Trip to Germany broadens students’ horizons

USQ student Lynda Teh takes in the sights of Göttingen during her trip to Germany USQ graduate Garrett McKeen (left) enjoys a break with some of his fellow teaching assistants

A trip to the freezing cold of Germany has fired the passion to learn amongst four of University of Southern Queensland’s (USQ) foreign language students.

Faculty of Arts students Emma Tedford, Lynda Teh and Garrett McKeen have swapped their Australian summer for a German winter to immerse themselves in the German culture.

Ms Tedford and Ms Teh spent much of January studying at the Goethe Institute in Göttingen with Ms Tedford then travelling on to Berlin where she will meet up with another of USQ’s Language and Culture (LAC) students, Colleen Logie.

For Ms Teh, a distance education student, this was not only her first trip to Germany but her first time studying in a classroom environment.

‘I never had any knowledge of the German language prior to studying at USQ,’ Ms Teh explained.

‘Having to speak German every day, and speaking with Germans mostly, is simply awesome!’

‘I will definitely visit Germany again when it is not so cold so that I can be more comfortable travelling around the different cities.’

The trip has inspired Ms Teh so much she now hopes to become a foreign language teacher one day or use her language skills to work in an international office environment.

Becoming a teacher is a goal shared by Mr McKeen, who has become somewhat of a ‘celebrity’ in the eyes of his students at the village of Kirchhain, near Marburg just north of Frankfurt.

After graduating from USQ with a Bachelor of Arts, Majoring in German, Mandarin and International Relations, Mr McKeen has spent the past few months working as a foreign language assistant at Alfred-Wegener Schule.

‘The work has definitely been a highlight of the trip,’ Mr McKeen said.

‘Having Christmas breakfast with a grade six class who shake my hand in the playground and chant my name when I enter the room like I’m some sort of sports star – it’s pretty fun.’

‘On a more personal level I'm really starting to get an appreciation for teaching; it's really nice when a student gets an idea or does well on a test because I helped them.’

‘I've also begun to realise how many opportunities can arise from studying another language and at the moment I'm planning on teaching overseas for a little while, so I might have to do my diploma of Education when I get back.’

USQ’s German Language and Culture Lecturer Gabriela Pohl said being able to speak the language of your clients, competitors or co-workers put job-seekers in a much stronger negotiating position than relying on just a native language.

‘Two-thirds of the world’s population are at least bilingual or better,’ Ms Pohl said.

‘Successful multilingual graduates and those with cross-cultural experiences and skills have enhanced employment opportunities, career mobility and an important competitive edge. The view that “everyone speaks English” is no longer an adequate position for aspiring leaders and professionals, who see themselves as contributors on an international stage.’

The Language and Culture (LAC) discipline in the Faculty of Arts at USQ offers students the opportunity to study either German or Mandarin Chinese on-campus or online.

All classes are run by enthusiastic native-speakers with many years of university teaching experience.

On-campus classes are small and online students in the German strand are given access to live-recordings of all on-campus classes.

Students can choose to study a language for just one semester as an elective or for longer. Even students with little or no prior language learning experience are welcome to apply.

For further information please contact Arts.support@usq.edu.au or artenq@usq.edu.au .

Contact Details:
Jim Campbell, USQ Media, +61 7 46 31 2977