The Smart Choice: German at Secondary Schools in the UK

Why should British students actually learn German, if English is "lingua franca" already?

The answer is simple: Germany is one of the UK’s leading trading partners and British companies need professionals with a good knowledge of German. This statement is also strongly supported by a report Learning to Grow: What Employers need from Education and Skills published by the CBI, the UK's premier business lobbying organisation. The findings portray German as the most useful foreign language for organisations in the UK.

According to a recent article in The Guardian “head teachers say strategy to promote languages is overdue”. (Jeevan Vasagar, education editor, guardian.co.uk, Thursday 16 August 2012). This is why we are happy to provide you with a tool to make a strong case for German at your school.

The video The Smart Choice German includes input from a range of identifiable brands as well as prominent figures from the UK who support the case for learning German. The key message of the clip is that pupils who learn German will have improved career opportunities because the German economy is among the strongest in the world, and many British companies are looking for staff able to communicate in German.

The video is ideal for parents’ evenings, language days and all occasions promoting career opportunities.

You can order the six minute video as a free DVD:
teacher_services@london.goethe.org