Valparaiso's German House prepares students for study abroad
VALPARAISO, Ind. (AP) - Learning the German language at Valparaiso University takes place in the classrooms, but learning to speak it well takes place at dinner.
At least five nights a week, students who live in the Kade-Duesenberg German House cook a meal and then gather as a group to eat and talk - only in German.
"It strengthens the bonds between us," said Bridgette McGowen, a VU senior, from Indianapolis.
"It brings people together who wouldn't normally be together."
But most of all, it prepares students to become fluent speakers, said Jennifer Bjornstad, associate professor of German, who serves as director of Kade-Duesenberg German House & Cultural Center.
The two-story center features classrooms, a library and formal dining room downstairs and a kitchen, dining area and residences for 13 students on the second floor.
Sandrina Müller is a third year student from Tübingen, Germany, who is studying this year at VU as part of an exchange program with Aalen University near Stuttgart.
As a native German speaker, Müller helps coach her fellow students in becoming more comfortable with the language.
"During dinner, we're talking German all of the time," she said. "We're trying to keep the conversation natural."
Bjornstad said in this mentoring model, students get a different experience than in class and gives students "hours and hours of extra practice."
It's an experience that prepares students for studying or working abroad through the university.
McGowen said it prepared her well for a co-op experience at Aalen University, where she worked in an office and helped international students on campus.
VU offers co-op programs at both Aalen University and Reutlingen University in southern Germany.
Study abroad programs include spending a semester at VU's study center in Reutlingen, where a resident director from VU teaches classes and runs the program; studying for a full year at the university in Tübingen, where students take an orientation course and then actual courses in German at the university; or organ students can study for a semester in Rottenburg at the Hochschule für Kirchenmusik.
Bjornstad said students must have completed the fourth semester German class at VU to live at the Kade-Duesenberg German House. Students who studied German in high school and tested into higher level German classes could potentially live there as sophomores.
Bjornstad said there are about 40 German majors, 30 receiving a minor and about 40 to 50 other students studying German at VU.
While there are many reasons students take German, it gives students a leg up in the job market, especially among engineering and business students, Bjornstad said.
Bjornstad said while popularity of other foreign languages has changed through the years, she believes interest in studying German remains strong, especially in Indiana and the Midwest.
In addition to teaching VU students, the Kade-Duesenberg German House hosts two events that encourage the German language in the community.
"Kinder lernen Deutsch," or children learning German, is taught by VU students and supervised by Bjornstad. Children in first through fifth grade learn language and culture through activities, games and songs at 4 p.m. Mondays.
All ages are invited from 4 to 5 p.m. Fridays for German conversation over coffee and snacks at the center for "Kaffeestunde."
Bjornstad said faculty, VU students and native speakers in the community attend. All ability levels are welcome.
She said students appreciate the chance to practice speaking German outside a classroom.
"It's a small community, very quiet and studious," Bjornstad said. "People who live here put forth a lot of effort."
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Source: The (Northwest Indiana) Times, http://bit.ly/2fVii6L
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Information from: The Times, http://www.nwitimes.com