discounts and socials in bars
across Newcastle, but they are also offered educational socials
Mike Haynes (Stage 4 Modern
Languages with German and President
of MLS) with Dr Elizabeth Andersen
(Head of SML and Senior Lecturer in
German Studies) at the Annual Modern
Languages Society Ball 2013
that they all find truly beneficial. In addition to the socials
offered, the society is a great way to meet new friends and international students. The
society prides itself on its great relationship with the Erasmus society and puts on many
joint socials as a way for our members to befriend international students.
Claire Howarth, German Secretary, MLS
What do students say about studying German at Newcastle?
"I’m really glad I came to Newcastle to study German! Not only is the course very
interesting, but there are plenty of opportunities to get involved in extra-curricular activities
– film nights, themed workshops and the monthly German Stammtisch. I’ve really enjoyed
them as I’ve made new friends and had the chance to do things that are a little bit different!"
Katie Hampson (Stage 1 Modern Languages and Linguistics)
„Meine Entscheidung, in Newcastle Deutsch zu studieren, war eine der besten meines
Lebens. Hier hat man nicht nur die Gelegenheit, seine Sprachkenntnisse zu verbessern,
sondern auch mit zahlreichen Modulen aus unterschiedlichen Fachbereichen
(Sprachwissenschaft, Literatur, Film, Geschichte usw.) viel über die deutsche Kultur und
ihre Geschichte zu erfahren. In Newcastle bietet die Germanistik auch sehr viele
extracurriculare Aktivitäten und Projekte an. Außer dem monatlichen Stammtisch gibt es
z. B. auch Übersetzungsprojekte, Filmabende und Schreibwettbewerbe. Nach vier Jahren
bin ich mit meiner Entscheidung, in Newcastle Deutsch zu studieren, immer noch mehr als
zufrieden!“
Aaron Myers (Stage 4 Modern Languages)
Contact us
For information about admissions
please contact Lesley Sherrin
Tel: 0191 222 5082, e-mail: [email protected]
or visit www.ncl.ac.uk/sml/german