60 Years with German on Tour
As the first location in Southeast Asia, the Goethe-Institut in Bangkok has made a significant contribution to the cultural and linguistic exchange between Thailand, Germany and Europe since 1960. In the context of the Goethe-Institut’s 60th anniversary, an occasion that celebrates six decades of dialogue, cooperation and co-productions, the campaign “Mit Deutsch 60 Jahre unterwegs“ (“60 Years with German on Tour”) puts the spotlight on young learners of German and their learning experiences. The different activities of the campaign highlight above all one thing: The Germany language is in Thailand as multifaceted as the people who study it.
Deutschmobil
When it comes to choosing a second foreign language at Thai secondary schools, German competes above all with Asian languages, primarily with Chinese and Korean. In order to spark interest in the German language among the students, and to also give them an idea of what Germany is all about today, the Deutschmobil will once again visit all 46 Thai partner schools where German is already taught. A team of young German and Thai teachers of the Goethe-Institut will travel across the country and promote the German language and culture with a variety of activities. This year the Deutschmobil’s programme will focus on the protection of the environment: The “Goethe geht grün” (“Goethe goes green“) campaign aims at raising awareness of environmentally conscious behaviour in everyday life among Thai students and at informing them about the importance of sustainability within the German society.
Social Media
But what do Thai students actually associate with Germany? How do they acquire knowledge about the German language and culture? A social media project of the Goethe-Institut and its network of Thai partner schools looks at these questions and invites the students to find the answers. The young German learners independently document their experiences in class and their associations with the German language and culture. The results are then published on the social media channels of the Goethe-Institut Thailand, allowing the students to mutually share their ideas and impressions with other German learners as an ongoing project.
Commemorative publication & 360° film:
The Goethe-Institut also invites its partner schools to portray the school and the diverse activities surrounding German class through the lens of a 360-degree camera. What makes this film project unique is that it interweaves multilingualism and cutting-edge media technology to create a new, virtual approach to education that erases spatial distances and promotes cross-curricular immersive learning. The 360-degree shots allow users to immerse themselves in the virtual environment, to explore it from all angles and to experience the diversity of modern activity-based German lessons first-hand. In addition to the film, there will also be a publication commemorating the 60th anniversary of the Goethe-Institut that will feature anecdotes, historical documents and images from six decades of trusting, partnership-based cooperation.